Knowledge Management and
The Knowing Organization
Chun Wei Choo
Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto
http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca
Knowledge as Resource
Knowledge as Process
Knowledge resides in physical
objects
Knowledge resides in people’s
minds
Meaning is as represented in the
object
Meaning is constructed through
thoughts, actions, feelings
Acquiring knowledge =
finding right knowledge objects
Creating knowledge =
creating ways of knowing and doing
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
2 Views of Knowledge in Organizations
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The Knowing Organization
KNOWLEDGE CREATION
SENSEMAKING
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
DECISION MAKING
3
Our Learning Agenda
What is knowledge in organizations?
How do organizations create knowledge?
How can an organization better manage the
knowledge it has?
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
What is knowledge management?
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Categories of Organizational Knowledge
Tacit knowledge
The implicit knowledge used by organizational members to
perform their work and to make sense of their worlds.
Tacit knowledge is hard to verbalize because it is expressed
through action-based skills and cannot be reduced to rules
and recipes.
Knowledge that has been codified or made tangible, and can
therefore be easily communicated or diffused.
Explicit knowledge may be object-based or rule-based.
Cultural knowledge
The shared assumptions and beliefs about an organization’s
goals, capabilities, customers, and competitors.
These beliefs are used to assign value and significance to new
information and knowledge.
The more tightly integrated the three forms of knowledge,
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Explicit knowledge
the more unique the organizational advantage.
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Knowledge Conversion
(Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)
Explicit
Doing it, then describing it
Finding it, then combining it
Explicit
Using it, then believing it
Watching it, then doing it
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Tacit
Tacit
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Knowledge Conversion Case
(Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)
Explicit
Tacit
How to make tasty bread?
How to design a viable product?
Explicit
Tacit
What can Matsushita do?
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
What is “twisting stretch”?
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What is
KM?
Tacit
Knowledge
Explicit
Knowledge
Cultural
Knowledge
Knowledge
Creation
Knowledge
Sharing
Knowledge
Utilization
Values
Strategy
Knowledge Management
is a framework
Roles
Structures
for designing an organization’s
so that the organization
Process
can use what it knows
Practice
to learn and to create value
for its customers and community.
Tools
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
goals, structures, and processes
Platforms
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KM
Framework
Tacit
Knowledge
Explicit
Knowledge
Cultural
Knowledge
Knowledge
Creation
Knowledge
Sharing
Knowledge
Use
• Why is knowledge IMPORTANT to us?
Values
Strategy
• What KNOWLEDGE do we have and need?
• What is our CULTURE?
• Who will LEAD?
Structures
Process
Practice
Tools
Platforms
• Who will IMPLEMENT?
• How do we ORGANIZE?
• How will we SHARE knowledge?
• How will we put knowledge to USE?
• How will we CREATE new knowledge?
• How can IT help?
• How do we MANAGE INFORMATION?
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Roles
• How do we improve COMMUNICATIONS?
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Values & Strategy: Knowledge to Value
Add Value
(Knowledge about Customers)
Reduce Uncertainty
Reduce Costs
(Knowledge about Processes)
Create New Value
(Knowledge about Market)
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(Knowledge about Environment)
4 basic ways to leverage knowledge and information to create organizational value.
Most organizations combine all 4 approaches.
(Marchand and Rayport 2000)
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Values & Strategy (2)
Cost Reduction
Reuse Knowledge,
Lessons Learned
HP
Consulting
World
Bank
Xerox
IBM
Global
Services
Buckman
Labs
++
++
++
++
++
++
++
++
Siemens
++
Speed
++
++
Innovation
++
++
++
Reuse of KM
Know-how
Rebranding &
Differentiation
Improved Quality
of Knowledge
++
++
++
++
++
++
++
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Chevron
APQC (2000)
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• In 1998, BP “brought $260M to the bottom line documented savings attributed to KM - plus $400M more
likely but not yet booked”
• Buckman Labs increased its new-product sales by 50%
• Dow Chemical Co saved $40M a year in the re-use of
patents
• Ford Motor Co saved more than $600M in the past 3
years
• HP reduced its cost per call by 50%
• Rank Xerox reduced its dispatches by15%
• Roche sends out its products for FDA approval 6 months
earlier
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
KM Results
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Behaviours
Beliefs
Roles
Structures
LEARNING
SHARING
LEADING
“I am responsible
for learning”
“Our knowledge
grows when it
flows”
“The organization
benefits from our
knowledge”
Mentors
Coaches
Functional Teams
Communities
Boundary Spanners
Champions
Evangelists
Steering Committees
Individual
Team
Organization
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Roles & Structures
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Process & Practice: Knowledge Creating Cycle
• Identify, extract knowledge from primary sources
project files, proposals, presentations, email, interviews
• Edit, refine “raw knowledge” into “processed knowledge”
best practices, lessons learned, case studies
• Organize processed knowledge and making it accessible
• Packaging, publishing, disseminating knowledge
paper, online, Intranet, pathfinders, knowledge portals
• Manage the whole cycle, design the information architecture
architecture for organizing, publishing, navigating information
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create a structure for classifying knowledge
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Process & Practice: Structured KM Process
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© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
KM Example: Eureka
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© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
KM Example: Eureka
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© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
Eureka Screen
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KM Example: Eureka
Eureka Status
• Fully deployed in France (1995),
Canada (1996)
• Officially deployed in US (1998)
• 15,000 customer service
technicians are active users
• 10% reduction in service time and
parts used
• Fewer long/broken calls
• Increased customer satisfaction
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
• More than 15,000 tips in database
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KM Framework
(Eureka)
Values
Strategy
Tacit
Knowledge
Explicit
Knowledge
Cultural
Knowledge
Knowledge
Creation
Knowledge
Sharing
Knowledge
Use
• “Each technician should carry knowledge of
20,000 colleagues into every service call”
• “We take pride in solving hard problems”
“We want to talk about our solutions”
• Community of Practice:
Roles
Structures
“Eureka built on something technicians did naturally”
“They share because they trust it will be reciprocal”
• Tip authoring, voting, validation, codification
Process
Practice
Tools
Platforms
• Peer recognition
• “Eureka is a way of creating a conversation
among 25,000 people”
• Laptops, standalone application
• Tips knowledge base, search engine
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
• Authors, Validators, Editors, Evangelists
• Data-mining the Eureka database
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Values
Strategy
Roles
Structures
Process
Practice
Tools
Platforms
Explicit
Knowledge
Cultural
Knowledge
Knowledge
Creation
Knowledge
Sharing
Knowledge
Use
• Understand how knowledge creates value for
the organization
• Link knowledge sharing/use to organizational
values
• Define roles and responsibilities for
leadership, coordination, implementation
• Develop group/team structures that promote
knowledge sharing and learning
• Deliberately structure a process to identify,
codify, and disseminate knowledge
• Encourage knowledge sharing and learning
to occur naturally as part of work practice
• Select tools that support
tacit, explicit, and cultural knowledge
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
KM
Framework
Tacit
Knowledge
• Build platforms that integrate
knowledge creation, sharing, and use
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Sensemaking
Beliefs
Enactments
Interpretations
Belief:
Customer service is important
Best way is to “follow the manual”
Build expert system to support “directive repair.”
Enactment:
Accompany technicians on their service calls
Interpretation: Technicians solve tough, undocumented problems
New knowledge is valuable, should be shared
“The community IS the expert system.”
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
SENSEMAKING
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Knowledge Creation
Cultural
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
Explicit
knowledge
Tacit:
Insights and intuitions of technicians, validators
Explicit:
Tips and pending tips in knowledge base
Cultural:
Technicians form a natural community of practice
Norms of peer recognition, trust, cooperation
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
KNOWLEDGE CREATING
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Decision Making
Premises
Routines
Rules
Premises:
Cost reduction; control; consistency
Rules:
Technicians should use centrally produced
documentation
Routines:
Eureka first in France, Canada as “experiments”
Deployment in US needed approval from
Worldwide Customer Service
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
DECISION MAKING
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The Knowing Organization
How do technicians
do their work in practice?
Beliefs
Enactments
Interpretations
SENSEMAKING
The Community is
the Expert System
Cultural
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
Explicit
knowledge
KNOWLEDGE CREATING
Knowledge
from France,
Canada exp.
Premises
Eureka as
Organizational
Innovation
Risk, Uncertainty
Routines
Rules
DECISION MAKING
© CW Choo FIS University of Toronto
The Community is
the Expert System
Apply in
Other
Areas
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