Knowledge Management Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Importance of knowledge management illustrated through the story of Bob, an employee with valuable knowledge about the organization’s systems.
• Bob’s retirement highlighted the lack of recorded enterprise knowledge.
• Need for a proper knowledge management system (KMS).

What is Knowledge Management?

• Definition: Process of identifying, organizing, storing, and disseminating information within an organization.
• Benefits:
  • Creates organizational memory.
  • Aids operational efficiencies.
  • Increases collaboration.
  • Identifies skill gaps.

Types of Knowledge

1. Tacit Knowledge:

   • Acquired through experience and intuitively understood (e.g., leadership skills).
   • Difficult to codify and write down.

2. Implicit Knowledge:

   • Know-how knowledge that is not recorded yet (e.g., Bob’s knowledge).
   • Can usually be codified with the right tools and processes.

3. Explicit Knowledge:

   • Information captured in documents (e.g., manuals, reports, guides).
   • Found in databases, white papers, and case studies.

Goals of Knowledge Management

• Make valuable enterprise knowledge accessible when needed.
• Implement a system for capturing, storing, and disseminating information.

Stages of Knowledge Management

1. Knowledge Creation:

   • Identify and document existing or new knowledge.

2. Knowledge Storage:

   • Use IT systems to host organizational knowledge for distribution.
   • Information must be formatted to meet repository requirements.

3. Knowledge Sharing:

   • Communicate processes to share knowledge across the organization.

Knowledge Management Tools

• Content Management System (CMS):

  • Manages web content; allows users to edit and publish.
  • Can be hosted publicly or on an intranet for internal use.

• Document Management System (DMS):

  • Centralized storage for digital documents (e.g., PDFs, images).
  • Suitable for storing how-to guides or lessons learned documents.

• Data Warehouse:

  • Aggregates data from various sources into a central data store.
  • Supports data analysis, data mining, AI, and machine learning.

Benefits of Knowledge Management

• Identification of Skill Gaps:

  • Highlight gaps in competencies when documenting knowledge.
  • Useful for training plans and hiring decisions.

• Data Security:

  • Customize permissions and control document security.
  • Ensure information is shared appropriately.

• Operational Efficiencies:

  • Faster decision-making and improved productivity.
  • Easier onboarding of new employees.
  • Support for customer self-service portals.

Conclusion

• Importance of a KMS to avoid loss of institutional knowledge.
• Encouragement to share thoughts on tech topics for future content.