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Applying Corporate
                           Knowledge
                          Management
                            Practices         in Higher Education
                Colleges and universities have significant opportunities
                to apply knowledge management practices to support
                              every part of their mission
                                        by Jillinda J. Kidwell, Karen M. Vander Linde, and Sandra L. Johnson




     A
               re the concepts of knowledge                 We believe there is tremendous value      tual assets into enduring value. It con-
               management (KM) applicable to              to higher education institutions that       nects people with the knowledge that
               colleges and universities? Some            develop initiatives to share knowledge to   they need to take action, when they
     would argue that sharing knowledge is                achieve business objectives. This article   need it. In the corporate sector, manag-
     their raison d’être. If that is the case, then the   outlines the basic concepts of knowledge    ing knowledge is considered key to
     higher education sector should be replete            management as it is applied in the cor-     achieving breakthrough competitive
     with examples of institutions that leverage          porate sector, considers trends, and        advantage.
     knowledge to spur innovation, improve                explores how it might be applied in            But what is knowledge? Knowledge
     customer service, or achieve operational             higher education and whether higher         starts as data—raw facts and numbers—
     excellence. However, although some                   education is ready to embrace it.           for example, the market value of an insti-
     examples exist, they are the exception                                                           tution’s endowment. Information is data
     rather than the rule. Knowledge manage-              Knowledge Basics                            put into context—in the same example,
     ment is a new field, and experiments are             Knowledge management is the process         the endowment per student at a particu-
     just beginning in higher education.                  of transforming information and intellec-   lar institution. Information is readily cap-

28   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   • Number 4 2000
tured in documents or in databases; even                     the people in an organization. It involves                  management is to make the right knowl-
large amounts are fairly easy to retrieve                    perceptions, insights, experiences, and                     edge available to the right people at the
with modern information technology                           craftsmanship. Tacit knowledge is:                          right time.
systems.                                                     • Personal
   Before acting on information, how-                        • Context-specific                                          New Trends in Knowledge
ever, we need to take one more step.                         • Difficult to formalize                                    Management
Only when information is combined                            • Difficult to communicate                                  Several trends will shape the field of
with experience and judgment does it                         • More difficult to transfer                                knowledge management in the not-too-
become knowledge. Knowledge can be                           Most business actions require the                           distant future:
highly subjective and hard to codify. It                     guidance of both explicit and tacit                         • Emerging technology solutions
includes the insight and wisdom of                           knowledge.                                                  • The convergence of knowledge man-
employees. It may be shared through e-                          How does knowledge work in organi-                         agement with e-business
mailed “best practices” memos or even                        zations? Knowledge originates in indi-                      • The movement from limited knowl-
sticky notes on a cubicle wall. And once                     viduals, but it is embodied in teams and                      edge management projects to more
we have knowledge, we can put it to                          organizations, as shown in Figure 1. In                       enterprisewide projects
work and apply it to decision making.                        an organization, examples of explicit                       • Increasing use of knowledge manage-
   A popular framework for thinking                          knowledge are strategies, methodolo-                          ment to enhance innovation
about knowledge proposes two main                            gies, processes, patents, products, and                     • Increasing use of tacit knowledge
types of knowledge: explicit and tacit (see                  services. Examples of tacit knowledge in                      (rather than explicit knowledge)
Figure 1).1 Explicit knowledge is docu-                      an organizational context are skills and
mented information that can facilitate                       competencies, experiences, relationships                    EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
action. It can be expressed in formal,                       within and outside the organization,                        SOLUTIONS
shared language. Examples include for-                       individual beliefs and values, and ideas.                   Lotus Notes, the software that packaged
mulas, equations, rules, and best prac-                         Knowledge also is embedded in work                       e-mail with data repositories and basic
tices. Explicit knowledge is:                                processes, and it exists in all core func-                  collaborative tools, was the first catalyst
• Packaged                                                   tions of an organization as well as in its                  for knowledge management. Since Notes,
• Easily codified                                            systems and infrastructure. Effective                       most KM applications (including later
• Communicable                                               knowledge management programs iden-                         versions of Notes) have migrated to
• Transferable                                               tify and leverage the know-how embed-                       intranet-friendly, Web-based platforms.
   Tacit knowledge is know-how and                           ded in work, with a focus on how it will                    Currently available solutions for search
learning embedded within the minds of                        be applied. The challenge in knowledge                      and retrieval, e-mail, collaboration, and so
                                                                                                                         forth are much better today than they
  Figure 1:Tacit and Explicit Knowledge                                                                                  were even a year ago. However, no single
                                                                                      Know-how and learning              application does all of these things well.
    Documented information                                                             embedded within the
    that can facilitate action                                                        minds of the people in                It is likely that the next “killer applica-
                                                                                         the organization                tion” for knowledge management will be
                                                                       Perceptions
                        Formulate,     Books,            Mental                                                          the corporate portal—a gateway to
                        Equations,    Databases,        models,          Insights    Know-how
                          Rules         Text            Patterns                                                         applications that integrate collaborative
     Explicit                                                          Experiences
    Knowledge                                                                                   Tacit Knowledge          tools, business intelligence, and unstruc-
                            Best         Procedures
                                                                                                                         tured text search capabilities. Portals
                          practice       and Policies                                Beliefs,
                                                                      Skills,        Values                              started as a way to organize a variety of
      Packaged                                                     Craftmanship                 Personal
      Easily codified     Products,        Designs,                                             Context-specific         Web-based information sources on one
      Communicable        Machines        Blueprints                                            Difficult to formalize
      Transferable                                                                              Difficult to             desktop interface: a search tool, news
      Can be                                                                                    communicate
      expressed in                                                                              More difficult to        feeds, links to favorite Web sites, content
      formal, shared                                                                            transfer
      language                                                                                                           organized by topic, and so forth. Corpo-
                                                                                                                         rate portals do the same thing, allowing
                        Knowledge guides actions and informs decisions.
                                                                                                                         users to customize their desktops to
Source: Copyright 2000, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP                                                                       show information from a variety of

                                                                                                                                Number 4 2000 •   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   29
sources within the organization (and                 One reason for this trend is that the       pany could be recognized as a best-prac-
     usually from outside the firewall as well).          Web-based technologies that support e-      tice exemplar of knowledge management
        Some universities are already making              business are now being applied to sup-      by having a single successful initiative—
     use of the corporate portal concept. For             port KM (and vice versa). A more pow-       for having developed a robust intranet, for
     example, one major state university sys-             erful reason is that both disciplines are   instance, or initiating communities of
     tem is developing Web-based portals to               about creating conversations, sharing       practice or redesigning a core business
     deliver integrated services previously               knowledge, and building communities.        process around knowledge sharing.
     addressed in a very disaggregated fash-              Knowledge management has been about            This early tendency to focus on one
     ion. The business objectives of the first            breaking down barriers within the orga-     type of initiative has fueled the debate
     portal—for the university’s central                  nization, and e-business has been about     between experts advocating a technocen-
     administration—include institutional                 breaking down barriers between the          tric approach to knowledge management
     marketing, creating brand identity,                  organization and its customers.             and those advocating a learning-centric
     building community with prospective                    A major application of the conver-        approach. Organizations are already real-
     students and parents, becoming the gate-             gence of e-business and knowledge man-      izing that it does no good to have robust
     way for finding information about uni-               agement will be in managing business-       technology solutions if the existing cul-
     versity resources and programs, and pro-             to-business customer relationships.         ture prevents knowledge sharing, and
     viding a rich information environment                                                            conversely that it does little good to have
     for decision making. The portal serves                                                           pockets of robust knowledge sharing
     multiple functions for multiple cus-                       Knowledge management has              without some technological means of
     tomers with one tool.                                       been about breaking down             making knowledge widely accessible.
        Development of a second, similar por-                                                            As organizations share their lessons
     tal supports the vision of a new inter-
                                                                     barriers within the              learned about implementing knowledge
     campus collaborative for teaching and                      organization, and e-business          management programs, some are discov-
     learning with technology. That vision                        has been about breaking             ering the interdependent nature of KM
     calls for uniting the collective interests                                                       capabilities. They are finding that a bal-
     and goals of the campuses in the system                     down barriers between the            anced portfolio of knowledge manage-
     in nurturing excellence in the use of                          organization and its              ment initiatives yields the best results
     technology for teaching and learning.                                                            and that excelling at technology-related
                                                                         customers.
     The portal will improve the efficiency of                                                        capabilities does not preclude excelling
     knowledge exchange and deliver a set of                                                          at people- or process-related capabilities.
     shared business objectives that include                                                          (In fact, excelling in one area may well
     communications around best practices, a              Extending the organization’s communi-       depend on excelling in another.)
     gateway to research on the use of teach-             ties to include the customer in the gen-
     ing and learning through technology,                 eration and exchange of knowledge           MOVING FROM BEST PRACTICES
     professional development, policy devel-              promises to be an effective competitive     TO INNOVATION
     opment and review, and resource devel-               advantage.                                  A March 2000 Conference Board survey
     opment. The portal provides the faculty                                                          report indicated that most knowledge
     members at the individual campuses with              FROM LIMITED PROJECTS TO                    management programs are still focused on
     efficient, direct links to current knowl-            HOLISTIC PROGRAMS                           creating repositories for storing and dif-
     edge about teaching and learning                     As knowledge management matures as a        fusing best practices, focusing on opera-
     through technology among the cam-                    corporate discipline, more companies will   tional excellence and cost reduction.2
     puses of the university system, nation-              gravitate toward a more holistic approach   While many companies have earned a
     ally, and internationally.                           to KM. Research shows that although         significant payback from these efforts, the
                                                          many companies have begun to develop        real payoff may lie in applying knowledge
     CONVERGENCE WITH E-BUSINESS                          some sort of knowledge management           management to spur innovation.
     The trend toward portals as the technol-             capability, very few (6 percent) have          Nokia is a good example of a company
     ogy tool of choice for knowledge leads               implemented knowledge management            that has applied knowledge management
     to another trend: the convergence of                 programs on an enterprisewide scale.        to encourage innovation in its R&D and
     knowledge management and e-business.                 Over the past two or three years, a com-    product development functions. The

30   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   • Number 4 2000
company uses knowledge management                 staff who possess institutional knowl-       ent in an institution’s readiness to
practices to make sense of market trends          edge. For example, what institution does     embrace knowledge management is its
and customer requirements and quickly             not have a faculty member who has led        culture—the beliefs, values, norms, and
puts that knowledge into action in the            successful curriculum revision task          behaviors that are unique to an organiza-
product development pipeline. Industry            forces? Or a departmental secretary who      tion. Informally, it is the unwritten rules
analysts report that Nokia delivers a new         knows how to navigate the complex pro-       or “how things really get done.”3 Higher
mobile communication product about                posal development or procurement pro-        education is moving from the old culture
every 25 days.                                    cesses? Or a researcher who has informal     that considers, “What’s in it for me?” to a
                                                  connections to the National Science          new culture that says, “What’s in it for
ADVANCES IN WORKING WITH                          Foundation? Or a special assistant to the    our customer?” And it is developing a
TACIT KNOWLEDGE                                   president who has uncovered (or gener-       culture that is ready to embrace knowl-
Explicit knowledge, which consists of             ated) useful reports that individual deans   edge management.
formulas, equations, rules, and best prac-        or department chairs could use to               As institutions launch knowledge man-
tices, is easier to work with than tacit          develop their own strategic plans?           agement initiatives, they can learn lessons
knowledge, which involves perceptions,               Relying on the institutional knowledge    from their counterparts in the corporate
experiences, and insights because it can          of unique individuals can hamper the         sector. Some key points to remember are:
be recorded, stored in databases, and                                                          • Start with strategy. Before doing any-
transported easily. The problem is that it                                                        thing else, determine what you
is a little too portable—if you have it                                                           want to accomplish with knowledge
today, your competitors will likely have it                                                       management.
                                                        An institutionwide approach
tomorrow. And in any case, the mechan-                                                         • Organizational infrastructure—human
ics of managing explicit knowledge are                   to knowledge management                  resources, financial measurements of
sufficiently well known that it will not                   can lead to exponential                success, and information technology—
provide a lasting competitive advantage.                                                          should support knowledge manage-
   The ability to manage tacit knowl-
                                                          improvements in sharing                 ment. Think of technology as an enabler, and
edge, on the other hand, promises to                             knowledge.                       measure the impact of KM in financial
deliver huge returns for organizations                                                            terms, such as cost reductions, cus-
that learn to use it effectively. The rea-                                                        tomer satisfaction, and speed to market.
son is that in the most valuable knowl-                                                        • Seek a high-level champion for the initiative—
edge-intensive businesses—software                flexibility and responsiveness of any           someone who believes in its benefits
development, say, or product design—              organization. The challenge is to convert       and who can advocate as needed.
the difference between a good performer           the information that currently resides in    • Select a pilot project for knowledge manage-
and the best performer is huge. And the           those individuals and make it widely and        ment—ideally one with high impact on
difference that matters most lies in tacit        easily available to any faculty member,         the organization but of low risk to build
knowledge: a deep understanding of                staff person, or other constituent.             credibility for knowledge management.
how to act on knowledge effectively.                 An institutionwide approach to               If possible, make the pilot one that par-
                                                  knowledge management can lead to                ticipants will enjoy and find rewarding.
Applying KM in Higher                             exponential improvements in sharing          • Develop a detailed action plan for the pilot that
Education                                         knowledge—both explicit and tacit—              defines the process, the IT infrastruc-
Using knowledge management tech-                  and the subsequent surge benefits.              ture, and the roles and incentives of the
niques and technologies in higher educa-          Tables 1 through 5 illustrate how knowl-        pilot project team.
tion is as vital as it is in the corporate sec-   edge management applications could           • After the pilot, assess the results and refine
tor. If done effectively, it can lead to better   benefit a number of university processes        the action plan.
decision-making capabilities, reduced             and services: the research process, cur-
“product” development cycle time (for             riculum development process, student         Summary
example, curriculum development and               and alumni services, administrative ser-     Colleges and universities have significant
research), improved academic and admin-           vices, and strategic planning.               opportunities to apply knowledge man-
istrative services, and reduced costs.               Is higher education ready to embrace      agement practices to support every part of
   Consider the number of faculty and             knowledge management? A key ingredi-         their mission—from education to public

                                                                                                       Number 4 2000 •   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   31
Table 1: Application and Benefits of KM for the Research Process
       Knowledge Management Application                                                                  Benefits
       A repository of:                                                                                  • Increased competitiveness and
       • Research interests within an institution or at affiliated institutions (potential                 responsiveness for research
          subcontractors).                                                                                 grants, contracts, and commercial
       • Research results (where possible) and funding organizations (federal agencies, foundations,       opportunities.
          and corporations) with easy search capabilities to facilitate interdisciplinary opportunities. • Reduced turnaround time for
       • Commercial opportunities for research results.                                                    research.
                                                                                                         • Minimized devotion of research
       A portal for research administration procedures and best practices related to:                      resources to administrative tasks.
       • Funding opportunities.                                                                          • Facilitation of interdisciplinary
       • Pre-populated proposals, budgets, and protocols.                                                  research.
       • Proposal-routing policies and procedures.                                                       • Leveraging of previous research
       • Award notification, account setup, and negotiation policies and procedures.                       and proposal efforts.
       • Contract and grant management policies and procedures.                                          • Improved internal and external
       • Technical and financial report templates and policies and procedures.                             services and effectiveness.
       • Overview of internal services, resources, and staff.                                            • Reduced administrative costs.


               Table 2: Application and Benefits of KM for the Curriculum Development Process
       Knowledge Management Application                                                               Benefits
       • Repository of curriculum revision efforts that includes research conducted, effective-       • Enhanced quality of curriculum and pro-
         ness measures, best practices, lessons learned, and so forth.                                  grams by identifying and leveraging best
       • Repository of content modularized and arranged to facilitate interdisciplinary curricu-        practices and monitoring outcomes.
         lum design and development.                                                                  • Improved speed of curriculum revision
       • Portal of information related to teaching and learning with technology, including fac-         and updating.
         ulty development opportunities, outcomes tracking, lessons learned, best practices,          • Enhanced faculty development efforts,
         technology overviews, and so forth.                                                            especially for new faculty.
       • “Hubs” of information in each disciplinary area, including updated materials, recent         • Improved administrative services
         publications, applicable research, and so forth.                                               related to teaching and learning with
       • Repository of pedagogy and assessment techniques, including best practices, out-               technology.
         comes tracking, faculty development opportunities, and research.                             • Improved responsiveness by monitoring
       • Repository of analyzed student evaluations updated each semester for lessons                   and incorporating lessons learned from
         learned and best practices for all faculty.                                                    the experiences of colleagues, student
       • Portal for new faculty with guides for developing curriculum, working with senior fac-         evaluations, and corporate or other
         ulty, establishing effective teaching styles, advising do’s and don’ts, supervising PhD stu-   constituent input.
         dents, and so forth.                                                                         • Interdisciplinary curriculum design and
       • Repository of corporate relationships to identify curriculum design advisory task              development facilitated by navigating
         forces, guest speakers, adjuncts, case study sites, and so forth.                              across departmental boundaries.


                      Table 3: Application and Benefits of KM for Student and Alumni Services
       Knowledge Management Application                                                                          Benefits
       • Portal for student services for both students and for faculty and staff at the institution so that they • Improved services for students.
         are well informed to advise students. Information could include policies and procedures related to      • Improved service capability of
         admissions, financial aid, registration, degree audit, billing, payment process, advising and tutoring,   faculty and staff.
         housing, dining, and other services.This portal could be personalized for individual schools or stu-    • Improved services for
         dent groups to customize service offerings.                                                               alumni and other external
       • Portal for career placement services (potentially part of a large portal for all corporate connec-        constituents.
         tions) to provide a one-stop service center for students, but also for faculty and staff to ensure they • Improved effectiveness and
         are informed.                                                                                             efficiency of advising efforts (to
       • Repository of student affairs services for faculty and staff to ensure all constituents understand        integrate fragmented efforts
         existing services and can provide proper advising.                                                        currently undertaken by fac-
       • Portal for alumni and development services to minimize redundant efforts; capture contact reports;        ulty, academic support staff,
         and link to research, curriculum, and career development efforts.                                         student services staff, and stu-
       • Portal for information on outreach constituents to integrate efforts and minimize redundant efforts.      dent affairs staff.


32   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   • Number 4 2000
Table 4:   Application and Benefits of KM for Administrative Services
  Knowledge Management Application                                                                  Benefits
  • Portal for financial services (that is, budgeting and accounting) that includes                 • Improved effectiveness and efficiency of adminis-
    FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and communities of interest to                       trative services.
    share information and serve as impetus for improvement efforts.                                 • Enhanced ability to identify improvement efforts.
  • Portal for procurement (that is, purchasing, accounts payable, receiving, ware-                 • Improved ability to support the trend toward
    housing) that includes FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and com-                      decentralization (for example, local business cen-
    munities of interest (for example, by commodity, purchasing vehicle, vendor,                      ters) by providing guidelines for consistency.
    and so forth) to share information and serve as impetus for improvement                         • Improved compliance with administrative policies
    efforts (for example, leverage lessons learned from others in the institution,                    such as procurement, preferred vendors, procure-
    design on-line vendor sites such as Web-based catalogs).                                          ment card policies, budgeting procedures, affirma-
  • Portal for human resources (that is, vacancy-to-hire, payroll, affirmative action,                tive action guidelines, and so forth.
    and so forth) that includes FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and                    • Improved responsiveness and communication
    communities of interest to share information and serve as impetus for                             capabilities.
    improvement efforts.



                           Table 5:   Application and Benefits of KM for Strategic Planning
  Knowledge Management Application                                                                 Benefits
  • Office of Knowledge Management, emerging from the previous Office of                           • Improved ability to support the trend toward
    Institutional Research.                                                                          decentralized strategic planning and decision
  • Portal for internal information that catalogs the strategic plans, reports                       making (for example, block budgeting, responsi-
    developed for external audiences (for example, IPEDS, accreditation                              bility center management). Better information
    reports), clear data definitions, presentations by executives, and so forth.                     leads to better decisions!
  • Portal for external information, including benchmark studies, environ-                         • Improved sharing of internal and external infor-
    mental scans, competitor data, links to research groups, higher education                        mation to minimize redundant efforts and lessen
    research groups and publications, presentations by executives, and so                            the reporting burden plaguing many institutions
    forth.                                                                                           today.
  • Monthly “market watch” developed in tandem with Admissions, Continu-                           • Enhanced ability to develop up-to-date and
    ing Education, Alumni and Development, and others that document key                              market-focused strategic plans.
    trends and potential implications.                                                             • Shared knowledge from a variety of con-
  • Repository of data related to accountability and outcomes tracking by                            stituents to begin to create a “learning organiza-
    monitoring assessments, performance indicators, benchmarking, and so                             tion” which is responsive to market trends.
    forth.




service to research. Knowledge manage-             Endnotes:
                                                   1. T. M. Koulopoulos and C. Frappaolo, Smart                   © 2001 Jossey-Bass Inc.
ment should not strike higher education
                                                      Things to Know about Knowledge Management (Dover,           This article was adapted from a chapter by
institutions as a radically new idea; rather,         NH: Capstone US, 1999); M. Polanyi, The Tacit               the authors that appears in Gerald Bernbom,
it is a new spin on their raison d’être. But          Dimension (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1967).
                                                                                                                  ed., Information Alchemy: The Art and Science of
                                                   2. B. Hackett, Beyond Knowledge Management: New
implementing knowledge management                     Ways to Work (New York: The Conference                      Knowledge Management (San Francisco: Jossey-
practices wisely is a lesson that the                 Board, March 2000).                                         Bass, A Wiley Company, 2001) and is re-
                                                   3. Ibid.
smartest organizations in the corporate                                                                           printed here with permission. It is the third
and not-for-profit sectors are learning all                                                                       title in the EDUCAUSE Leadership Strate-
over again. e                                      Jillinda J. Kidwell (jill.j.kidwell@us.pwcglobal.com) is a     gies series. A complimentary copy of the
                                                   partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC); Karen             book has been sent to each EDUCAUSE
Acknowledgments                                    M. Vander Linde (karen.m.vanderlinde@us.pwcglobal.             member organization; additional copies may
The authors appreciate the contributions to this                                                                  be ordered from EDUCAUSE (http://
work of several PricewaterhouseCoopers col-        com) is a partner of PwC and a senior partner in PwC’s
leagues: Deborah Furey and Dorothy Yu for Figure                                                                  www.educause.edu/pub/pubs.html#books) or
                                                   Center for Performance Improvement; Sandra L. Johnson
1; Michael Sousa for Tables 1 through 5; and                                                                      Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers (http://www.
Richard Warrick for the section on new trends in   (sandra.l.johnson@us.pwcglobal.com) is a director in the
                                                                                                                  josseybass.com).
knowledge management.                              education practice of PwC.


                                                                                                                      Number 4 2000 •   E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY   33

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Applying Corporate Knowledge Management

  • 1. Applying Corporate Knowledge Management Practices in Higher Education Colleges and universities have significant opportunities to apply knowledge management practices to support every part of their mission by Jillinda J. Kidwell, Karen M. Vander Linde, and Sandra L. Johnson A re the concepts of knowledge We believe there is tremendous value tual assets into enduring value. It con- management (KM) applicable to to higher education institutions that nects people with the knowledge that colleges and universities? Some develop initiatives to share knowledge to they need to take action, when they would argue that sharing knowledge is achieve business objectives. This article need it. In the corporate sector, manag- their raison d’être. If that is the case, then the outlines the basic concepts of knowledge ing knowledge is considered key to higher education sector should be replete management as it is applied in the cor- achieving breakthrough competitive with examples of institutions that leverage porate sector, considers trends, and advantage. knowledge to spur innovation, improve explores how it might be applied in But what is knowledge? Knowledge customer service, or achieve operational higher education and whether higher starts as data—raw facts and numbers— excellence. However, although some education is ready to embrace it. for example, the market value of an insti- examples exist, they are the exception tution’s endowment. Information is data rather than the rule. Knowledge manage- Knowledge Basics put into context—in the same example, ment is a new field, and experiments are Knowledge management is the process the endowment per student at a particu- just beginning in higher education. of transforming information and intellec- lar institution. Information is readily cap- 28 E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY • Number 4 2000
  • 2. tured in documents or in databases; even the people in an organization. It involves management is to make the right knowl- large amounts are fairly easy to retrieve perceptions, insights, experiences, and edge available to the right people at the with modern information technology craftsmanship. Tacit knowledge is: right time. systems. • Personal Before acting on information, how- • Context-specific New Trends in Knowledge ever, we need to take one more step. • Difficult to formalize Management Only when information is combined • Difficult to communicate Several trends will shape the field of with experience and judgment does it • More difficult to transfer knowledge management in the not-too- become knowledge. Knowledge can be Most business actions require the distant future: highly subjective and hard to codify. It guidance of both explicit and tacit • Emerging technology solutions includes the insight and wisdom of knowledge. • The convergence of knowledge man- employees. It may be shared through e- How does knowledge work in organi- agement with e-business mailed “best practices” memos or even zations? Knowledge originates in indi- • The movement from limited knowl- sticky notes on a cubicle wall. And once viduals, but it is embodied in teams and edge management projects to more we have knowledge, we can put it to organizations, as shown in Figure 1. In enterprisewide projects work and apply it to decision making. an organization, examples of explicit • Increasing use of knowledge manage- A popular framework for thinking knowledge are strategies, methodolo- ment to enhance innovation about knowledge proposes two main gies, processes, patents, products, and • Increasing use of tacit knowledge types of knowledge: explicit and tacit (see services. Examples of tacit knowledge in (rather than explicit knowledge) Figure 1).1 Explicit knowledge is docu- an organizational context are skills and mented information that can facilitate competencies, experiences, relationships EMERGING TECHNOLOGY action. It can be expressed in formal, within and outside the organization, SOLUTIONS shared language. Examples include for- individual beliefs and values, and ideas. Lotus Notes, the software that packaged mulas, equations, rules, and best prac- Knowledge also is embedded in work e-mail with data repositories and basic tices. Explicit knowledge is: processes, and it exists in all core func- collaborative tools, was the first catalyst • Packaged tions of an organization as well as in its for knowledge management. Since Notes, • Easily codified systems and infrastructure. Effective most KM applications (including later • Communicable knowledge management programs iden- versions of Notes) have migrated to • Transferable tify and leverage the know-how embed- intranet-friendly, Web-based platforms. Tacit knowledge is know-how and ded in work, with a focus on how it will Currently available solutions for search learning embedded within the minds of be applied. The challenge in knowledge and retrieval, e-mail, collaboration, and so forth are much better today than they Figure 1:Tacit and Explicit Knowledge were even a year ago. However, no single Know-how and learning application does all of these things well. Documented information embedded within the that can facilitate action minds of the people in It is likely that the next “killer applica- the organization tion” for knowledge management will be Perceptions Formulate, Books, Mental the corporate portal—a gateway to Equations, Databases, models, Insights Know-how Rules Text Patterns applications that integrate collaborative Explicit Experiences Knowledge Tacit Knowledge tools, business intelligence, and unstruc- Best Procedures tured text search capabilities. Portals practice and Policies Beliefs, Skills, Values started as a way to organize a variety of Packaged Craftmanship Personal Easily codified Products, Designs, Context-specific Web-based information sources on one Communicable Machines Blueprints Difficult to formalize Transferable Difficult to desktop interface: a search tool, news Can be communicate expressed in More difficult to feeds, links to favorite Web sites, content formal, shared transfer language organized by topic, and so forth. Corpo- rate portals do the same thing, allowing Knowledge guides actions and informs decisions. users to customize their desktops to Source: Copyright 2000, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP show information from a variety of Number 4 2000 • E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY 29
  • 3. sources within the organization (and One reason for this trend is that the pany could be recognized as a best-prac- usually from outside the firewall as well). Web-based technologies that support e- tice exemplar of knowledge management Some universities are already making business are now being applied to sup- by having a single successful initiative— use of the corporate portal concept. For port KM (and vice versa). A more pow- for having developed a robust intranet, for example, one major state university sys- erful reason is that both disciplines are instance, or initiating communities of tem is developing Web-based portals to about creating conversations, sharing practice or redesigning a core business deliver integrated services previously knowledge, and building communities. process around knowledge sharing. addressed in a very disaggregated fash- Knowledge management has been about This early tendency to focus on one ion. The business objectives of the first breaking down barriers within the orga- type of initiative has fueled the debate portal—for the university’s central nization, and e-business has been about between experts advocating a technocen- administration—include institutional breaking down barriers between the tric approach to knowledge management marketing, creating brand identity, organization and its customers. and those advocating a learning-centric building community with prospective A major application of the conver- approach. Organizations are already real- students and parents, becoming the gate- gence of e-business and knowledge man- izing that it does no good to have robust way for finding information about uni- agement will be in managing business- technology solutions if the existing cul- versity resources and programs, and pro- to-business customer relationships. ture prevents knowledge sharing, and viding a rich information environment conversely that it does little good to have for decision making. The portal serves pockets of robust knowledge sharing multiple functions for multiple cus- Knowledge management has without some technological means of tomers with one tool. been about breaking down making knowledge widely accessible. Development of a second, similar por- As organizations share their lessons tal supports the vision of a new inter- barriers within the learned about implementing knowledge campus collaborative for teaching and organization, and e-business management programs, some are discov- learning with technology. That vision has been about breaking ering the interdependent nature of KM calls for uniting the collective interests capabilities. They are finding that a bal- and goals of the campuses in the system down barriers between the anced portfolio of knowledge manage- in nurturing excellence in the use of organization and its ment initiatives yields the best results technology for teaching and learning. and that excelling at technology-related customers. The portal will improve the efficiency of capabilities does not preclude excelling knowledge exchange and deliver a set of at people- or process-related capabilities. shared business objectives that include (In fact, excelling in one area may well communications around best practices, a Extending the organization’s communi- depend on excelling in another.) gateway to research on the use of teach- ties to include the customer in the gen- ing and learning through technology, eration and exchange of knowledge MOVING FROM BEST PRACTICES professional development, policy devel- promises to be an effective competitive TO INNOVATION opment and review, and resource devel- advantage. A March 2000 Conference Board survey opment. The portal provides the faculty report indicated that most knowledge members at the individual campuses with FROM LIMITED PROJECTS TO management programs are still focused on efficient, direct links to current knowl- HOLISTIC PROGRAMS creating repositories for storing and dif- edge about teaching and learning As knowledge management matures as a fusing best practices, focusing on opera- through technology among the cam- corporate discipline, more companies will tional excellence and cost reduction.2 puses of the university system, nation- gravitate toward a more holistic approach While many companies have earned a ally, and internationally. to KM. Research shows that although significant payback from these efforts, the many companies have begun to develop real payoff may lie in applying knowledge CONVERGENCE WITH E-BUSINESS some sort of knowledge management management to spur innovation. The trend toward portals as the technol- capability, very few (6 percent) have Nokia is a good example of a company ogy tool of choice for knowledge leads implemented knowledge management that has applied knowledge management to another trend: the convergence of programs on an enterprisewide scale. to encourage innovation in its R&D and knowledge management and e-business. Over the past two or three years, a com- product development functions. The 30 E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY • Number 4 2000
  • 4. company uses knowledge management staff who possess institutional knowl- ent in an institution’s readiness to practices to make sense of market trends edge. For example, what institution does embrace knowledge management is its and customer requirements and quickly not have a faculty member who has led culture—the beliefs, values, norms, and puts that knowledge into action in the successful curriculum revision task behaviors that are unique to an organiza- product development pipeline. Industry forces? Or a departmental secretary who tion. Informally, it is the unwritten rules analysts report that Nokia delivers a new knows how to navigate the complex pro- or “how things really get done.”3 Higher mobile communication product about posal development or procurement pro- education is moving from the old culture every 25 days. cesses? Or a researcher who has informal that considers, “What’s in it for me?” to a connections to the National Science new culture that says, “What’s in it for ADVANCES IN WORKING WITH Foundation? Or a special assistant to the our customer?” And it is developing a TACIT KNOWLEDGE president who has uncovered (or gener- culture that is ready to embrace knowl- Explicit knowledge, which consists of ated) useful reports that individual deans edge management. formulas, equations, rules, and best prac- or department chairs could use to As institutions launch knowledge man- tices, is easier to work with than tacit develop their own strategic plans? agement initiatives, they can learn lessons knowledge, which involves perceptions, Relying on the institutional knowledge from their counterparts in the corporate experiences, and insights because it can of unique individuals can hamper the sector. Some key points to remember are: be recorded, stored in databases, and • Start with strategy. Before doing any- transported easily. The problem is that it thing else, determine what you is a little too portable—if you have it want to accomplish with knowledge today, your competitors will likely have it management. An institutionwide approach tomorrow. And in any case, the mechan- • Organizational infrastructure—human ics of managing explicit knowledge are to knowledge management resources, financial measurements of sufficiently well known that it will not can lead to exponential success, and information technology— provide a lasting competitive advantage. should support knowledge manage- The ability to manage tacit knowl- improvements in sharing ment. Think of technology as an enabler, and edge, on the other hand, promises to knowledge. measure the impact of KM in financial deliver huge returns for organizations terms, such as cost reductions, cus- that learn to use it effectively. The rea- tomer satisfaction, and speed to market. son is that in the most valuable knowl- • Seek a high-level champion for the initiative— edge-intensive businesses—software flexibility and responsiveness of any someone who believes in its benefits development, say, or product design— organization. The challenge is to convert and who can advocate as needed. the difference between a good performer the information that currently resides in • Select a pilot project for knowledge manage- and the best performer is huge. And the those individuals and make it widely and ment—ideally one with high impact on difference that matters most lies in tacit easily available to any faculty member, the organization but of low risk to build knowledge: a deep understanding of staff person, or other constituent. credibility for knowledge management. how to act on knowledge effectively. An institutionwide approach to If possible, make the pilot one that par- knowledge management can lead to ticipants will enjoy and find rewarding. Applying KM in Higher exponential improvements in sharing • Develop a detailed action plan for the pilot that Education knowledge—both explicit and tacit— defines the process, the IT infrastruc- Using knowledge management tech- and the subsequent surge benefits. ture, and the roles and incentives of the niques and technologies in higher educa- Tables 1 through 5 illustrate how knowl- pilot project team. tion is as vital as it is in the corporate sec- edge management applications could • After the pilot, assess the results and refine tor. If done effectively, it can lead to better benefit a number of university processes the action plan. decision-making capabilities, reduced and services: the research process, cur- “product” development cycle time (for riculum development process, student Summary example, curriculum development and and alumni services, administrative ser- Colleges and universities have significant research), improved academic and admin- vices, and strategic planning. opportunities to apply knowledge man- istrative services, and reduced costs. Is higher education ready to embrace agement practices to support every part of Consider the number of faculty and knowledge management? A key ingredi- their mission—from education to public Number 4 2000 • E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY 31
  • 5. Table 1: Application and Benefits of KM for the Research Process Knowledge Management Application Benefits A repository of: • Increased competitiveness and • Research interests within an institution or at affiliated institutions (potential responsiveness for research subcontractors). grants, contracts, and commercial • Research results (where possible) and funding organizations (federal agencies, foundations, opportunities. and corporations) with easy search capabilities to facilitate interdisciplinary opportunities. • Reduced turnaround time for • Commercial opportunities for research results. research. • Minimized devotion of research A portal for research administration procedures and best practices related to: resources to administrative tasks. • Funding opportunities. • Facilitation of interdisciplinary • Pre-populated proposals, budgets, and protocols. research. • Proposal-routing policies and procedures. • Leveraging of previous research • Award notification, account setup, and negotiation policies and procedures. and proposal efforts. • Contract and grant management policies and procedures. • Improved internal and external • Technical and financial report templates and policies and procedures. services and effectiveness. • Overview of internal services, resources, and staff. • Reduced administrative costs. Table 2: Application and Benefits of KM for the Curriculum Development Process Knowledge Management Application Benefits • Repository of curriculum revision efforts that includes research conducted, effective- • Enhanced quality of curriculum and pro- ness measures, best practices, lessons learned, and so forth. grams by identifying and leveraging best • Repository of content modularized and arranged to facilitate interdisciplinary curricu- practices and monitoring outcomes. lum design and development. • Improved speed of curriculum revision • Portal of information related to teaching and learning with technology, including fac- and updating. ulty development opportunities, outcomes tracking, lessons learned, best practices, • Enhanced faculty development efforts, technology overviews, and so forth. especially for new faculty. • “Hubs” of information in each disciplinary area, including updated materials, recent • Improved administrative services publications, applicable research, and so forth. related to teaching and learning with • Repository of pedagogy and assessment techniques, including best practices, out- technology. comes tracking, faculty development opportunities, and research. • Improved responsiveness by monitoring • Repository of analyzed student evaluations updated each semester for lessons and incorporating lessons learned from learned and best practices for all faculty. the experiences of colleagues, student • Portal for new faculty with guides for developing curriculum, working with senior fac- evaluations, and corporate or other ulty, establishing effective teaching styles, advising do’s and don’ts, supervising PhD stu- constituent input. dents, and so forth. • Interdisciplinary curriculum design and • Repository of corporate relationships to identify curriculum design advisory task development facilitated by navigating forces, guest speakers, adjuncts, case study sites, and so forth. across departmental boundaries. Table 3: Application and Benefits of KM for Student and Alumni Services Knowledge Management Application Benefits • Portal for student services for both students and for faculty and staff at the institution so that they • Improved services for students. are well informed to advise students. Information could include policies and procedures related to • Improved service capability of admissions, financial aid, registration, degree audit, billing, payment process, advising and tutoring, faculty and staff. housing, dining, and other services.This portal could be personalized for individual schools or stu- • Improved services for dent groups to customize service offerings. alumni and other external • Portal for career placement services (potentially part of a large portal for all corporate connec- constituents. tions) to provide a one-stop service center for students, but also for faculty and staff to ensure they • Improved effectiveness and are informed. efficiency of advising efforts (to • Repository of student affairs services for faculty and staff to ensure all constituents understand integrate fragmented efforts existing services and can provide proper advising. currently undertaken by fac- • Portal for alumni and development services to minimize redundant efforts; capture contact reports; ulty, academic support staff, and link to research, curriculum, and career development efforts. student services staff, and stu- • Portal for information on outreach constituents to integrate efforts and minimize redundant efforts. dent affairs staff. 32 E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY • Number 4 2000
  • 6. Table 4: Application and Benefits of KM for Administrative Services Knowledge Management Application Benefits • Portal for financial services (that is, budgeting and accounting) that includes • Improved effectiveness and efficiency of adminis- FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and communities of interest to trative services. share information and serve as impetus for improvement efforts. • Enhanced ability to identify improvement efforts. • Portal for procurement (that is, purchasing, accounts payable, receiving, ware- • Improved ability to support the trend toward housing) that includes FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and com- decentralization (for example, local business cen- munities of interest (for example, by commodity, purchasing vehicle, vendor, ters) by providing guidelines for consistency. and so forth) to share information and serve as impetus for improvement • Improved compliance with administrative policies efforts (for example, leverage lessons learned from others in the institution, such as procurement, preferred vendors, procure- design on-line vendor sites such as Web-based catalogs). ment card policies, budgeting procedures, affirma- • Portal for human resources (that is, vacancy-to-hire, payroll, affirmative action, tive action guidelines, and so forth. and so forth) that includes FAQs, best practices, procedures, templates, and • Improved responsiveness and communication communities of interest to share information and serve as impetus for capabilities. improvement efforts. Table 5: Application and Benefits of KM for Strategic Planning Knowledge Management Application Benefits • Office of Knowledge Management, emerging from the previous Office of • Improved ability to support the trend toward Institutional Research. decentralized strategic planning and decision • Portal for internal information that catalogs the strategic plans, reports making (for example, block budgeting, responsi- developed for external audiences (for example, IPEDS, accreditation bility center management). Better information reports), clear data definitions, presentations by executives, and so forth. leads to better decisions! • Portal for external information, including benchmark studies, environ- • Improved sharing of internal and external infor- mental scans, competitor data, links to research groups, higher education mation to minimize redundant efforts and lessen research groups and publications, presentations by executives, and so the reporting burden plaguing many institutions forth. today. • Monthly “market watch” developed in tandem with Admissions, Continu- • Enhanced ability to develop up-to-date and ing Education, Alumni and Development, and others that document key market-focused strategic plans. trends and potential implications. • Shared knowledge from a variety of con- • Repository of data related to accountability and outcomes tracking by stituents to begin to create a “learning organiza- monitoring assessments, performance indicators, benchmarking, and so tion” which is responsive to market trends. forth. service to research. Knowledge manage- Endnotes: 1. T. M. Koulopoulos and C. Frappaolo, Smart © 2001 Jossey-Bass Inc. ment should not strike higher education Things to Know about Knowledge Management (Dover, This article was adapted from a chapter by institutions as a radically new idea; rather, NH: Capstone US, 1999); M. Polanyi, The Tacit the authors that appears in Gerald Bernbom, it is a new spin on their raison d’être. But Dimension (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1967). ed., Information Alchemy: The Art and Science of 2. B. Hackett, Beyond Knowledge Management: New implementing knowledge management Ways to Work (New York: The Conference Knowledge Management (San Francisco: Jossey- practices wisely is a lesson that the Board, March 2000). Bass, A Wiley Company, 2001) and is re- 3. Ibid. smartest organizations in the corporate printed here with permission. It is the third and not-for-profit sectors are learning all title in the EDUCAUSE Leadership Strate- over again. e Jillinda J. Kidwell (jill.j.kidwell@us.pwcglobal.com) is a gies series. A complimentary copy of the partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC); Karen book has been sent to each EDUCAUSE Acknowledgments M. Vander Linde (karen.m.vanderlinde@us.pwcglobal. member organization; additional copies may The authors appreciate the contributions to this be ordered from EDUCAUSE (http:// work of several PricewaterhouseCoopers col- com) is a partner of PwC and a senior partner in PwC’s leagues: Deborah Furey and Dorothy Yu for Figure www.educause.edu/pub/pubs.html#books) or Center for Performance Improvement; Sandra L. Johnson 1; Michael Sousa for Tables 1 through 5; and Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers (http://www. Richard Warrick for the section on new trends in (sandra.l.johnson@us.pwcglobal.com) is a director in the josseybass.com). knowledge management. education practice of PwC. Number 4 2000 • E D U C A U S E Q U A R T E R LY 33