MIS580: Knowledge Management
APRIL 9TH , 2008
Abhijit Kumar
Kaijia Bao
Vishal Rupani
Reading 7
The role of tacit knowledge in group innovation. Leonard, D.
California Management Review, 1998.
by Abhijit Kumar
 Introduction
 Relevance
 Content
 Additional research
 Discussion
What is Tacit Knowledge?
 Information that is relevant, actionable and
based at least partially on experience.
 Explicit elements are objective, rational, and
created in the "then and there"
 Tacit elements are subjective, experiential, and
created in the "here and now”
 Knowledge Spectrum1
1Michael Polanyi's original messier assumption
Knowledge Spiral
COMBINATION
SOCIALIZATION
EXPLICIT
INTERNALIZATION
TACIT
EXTERNALIZATION
Concept explained by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi
Relevance: Tacit Knowledge
 Problem Solving
 Mind pattern from experience
 Problem Finding
 Allows rejection of the “usual” solution
 Overlay to quickly detect solution
 Prediction & Anticipation
 Anticipate & Predict occurrences “hunch”
Being Tacit: Individuals or Group?
 Learning  Implicit
 Much research focused on individuals
 Single mind is primary interest
 However, innovation is a group process
 Do “creatives” bloom in isolation?
?
 Interaction essential
 Awareness of social impact of ideas
Nature of Innovation
DIVERGE
CONVERGE
Divergent Thinking
Convergent Thinking
Testing
Development
Idea Generation
Shipping/
Adopting
Sales/
Implementation
After Sales
Service
Divergence in Innovation
 Why Tacit Knowledge?
 Intellectually heterogeneous or homogeneous ?
 Experience leads to Expertise (Tacit)
 Interactions “Creative Abrasions”
?
 Explicit statements carry “weight”
 Insights, Intuitions, Inspiration Innovation
Apple’s Innovation Process
10
3
1
Pixel
Perfect
Mockups
Paired
Design
Meetings
Managing Divergence
Pony (The Concept)
Apple's design process Posted by: Helen Walters on March 08, Business Week
Convergence in Innovation
 Overlapping specific knowledge
 Observations & Apprenticeships “Art”
 Collective tacit knowledge
 Guiding Tacit Knowledge
?
 Innovation  Tacit 
Barriers: Tacit Knowledge
 Stimulating divergent thinking
 Converging towards a common aim
 Lack of mentoring
 Inequality among participants
 Explicit form of tacit knowledge disregarded
?
 Creative abrasion needs subtle diversity
 Distance (time and location)
Insight: Ageing Workforce
Knowledge
Transfer
Practices
Knowledge
Recovery
Initiatives
- Using retirees
- Outsourcing
- Regenerating
KNOWLEDGE
RETENTION
STRATEGY
Human Resources
Processes
- Documentation/ Training
- Mentoring
- Interviews / Reviews/ Debriefing
Using IT
Applications
- Connecting People
- Knowledge Mapping
- Capturing Knowledge
-Succession planning
- Evaluating skill bases
- Retention culture
Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce: David W. Delong
Managerial Implications
 Managing Divergence
 Brainstorming: Intuitive & Analytical
 Level of divergent thinking
 Varying tacit knowledge bases
 Managing chaos
 Depersonalizing conflict
 Managing Convergence
 Guiding visions & Shared experiences
 Assessment
IDEO: Shopping Cart
Reading 8
The Concept of “Ba”: Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation
Ikujiro Nonaka, California Management Review, Spring 1998.
by Vishal Rupani
 Introduction
 Conversion Models
 Characteristics of Ba
 Case Examples
 Additional Research
Introduction
 Ba: Japanese concept means "place" or
"interaction field”
 Ba is a shared space that serves as a foundation
for knowledge creation
 Physical – office, playground
 Virtual – email, videoconference
 Mental – shared experiences, ideas
 What differentiates Ba from ordinary human
interaction is the concept of knowledge creation
Introduction
 If knowledge is separated from Ba, it turns into
information
 Ba provides a platform for advancing individual and/or
collective knowledge at a specific time in a specific
place
 It is the platform for the resource concentration of the
organization's knowledge assets and the
intellectualizing capabilities
Knowledge Conversion Modes –
SECI Model
Tacit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
Socialization
Externalization
Explicit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
Internalization
Combination
Explicit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge Conversion Modes –
SECI Model
Tacit Tacit
Tacit Explicit
Explicit Explicit
Socialization
Externalization
Combination
• Share tacit
knowledge
among
individuals
• E.g. Face to
face
interaction
• Formulate
techniques
to
articulate
tactic
knowledge
• Combine
internal
and
external
knowledge
• E.g. Use of
metaphors,
analogies
• E.g.
product
reports,
market
data
Explicit Tacit
Internalization
• Embody
explicit
knowledge
to become
part of
individuals
knowledge
base
• E.g.
learning by
doing
Four Characteristics of Ba
Socialization
Externalization
face-to-face
peer-to-peer
Originating
Ba
Interacting
Ba
group-togroup
on-the-site
Exercising Ba
Internalization
Cyber Ba
Combination
Four Characteristics of Ba
ORIGINATING BA
INTERACTING BA
Place where individuals
share feelings, emotions,
experiences
Place where dialogue and
metaphors help transform
tacit knowledge
EXERCISING BA
CYBER BA
Place to continuously learn
by self-refinement
Place of interaction in the
virtual world through use
of technology
Creating Ba: Case Examples
Ba Name:
Role:
Organization Design:
Location:
Urgent Projects
To expedite new technology/ product development
Existing structure
Outside of the existing business organization
Creating Ba: Case Examples
Ba Name:
Role:
Organization Design:
Location:
Advanced I Strategy (ADI) Group
Identify new market opportunities
Existing structure
Inside the existing business organization
Creating Ba: Case Examples
Ba Name:
Role:
Organization Design:
Location:
Independent Corporations
Serve unique market niches
New structure
Inside each independent corporation
Management for Knowledge
Creation
 Top management is the provider of “Ba” for
knowledge creation
 Leaders must support emerging processes with
visionary proposals and personal commitment
 Management must realize that knowledge needs
to be nurtured, supported, enhanced and cared
for
Additional Research
Learning and the ‘Ba’ in the Development Network of
an Urban Region1
 In order for an urban region to learn and develop, it is
necessary for its development network to learn
 This article presents some potential ba for the
development network including practical examples
from Tampere Urban Region (located in Finland)
1 Juha
Kostiainen, European Planning Studies, Vol 10, No 5, 2002
Additional Research
The structure and main actors of the development network in Tampere1
1 Juha
Kostiainen, European Planning Studies, Vol 10, No 5, 2002
Additional Research
ORIGINATING BA
INTERACTING BA
• Expert exchange among developing
organizations
• Sauna evenings
• Learning cafe
• Common sports and cultural events
• Discussion forums, also virtual ones
• Media
• Thematic meetings
• Plays, stories, tales
CYBER BA
EXERCISING BA
• Common learning programs of the
developing network
• Mentored projects
• On-the-job learning
• Learning by doing
• Research and reports
• Utilizing and connecting of outside
experts
• Virtual communities like CityWeb
• Thematic summary reports
The potential Ba in the development network of an urban region1
1 Juha
Kostiainen, European Planning Studies, Vol 10, No 5, 2002
Summary
 Ba: Knowledge creation occurs through
interaction among individuals or between
individuals and their environment
 Four types of Ba correspond to four stages
of the SECI Model
 Top management support is essential for
knowledge creation
Discussion
 Do you think the concept of Ba can be extended to
fields such as biotechnology for sharing and creating
knowledge among scientists? What will be the
implications on the IP?
 The article primarily used 3 examples of companies in
Japan that created a knowledge platform using Ba.
Are you aware of any other companies that do the
same?
Reading 9
If only we knew what we know: Identification and transfer of internal
best practices - O’Dell, C. California Management Review, 1998.
by Kaijia Bao
 Introduction
 Growing Interests
 Challenges & Approaches
 Summary
 Additional Research
Introduction
American Productivity &
Quality Center
C. Jackson Grayson, Jr.
Founder and Chairman
Dr. Carla O’Dell
President
APQC is a non-profit research organization that helps companies identify
best practices, discover improvement methods and disseminate findings.1
1 APQC.
(2008). About Us. Retrieved from American Productivity & Quality
Outline




Why the interest in knowledge transfer?
Why is knowledge transfer so difficult?
The 4 approaches to knowledge transfer?
Creating the environment for knowledge
transfer
 Summary: 7 keys to effective knowledge
transfer
Growing Interests
 Demonstrated success
 TI was able to create extra capacity equivalent of
2 new facilities from existing fabrication plants.
Saving $500-800 million for each new plant.
 Chevron was able to generate $650 million in
savings by sharing best practices among business
units.
 Recognition of Potential Gain
 Benchmarking Evidence
Growing Interests
 Compelling call to action
 Chevron's initiatives was driven by its leaders
“we have to share more, we have to share faster” (Ken
Derr, CEO)
 TI’s initiative was driven by its key customers,
who threatened to leave if TI didn’t improve.
 Decentralization and downsizing
 Destroyed traditional knowledge network
Difficulties and Challenges
 APQC 1994: Barriers to Knowledge Transfer
 Ignorance
 Source doesn’t know their knowledge is required
 Recipient doesn’t know the knowledge is out there
 Absorptive capacity
 The ability (skills + resources) of the recipient to
implement the knowledge into action
 Long transfer time – 27 months on average
Organization and Challenges
Bao’s
Incorporated
Vishal
Abhijit
Vishal Division
 Promotes “silo”
behavior
 Sub-optimization
Abhijit Division
 Reduces
Position A
Position B
 Contact
 Relationship
 Common perspectives
Organizational Challenges
Value personal
expertise over
knowledge sharing
Over-reliance on
transmitting
“explicit”
knowledge: 80% of
the knowledge are
“tacit”
Not rewarding
people to learn and
share
Earlier Approaches
 Functional review, internal conferences,
R&D experts to try to identify and transfer
knowledge.
“HOWEVER, historically most effective way of
? transferring knowledge is the actual transfer of
personnel.”
Author’s 4 Approaches
Benchmarking
Teams
Best Practice
Teams
Knowledge
and Practice
Networks
Internal
Assessment
and Audit
Benchmarking Teams
 Temporary teams formed to search for best
practices both in and out of the firms for a
specific problem.
 Example:
 TI began by searching for external solutions, but
found that TI’s plant in Texas out performed all
external solutions.
Best Practice Teams
 On going teams composed of cross
functional managers to continuously look
for better practices relating to a specific
business area.
 Example:
 Chevron identified 6 areas of improvement and
assigned a team for each area that led to $650
millions in saving.
Internal Assessment and Audit
 Leverage the functionality of existing
internal audit / assessment team to include
knowledge transfer.
 Example:
 Team C at Xerox
Knowledge and Practice Networks
 Grass-root knowledge transfer
 No formal network or support
 Organization need to create environment
and communication infrastructure
 Example:
 Chevron’s Best Practice Resource Map
Creating the Environment
All
approaches
needs a
supportive
company
environment
to thrive:
• Technology
• Cultural Factors
• Senior Leadership
• Measurement
Technology
 Technology is neither a barrier nor an
incentive for knowledge sharing. It is simply
a tool. (i.e. Lotus Notes, emails, etc)
 Issues to consider:
?
 Important information is too complex and too
experiential to be captured electronically.
 Entering information into system must be
someone’s job.
 Framework to classify information
Cultural
 American school stress individuality and
? competition, not collaboration and sharing
 Rewards:
 Rewards is useful early, to build enthusiasm
 In the long run, the reward should be intrinsic
 Embed knowledge transfer into employee’s work
method and professional development system
Senior Leadership
 Not essential to support in the early stages
 Do not squash pockets of innovation
 BUT, management must be supportive if
change is to occur across the organization
Measurement
 Good for developing a business case
 Cannot help business units to see how to achieve
better results
 Metrics alone does not indicate better practice
 Too much measurement can lead to internal
competition and reduce knowledge transfer
Summary: Seven Keys to Transfer
1. Use benchmarking to identify areas for
change
2. Focus efforts on critical business areas
3. Ensure adequate resources
4. Do not over measure
5. Tailor reward systems to encourage sharing
6. Use technology as a tool, not as a solution
7. Leaders must take an active role in
knowledge sharing
Additional Research
 The Role of Evolving Technologies:
Accelerating Collaboration and Knowledge
Transfer. 2007. Carla O’Dell, Jim Lee
 Web 2.0 and Knowledge Management. 2008.
Carla O’Dell.
 Study on transition from Web 2.0 to
Enterprise 2.0
Key Findings
 For the new generation, face-to-face is no
longer necessary
 Web 2.0 can simulate intimate and tactile
dimension found in face-to-face meetings
 Top enterprise 2.0 applications
 Wikis: Diplopedia (State Department)
 Blogs: Employee blogs (HP)
 Social networking: Accenture People (Accenture)
Benefits of Enterprise 2.0
User-driven
Easy to use
Low cost and
open source
Spontaneous
and selforganizing
A lot more
“fun” than
standard
corporate
applications
?