Managing Knowledge: Sharing what we learn today and preserving for the future

Dr. Kimiz DalkirSchool of Information Studies

McGill Management Forum 27 November 2007

Were we not already managing our knowledge well (enough)? We are

– More global/international– More connected (9-5 followed by 5-9)– We are more mobile (min. of 3 careers)– We have to do more, faster with less resources

The babyboomers are retiring We face information overload every day 9/11 was a big wake up call

A day in the life of a valuable knowledge resource…

Who uses strategic knowledge resources? How often, why, howdo they add value…? How do we ensure knowledge continuity when people retire/leave?

How do they organize this valuable knowledge? Do they manage to find it again…..?

What are the consequences?

What is the cost of:– not sharing knowledge?– not finding knowledge that exists?– not finding the right knowledge?– not knowing it even exists?– Losing knowledge?

• Rework/reengineering not always possible

• When it is, it is always very costly

The keys to knowledge are often lost…

“Thirty-five years ago, NASA put men on the moon for US$24 billion over a decade. In the ensuing years, not only did NASA forget how to do it, as everyone involved retired and little effort was made to record what they knew, but in a cost cutting move, they lost the last set of blueprints for the only rocket ever built that was big enough to get there.”

(DeLong, 2004)

Anti-Terrorism & KM “After the first Anthrax attack,

the biggest problem we faced was not access to information – it was prioritization of information, and access to the right experts.” (CRTI, bioterrorism expert)

“After 9/11, we asked ourselves: why was no one able to connect the dots?” (David Ignatius, Assoc. Ed., The Washington Post)

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI)

Measuring the KM contribution to collaboration and organizational memory

The journey towards organizational learning – case study of Oxfam

How can we learn from the past – best practices (things we did better)and lessons learned (things to avoid repeating in the future!)

“We Know More than we Can Tell”

knowledge is an intellectual asset - yet only 10 -15% is actually written down

Impossible to document all knowledge - worse yet, this knowledge is lost once employee leaves

Which knowledge to transfer?

Mostly explicit: Knowing what… Knowing how to….

Mostly tacit: Knowing where to

find knowledge Knowing who knows

what and being able to contact/find them

One model of KM*:

Tacit

Explicit

Tacit Explicit

....

*Nonaka, I. and H. Takeuchi. The Knowledge Creating Company. New York: Oxford, 1995 .

How to manage knowledge?

Tacit

Explicit

Tacit Explicit

SocializationSocialization

CombinationCombination::

ExternalizationExternalization

InternalizationInternalization:

Tacit

•Exercises•Clusters•First Responder Workshops

•After action reviews •Symposia•Workshops• Tech Demos• Competency Map

•Lessons learned• New Protocols• Documents/Reports• Communications• Portal• Databases• Info Management

• Exercises• Shared Experience• Training

Rosa and Thomas are`hidden` experts

Social Network Analysis is used to follow the flow (or lack of flow)of knowledge

Orphaned database

What is Knowledge Management?

• KM is the process of capturing a company’s collective expertise

wherever it resides: in databases, on paper, in people’s heads – and

distributing it to wherever it can help produce the biggest payoff

(Hibbard, 1997)

Why worry about KM in universities?The university’s knowledge role

– Knowledge creation and codification = research

– Knowledge dissemination = education, training and publication

– Knowledge application = service to society

(Kargbo, 2002)

Explicit

Tacit

How well do universities manage their knowledge?

Do they:

– Exploit both tacit and explicit knowledge?

– Avoid duplicating information?

– Have opportunities to easily share and pool what they have learned?

– Know what they know and who knows what?

– Recognize knowledge as an asset and manage/leverage knowledge accordingly?

A successful learning organization should have:

– Learning Culture - an organizational climate that nurtures learning

– Processes - processes that encourage interaction across boundaries

– Tools and Techniques - methods that aid individual and group learning

– Skills and Motivation - to learn and adapt

(Leithwood and Louis, 1998)

Some things to keep in mind… What is your role in knowledge

management? CKO – CWO*? What knowledge-related challenges are you

facing today? How does important knowledge get shared

in your organizational unit?– What helps and what hinders this sharing?

*Chief Wisdom Officer (!!)

Additional resources of interest DeLong, D. (2004). Lost knowledge: confronting the threat of

an aging workforce. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Hibbard, J. (1997). Ernst and Young deploys app for

knowledge management. Information Week, July 28, 1997, p. 28.

Kargho, J. (2002). African universities and the challenge of knowledge creation and application in the information age. Library Review. Vol. 51/8, 2002 p.411-416.

Leithwood K., and Louis, K. Eds. (1998). Organizational learning in Schools. Lise: Swets, 1998.

Salkeld, L. (2007). Is this the man who sank the Titanic by walking off with the vital locker key? Daily Mail UK (available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Thank you for your attention

Kimiz.Dalkir@mcgill.ca

The Encyclopedia of Lost Knowledge….

Future Projects: