DISCUSSANTS
• The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Group
Innovation
• The Concept of “Ba”: Building a
foundation for Knowledge Creation
• If Only We Knew What We Know:
Identification and Transfer of Internal Best
Practices
The Role of Tacit Knowledge in
Group Innovation
• Creativity & Social Interaction
• “Creative ideas do not arise spontaneously from
the air…”
• Study: People refer consistently to interactions
with others for creativity / innovation
• Divergent thinking leads to convergent thinking
3M’s KM Innovation
• 60,000 products due to their innovation
process
• Balance creativity & conservatism
• Encourage learning & risk taking
• Managers required to link continuous
learning to revenues
Encouraging Innovation (3M)
• Knowledge Management and Innovation at 3M by
Adam Brand
• Environment that encourages innovation
• Technology: videoconferencing, intranet, Lotus Notes, IT
based databases, etc
• 30% of sales must be from products not in the product line
four years ago (Sustains Innovation)
• Lifetime employment, promotion from within
• Average service at 3M is decades, employee turnover is low
Encouraging Innovation (3M)
• Dr. Hans Selye, ‘altruistic egotism’
• “Helping others for one’s own benefit”
• Total Company Involvement (Managerial Effort)
• Can’t just hire one or two KM officials and expect
revelation
• Top managers & middle managers should work
cooperatively for KM linkages as a whole
• Flat Organization Structure
• Allows important decisions to be made at all levels
• Tolerance of mistakes - (Barriers of Innovation)
• The Post-it Notes adhesive developed from a mistake
Encouraging Innovation (3M)
• Recognition Programs
• One could be promoted to vice-president level without
having to have any management responsibilities
• Inventors are known and recognized through articles
and presentations in company
• Focus
• Cultural KM focus rather than technical
“3M’s record proves it is open to new ideas and it will
continue to incorporate the best of the Knowledge
Management approaches into its strong culture to
ensure it achieves its mission to be ‘the most innovative’
company in the world.”
The Concept of Ba
• Design of Ba for successful KM – how
enterprises should design the places of
interaction to gain competitive advantage
• By Takahiko Nomura (Knowledge Dynamics
Initiative, Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd.)
• Journal of Network and Computer Applications
(2002) 25, 263-278
Design Discipline of Ba from
perspective of Knowledge Dynamics
• Design of Ba should follow the strategy of
utilizing knowledge
• Design of Ba should apply to the work style of
participants at Ba
• Design of Ba should be synthetically developed
where not only specific divisions such as IT and
facilities but also managers responsible for
Corporate Planning, Structural Design, and
Human Resources participate
Communities of Practice – Etienne
Wenger
• Communities of practice are formed by people
who engage in a process of collective learning in
a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe
learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new
forms of expression, a group of engineers working
on similar problems,. In a nutshell:
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern
or a passion for something they do and who interact regularly to
learn how to do it better.
Knowledge Work Pattern Model
• Nomad Type Workers: Work highly autonomous
and focusing on interaction with others
• Analyst Type Workers: Do creative work mainly
inside their offices
• Agent Type workers: Do routine type work with
frequent interaction with others
• Keeper Type Workers: Do routine type workers
with little interaction with others
If Only We Knew What We Know
•
C. Jackson Grayson Jr.,
D.B.A.
Founder and Chairman
Carla O'Dell, Ph.D.
President
What does APQC do?
• An internationally recognized
benchmarking authority, APQC offers
access to best-practice research, metrics,
measures and more.
• Has a Knowledge Sharing Network to
access best-practice information, metrics,
and benchmarking tools and templates
• Founders of the American Productivity &
Quality Center
• Authors of the book:
• If Only We Knew What We Know : The Transfer
of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice
Methods suggested by APQC
• Communities of Practice
• Research shows that it’s the locus of knowledge
sharing, creation & reuse
• Lack of common design processes have given
uneven results & failures
• Provide design guidelines & consulting help
Factors determining success of CoPs
• Alignment to the organization’s business
strategy
• Proper Leadership
• Proper structuring of the community
References
• http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm
• 3M Article
http://caliban.emeraldinsight.com/vl=10519
489/cl=19/nw=1/rpsv/cgibin/linker?ini=emerald&reqidx=/cw/mcb/13
673270/v2n1/s3/p17