LOGO
CE 726
Knowledge Management and
Organizational Learning
Group Members:
Handan GÜNDOĞAN
Çağdaş MUTLU
OUTLINE
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Introduction
Definitions
Knowledge Management
Organizational Learning
Drivers
Applications in UK, US and TR
Barriers
Models Developed
Conclusion
Further Studies
To define the knowledge,
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
Definitions
DATA represents
Facts,
Observations,
Values of Results,
Quantitave,
Has not been processed,
It is obtained from Observations (input).
Definitions
INFORMATION relates to,
structured data
meaningful data
describe a particular situation or condition
It gives us definitions.
(what,who,when,where)
Definitions
KNOWLEDGE consists of
know-how,
truths,
perpectives,
concepts,
judgements,
methodologies,
It is about action and decision-making
capability.
Types of Knowledge
 Tacit Knowledge (informal or soft)-knowing how
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obtained from experience
stored in people’s head
difficult to document
difficult to communicate or share with other people
 Explicit Knowledge (formal or hard)-knowing that
• explained and recorded
• easily documented and transferred
• physically stored in either paper or electronic format
Knowledge Management
KM can be defined as a systematic process
that creates, captures, shares, and
analyzes knowledge in ways that directly
improve performance. It is about helping
people
to
communicate
and
share
information. (Parlby, D. 1998)
The aim of Knowledge Management is to
support Organizational Learning (Lehner
and Maier, 2000)
Central concept of KM
 Putting individuals in touch with one
another to share their tacit knowledge.
 Transforming individuals’ tacit knowledge
into explicit knowledge, which can be used
by the entire organization.
So, Knowledge Management can be
interpreted as the ability to get the right
information to the right people at the right
time, and in the right place.
Four Processes of Knowledge Management
Creating of knowledge
Distributing knowledge
Sharing knowledge
Capturing and Codifying knowledge
Information Technology
 IT is the general term that specifies computerbased tools used to gather, code, process, store,
transfer and apply data between machines,
people and organizations.
 Laudon and Laudon (1998) classify information
systems for knowledge management into four
main categories;
Why Knowledge Management?
 It creates value, and gain and sustain competitive
advantage.
 Saves money by not reinventing the wheel for each
new project.
 Reduces costs by decreasing and achieving
economies of scale in obtaining information from
external providers.
 Increases productivity by making knowledge
avaible more quickly and easily.
 Provides workers with a more democratic place to
work by allowing everyone access to knowledge.
 Learning faster to stay competitive.
Organizational Learning
 Dodgson (1993) explains OL as
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the way firms build,
supplement,
organize knowledge,
routines around their activities,
within their cultures,
adapt and develop organizational efficiency by
improving the use of the broad skills of their workforces.
Organizational Learning
 Kullunga (2001) defined OL as encouraging a
learning curve within an organization such that
employees at all levels, individually and
collectively, continually increase their capacity to
improve their level of performance.
 From these definitions, OL can be summarized as
the set of actions to acquire, share and interpret
knowledge among the members whose main
objective is to increase company performance
through improved quality of decision-making in
the organization.
Organizational Learning
 The most important point is,
the existence of a knowledge management
infrastructure within the organization whose
mandate is to identify, analyze, manage,
maintain
and
disseminate
knowledge
to
appropriate individuals within the organization
and externally to others (Liebowitz et al., 1999).
This can be only be achieved through the proper
combination of relevant systems and skills that
are influential in the learning process of an
organization.
According to Peter Senge, five
learning skills are;
Levels of Learning
Jeffries et al. (2003) developed a perspective
by defining the levels of OL as three phases
beginning at the individual level by interpreting
and reflection, maturing at group level by
integration and conceptualization and finally
reaching
the
organization
level
by
institutionalizing and experimentation.
Individual Learning
Group/Team Learning
Organizational Learning
Levels of Learning
Individual Learning is the foundation for the
existence of organization’s learning and it should
be enhanced to lead to more effective OL.
Group/Team Learning is an inseparable step of
OL since teams provide new approaches to the
learning
process,
cause
fundamental
organizational changes by functioning as a bridge
between the individuals and the organization
(Marquardt,1996).
Organizational Learning requires the crucial step
of the transformation of individual learning into
OL.
So, OL necessitates four main events defined
by Crossan et al.’s (1990),
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The preconscious recognition of the possibilities
inherent in a personal experience
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İntepreting, the explanation of an idea to oneself
and to others.
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İntegrating,
the developing
of a shared
understanding and coordinated action among
individuals.
İnstitutionalizing, the process of ensuring that
actions are made routine.
Types of Learning
 Single-loop learning involves an organization
to respond to changes in its environment by
detecting errors and correcting them, but
maintaning its existing organizational norms.
 Double –loop learning, on the other hand,
involves the revision of organizational
culture, assumptions, guidelines, objectives,
strategies and structure of an organization.
It is a process of creative renewal and
rediscovery of an organization to remain
competitive (Senge 1990).
Organizational Transformation
 As Huber(1991) states, organizations whose structures,
processes and technologies are not well suited to deal
with the increasing enironmental complexity and
knowledge are unlikely to survive. Around the shared
vision and culture, organization should develop new
strategies and structures so as to become a learning
organization (Marquardt, 1996). For an organization,
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Vision
Culture
Structure
Strategy
Organizations
 Vision: The vision of the organization is
represented by the commitment for a certain goal,
direction or hope for the future of the
organization. According to Marquardt(1996), the
first and the most important step in becoming a
learning organization is to build a solid foundation
of shared vision about learning.
 Culture: Walsh and Ungson (1991) define culture
as the conscious patterns of assumptions, values,
and beliefs shared by a collective (cited in Berthon
et al., 2001). Culture acts as a kind of knowledge
filter; it specifies what information is of
value,influences the interpretation of information
and coordinates collective action taking (Weick,
1994 cited in Berthon et al., 2001).
Organizations
 Structure: The key charasteristic of the structure
of the organization is that, it links the various
elements of the organization through the
transformation of information. As emphasized by
Salaman and Butler (1994), the organizational
structures surrounding a project appear to centrally
influence a project’s tendency to perform learning
activities and to contribute to the knowledge of the
permanent organization (cited in Kasvi et al.,
2003).
 Strategy: Identification, capture and transfer of
knowledge within the firm are expected to be in
alignment
with
the
organization’s
strategic
objectives.
Strategy
influences
learning
by
providing a boundary to decision-making and a
context for the perception and interpretation of the
environment.
Organizational Learning Processes
 Knowledge Acquisition
 Information Distribution
 Information Interpretation
 Organizational Memory
Organizational Learning Processes
Knowledge Acquisition
External
 monitoring the environment
Internal
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information systems
manage and retrieve information
research
development
education
training
patent watching
Organizational Learning Processes
Information Distribution
Informal
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Tacit know-how
Letters
Memos
Conversations
Stories by employees
Formal
 Seminar
 Reports
 Information systems
Organizational Learning Processes
Information Interpretation
Huber (1991) states that individuals
and groups have prior belief structures
that shape their interpretation of
information and thus the formation of
meaning.
So, to share the information firstly, it
should be interpreted.
Organizational Learning Processes
Organizational Memory
Hard information
 Data
 Intranet/internet systems
 Warehousing
Soft information
 Experiences
 Tacit know-how
 List of contacts
Drivers for KM and OL in
Construction Industry
A learning organization is skilled at creating,
acquiring, sharing, and applying knowledge, and
embracing (fostering) change and innovation at
all levels, resulting in optimum performance and
maximum competitive advantage.
Drivers for KM and OL in
Construction Industry
To share valuable tacit knowledge
To develop new products
To become more innovative
To increase client satisfaction(faster response
etc.)
To eliminate reworks
Drivers for KM and OL in
Construction Industry
(Cont’d)
To disseminate (spread) best practices
To encourage continuous improvement
To improve business performance (better bid
preparation skills etc.)
To enable employees to understand and
apply knowledge to different scenarios
Situation in UK in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
 40% of construction organizations have KM strategy.
 41% plan to have a strategy within one year.
 90.5% use intranet to support KM activities.
 A number of public funded researches investigate
how KM could be utilized in construction sector.
 Also, universities collaborate, with the industry in
numerous other projects.
Carrillo,2006
Situation in US in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Research on 30 construction organizations;
 50% of the companies utilize an “ad hoc” process to
capture lessons learned.
 50% do not employ communities of practice (CoP).
 37% do not have a software to support KM activities.
 67% has a reactive attitude towards KM.
Carrillo,2006
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Research on 8 leading construction companies;
 TCA members
 5 of them listed in top 225 ENR list in 2005
 Ages range from 41 to 53
 Total revenues in 2005 range from 135 to 895 M $
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2006
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Capturing Knowledge;
 6 companies who do not have a KM strategy consider
41-60% of the knowledge as tacit.
 Companies who have a KM strategy considers 20% of
knowledge as tacit.
 Colleagues, company’s experience, personal
experience, documentation and team meetings are
seen as the major knowledge sources.
 Internet is not considered as a major knowledge
source.
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2006
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Storing Knowledge;
 5 companies evaluate projects after completion.
 2 of them stores these evaluations digitally.
 Cost control and bid preperation data are recorded
digitally and reused when required.
 6 companies do not have a database to combine all
documents and records.
 Data stored in; reports, computer files, personal
archives and heads of individuals
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2008
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Reuising and Sharing Knowledge;
 On-the-job training, intranet, meetings and face to
face interactions and e-mail are the major means to
share knowledge.
 Companies generally rely on the individuals
experiences and use stored data in emergency cases.
Knowledge Management Strategies;
 2 companies have KM strategies and 2 of them plan
to implement a strategy in the future.
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2008
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Research on 8 construction companies;
Learning from other companies experiences
 Monitoring competitors performance & bid prices
 Strategies of competitors
 Use of web to learn practices of foreign companies
 Learning from foreign joint venture partners
• Quality
• Health and Safety Assurance
 Disagreement whether practices of companies from
other industries can be useful or not
Özorhon, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2005
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Research on 8 construction companies;
Learning from external sources;
 Management consultancy firms
 Universities
 Foreign organizations (World Bank, etc.)
 Professional associations (TCA, etc.)
 Training consultancy firms
 Governmental bodies (Chamber of Civil Engineers...)
Özorhon, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2005
Situation in Turkey in Terms of
KM and OL Applications
Shares of knowledge
sources in
organizational
memory
Composition of
organizational
memory in terms of
knowledge type
Özorhon, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2005
Barriers to KM and OL
Implementations
Barriers to KM and OL
Implementations
A business development manager of Company E
indicated that;
...experience gained through a
project cannot be transferred
to another engineer via paper;
new employees cannot always
show the same performance
by reviewing the previous
experiences of their pioneers...
Özorhon, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2005
Barriers to KM and OL
Implementations
 Difficulties in measuring the value added
 Focus on projects instead of organizations
 Traditions and conservative company culture
 Cultural differences due geographical diversity
 Instable workforce (high employee turnover)
Chinowsky, 2007
Barriers to KM and OL
Implementations
 Inappropriate IT Infrastructure
 Insufficient time
 Insufficient funding
 Lack of executive support
 Lack of standard work processes
Chinowsky, 2007
A Case Study on
KM and OL Practices
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- US based engineering design company;
 # of employees: 6100
 Annual Revenue (2004): 720.5 $ M
 ENR Ranking (2004): 12
 KM activites since 1997
 Main focus on people since 1999
• Knowledge communities
• Knowledge bases
 Major investments on IT infrastructure
 Increase in winning projects attributed to KM and OL
Carrillo, 2006
Models Developed
 To assist organizations in implementing KM and to
measure their learning skills, several models are
developed
• Learning organization maturity model(1)
• STEPS Model(2)
• LEONARDO(1)
• Knowledge Platform for Contractors(3)
1) Chinowsky, Molenaar, Realph, 2007
2) Chinowsky, Carrillo, 2007
3) Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2008
Knowledge Platform for Contractors
 A web-based system to capture data & reuse in future
Tacit Knowledge
face to face
interactions
coaching and
mentoring
brainstorming
communities of
practice
Explicit Knowledge
documents
reports
standards
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2008
specifications
Kıvrak, Arslan, Dikmen, Birgönül, 2008
Conclusions
 Mixed awareness of knowledge and KM
 Increasing importance
 Transformation from KM to OL should be done in time.
 Continuous improvement and personal advancement
must become fundamental to achieve OL.
 Inefficient KM is widespread in TR, especially due to
the lack of KM strategy.
 In TR, organizational memory mainly depends on own
experiences rather than other companies or external
sources.
 Researches in this topic have the risk to include bias.
Further Studies
 STEPS Model helps organizations to implement KM
Chinowsky, Carrillo 2007
Further Studies
 Learning Organization Maturity Model defines 5 levels
to achieve a learning organization
Chinowsky, Molenaar, Realph, 2007
References
1. Özorhon, B., Dikmen, İ., and Birgönül, T. (2005). “Organizational memory formation
and its use in construction.” Building Research & Information, 33(1), 67-79.
2. Carrillo, P., and Chinowsky, P. (2006). “Exploiting knowledge management: the
engineering and construction perspective.” Journal of Management in Engineering,
22(1), 2-10.
3. Chinowsky, P., and Carrillo, P. (2007). “Knowledge management to learning
organization connection.” Journal of Management in Engineering, 23(3), 122-130.
4. Chinowsky, P., Molenaar, K., and Realph, A. (2007). “Learning organizations in
construction.” Journal of Management in Engineering, 23(1), 27-34.
5. Kıvrak, S., Gökhan, A., Dikmen, İ., and Birgönül, T. (2008). “Capturing knowledge in
construction projects: knowledge platform for contractors.” Journal of Management
in Engineering, 24(2), 87-95.
6. Knowledge Management Strategy For Construction: Key I.T. And Contextual Issues,
Patricia M. Carrillo, Chimay J. Anumba, John M. Kamara,
7. http://www.adb.org/documents/studies/auditing-lessons architecture/ala2.asp