Knowledge Management

Question 4

Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow:

A local business provides innovative water technology solutions in rural areas in South Africa. The solutions are pricey, so the company doesnt compete on costs, rather by providing cuttingedge products. Fortunately, the organisational environment the business operates in is stable and is likely to remain so. Management has realised the importance of continual investment in knowledge management, having started a formal program in the last two years. They are wanting to ramp up investment in suitable KM processes but are lacking a formal assessment process.

Q.4.1 Recommend KM subprocesses based on your identification of two contingency factors applicable to the business.

The following will help with the answer

Sub-processes:

1. Combination - Discovery of new explicit knowledge
2. Socialization - Facilitates sharing of tacit knowledge
3. Internalization - converting explicit into tacit knowledge (learning)
4. Externalization - converting tacit into explicit knowledge
5. Exchange - Focuses on sharing of explicit knowledge
6. Direction - Process of transferring instructions or decisions and nt transfer of knowledge required to make those decisions.
7. Routine - Utilization of knowledge embedded in procedures , rules and norms that guide future behaviour. Take time to develop, relying on constant repetition

• Organisations should use a combination of the four types of KM processes and systems
• Each KM process could benefit from two different sub-processes. Sub-processes are mutually complementary.
• Each of the seven sub-processes depend on the KM Mechanisms and technologies
• KM processes and systems should be considered in light of each other

Q.4.2 Select a suitable KM assessment method (quantitative and/or qualitative), with justification for your choice.

The following will help with the answer

Figure 4.2 A Detailed View of Knowledge Management Solutions Types of Management Assessment Nature of KM assessment - Qualitative KM assessment - Develops a basic understanding of whether the KM efforts are producing positive results - Focuses on signs, text, language instead of numbers - Quantitative KM assessment - Produces specific numerical scores indicating how well an org, subunit or individual is performing - May be based on surveys and may be in financial terms - Fig 12.1 page 298