Week 4: KM Tools, Techniques, and Technology

Introduction

In times of recession, organizations may cut costs by terminating employees. Do you think this can seriously affect organizations’ repositories of tacit knowledge? Earlier in this course, you read about tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is the knowledge ingrained in individuals, which translates into explicit knowledge when shared and exchanged through direct contact. Explicit knowledge can be shared through peer-assist meetings, training, and project-specific meetings. Knowledge shared is knowledge gained. Consider the fate of an organization if its senior employees leave without transferring their knowledge to new hires. On the other hand, consider an organization that uses a knowledge management (KM) approach and captures information loss through various technological means by using information communication technology.

This week, you will understand how technology can help in developing tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. You will learn how information technology (IT) is used extensively in organizations as a natural medium for the flow of knowledge. In addition, you also will learn about the various constraints in the widespread use of technology in KM programs.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to help you to connect the lessons that you have learned in your Internet Web site evaluation assignments with KM theories. By engaging in this process, you will be refining the lessons learned, corroborating, validating, and codifying them. This process is the essence of the KMCI Knowledge Life Cycle, as outlined in McElroy (2002).

Format

This report should be:

• Five (5) pages in length
• Written using a font no larger than 14 point
• Double spaced
• Framed with standard 1-inch margins top and bottom and 1 inch on each side.
• Written in APA style with proper referencing and citations
• Written with a title page that lists contributors in alphabetical order (top to bottom), and include the report title in bold letters (Group Report: Key KM Lessons Learned), course information, Instructor’s name, and date of submission.

Content

Part I: Listing and Explaining Key KM Lessons Learned

List and explain the key common or shared lessons learned about KM from the Web site evaluations and Discussion area posting assignments in Weeks 1–3. List at least five common lessons learned about KM. If there are not at least five common lessons that are shared, complete the list of five lessons by using lessons discovered by individuals that are of greatest importance to each person. Explain why you believe each lesson is critical for the practice of KM in modern organizations.

Part II: Connecting Key Lessons Learned to Theories

1. Connect the five key lessons learned from Part I with the theories from the course text and readings or from outside Internet readings that most fully explain the principles that lie beneath the key lessons.
2. Explain how the lessons learned exemplify the application of the KM theories you have read about.
3. For example, you might have concluded that it was important to share what you learned from the various KM Web sites in the Discussion area as an example of what the KMCI Knowledge Life Cycle model terms knowledge integration. Explain how this lesson learned is an example of knowledge integration in practice.

Part III: Creating Generalized Principles

Every lesson learned is an example of a specific case of a more general principle. For each lesson learned, explain the more general principle about KM practice that it represents.

Once you have stated the principle, explain the implications of this principle for KM practice. For example, you may have discovered that the process of knowledge integration involves many complexities regarding how the meaning of the content you have shared with others is interpreted by them. The key lesson may be to keep things simple when sharing knowledge or to get feedback from those who are viewing the information to ensure that the way things are being interpreted is the way that was intended.

READING RESOURCES:

Collison, C., & Parcell, G. (2004).Learning to fly: Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organizations(Updated ed. with free CD-ROM). West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Limited/Capstone Publishing Limited.

• McElroy, M. (2002). The new knowledge management—C omplexity, learning, and sustainable innovation. (Excerpt). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002. Click here to download the article (PDF format)

  This article familiarizes you with first- and second-generation KM. The article suggests that unlike first-generation KM, which was technology driven, second-generation KM is more inclusive of people, processes, and social initiatives. The article also provides a description of the life cycle of KM and elaborates on the basic differences between first- and second-generation KM.

• McElroy, M. (2001, October). Second-generation knowledge management. Presentation at KMWorld 2001 Conference and Exposition, Santa Clara, CA. Click here to download the article (PDF format)

  This article provides an industry-standard reference model of KM and explains the critical differences between information management and KM. In addition, some examples of common KM initiatives are cited.