Article Review for Successful knowledge management projects - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 26
About This Presentation
Title:

Article Review for Successful knowledge management projects

Description:

Article Review for 'Successful knowledge management projects' Thomas H Davenport, ... Agree knowledge is created invisibility in the human brain, and only the right ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:24
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 27
Provided by: donnam83
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Article Review for Successful knowledge management projects


1
Article Review for Successful knowledge
management projects
  • Thomas H Davenport, David De Long Michael Beers
  • Sloan Management Review v39n2 (Winter 1998)

2
Article review
  • Definition of knowledge and knowledge management
    projects
  • Study Methodology
  • Study Results
  • Key factors that lead to knowledge project
    success
  • How are knowledge projects different?

3
Definition of Knowledge
  • Knowledge is information combined with
    experience, context, interpretation, and
    reflection. It is a high-value form of
    information that is ready to apply to decisions
    and actions.

4
Definition of Knowledge Management Projects
  • Knowledge management projects are attempts to
    do something useful with knowledge to accomplish
    organizational objectives through the structuring
    of people, technology, and knowledge content

5
Study Methodology
  • Studied 31 knowledge management projects in 24
    companies
  • Visited four companies
  • Interviewed other companies by telephone
  • Sources were typically managers of the knowledge
    projects or the knowledge management function
    within the organization
  • Researchers rated the projects using 4 indicators

6
Study Methodology Indicators to evaluate
projects
  • Growth in resources attached to the project,
    including people, money, and so on.
  • Growth in the volume of knowledge content and
    usage ( of documents, of accesses for
    repositories or of participants for
    discussion-oriented projects)

7
Study Methodology Indicators to evaluate
projects
  • The likelihood that the project would survive
    without the support of a particular individual,
    in other words, the project is an organizational
    initiative, not an individual project
  • Some evidence of financial return either for the
    knowledge management activity itself (profit
    center) or for the organization (cost savings or
    revenue)

8
Study Results
  • 18 projects were successful
  • 5 projects unsuccessful
  • 8 too new to determine success
  • -------------------------------------------
  • 31 total

9
Four basic objectives for the Knowledge
Management Projects
  • Create Knowledge Repositories
  • Improve Knowledge Access and Transfer
  • Enhance Knowledge environment
  • Manage Knowledge as an asset

10
Four basic objectives for the Knowledge
Management Projects
  • Create Knowledge Repositories (3 types)
  • External knowledge, such as competitive
    intelligence
  • Structured internal knowledge and information,
    such as research reports, product-oriented
    marketing material, technical product
    information, sales presentation
  • Informal Internal knowledge, such as discussion
    databases full of knowhow and lessons learned.
    Knowledge that resides in the minds of the people
    in an organization but has not been but in
    structured, document-based form. Also known as
    tacit.

11
Four basic objectives for the Knowledge
Management Projects
  • Improve knowledge access and transfer
  • Building and managing expert networks
  • Developed an infrastructure to facilitate access
    and transfer through videoconferencing, document
    scanning and sharing tools rather than extract
    from a repository
  • Instituted formal practices for knowledge
    transfer
  • Developed a knowledge transfer group

12
Four basic objectives for the Knowledge
Management Projects
  • Enhance Knowledge environment
  • Change the organizational norms and values
    related to knowledge encourage reuse
  • Make contributions to knowledge base a factor in
    compensation

13
Four basic objectives for the Knowledge
Management Projects
  • Manage Knowledge as an asset
  • Treat knowledge like any other asset on the
    balance sheet
  • Conduct an internal audit on intellectual capital
    and include in annual report to stockholders
  • Focus on managing specific knowledge-intensive
    assets. Dow Chemical saved 4 million on reviewing
    and managing patents by lowering taxes on patents
    that were no longer useful.

14
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Linked knowledge project to economic performance
    or industry value through illustrating money
    saved or earned. Or indirect cost like cycle
    time, customer satisfaction, phone call averted
    or amount of knowledge reused.

15
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Used a broad technical and organizational
    infrastructure. Most companies used multiple
    tools (for example, Lotus Notes and Web-based
    intranets) Also, use standardized personal
    productivity tools to facilitate exchanging
    documents. Building an organizational
    infrastructure means a set of people who have
    skills to serve as resources, set knowledge
    strategy, prioritize knowledge projects, etc.

16
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Developed a standard, flexible knowledge
    structure. Created categories and key terms.
    Another important issue is who controls decisions
    regarding the structure. One company created a
    thesaurus of technical terms

17
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Created a knowledge-friendly culture where people
    have a positive orientation to knowledge. People
    are not inhibited in sharing knowledge. Some
    people feel their knowledge is critical to their
    value or maintaining their job. Pressure to be
    creative and original.

18
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Clear Purpose and Language is particularly
    important for knowledge management. For example,
    the terms knowledge, information and
    organizational learning are subject to varied
    meanings and interpretation. Successful projects
    paid attention to this factor and addressed it.
  • Normal business language gives the
    impression of being fact-based, often drawing on
    military and natural science metaphors. But
    knowledge management deals with things like
    complexity and uncertainty.

19
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Change in Motivational practices. Knowledge does
    not emerge from or flow easily across role or
    functional boundaries. Therefore, the motivation
    to create, share and use knowledge is a critical
    success factor

20
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Multiple Channels for Knowledge transfer.
    Successful Knowledge projects usually address
    knowledge transfer though various channels,
    recognizing that each adds value in a different
    way and that their synergy enhances use. For
    example, should not eliminate face to face
    meetings.

21
8 Key Factors that lead to success
  • Senior Management support. Support includes
    sending messages that knowledge is critical to
    companys success, providing funding and
    resources and clarify what types of knowledge are
    important to the business.

22
Authors view on How are knowledge projects
different?
  • Executives seem to more conceptual in knowledge
    management public comments and have faith that
    knowledge management will benefit their company,
    although they usually still want benefits
    measured.
  • Knowledge management projects require more
    fundamental behavioral shifts than other change
    projects
  • Change projects can benefit from a process
    orientation, but there are less obvious process
    focus value in knowledge projects.
  • In knowledge management the complexity of human
    factors to be managed is greater than most data
    or information projects.

23
Donnas perspective
  • Still dont have a clear distinction between
    data, information and knowledge (i.e., address).
  • Disagree - that successful knowledge management
    projects require more fundamental behavioral
    shifts than most other change efforts
  • Agree knowledge is created invisibility in the
    human brain, and only the right organizational
    culture and climate can motivate people to create
    and share. To be successful, knowledge management
    project must focus more on the behavioral factors
    (creation, transfer and sharing) than technology

24
Journal Information
  • Sloan Management Review is a business journal
    that bridges the gap between management research
    and practice, evaluating and reporting on new
    research to help readers identify and understand
    significant trends in management.
  • SMR is ranked between 9th and 13th in six
    articles in IS World
  • A peer-reviewed quarterly, the journal covers all
    management disciplines, although its particular
    emphasis is on corporate strategy, leadership,
    and management of technology and innovation. SMR
    accepts approximately 7 percent of submitted
    articles.

25
Article structure
  • Clear, concise and well-organized
  • Easy to follow and understand

26
Other Sources for Knowledge management
  • Hansen, MT, Nohria, N Tierney T.,What's your
    strategy for managing knowledge?, Harvard
    Business Review, 1999, Mar-Apr77(2)106-16, 187.
    Cited by 347
  • Hedlund, G, A model of knowledge management and
    the N-form corporation, Strategic Management
    Journal, 1994, Cited by 214
  • Alavi, Maryam Leidner, DE, Knowledge
    Management Systems issues, challenges, and
    benefits, Communications of the AIS, 1999. Cited
    by 88
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com