KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Knowledge Management

In last few years, KM have been a major concern in organizations and industries. This have given rise to WHAT "Identification of KM", WHY "Insight about KM", HOW "Implementation of KM" this can be noted as 3I's . Knowledge management guru’s and scholars came with different definitions of Knowledge management.This definitions have sprigged up debates and arguments which till date have not agreed on a particular definition for Knowledge management.However, recent research have examined KM into :

1.Conceptual- Definitions, Principles and KM framework.
2.Process - How the KM model work.
3.Technology - Integrating of Information Technology (IT) into KM.
4.Organization - Organizational characteristics, Skills assessment, Organizational forms.
5.Management - Management practices, Measuring and Valuing intellectual capital.
6.Implementation - Success factors, Challenges and prerequisites, IT infrastructure, KM strategies.

According to Bassi, L.J (1997) KM is the process of creating, capturing and using knowledge to enhance organizational performance.

Von Krogh (1998) refers to KM as identifying and leveraging the collective knowledge in an organization to help the organization compete.

Wiig, K (1997) refers to KM the systematic, explicit and deliberate building, renewal and application of knowledge to maximize an enterprise's knowledge-related effectiveness and returns from its knowledge asset.

Despite the views of the authors about KM, it could be fitted in into the 3I's according to it features. However, Knowledge management could defined as how organizations identifies, have an insight and implementation of knowledge for there self goal.

In Practice

Illustration of how KM is applied in an organization, for example: Consider Nokia as an organization. When GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) came into Nigeria 2000, there where different mobile phone organizations like Nokia, Samsung, Ericson e.t.c there various phone was in the Nigeria market. But Nokia mobile was fast enough to use the Knowledge management to identify(behavior), implement(good product quality) and have an insight (knowledge about demand) about the mobile phone market and used it to have an competitive advantage over others mobile phone makers. When an organization is trying have a completive advantage over another, it develops to knowledge management strategy.

Knowledge Management Strategy

Knowledge management strategy arises when an organization tries to gain or have an edge in its environment. These KM consultants or experts where able to identify KM strategies into codification and personalization strategies .

• Codification Strategy can be identify as Knowledge in a database ,where it can be accessed by anyone in the companies. This KM strategy can also reuse,stored and edited.

An example of Organization that uses codify strategy is Ernst & Young, they codify strategy using "People to documents" approach such as interview guides, work schedules, benchmark e.t.c by storing them in the electronic repository for people to use. This was extracted from person who develop it, made independent of that person and reused for various purposes.

• Personalization Strategy can be identify as knowledge form the person that develops it, and is shared through one-to-one conversation.

An example of organization that uses personalization is Boston Consulting and Bain thy focus on dialogs between individual, not knowledge object in a database.here the organization is much important in the person-to-person knowledge sharing approach.

Differences between codification and personalization strategy are as follows:

1.Knowledge in codification strategy is retained through storage, editing and reuse while in personalization strategy can be lost because it is from one sources.
2.Knowledge in codification strategy is multi-dimensional in ideas of knowledge because it is stored in the organization while personalization strategy is one-dimensional.
3.Knowledge in codification strategy is share through computer networks while the use of computer in personalization strategy is use for information.

Finally, the two strategies can not be applied by an organizations because they have to stick to one. Those that have tried failed. Example is Bain in 1980' s when they developed a large paper-base document center at there headquarter. It was a waste of time and money, so they have to revert to there person-to-person strategy .

References

• Morten, T.H et al (1999) WHAT'S YOUR STRATEGY FOR MANAGING KNOWLEDGE? Source:Harvard Business Review 77(2), 1999:106-16

• Wiig, K. (1997), "Knowledge management: where did it come from and where will it go?" Journalof Expert Systems with Applications. Fall 1997

• Von Krogh,G. (1998), Care in knowledge creation. "California Management Review". 40(3) 133-153.