Scenario 2 can primarily be found in organizations that had an established separate organizational unit before that used to be responsible for “information and docu- mentation”, “internal documentation”, “document management”, “market research” or “information brokering”. In this scenario, the KM initiative is prima- rily designed as a centralized approach that develops the concepts, tools, instru- ments and knowledge products and services that are then applied decentrally in the business units. The knowledge itself is not centralized, but responsibility for the implementation and evaluation of a KM initiative, as well as for the organized knowledge transfer supported by codified knowledge and fostered networks and communities is attributed solely or at least primarily to a separate KM unit.
Table D-2 describes this scenario. Main goal is to establish a contact unit that coordinates and surveys the handling of knowledge in the organization, identifies knowledge gaps and suggests knowledge strategies which are approved by senior management and then implemented throughout the organization. This clearly iden- tifiable “heart of knowledge management” quickly raises awareness about KM in the organization. There is a danger that the perspective on KM is reduced to a ser- vice function and not a holistic one where the improvement of the handling of knowledge is everybody’s business in an organization. The substantial support by senior management can be used to lower organizational barriers to effective knowl-
10. See also chapter 14 - “Systems” on page 524 and the results of related empirical studies discussed there (e.g., Bullinger et al. 1997).
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edge sharing and redesign knowledge-intensive business processes with KM in mind. Specific KM roles are established throughout the organizations. Examples are knowledge partners and coordinators that are the linking pins between the cen- tral KM unit and the business units. Authors in the business units are assigned a publisher in the central KM unit that helps them to externalize, organize and link their knowledge.
From a process-oriented perspective, the main focus is on the design of a knowl- edge management process (development of knowledge goals and strategies, imple- mentation and evaluation/controlling) and of knowledge service processes.
TABLE D-2. Characterizing scenario 2: centralized “market and hierarchy”
attribute characterization strategy
metaphor market and hierarchy
goals make knowledge an organizational asset that is consequently and consistently administered; raise awareness of the importance of a systematic knowledge management; (re-)create or (re-)design organi- zational processes and structures around knowledge management;
lower organizational barriers due to competition between organiza- tional units by introducing market transactions for knowledge exchange
goal setting/strategy top-down goal setting; knowledge goals are related to business strat- egy
management support relatively high organizational position of the separate unit; clear backing of KM strategy/vision by senior management
organization
scope organization-wide
structural organiza- tion
stable, permanent separate organizational unit that has been around for some time
knowledge transfer and exchange
through knowledge services, planned personnel training and educa- tion as well as organized learning; via formal roles
roles knowledge manager, knowledge broker, knowledge (base) adminis- trator, author/publisher, knowledge partner and coordinator
process focus knowledge management process, design of knowledge service pro- cesses, e.g., submission process, search process, knowledge push process
organizational culture
law-and-order and (preferred) market model of exchange of ideas
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The separate organizational unit in this view is the process owner of specific decentral knowledge processes. Examples are a submission process involving authors and subject matter specialists) and processes that offer knowledge services which can be used by the business units.
These knowledge services can also be used as vehicles to encourage a “market- oriented knowledge culture”. This aims at the development of a kind of (imperfect) market for knowledge products and services throughout the organization. Business units get accustomed to view knowledge as a resource for which they have to pay the separate organizational unit and, in the long run, other business units providing knowledge products or services for them. In most cases, however, organizations are still far from having established this type of culture and the law-and-order model relying on the hierarchy and the definition of roles as the primary formal medium to organize the exchange of knowledge prevails11.
The existence of an organizational unit that can be identified as a predecessor of a KM unit is one of the most important enablers for this scenario. Moreover, the
KMS
ICT infrastructure comprehensive KMS solutions, managed centrally; the emphasis is on integrative technologies combined with support for locating experts, initiation and support of communication between knowledge seekers and providers
KMS functions administration, knowledge search and presentation, acquisition, pub- lication, organization, communication, CBT and tele-learning
economics
funding initially central budget; later creation of an internal knowledge mar- ket; selling of KM services
measuring success intellectual capital approach assessing the impact of KM initiative to business goals; balanced scorecards; measures for quality, use of and user satisfaction with KMS and KM services
aspects of implementation
getting started institutionalize a separate organizational unit; develop a KM strategy enabler there is a large body of explicit knowledge in documents or highly
mobile knowledge workers who have to be coordinated
critical tasks sophisticated reward system to help to overcome organizational bar- riers for knowledge sharing, such as power structures, “families” or
“knowledge islands” which exchange knowledge within, but not between; access policies are important
11. See section 6.4 - “Organizational culture” on page 221.
TABLE D-2. Characterizing scenario 2: centralized “market and hierarchy”
attribute characterization
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existence of large volumes of documents and/or of highly mobile employees work- ing on projects whose competencies have to be recombined regularly is certainly encouraging a central coordinating unit.
Funding is frequently provided by a central budget assigned to the separate KM unit. Later on, this unit will more and more try to sell its services to its “custom- ers”, primarily the business units, but in certain cases (e.g., professional services companies) also external customers might be willing to pay for KM services (e.g., reports, consulting and knowledge brokering services, access to knowledge bases).
From an ICT point of view the centralized approach is in most cases supported by integration, discovery and publication services (cluster 1 in Figure D-5). The second important ICT pillar might be a coordinated data base of employees’ skills (yellow pages) that is used to broker information about who has what competencies and is motivated to work on what kinds of assignments. The separate organiza- tional unit develops an organizational and ICT infrastructure that aids the synchro- nous and/or asynchronous knowledge communication which can be direct between employees and/or mediated by documented knowledge elements, as person-to-per- son communication and/or communication in collectives of employees, particu- larly networks and communities. Consequently, the ICT support focuses primarily on knowledge mapping technologies, directory services, taxonomies, ontologies and a central knowledge repository. Additionally, discovery and publication ser- vices are primarily targeted to support the navigation and management of the large knowledge bases that regularly have to be managed in this scenario.
Due to the centralized nature of the scenario, a variety of types of knowledge is focused which is bound to individuals or treated as an object (cluster 2). The emphasis is on the one hand on electronically accessible, secured, explicit, formal, approved and institutionalized knowledge that is more abstract, general and decontextualized. The approach combines organization-internal and organization- external knowledge as the separate KM unit acts as an important and highly visible linking pin to external knowledge sources. On the other hand, unsecured and indi- vidual knowledge is focused as the second emphasis of the separate KM unit is to coordinate people with matching competencies (cluster 3).
In terms of KM roles the emphasis is on the explicit side with roles supporting transparency of knowledge as an object and bound to individuals, documentation, publication, standardization, organization and transfer of knowledge (cluster 4). A CKO or knowledge manager heads the separate unit and keeps in contact with knowledge partners and stakeholders from the business units and from outside the organization. Like already discussed in scenario 1, the KM initiative primarily tar- gets the formal organizational structure—teams and work groups—and to a much lesser extent informal forms of collectives such as networks and communities.
Subject matter specialists, knowledge administrators, authors and knowledge base administrators all aid knowledge communication between knowledge work- ers, support the externalization of knowledge throughout the organization.
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FIGURE D-5. Scenario 2: Centralized “market and hierarchy”
Organizational environment Strategic
level
Design level
Operational manage- ment level
ICT infrastructure, KM tools & systems KM roles
I II III
I
II
III
Chief Knowledge Officer/
knowledge manager knowledge partner/
stakeholder
knowledge base administrator
author
knowledge administrator mentor
coach
community manager
boundary
spanner knowledge
broker coordinator for
KM
subject matter specialist
knowledge
sponsor knowledge
skeptic network &
community team work group
knowledge worker/
participant/member of:
Knowledge
specific, particular, contextualized
abstract, general, decontextua- lized
tacit explicit
informal, unapproved
formal, approved, institutionalized
individual collective
unsecured secured
(electronically) inaccessible
(electronically) accessible organiza-
tion- external
organization- internal
object social system individual
2 Identification
Individual knowledge
Knowledge in use
Results
Validation
Application
Sharing Inter-subjective knowledge Institutionalization
Storing
Institutionalized knowledge
Intellectual access Physical access
Representation Feed-back
Accum ulating Developing
Recording Researching
Individual learning
Repackaging Reproduction
Dis sem
ina tion Communication
Internal communication
Knowledge products
&
services
9 8
5 3
7
6 3
1
Organizational learning cycle Verification 10
Linking
4
Org.
Learning Personal
valuation Classification
(knowledge push)
Selling Analyzing
Deletion Archiving Forgetting
Formal approval
Operational level
Creation Personal
valuation
Inter-personal valuation
Knowledge sources
Org. information Meta-information
2 Identification
Organization Collaboration
Community
knowledge Transactive
memory
Decisions
Types of knowledge management of
people & processes management of
ICT infrastructure management of knowledge
structures topics& management of
other interventions design of knowledge
structure & topics:
-
knowledge structures - taxonomies - ontologies
types of knowledge -
design of ICT resources:
- KMS architecture - functions of knowledge management tools &
systems
- deployment of KMS
design of other inter- ventions:
- architecture - recruitment of experts - therapeutic interven- tions
identification of knowledge gaps, definition of core competencies and strategic knowledge assets, development of knowledge (management) goals and strategies, evaluation of goal achievement organizational design:
- knowledge processes &
activities, knowl.-inten- sive business processes - roles&responsibilities - networks&communities
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They provide an electronically accessible, coordinated collection of knowledge elements that are linked with experts and networks as well as participants who value and comment them. Knowledge brokers are appointed within the separate KM unit to perform knowledge services for the business units.
On the operational level, the primary focus is on the phases preceding and fol- lowing the organizational learning cycle: the handling of knowledge sources (clus- ter 5) and knowledge products and services. Additionally, the emphasis is on insti- tutionalized knowledge and on the application of knowledge (cluster 6).