Professional Capability - Knowledge Management

Question 1

What is knowledge management?

Answer 1

Explicit and systematic management of intellectual, capital and organizational knowledge as well as the associated process of creating, gathering, validating, categorizing, archiving, disseminating, leveraging and using intellectual capital for improving the organization and the individuals in it.

Question 2

Knowledge Management examples

Answer 2

Simple job aids
Job shadowing opportunities or organizational wikis can serve as a hub for employees to share the knowledge.

Informal ones:
Social collaboration sites, social networks, interviews, focus groups, doc review stories, decision trees and data mining

IT based preference sources such as company wide content management system or document repository

Question 3

Determining Organizational Preferences for Knowledge Sharing

Answer 3

1) Culture: how well the organization supports the concept of sharing and transferring the knowledge
2) Strategy: organization’s strategy for using knowledge resources to support organizational goals and objectives
3) IT: information systems available to support knowledge dissemination

Culture is the dominant factor. It often informs strategy and is a precursor to it.

Question 4

Knowledge Models

Answer 4

SECI
Socialization
Externalization 
Combination 
Internalization 

Spiral way-cycle repeats

Question 5

Knowledge Models

Answer 5

Tacit knowledge: held by individual is socialized in some ways.

This socialization has the effect of externalizing the knowledge, resulting in the knowledge becoming explicit.
Knowledge is never static, the new explicit knowledge is combined with new perspectives and experiences, resulting in internalization of discovery.

Question 6

Knowledge Sharing Techniques

Answer 6

Peer to Peer (Informal):

Decentralized way
Solutions that enable users to interact directly instead of using intermediary knowledge curators
One to one or many to many
Solutions that include social collaboration sites or social networks

Question 7

Knowledge Sharing Techniques

Answer 7

Structured (Formal):

Centralized way
Solutions that are collected and curated
Involves specific governance and control over the additional maintenance and expiration of knowledge assets
One to many

Question 8

Knowledge Sharing Techniques

Answer 8

Reference Sources: IT based

Characterized by tech systems on which the sources exist
Solutions that include document repository and content management systems

Question 9

Knowledge Sharing Techniques

Answer 9

TD professionals should also be deliberate about the value of the knowledge by setting up a process that involves:

A formal review cycle
Methods for contributing new and incremental knowledge
Easy access (too many calls, requests or clicks will create obstacles for use and cause overall rejection of the KM efforts)

Question 10

KM supports work in daily process through

Answer 10

Decision making: supporting the ability to make the necessary decision

Analysis: in the service of organizational strategy formation and execution

Operations: continuous improvement, best practices and expertise

Question 11

KM supports work in daily process through

Answer 11

Supporting typical functions

Sales & Marketing: best practices, techniques, competitive analysis

Manufacturing: process innovations, safety procedures and cost saving approaches

Service departments: HR, IT, Accounting, Contracts etc
Service improvement or risk mitigation

R&D: innovation, new product and service creation

Supply Chain: knowledge process outsourcing, up chain efficiency and information accuracy

Management & Supervision: strategy, organizational performance, productivity improvements and engagement