A
REVIEW ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINE
Mostafa Jafari, Peyman Akhavan, Ashraf
Mortezaei , Iran
University of Science
and Technology, Tehran
ABSTRACT:
This paper aims to provide the organizational roles to implement knowledge management. The focus is on how to devise and implement knowledge management where it is required and provides a common understanding about KM in implementation area. This paper also provides a general review on KM systems, KM architecture, KM process, KM strategy and KM critical success factors.
Keywords: Knowledge management, Knowledge strategy, Knowledge
architecture
1. Introduction
In 1597, Francis Bacon wrote that knowledge is power (Barclay, 2000). A Knowledge- based perspective of the firm
has emerged in the strategic management literature (Nonaka
& Takeuchi 1995).This perspective builds upon and extends the resource
based theory of the firm .
Business and economic theory is
increasingly concerned with the role of organizational knowledge. As a source
of economic success, knowledge is increasingly seen as having displaced
traditional factors of production in the post-Fordist
economy (Drucker,1995) . Knowledge management (KM) is arguably the strategic concern for many firms (Nonaka & Takeuchi
1995). Those who fail to understand this may not survive at all (Fappaolo and Koulopoulos, 2000) .
Despite such warnings KM has so far been
little studied in the context of facilities despite a theoretical proposition
that it is one future (Nutt,2000) or perhaps the future (Price, 2000) .of the
discipline. Indeed the management of physical space may be the most under
– utilized tool in contemporary KM (Ward and Holtham,
2000)and a knowledge perspective may supply the conceptual framework with which
occupiers of property can understand and measure the business benefit they
derive from occupation (Haynes, 2000).
Knowledge management is one such management approach, and is portrayed in the popular business literature as an innovation with the potential to affect the whole of an organisation's business, especially its processes and information systems (Coates, 2001).
The implementation of knowledge management (KM) in an organization involves the integration of knowledge from the domains of strategy, structure, processes, and technology. These domains are generally underpinned—when assimilating roadmaps for holistic KM implementation with standard KM models in the literature. This paper outlines ongoing research in the area of knowledge management implementation.
2. Definition
2.1. What is Knowledge?
Webster (1961) defines knowledge as a clear and certain perception of something – the act, the fact, or the state of understanding(Ward and Holtham, 2000) Knowledge involves both knowing how, which is generally more tacit knowledge, and knowing about, which is more explicit knowledge (Grant, 1996). To put it in other words, knowledge is basically an understanding of information and their associated patterns (Bierly et al., 2000). Therefore, the author believes that knowledge and information are different entities and these two constructs should not be equated in both letter as well as spirit. Equating information and knowledge oversimplifies and even confounds the already contentious division among biologists, cognitive psychologists, sociologists, and organizational researchers regarding data, information and knowledge (Miller, 1978). But at the same time, information should be considered as building blocks of knowledge which in turn is used for creation of wisdom in the organizational lives.
Sanchez et al. (1996) defined knowledge as the ability to maintain the
synchronized exploitation of assets and capabilities in a mode that assures the
achievement of the goals.
O’Dell and Grayson (1998) define knowledge to be information in action.
As an alternative,
2.1.1. Knowledge Layers
Seven knowledge layers are possible in organizations as described in Table 1.
|
Level Key |
Activities |
|
Customer Knowledge |
Developing deep, knowledge-sharing relationships. Understanding the needs of your customers'
customers. Articulating unmet needs. Identifying new
opportunities. |
|
Stakeholder
Relationships |
Improving knowledge flows between suppliers,
employees, shareholders, Community
etc., using this knowledge to inform key strategies. |
|
Business Environment Insights |
Systematic environmental scanning including
political, economic, technology, social and
environmental trends. Competitor analysis. Market intelligence systems. |
|
Organizational
Memory |
Knowledge sharing. Best practice databases.
Directories of expertise. Online documents, procedures and discussion forums.
Intranets. |
|
Knowledge in
Processes |
Embedding knowledge into business processes and
management. Decision-making. |
|
Knowledge in
Products and Services |
Knowledge embedded in products. Surround products
with knowledge, e.g., in user guides, and enhanced knowledge-intensive
services. |
|
Knowledge in People |
Knowledge-sharing fairs. Innovation workshops.
Expert and learning networks. Communities of knowledge practice. |
Table 1: Knowledge Layers (Skyrme,
2001)
2.1.2. Sources Of Knowledge
¨ Acquired knowledge comes from outside the organization.
¨ Dedicated resources are those in which an organization sets aside some staff members or an entire department (usually research and development) to develop within the institution for a specific purpose.
¨ Fusion is knowledge created by bringing together people with different perspectives to work on the same project.
¨ Adaptation is knowledge that results from responding to new processes or technologies in the market place.
¨ Knowledge networking is knowledge in which people share information with one another formally or informally.
2.2. What Is Knowledge
Management?
In terms of knowledge management we rely on the knowledge management models
introduced by Romhardt (1998). We synthesize these
models to a knowledge management cycle model. This model with its different
knowledge cycle activities (identify, acquire, structure, combine, share,
distribute, use, preserve, eliminate .
Robbins (2003) defines knowledge management (KM) as a ‘‘process of organizing and distributing an organization’s collective wisdom so the right information gets to the right people at the right time.’’ Van Beveren (2002) further defines knowledge management as ‘‘a practice that finds valuable information and transforms it into necessary knowledgecritical to decision making and action.’’ Laudon and Laudon (2003) goes a step further by introducing ‘‘knowledge-level decision making based on the evaluation of new ideas for products, services, ways to communicate new knowledge, and ways to distribute information throughout the organization.’’ This suggests that firms can only sustain a competitive advantage when valuing its customers input and employee interaction. This interaction sometimes requires an employee to use innovation in order to ‘‘devise problems, define them, and develop new knowledge from them’’ (Van Beveren, 2002) .Anumber of studies Defining knowledge management by Choi, 2000, Barclay and Murray, 2000, American Productivity Quality Center(1999), Liss(1999), Murray(1998), Corrall(1998) ,Mayo(1998), Martinez(1998) , Chait, (1998), Beckman(1997) ,Stewart(1997) ,Pascarella(1997), Bassie,(1997), O’Dell, (1996), Manasco, (1996), Garvin, 1993).
2.3. Knowledge Management
Processes
Anumber of studies have addressed knowledge management processes; they divide knowledge management into several processes (Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Bhat, 2002; DeLong,1997; Gold et al., 2001; Lee & Choi, 2003; Lee &Yang, 2000; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995;Ruggles, 1998; Shin et al., 2001; Skyrme &Amidon, 1998; Spender, 1996; Teece, 1998).They have identified many key aspects to this knowledge management process: capture,transfer, and use (DeLong, 1997); acquire, collaborate, integrate, and experiment (Leonard-Barton, 1995); create, transfer, assemble, integrate, and exploit (Teece, 1998); create, transfer, and use (Skyrme & Amidon, 1998; Spender, 1996).
For example, Alavi and Leidner (2001) considered four processes including creation, storage, transfer, and application. Gold et al. (2001) clustered various capabilities intofour broad dimensions of process capability—acquiring knowledge, converting it into a useful form, applying or using it, and protecting it. Lee and Choi (2003) focused on the knowledge creation process, and they adopt the SECI (socialization, externalization, combination, internalization) process model by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) to explore knowledge creation. Ruggles (1998) divided company’s knowledge management processes by four categories including generating and accessing, facilitating and representing, embedding and usage, and transferring and measuring.
3. Implementation
Of Knowledge Management
Many KM models with different approaches and mindsets have been proposed in literature. McAdam and McCreedy (1999) have identified three broad categories of KM models, namely knowledge category models, intellectual capital models, and socially constructed models.These models are important in enriching our understandings on the essentials of KM activities; yet do not provide an integrative perspective for actual KM implementation.
Another type of KM framework includes those that have been developed by
researchers to serve as a basis for examining how KM has been performed in
industry. These frameworks provide a reference to facilitate the structuring,
analysis and evaluation of the KM initiatives undertaken in various case
companies. The frameworks developed by Apostolou and Mentzas (1998) and Lai and
For implementation of KM there has been presented many different models and frameworks, but not all of these models and frame works are in a same level and are not focus on the KM fields itself and each other are focused on some other fields.
For example some of the models and frameworks that have been presented are like Newman & Conard , Boisot , Nonaka , Steve Hals , Hicks, Marc al roie, Kasvi, and Liebowitz, foucesed on the Knowledge Process in Organizations.
The models and frameworks that has been presented are talk about the
knowledge and not about the KM. In other word ,the focus in these models and
frameworks is on the Knowledge management Process and some of them are Ron Johnston , O' Dell and Grayson ,
|
Framework and
Model |
Researcher |
|
perform strategic plan, perform business need analysis, conduct
cultural assessment and establish, performance conceptual
modeling, perform physical modeling, capture and secure knowledge, represent
knowledge, organize and store knowledge
in the knowledge management system , combine
knowledge, create knowledge and share knowledge |
Rubenstein. (2001) |
|
Form powerful
coalition, Communicate vision of KM, Establish teams for needs assessment, Analyse the needs of KM, Identify and collect knowledge,
Design a technological structure to warehouse knowledge, Test the technology, Maintenance of the technology, Retest the technology,
Training of knowledge workers, Roll out the use of KM practices, Track usage,
Make systems go live, Measure quality and productivity, measure the
performance of KM practices, conduct a need assessment review . |
McCampbell et al. (1999) |
|
Build management understanding and
commitment to pursue KM, Map perspectives of the knowledge landscape, Plan
the organisation KM priorities,
focus and strategy, Identify sought KM benefits, Adjust KM priorities and
Create KM-related incentive programmes. |
Wiig (1998) |
|
Obtain management buy-in, Survey and map the knowledge landscape,
Plan the knowledge strategy, Create
and define knowledge-related alternatives and potential initiatives, Portray benefit expectations for knowledge
management initiatives, Set knowledge management priorities, Determine key
knowledge requirements, Acquire key knowledge, Create integrated knowledge
transfer programmes, Transform, distribute and
apply knowledge assets, Establish and update a KM infrastructure, Manage
knowledge assets, Construct incentive programmes,
Coordinate KM activities and functions enterprise- wide, Facilitate
knowledge-focused management and Monitor knowledge management. |
Wiig (1999) |
|
success in establishing an enterprise
knowledge culture, top management support for managing knowledge, ability to
develop and deliver knowledge based goods/services, success in maximizing the
value of the enterprise is intellectual capital , effectiveness in creating
an environment of knowledge sharing, success in establishing a culture of
continuous learning, effectiveness of managing customer knowledge to increase
loyalty/ value and ability to manage knowledge to generate shareholder value |
Chase,R.L.(2000) [ |
|
Connecting people with other knowledgeable people, Connecting people
with information, Enabling the conversion of information to knowledge,
Encapsulating knowledge, to make it easier to transfer and Disseminating
knowledge around the firm |
Junnarkar,B.(1999) |
|
Identify the business problem, Prepare
for change – obtain executive support and make the shift to a sharing
culture, Create the team, Perform a knowledge audit – identify , Define
key features required for the technological infrastructure, Phase in
knowledge management and Link people to knowledge- knowledge directory and
content management |
Dataware Technologies,Inc.(1998) |
|
Discovery – identify business
goals, challenges and opportunities, Definition – determine key
requirements and scope of the project, Start - up – detailed project
plan is developed, Delivery – implement the plan, Evaluation –
ensure results meet expectations and facilitate knowledge transfer |
Xerox Corporation
(1999) |
|
Focus, Organize, Implement and Monitor |
CIBIT[17] |
|
Getting Started, Explore and Experiment,
Pilots and KM Initiatives , Expand and Support and Institutionalize KM |
APQC(1996) ( |
|
Processes(create, acquire, identify,
adapt, organize, distribute, apply) and Empower(leadership, Technology,
Culture & Assessment) |
Organizational Knowledge Management |
|
Knowledge Management strategy , Knowledge
Management Performance, knowledge processes, Sources of Knowledge, Human
resources and Knowledge Management impellents |
Suh |
|
Corporate strategy , Organizational
Culture, processes Knowledge
Management and ICT &IT |
KM architecture Model |
|
Analyze the existing infrastructure,
Align knowledge management and business strategy, Design the knowledge
management infrastructure, Audit existing knowledge assets and systems,
Design the knowledge management team, Create the knowledge management
blueprint, Develop the knowledge management system, Deploy, using the
results-driven incremental methodology, Manage change, culture and reward structures,
Evaluate performance, measure ROI, and incrementally and refine the KMS |
Tiwana |
|
knowledge management , knowledge
processes and Business processes |
McElroy 2007 |
|
Identify and verify knowledge, Capture and secure knowledge, Organize knowledge,
Retrieve and apply knowledge, Combine knowledge, Learn knowledge and
Distribute/sell knowledge. |
Liebowitz (2000) |
|
knowledge goals and knowledge assessment |
Building blocks of
knowledge management(2002) |
|
Identify knowledge, Capture knowledge,
Select knowledge, Store knowledge, Share knowledge, Apply knowledge, Create
knowledge and Sell knowledge |
Liebowitz & Backman (1998) |
|
A pragmatic guide to building a knowledge
management program |
Frid (2002) |
|
A common KM framework for the Government
of Canada: Frid framework for enterprise knowledge
management |
Frid (2003) |
|
Creating the
discipline of knowledge management: the latest in university research: This
model appears to be a developing methodological framework, rather than a
single model, and is the subject of continuing doctoral research at the |
Stankosky (2005) |
|
Free KM Assessment Survey, Knowledge Management Education |
KM step by step |
Table 2: Frameworks & Models For Knowledge Management Implementation
The KM frameworks that have been presented in the literature tend to focus on different aspects of KM and have different purposes. Among them, the most notable includes the knowledge creation framework developed by Nonaka (1991, 1994) and Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), which describes how the evolution and conversion between explicit knowledge (characterized by its ability to be codified or put in writing) and tacit knowledge (which is mostly people bounded and hard to articulate) can lead to a knowledge creation spiral in an organization. Arguably, this is not a KM framework per se, as it only deals with the creation of knowledge, which is only a portion of what constitutes KM.
4. Critical Success
Factors (CSF) In Knowledge Management Implementation
Several research models in the literature suggest how knowledge is created and transferred in organizations (Grover & Davenport, 2001; Gold, Malhotra & Segars, 2001; Karlsen & Gottschalk, 2004; Davenport & Prusak, 1998). In a review of KM critical success factors identified in recent research, Alazmi and Zairi (2003) found that many factors have been suggested as important to implementing a successful KM program. These factors include culture, training, top-management support, technology infrastructure, knowledge infrastructure, knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer, etc. Additional studies suggest the importance of culture, technology, systems and procedures, structure, tasks, and incentives (Grover & Davenport, 2001; Gold, et. al., 2001; Karlsen & Gottschalk, 2004; Davenport & Prusak, 1998).Table 3provides a comparative summary of some of the main issues of these studies.
Summary of literature review identifying critical factors influencing KM Implementation [Davenport (1998), Trussler(1998), Liebowitz(199), Holsapple & Joshi(2000), Zairi& Jarrar(2000), Rayn & Prybutok(2001), Skyrme & Amidon(2000), Soliman & Spooner (2000), Armbrecht (2001), Goh(2002), Alazmi, & Zairi (2003), Chourides(2003), Egbu(2004), Hunge (2005), Wong and Aspinwall (2005), Akhavan Jafari, & d Fathian (2006)]:
¨ Top management competent:Support and commitment, Providing necessary resources and budget and Linking KM strategy to business objectives
¨ Championship and evangelization:KM champions and leaders, Communication, Buildinge a business case, Effective use of consultants, KM strategy and vision and Startinge with a pilot project.
¨ Culture:Trust, Openness, Collaboration, Free time and Acceptance of knowledge sharinge and reuse.
¨ Oranisational infrastructure: Establishing KM roles and teams, Having a flat or network structure, Physical configuration and Community of practice.
¨ HRM: Employee empowerment, Employee involvement, Employee learning and development, Employee recruitment and selection , Employee retention and Reward systems.
¨ Continuous improvement: KM performance measurement and Benchmarking.
¨ KM Process: Process-based view to KM and Linking KM activities to business process.
¨ Content and structure: Knowledge structure and map and Current and relevant content.
¨ Technical infrastructure: Buiding effect ict infrastructure, Integration with current systems and Effective use of software tools.
4.1. Roles Of Implementation
Knowledge Management
The implementation of knowledge management in an organization involves the integration of knowledge from the domains of strategy, structure, processes, and technology as shown in Figure 1..
Figure 1: Knowledge Management
Layers
4.2. Role Of Leadership In
Knowledge Management
It is true in every organization that leaders set the examples for others, therefore it is assumed that leaders have direct impact on how the companies should approach and deal with knowledge management processes as well as practices. Moreover, if knowledge management does not permeate to all levels in the organization, beginning at the top, it is unlikely that knowledge management programs will ever catch on or be effective (DeTienne et al., 2004). In the same way, Kluge et al. (2001) point out that while leaders across all the levels of organization have unique and important role to play in managing knowledge, it is particularly important for the CEO to be involved in knowledge-sharing processes. Further, they state that if the boss takes knowledge seriously, the rest of the company will follow automatically. Stewart (1997) also asserts that even companies with promising cultures and highly effective incentive programs will not succeed without having dedicated and responsible managers.To quote Beckman (1999), the sole responsibility of top echelons of the company in knowledge management process is to motivate all its employees, provide them with equal opportunities and developmental avenues, and scientifically measure and reward those performances, behaviors and attitudes that are required for effective knowledge management. Therefore, the author notes that the management thinkers in the area of knowledge management should give importance to leaders and especially to their leadership styles in making things happen for knowledge management processes and practices to flourish. It seems as if that leadership is a cardinal thread that runs through whole gamut of the knowledge management initiatives in an organization.
4.3. Role Of Knowledge
Management Strategy
4.3.1. Quo & Benchmarking
The knowledge set includes theoretical knowledge (necessary to understand a phenomenon, an object, a situation, an organisation or a process), environmental knowledge (related to the context, comprises knowledge regarding systems, processes, materials and products, strategies, organisational structure and culture, etc.) and procedural knowledge (describes how an action must be conducted, involves procedures, methods, adequate operational modes; involves a set of actions performed in an established order).
4.3.2. Organizational Knowledge
Assets
Organizational knowledge assets The organizational segregation proposed in the previous section suggests the following component assets of organizational knowledge(Chung , Haney and Mark 2008):
¨ knowledge in the form of experiences, expertise of individuals and groups;
¨ knowledge of organization that pervades its production architectures involving knowledge gathered from suppliers and collaborators; knowledge embedded in the IT systems and pertinent data warehouses and knowledge bases;
¨ knowledge regarding customers; and,
¨ knowledge shared in a global enterprise.
4.3.3. Assessment Of Knowledge
Capital And Intellectual Assets.
Measurement of institutional or organizational value in the current business environment using traditional accounting methods is increasingly inadequate and often irrelevant to real value in today’s economy. For instance, while traditional accounting practices often treat brand as depreciable entity over time, in today’s economy, intangible assets like brands and trademarks often increase in value over time, often longer than the time periods accounted for their depreciation. Even, specific kinds of valuations of intellectual capital, such as patents, copyrights and trademarks are not valued according to their potential value in use, but recorded at registration cost.
4.3.4. KM Strategy
Knowledge management is a set of activities that helps a firm to acquire knowledge from both inside and outside of the company. Organizations expect to utilize the information provided through KM to help them accomplish their missions. The above perspectives endow KM with a strategic attribute, i.e. KM is a set of organizational arrangements aimed at achieving specific organizational purposes. Through multiple case studies, Drew discovered that companies interviewed combine KM with organizational objectives and form a set of operating arrangements to implement KM activities (Lustri, Miura and Takahashi, 2007) .Zack found that when conducting KM, companies adopt different administrative procedures according to their different strategic missions(Malhotra ,2000). These findings indicate that it is appropriate to view KM as a company strategic tool. Although we have not yet seen many scholars explicitly classify KM strategy and link KM strategy with the existing literature of corporate strategies, we think it is fair to infer KM strategy from observing the KM activities a company conducts (Zack,1999).
4.3.5. Corporate Strategy And KM
Strategy
An organization managing knowledge well has the potential to create
significant value, but only if it is linked to its overall strategy and
strategic decisions. Knowledge management (KM) is the latest strategy in
increasing organizational competitiveness (
Based on the above argument, it is reasonable to expect that, in order to facilitate the implementation of KM and achieve corporate objectives, KM strategy should comply with company strategy. While KM is regarded as useful tool in implementing company strategy, we have not found many theoretical studies linking KM strategy with our present understandings concerning company strategies.From the concept of “fit” and the classification of KM strategy as “personalization” versus “codification, as discussed in the previous section, we think such classification corresponds well with a well-known business strategy category purported by Porter (1980). Under Porter’s famous taxonomy as “cost leadership” and “differentiation” strategies, the former refers to an organization pursuing production efficiency and economy of scale.
Fahey (1996) stated that both strategy and knowledge are dynamic, multifaceted concepts. A company’s strategy might involve its existing strategic position, or where its executives want its strategy to take it in the future. Furthermore, it is possible to perceive the strategy knowledge relationship in terms of how knowledge and its effective management can create strategic or competitive advantage for a firm[60].
4.4. KM Architecture
4.4.1. Centralistic Architecture
Many KMS solutions implemented in organizations and offered on the market are centralistic client-/ server solutions. Figure 2 shows an ideal layered architecture for KMS that represents an malgamation of theory-driven, market-oriented and several vendor-specific architectures .The comparison of these architectures reveals that each architecture suggests the establishment of a number of services organized on a number of layers. The architectures suggest between three and five layers that basically all follow the same pattern in that a number of sources has to be integrated so that advanced services can be built ontop(Robbins,2003).
Figure 2: Architecture Of A Centralized KMS
The KM architecture and KM process model that
could be used for knowledge capture, creation, distribution and sharing (
4.4.2. Standardize
Organizations also standardize platforms
across the enterprise to improve information and knowledge resource management.
These use simple sharing and communications methods in order to integrate
information across the enterprise. The outcome is easier information sharing to
leverage knowledge to achieve a competitive advantage. Also
‘‘standardizing document formats make exchanging important business
documents simple and fast’’ (Trepper,
2000) .
4.5. Role Of Human And Social Capital
4.5.1. Human And Social Capital
Knowledge management is central to the
sustainability debate, and its importance is reflected through the role of
human and social capital in the Sigma Guidelines (2003) for putting
sustainability development into practice. Knowledge management promotes
continuous improvement, facilitates innovation in business processes and
products, embraces people as architects at the centre of the knowledge creation
process, and enhances stakeholder relationship management(Shankar and Gupta,
2005).
4.5.2. Chief
Knowledge Officers And Knowledge Management Teams.
The emergence and evolution of knowledge management as a needed
organizational conceptual and practical operating framework in the business
environment has led to the recognition that organizations could more
effectively achieve it if they had a chief knowledge officer. As early as 1994,
4.5.3. KM And The Links To HRM
In an era where competitive advantage is perceived to be linked to knowledge, considerable interest in KM continues to be the trend. Given the broad scope and interdisciplinary nature of KM, this interest spans traditional functional and professional boundaries ranging from information technology professionals, to accountants, marketers, organisational development and change management professionals. A notable common feature of this widely divergent activity is an emphasis upon knowledge work, knowledge workers and the nature of knowledge within organisations. While this debate at times results in professional turf battles, it may also lead to new opportunities for collaboration across traditional, professional and functional boundaries. One potentially rich area for collaboration is that between that emerging group of professionals, who irrespective of training or title, have as their number one priority a focus on management of the knowledge resource in organisations and the more established and functionally embedded group of HRM professionals. Indeed, interest in the relationship between KM and HRM has increased over recent years as both KM and HRM have grown more sophisticated and complex(Rubenstein and Liebowitz, 2001).
The rise of the knowledge economy has seen a proliferation of information and communication technologies, coupled with greater organisational complexity, the growth of virtual and global organisations and rapid change. This in turn requires drastic change within HRM to respond to changing demands of the knowledge economy. Traditional HRM functioned under narrow operational boundaries; in the knowledge economy the role of HRM needs to expand, looking both within and outside the organisation. The traditional focus on managing people has been broadened to managing organisational capabilities, managing relationships and managing learning and knowledge (Choi, 2000)The emphasis on discrete HRM practices is also broadening to a focus on developing themes and creating environments conducive to learning, as well as to the acquisition, sharing and dissemination of knowledge within organisations.
4.5.4. Organizational Culture
The political and cultural surroundings are known from the analysis of knowledge culture because effective KM cannot take place without extensive behavioral, cultural, and organizational change (Davenport and Prusak, 1998).
A common element in many KM research frameworks and models (included in the models discussed above) is organizational culture. For the most part, it is assumed that technology plays a key role in the processes involved in KM. A broader view looks at KM requirements from three perspectives: a) Information-based; b) technology-based; and c) culture-based (Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Karlsen & Gottschalk, 2004). The last of these perspectives highlights the importance of organizational culture in the KM process. Not all KM processes require high investment in technology. More importantly, successful use of the technology is often dependent on the incorporation of KM behavior into the organizational culture.
4.6. Characteristics
of KMS
The KMS is visualized by the triangle( Figure
3). Goals stated by a KM initiative define the KM instruments that should be
supported by the KMS’s functions and control
their deployment. the strategy, scope,
organizational design, type of contents and cultural aspects. Participants
and communities or knowledge networks
are the targeted user groups that interact with the KMS in order to carry out
knowledge tasks. The knowledge tasks are organized in acquisition and deployment
processes required for the management of knowledge.
A definition of the term KMS and a subsequent
development of architectures for KMS have to stress these characteristics.
Consequently, a KMS is defined as a comprehensive ICT platform for
collaboration and knowledge sharing with advanced services built on top that
are contextualized, integrated on the basis of a shared ontology and
personalized for participants networked in communities.
Figure 3: Characteristice Of
KMS
4.7. Role Of Information Technology
A business needs to develop its own requirements for KM before engaging IT
for assistance.Another aspect of gathering business
needs is developing a partnership with the IT organization. To accomplish this
involves defining the role of IT in developing a KM system.Duffy
(2000) sees ITas managing the storage and access of
documents. IT usually maintains the databases, hardware and software access
points, survivability of information. However, any KM project can fail when IT
techies see only the technical side. They must be aware and educated in
knowledge management processes to gain a better appreciation. Once this is
accomplished, IT will be a major player in the companies’ ongoing KM
efforts (Maier and Ha¨drich, 2006).
The process of creation, acquirement, and utilization of knowledge is
posited to improve organizational performance(Laudon
and Laudon, 2003). In order to achieve the desired
outcome, organizations not only have to build appropriate IT infrastructures but also have to integrate
human, computer systems, network technologies, and other corresponding
organizational arrangements to effectively obtain, store, and utilize knowledge
(Mayo, 1998).
4.8. Maintaining Knowledge Management
We firmly believe this must be made a strategic agenda in the near future
because without it, the future of knowledge management systems may very well be
in jeopardy. For the last few years, we have focused on the idea of attracting
users to the knowledge management system; now, we must ensure that we maintain
the system so that they will continue to use them and not runaway.
The Knowledge Management Performance Scorecard adapts the balanced scorecard approach (Kaplan and Norton, 1996) in which an organisation measures its performance in four key result areas:
¨ financial performance;
¨ internal business processes;
¨ customers; and
¨ growth.
Eight metrics for KM analysis(Garvin, 1993):
¨ Motivation (how well the employees are motivated to work productively).
¨ Knowledge capture (the ability to capture important knowledge).
¨ Stored knowledge (the usefulness of captured knowledge in solving new problems).
¨ Personnel training (the effectiveness of employee learning mechanisms).
¨ Knowledge transfer (the effectiveness of sharing important knowledge).
¨ Creative thinking (the ability of employees to create new solutions).
¨ Knowledge identification (the effectiveness of identifying knowledge).
¨
Knowledge access (the
effectiveness of accessing important knowledge).
Performance of KM can also be measured by the level of improvement in organizational efficiency or effectiveness (Detert and Schroeder, 2000; Ostroff and Schmitt, 1993). This approach measures improved ability to innovate, advanced coordination of efforts, rapid commercialization of new products, responsiveness to market change or exceptional surprise, effective organizational development, and so forth.
5. Discussion And Conclusion
Knowledge-focused activities permeate any knowledge-enabled organization; in other words, implementing KM involves, among other aspects, setting up processes and systems to enable these activities.
From an implementation view of process design managers, the knowledge processes are individually too unstructured to be simulated by KM implementing infrastructure. However, applying a cyclic approach of knowledge processes, the individuals and groups may be considered in one domain of organizational segregation to suit KM implementation.
The success of a KM initiative depends on many factors, some within our control, some not. Typically, critical success factors can be categorized into five primary categories:
¨ leadership;
¨ culture;
¨ structure, roles, and responsibilities;
¨ information technology infrastructure; and
¨ measurement.
In addition, the review of the existing KM implementation frameworks and models in this paper reveals that they are fragmented since the elements and constructions that characterize them tend to vary. There are little common ground and guidelines to provide a direction on what should be included in an implementation framework. Therefore, this paper develops a set of guidelines that should be considered when a KM implementation framework is to be settled. These guidelines are the results of the synthesis and analysis carried out on existing KM implementation frameworks and related KM literature. The guidelines proposed in this paper for developing a KM implementation framework are as follows:
¨ Leadership
¨ KM Strategy
¨ KM architecture
¨ Human Resource
¨ KM System
¨ Information Technology
¨ Maintaining KM
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199-204
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About the Authors:
Mostafa Jafari ,Peyman
Akhavan, and Ashraf Mortezaei, Department of Industrial Engineering , Iran
University of Science and Technology, Tehran , Iran