Information, Knowledge and Learning Organisation - Essay Example

Information, Knowledge and Learning Organisation Executive Summary The past decade went through a lot of discussions on the Knowledge Management (KM). Fear has gripped many organisations as they know that they will not be able to survive in the present Knowledge Era unless and until they follow a scheme through which they can manage and leverage value from their intellectual assets. A lot of KM life cycles and strategies have been proposed in this field. The term "Knowledge Management" is been applied to a very wide range of activities projected to handle, swap and produce or improve intellectual assets in an organisation. The agreement of what KM actually is is not widespread. When KM is related to IT applications then it is termed as "knowledge management applications". Right from the advancement of well codified help desk schemes to the proviso of video conferencing to smooth the progress of the exchange of thoughts between people, it is knowledge management applications throughout. The applications of KM has shown to perk up organizational performance (Cavaleri et al., 2005;Davenport and Prusak, 1998) and therefore the subject is worth further research so that understanding of how these management and practice concepts enhance organizational outcomes can be refined. Since the world is becoming more dynamic with regard to information accessibility and financial economies, it is vital that KM and OL(Organisation Learning) research also becomes adaptable to be capable of responding to the different needs of different organisations located across the globe. KM Strategies Nonaka & Takeuchi's Matrix Of Knowledge Types that is Classification By Knowledge: According to Beckman, (1999) the best way to organize knowledge is through some debate. The most powerful and supportive classifications of KM is based on a blend of knowledge accessibility (knowledge stored or located where and in what form) and knowledge transformation (the flow of knowledge from one place to another and from one form to another). Innovation or knowledge happens as a result of the flow and alteration of knowledge. Based on the "knowledge matrix" of Nonaka & Takeuchi knowledge is classified as either explicit or tacit, and either individual or collective. They state that knowledge is transformed from one form to another i.e., socialisation (from unspoken to unspoken, where an individual acquires tacit knowledge straight from others through shared experience, observation, imitation and so on); externalisation (from tacit to explicit, through expression of tacit knowledge into explicit concepts); combination (from explicit to explicit, by a systematisation of concepts drawing on different bodies of explicit knowledge); and internalisation (from explicit to tacit, through a process of "learning by doing" and through a verbalisation and documentation of experiences). Boisot's I-Space Model Boisot (1998) proposes a model of knowledge asset development which has an extra dimension to the model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi. His model introduces abstraction, meaning that knowledge may become inferred to different situations. In Boisot's strategy, knowledge assets can be situated in a 3 dimensional space distinct by axes from "uncodified" to "codified", from "concrete" to "abstract" and from "undiffused" to "diffused". He then suggests a "Social Learning Cycle" (SLC) which makes use of the I-Space to mold the energetic flow of knowledge through a sequence of 6 stages: 1. Scanning. 2. Problem-Solving 3. Abstraction 4. Diffusion 5. Absorption 6. Impacting It is clear from both Boisot's and Nonaka & Takeuchi model that the course of growing and increasing knowledge assets inside organisations is constantly changing. APQC International Benchmarking Clearinghouse Study based on business process Karl Wiig (1997) and the APQC (American Productivity and Quality Center) acknowledged 6 budding KM strategies. The strategies mirror the diverse natures and intensities of the organisations concerned (Wiig, 1997; Manasco, 1996): Knowledge Strategy as Business Strategy Intellectual Asset Management Strategy Personal Knowledge Asset Responsibility Strategy Knowledge Creation Strategy Knowledge Transfer Strategy Customer-Focused Knowledge Strategy Treacy & Wiersema's Value Disciplines Based on classification by End Results Treacy and Wiersema suggested 3 "value disciplines," to focus on an organisation's activities (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). Triumphant organisations focus their attempts on a special area and do extremely well at it, rather than attempting to be all things to all people and failing to shine at anything. Customer Intimacy Product Leadership Operational Excellence These assessment fields imitate the fact that 'value' is influenced as a trade-off between expediency, quality and price. It is the intrinsic stress between these 3 qualities of a product that becomes necessary for an organisation to concentrate on standing out at just one of them. At a basic level, there are 3 principal constituents to any competitory business: the business itself, its product(s) and its customers. Each of these gears makes up the center of attention for one of the value disciplines. The focus is on the customers and their needs and desires in "Customer Intimacy"; the focus is on the product(s) for "Product Leadership"; and the focus is on the organisation itself and its delivery processes, for "Operational Excellence". Focus areas for Value Disciplines Linking Knowledge and End Results: Zack's Knowledge Strategy Michael Zack (Zack, 1999) opposed a framework which assists an organisation to make an open link between its competitive situation and a knowledge management approach to assist the organisation preserve or re-establish its competitory advantage. His strategy clearly states that each organisation will find its own exclusive connection between knowledge and strategy. Such competitive knowledge can be assorted as: core, advanced or innovative: Core knowledge is a basic level of knowledge required to function in that sector at all. Advanced knowledge has a competitive edge for the organisation. It is precise knowledge that distinguishes an organisation from its competitors. Innovative knowledge makes a company a market leader. It lets an organisation to alter the way a sector works and constitutes an important differentiating factor from other organisations. Once the organisation's competitive knowledge is identified Zack's approach is to use a SWOT analysis to recognize the strategic gaps in an organisation's knowledge. This helps the organisation to find where it has knowledge which then can be exploited and where it requires expanding knowledge to preserve or grow its competitive position. Binney's KM Spectrum A Synthesised Approach Binney (Binney, 2001) furnishes a model, The KM Spectrum, to assist organisations make logic of the big variety of material coming out under the heading of KM, and assess where the organisations are placed in terms of KM. His spotlight is on the KM activities which are carried out, sorted into 6 categories: 1. Transactional KM: Knowledge is implanted in technology. 2. Analytical KM: Knowledge is derivative to external data sources, naturally centering on customer-linked information. 3. Asset Management KM: Open management of knowledge assets which can be reprocessed in different ways. 4. Process-based KM: The codification and development of business practice and the division of these enhanced processes within the organisation. 5. Developmental KM: Establishing the capacities of the organisation's knowledge workers by training and staff development. 6. Innovation/creation KM: Breeding an environment which encourages the introduction of new knowledge through R & D and through teams of people from different fields. For each of these classes of KM, Binney lists quite a lot of instances of KM Systems or approaches that sustain them. KM Spectrum and Applications (Binney, 2001) Transactional Analytical Asset Management Process Develop- mental Innovation and Creation Case Based Reasoning (CBR) Help Desk Applications Customer Service Applications Order Entry Applications Service Agent Support Applications Data Warehousing Data Mining Business Intelligence Management Information Systems Decision Support Systems Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Competitive Intelligence Intellectual Property Document Management Knowledge Valuation Knowledge Repositories Content Management TQM Benchmarking Best Practices Quality Management Business Process (Re) Engineering Process Automation Lessons Learned Methodology SIE/CMM, ISO9xxx, Six Sigma Skills Development Staff Competencies Learning Teaching Training Communities Collaboration Discussion Forums Networking Virtual Teams Research and Development Multi-Disciplined Teams Knowledge Management--A Corporate Strategy One of the knowledge management strategies recognized by Day & Wendler was "Shaping corporate strategy around knowledge"; Wiig has a comparable category of "Knowledge Strategy as Business Strategy". Day & Wendler's instance was of Monsanto, who discovered that its 2 divisions applied such unlike approaches to knowledge management that they resolved to sell off one of the divisions. This approach would not be anticipated to be incorporated into Binney's KM spectrum, as it does not function to a single approach in the spectrum; relatively, it is a choice made as a result of the sort of analysis that the KM spectrum renders. Choosing A KM Strategy A number of factors have to be dealt when settling on a KM approach for an organisation or, as Hansen et al suggested, a primary and a secondary KM approach. The approach should devise a set of self-examination queries that meditate each set of factors. These queries should shape the commencements of a potential Knowledge Management Strategy questionnaire. Case study of Allied Irish Banks (AIB): Lately, the Royal Bank of Scotland stated "we understand that today traditional KM, with its focus on areas like collecting knowledge and connecting people is not enough". A "human capital model" has to be developed to create an atmosphere in which staff can look for the right knowledge to help them add to the bank's success (Ormerod & Aitken, 2004). Allied Irish Banks (AIB) Case Study: Background: Allied Irish Banks is a key commercial bank which is instituted in Ireland. AIB is one among the so called Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. It has one of the biggest branch networks in Ireland. The services provided by the bank is personal and corporate banking services. AIB has a section which provides international banking and treasury operations and is known as the AIB Capital Markets. The bank also provides a variety of general insurance products like the home, travel, and health insurance. Overview of the issue: The present IT systems of the bank suited to the needs of the branch network, but was not enough to support the Direct Banking desired approach, which would help in conducting more practical work to augment outbound campaigns. After nearly two years of investigations and discussions the bank decided to adopt Knowledge Management (KM) strategy for its retail banking sections. The organizational capabilities for KM, within AIB banks formed part of the study. In spite of the importance of financial institutions to the Ireland economy, and the acknowledgment of the significance of KM throughout many spheres of the economy, there has been sparse external research done on KM in financial institutions. Methodology Initial discussions with some of the AIB banks and industry experts were conducted and it was decided that a spotlight on the AIB banks would offer new insight, particularly if the study could present guidance to the entering banks on the value of KM to their organization. The Retail Banking divisions were selected for the study. Research Question "Do the retail and small business divisions of the AIB banks have the capacity to support KM" The Approach The bank was requested to provide access to representatives from: 1. HR for the people aspect 2. IT for the technology aspect 3. Product Development from the value-chain operational aspect 4. Senior Management from the business strategy perspective 5. Retail Operations (a Customer Facing Associate) for the knowledge worker aspect. Three of the banks participated fully within the timeframe and a fourth provided a senior HR manager for an interview. Participants finished the questionnaires before time and then faced a one hour face-to-face semi-structured interview intended to balance the survey. Totally 11 surveys and 14 interviews were completed. Analyzing the Data The limited sample size and the questionnaire replies were probed for the existence of motivating patterns not for statistical significance. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for ensuing analysis. The results were then compared to the wider literature on knowledge management. Findings Most of the banks' representatives said that they were not following knowledge management, but the results of the survey showed that most of the organizational capacities desirable for knowledge management were in place as part of regular good business practices. Figure 1 summarizes the results of the survey. The participants placed their KM capacities quite highly as 5.3 out of 7. But a more detailed study showed the ratings in the range of 4.6 to 6.2. This indicated that the organizations were doing something in these areas but at different degree of capability. Knowledge defense procedures and cultural infrastructure were rated the highest with organizational structures, knowledge conversion processes and technology structures significantly lower. Type Organizational Capability # of Elements Bank X Bank Y Bank Z Overall Rating Overall Rank # responses 6 4 1 Knowledge Infrastructure Culture 13 5.3 5.5 6.2 5.7 2 Technology 12 4.8 5.0 5.3 5.0 5 Structure 12 4.3 4.2 5.3 4.6 7 Knowledge Processes Acquisitions 12 5.1 5.0 6.0 5.4 3 Conversion 10 4.4 4.5 5.8 4.9 6 Application 12 4.6 5.2 5.8 5.2 4 Protection 10 5.9 6.5 6.2 6.2 1 Overall Average of Organizational Capabilities 4.9 5.1 5.8 5.3 Organizational Effectiveness 14 4.9 5.8 5.4 5.4 Figure 4: survey results Number of elements = number of questions in the survey. The ratings for each of the banks and the overall ratings and averages are based on a seven point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree). Suggestions based on the case study: The AIB bank has an environment for an effective KM, but some of the key opportunities were missing. Knowledge management is carried out as part of the normal business by the banks. The term is used in the IT context by the banks. It is clear that many KM activities are carried out as part of the normal business practices within the banks. The value of KM is not obviously understood. There is little credit given to the specific benefits that KM can provide, like better product innovation, better reaction to changes in the market, enhanced internal processes. Even though KM capabilities exist in the banks but no explicit strategy for KM was found. Of course employees are conscious of the significance of defending codified knowledge and the technology but the tacit knowledge of personnel's is not well protected. Technology for networks of databases, intranets and repositories for storing explicit knowledge were of a good standard, but knowledge filtering and collaboration software were found to be at a lesser extent. Email is the most familiar communication software but it has very little structure and the mode to retrieve easily were not found. The organizational culture to hold up KM is clearly present. Internally the retail section was good at conveying visions and aims. Employees were encouraged to communicate with other groups in the organization but no such knowledge sharing outside the organizations were present. Thus valuable choices are lost as interaction with competitors, suppliers and partners was absent. Even though the organizational structure facilitates the shift of knowledge across structural boundaries, no rewards or incentives for creating new knowledge or sharing knowledge was found. Accountability for KM is segregated between different functional areas. The CIO has the responsibility of technology, the CLO looks after knowledge transfer to fill keyed skill gaps, and the group for Product Development has the responsibility of customer and product knowledge. No specific strategy for KM was found in the banks and no central function which ensured the infrastructure to be in place to generate new knowledge, distribute it, relate it and defend it in a way that modified the capability of the bank to react to alteration and rapidly expand and put into practice solutions. No single voice is there to speak on behalf of the "whole" knowledge worker to guarantee they have all the correct tools and information and attainments to do their job; that the quantity of alteration they are carrying on with a day-to-day basis is proper and that they have sufficient time in their work life to drench up new information, internalise it and convert it into personal knowledge. Conclusion: My suggestions with regard to the literature and the case study: This report displays that KM is an important opportunity for banks, be it in Ireland or at an international level. By not dynamically addressing KM as a premeditated issue, the banks are not understanding a lot of the benefits that the literature suggests and those which can be accomplished, they run the risk of being less aggressive and less approachable than they might be. While the banks can be measured for their comprehensive hard work to produce an environ in which knowledge can be used efficiently, this requirement of strategic focus is probable to decrease the overall effectiveness of these labours. References: 1. Adams, J. (2003). Knowledge Management's Power Trip. Bank Technology News, March. 2. Binney D., 2001, The knowledge management spectrum - understanding the KM landscape, Journal of Knowledge Management, 5, 1, 33-42. 3. Boisot M.H., 1998, Knowledge Assets: Securing Competitive Advantage in the Information Economy, Oxford University Press. 4. Cavaleri, S., Seivert, S. and Lee, L.W. (2005), Knowledge Leadership: The Art and Science of the Knowledge-based Organization, Elsevier, Amsterdam. 5. Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. (1998), Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. 6. Day J.D. and J.C. Wendler, 1998, Best Practice and Beyond: Knowledge Strategies, McKinsey Quarterly, 1, 19-25, Winter. 7. Earl, M. (2001). Knowledge management strategies: Toward a taxonomy. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), pp. 215 - 233. 8. Hansen M.T., N. Nohria and T. Tierney, 1999, What's Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, March-April. 9. K. M. Wiig, 1997, Knowledge Management: Where Did It Come From and Where Will It Go, Expert Systems with Applications, 13, 1, 1-14. 10. Manasco B., 1996, Leading Firms Develop Knowledge Strategies, Knowledge Inc., October. 11. Nonaka I. and H. Takeuchi, 1995, The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press. 12. Ormerod, P., & Aitken, G. (2004). Helping a Skilled Workforce Thrive at RBS: Measuring Engagement Through the Human Capital Model. Knowledge Management Review, 7(4). 13. Treacy M. and F. Wiersema, 1993, Customer Intimacy and Other Value Disciplines, Harvard Business Review, January-February. 14. Wiig, K. M. (1997). Integrating Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management. Long Range Planning, 30(3), 399-405. 15. Zack M.H., 1999, Developing a Knowledge Strategy, California Management Review, 41, 3, 125-145, Spring. Read More