1. Knowledge Management and
Learning Organization
Tola KN

2. Working
Smarter, Not

3. Outline of the Presentation
► What is Knowledge ?
► Knowledge Management
► Learning Organization

4. What is Knowledge ?
“To represent reality in thought or experience
the way it really is on the basis of adequate
grounds.”

5. Data, Information & Knowledge
DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE
Definition Raw facts, figures Data placed into Information in
and records a form that is context to make
contained in a accessible, timely it insightful and
system. and accurate. relevant for
human action.
Reason Processing Storing / Insight,
Accessing. innovation,
improvement.

6. Two Kinds of Knowledge
Knowledge is intangible, dynamic, and difficult to
measure, but without it no organization can
survive.
Tacit: or unarticulated knowledge is more
personal, experiential, context specific, and hard
to formalize; is difficult to communicate or share
with others; and is generally in the heads of
individuals and teams.
Explicit: explicit knowledge can easily be
written down and codified.

7. Sources of knowledge
1. People
2. Books
3. Experience
4. Experimentation and observation
5. Thinking and pondering

8. Cont…
Common sense: Every one knows that it is so
Intuition: I just know it
Beliefs: it is based on personal conviction
Tenacity: verification over the years
Tradition: practice through generations
Personal Experience: personal testing and experience
Authority: the word of experts
Divine and supernatural powers: the revelations of God and of other powers
Reason and logic: the intellect can capture truth and knowledge directly
Scientific methods: knowledge is derived through empirical procedures

9. Documentation
► Documentation is a general term for a multiplicity of documents in a
chosen mix of media and with a certain collection. Purpose of
documentation is the use to support a tool or a process.
► Classical documentation is a set of documents printed on paper.
Documentation (to document) also refers to the process of providing
evidence.

10. Documentation composure
Documentation may include:
► written information for any read, projection or
technical performing,
► data media of any format and for any reproduction,
► other content.
► Common types of documentation include user guides,
white papers, on-line help, quick-reference guides. It is
less common to see hard-copy (paper) documentation.
Documentation is distributed via websites, software
products, and other on-line applications

11. Knowledge Management

12. Knowledge Management
► Defined in a variety of ways.
► KM in education: a strategy to enable people to develop a
set of practices to create, capture, share & use knowledge
to advance.
► KM focuses on:
 people who create and use knowledge.
 processes and technologies by which knowledge is
created, maintained and accessed.
 artifacts in which knowledge is stored (manuals,
databases, intranets, books, heads).

13. Definition
“knowledge management is the art of creating value from an
organization‟s intangible assets.” ( Saviby 2000)
“KM is a newly emerging , interdisciplinary business model dealing with all
aspects of knowledge within the context of the firm, including
knowledge creation , codification, sharing and how these activities
promote learning and innovation.” (Berkeley 2001)
“The systematic process of creating, maintaining and nurturing an
organization to make the best use of knowledge to create business
value and generate competitive advantage” (Nancy C. Shaw 2004)
“KM is the process of capturing and making use of a firm‟s collective
expertise anywhere in the business – on paper, in documents, in
database (called Explicit knowledge), or in people‟s heads ( called tacit
knowledge)”

14. Roots of Knowledge Management
Business
Transformation
Learning (BPR, TQM, culture)
Organization Innovation
Knowledge
Management
Intellectual Information
Assets/Capital Management
Knowledge-based
Systems

15. Sustainable Competitive
Advantage
•Shorter life-cycle of innovation
•Knowledge as an infinite resource
•Direct bottom-line returns Managing Overload
Sharing Best Practices •Inability to assimilate knowledge
•Avoid “ reinventing the wheel” •Data organization and storage
•Build on previous work is needed
Downsizing Globalization
•Loss of knowledge Why Manage •Decreased cycle times
•Portability of workers Knowledge? •Increased competitive pressures
•Lack of time and resources •Global access to knowledge
for knowledge acquisition •Adapting to local conditions
Embedded Knowledge Rapid Change
•Smart products •Avoid obsolescence
•Blurring of distinction between •Build on previous work
service and manufacturing firms •Streamline processes
•Value-added through intangibles •Sense and respond to change
Figure 12.4 Reasons for Managing Knowledge. ©IBM Global Services

16. Components of Knowledge Management
Collaboration
is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared
goals.
Content Management
is the set of processes and technologies that support the collection, managing, and publishing of
information in any form or medium.
Search
To make a careful examination or investigation of problem, search one's conscience for the right
solution to the problem.
Taxonomy management
is the science which deals with the study of identifying, grouping, and naming organisms according to
their established natural relationship.
Business Process Management
is a holistic management approach focused on aligning all aspects of an organization with the
wants and needs of clients. It promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving
for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology.
Business Intelligence
refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business
data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and
incomes.

17. Functions of Knowledge Management
1. Intermediation:-The act of intervening for the purpose of
bringing about a settlement
2. Externalization:- Attributing to outside causes
3. Internalization:- Learning (of values or attitudes etc.) that is
incorporated within yourself
4. Cognition:- The psychological result of perception and
learning and reasoning
5. Measurement:- "the measurements were carefully done"

18. Knowledge Work Activities
A cq u i r e
A n a l yz e
Or g a n i z e
Co d i f y
Co m m u n i
ca tte l i z e
U i
Result

19. Shared Problem
Solving
Buy or Rent Creating (R&D)
KNOWLEDGE
GENERATION
Communities of
Adaptation
Practice
Figure 12.5 Knowledge Generation Strategies

20. KM strategies in Organization
► Rewards (as a means of motivating for knowledge sharing)
► Storytelling (as a means of transferring tacit knowledge)
► Cross-project learning
► After action reviews
► Knowledge mapping (a map of knowledge repositories
within a company accessible by all)
► Expert directories (to enable knowledge seeker to reach to
the experts)
► specific subject

21. In Successful KM Programs
► Information is widely disseminated throughout
the organization. Wherever it is needed, it is
accessible.
► Accessible at a fast rate of speed.
► Virtual communities of practice share what is
known in a global fashion, independent of time
zones and other geographic limitations.
► Business boundaries are broad, and often
virtual in nature.
► Collaboration to support continuous innovation
and new knowledge creation.

22. Symptoms of KM Diffusion
Challenges
► No internal learning communities
► Lack of psychological safety
► Lack of workplace trust
► Arrogance of people who believe they
know everything, so why try?
► Lack of communication within an
organization made evident by continually
reinventing the same wheel
► Negativity and unrealistic expectations

23. Learning Organization
“Over the long run, superior performance
depends on superior learning.”
-- Peter Senge, leader of the learning organization movement

24. ► PhD graduate from
MIT in Systems
Management
► Founding chair of SoL
(Society for
Organizational
Learning)
► 1990 wrote The Fifth
Discipline

25. What is a Learning Organisation?
► "The essence of organisational learning is the
organisation's ability to use the amazing mental
capacity of all its members to create the kind of
processes that will improve its own" Nancy Dixon, 1994
► "Organisations where people continually expand their
capacity to create the results they truly desire, where
new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured,
where collective aspiration is set free, and where
people are continually learning to learn together“

26. Five Components of Learning
Organisation
Systems Personal
Thinking Mastery
Team Mental
Learning Models
Shared
Vision

27. Systems Thinking
 interdependency and change
 focus on whole not individual parts
 long-term goals vs. short-term benefits
 better appreciation of systems leads to
more appropriate action
 mind shift & understanding change
processes.
 „feedback‟ to reinforce/counteract action.
 recognize recurring structures
 remove root causes/problems

28. Personal Mastery
 personal competence and vision
 developing patience to look at
reality objectively
 organizations learn only through
individuals who learn
 never “arrive”; in continual
learning mode
 strive to clarify and deepen
personal vision
 deeply aware of growth areas and
tension between vision and reality

29. Mental Models
 changing ingrained assumptions
about influencing factors.
 deeply ingrained assumptions and
generalizations
 honest and critical analysis of deep-
rooted mental models
 transcend mental models in order
for change to take place

30. Shared Vision
 use instincts, intuition by sharing personal vision
 pictures of the future
 A genuine vision leads to people wanting to excel and learn
 Leaders must translate personal visions into shared visions
 Unearthing shared „pictures of the future‟ that foster genuine
commitment rather than compliance
 Leaders learn the counter-productiveness of trying to dictate a
vision, no matter how heartfelt.
(Senge 1990: 9)

31. Team Learning
 dialogue, discussion, group relationships
 accelerate org. learning through
 Team learning starts with „dialogue‟= the capacity of members of a
team to suspend assumptions and enter genuine „thinking together‟
 Allows the group to discover insights not attainable individually
 Shows group how to recognize the patterns of interaction that
undermine learning
(Senge 1990: 10)

32. A Learning Organization Is...
► Where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they
truly desire
► Where new patterns of thinking are nurtured
► Where collective aspiration is set free
► Where people are continually learning to see the whole together
► “When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team,
what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk
about being part of something larger than themselves, of being
connected, of being generative.”
(Senge 1990: 13)

33. Value to
Organization
Active Knowledge
Repositories Transfer
Expert Knowledge
Best Practices Organizational Base
Reports Learning Contact Links
Documents Expert Assistance as
Needed
Presentation Slides Decision Making
Communities of
Tips Tools Practice Index
Profiles for
Customization
Pushed Reports &
News
Collaboration Tools

34. Thank You
&
Happy
Labour Day