Is Knowledge Management Real? LO19184

David Skyrme (david@skyrme.com)
Fri, 11 Sep 1998 09:50:51 +0100

Replying to LO19151 --

Dick Webster gave us a number of definitions. For the record here is our
published one (in Creating the Knowledge Based Business, Business
Intelligence, 1997) based on interviews with many of the leading KM
practitioners:

"Knowledge Management is the explicit and systematic management of vital
knowledge - and its associated processes of creation, organization,
diffusion, use and exploitation."

explicit - bringing to the surface what many organizations were implicitly
doing

systematic - adding some degree of formalism - though we emphasise also the
'chaordic'

vital - we only have time to focus on what will impact the business
essentials and future

processes - taking a process as well as a content/object view, since
processes are actions

Like culture, which in one investigation had 163 definitions, the many KM
definitions help give a frame of reference for the contenxt within which
they are used. But definitions are less important than developing common
language and a frame of reference for mutual understanding and practice.

In response to Dick's specific statements:
>1) that KM is real,

Agree - Perception is reality. If people think they are practicing KM,
they are - in their frame of reference. I can find examples of good KM
practice in almost every organization I visit, even if they don't call it
KM themselves. KM in my frame is both broad (in that it deals with any
kind of vital knowledge) and specific (in that there must be a systematic
approach to at least one of the processes). However, no organization I
know is doing KM as well as they could, or as well as many of them would
like to.

>2) it's not a fad or "flavor of the month, and it's not going to go away, and
No - there will always be a need to manage knowledge better (if you accept
the oxymoron) but it might evolve into something else. Management by
Objectives - a fad of the 50s(?) has been submerged in general management
practice of goal setting. KM may evolve into something like innovation
management - which seems to be a growing issue that KM can underpin. At the
moment its a nice label for many suppliers to attach their wares to - even
if you do often have to stretch your imagination to identify the link with
knowledge management in your frame of reference.

>3) it does fit as a resource that those concerned with LO could benefit by
>learning more about.

Yes - For several years' I've said that the LO is simply the other side of
the same coin (or more accurately, an adjoining face of a management
isohedron). As you learn more you gain knowledge -- as you apply knowledge
you learn -- I am aware of several LO initiatives that are now using the
knowledge language and may have renamed their programme a KM programme.
More to the point they are applying some of the KM techniques, such as
databases of best practices and learning histories (though some in the LO
community would argue that it is a LO technique) and thus improving and
applying their learning over time and/or space. I'm also aware of KM
programmes that have strong Learning projects (e.g. learning communities).
As a previous contributor said - a problem has been that LO and KM have
emerged from different communities and disciplines (usually). KM actually
is a focal point of many strands of thinking that as well as LO include
information management, knowledge-based systems (AI), organizational
transformation (TQM, BPR) etc.

My own philosophy is "go with the flow". What I used to call a market
intelligence centre, I now call a knowledge centre. Common language helps
speedier transfer of knowledge, so if more people in an organization adopt
and understand KM language, thats a common point of dialogue for LO
practitioners.

David

(This is probably my first contribution to this forum for two years, but
now you are starting to talk my language and attract my interest!)

David J. Skyrme Tel/Fax: +44 1635 25 35 45
David Skyrme Associates Limited Highclere, England

email: david@skyrme.com http://www.skyrme.com
Home of I3 UPDATE - Regular Briefings on Knowledge Management
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david@skyrme.com (David Skyrme)

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