Knowledge Management
Knowledge management (KM) is the activity of expanding,
storing, and retrieving intellectual capital, which may be defined as
the collective knowledge (including experience, skills, data, and
information) of an organization.
Knowledge management provides
another tool for improving organizational performance by enhancing
personnel’s access to relevant and timely information.
In
a 1994 study on best practices transfer led by Dr. Gabriel Szulanski,
research indicated that the biggest barrier to knowledge transfer was ignorance.
Nobody knew that somebody already knew what somebody else needed to know.
Lack of relationship between the source and the recipient of the knowledge also constituted a barrier for Knowledge management .
There was no personal motivation to justify the time and effort to provide the knowledge to a nonaligned recipient.
Additionally, people may not see any benefit in pursuing best practices, thus the lack of motivation is a barrier.
O’Dell
and Grayson found that although barriers were sometimes personal,
generally they stemmed from organizational structures, management
practices, and measurement systems that discourage or inadvertently
punish information sharing.
They divided these barriers into the following five categories:
1-The Silo Company, Inc.
“Silos”
range from tiny functions to business units that focus on maximizing
their own accomplishments. These groups actively “guard” their
information to prevent others from excelling. This approach compromises
the performance of the organization as a whole. The pervading sentiment
is “To get my piece of the pie, somebody else has to go hungry” or “Why
should I train my replacement? Let ’em figure it out for themselves the
way I had to.”
2-The NIH Company, Inc.
The
“Not Invented Here” syndrome is a common malady at engineering-based or
consulting companies that value individual technical expertise over
knowledge sharing. The emphasis is on invention rather than adaptation.
Not only are many of these individuals unwilling to share their
knowledge; they are also unwilling to learn from someone else.
3- The Babel Company, Inc.
Employees
at this type of company lack a set of common perspectives and terms
that can serve as the basis for effective communications and knowledge.
Every department has its own vocabulary that impedes cross-functional
communication. Employees may be willing to work together, but their
effectiveness is eroded by time-consuming confusion and
misunderstanding.
4- The By-the-Book Company, Inc.
This
company may already be involved in sharing organizational information
but only that which is documented. Without access to tacit knowledge,
recipients have no opportunity to see the knowledge demonstrated. The
existence of a database alone will not cause people to share. The
practical applications, hints, and cautions of a seasoned expert make
knowledge worth seeking out and using.
5- The Bolt-It-On Company, Inc.
This
company encounters resistance to knowledge transfer because it’s
perceived as yet another slick organizational program added to
everyone’s already burgeoning responsibilities. Knowledge practices and
the technology to support them must be prevalent in everyday work.
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