Focus for Knowledge Management

By KF Cheng | Thu, 10/01/2020 - 18:54

KM cannot be separate from real life.  Focus of Knowledge Management both for individuals and for organizations should include the following:

  1. Direction of Knowledge Management
    • Understand the change of the economy, worldwide trend, regional changes, or even political status that can shape the development of market, customers, industries that the organization or the individual is involved
    • Understand the evolving elements can also cause such impacts on the business or the individual, such as technology, consumer behaviors, etc.
    • Understand what the competitors are doing and their strategy, but not to exclude the possibility of competitors from outside existing areas
    • Understand the strategy of the organization or the individual what they wish to be now and future
    • Identify key knowledge that need to be acquired for the purpose of competition, sustainability and development
  2. Talent Development
    • Human Capital Development - Identity key talent required by the organization, and come up with strategy for HC development.  This can include internal training, or hire from external
    • Talent Development - Identity talents inside and outside of the organization, and strategically provide trainings.
    • Training & Development - Organize and arrange training opportunities for the target talents.    Trainings should not be limited to traditional sense of training, but equally important training in real-life participations, cooperation with partners, on-the-job, etc.
  3. Knowledge Acquisition Direction and Methodology
    • Direction should follow interests, needs,  and expected outcome
    • Methodology of learning, through education, classes, trainings, research, experiments, experience, ...
    • Verifications might be needed or involved such as tests, experiments including whether the knowledge concerned is suitable and applicable in situations or environments concerned.
  4. Collection and Repository of Knowledge
     
    It is all about how to organize the knowledge, including both explicit and tacit knowledge
     
    • What acquired knowledge be collected and deposited.
    • What are the key learning (experience, knowledge & wisdom)
    • How it should be deposited
      • How detailed, or how simplified, and why
      • How these knowledge to be re-used, under what scenarios or situations
    • How to do classifications
    • How efficient and effective for repository process
      • What tools are needed
    • How effective to be found
    • How relevant is the knowledge to the individuals or to the organization, or even to the clients, partners
    • What to be reposited, and what not - the strategy and guideline
  5. Discoveries and Innovation
    • New knowledge as a result of collected knowledge due to
      • Discovery of patterns that things happen again and again
      • Discovery of cost and resource saving
      • Observation of previously unattended areas or issues
      • Economy of scale
    • Enhancement and Improvements
      • in workmanship which provides product improvement, or better user-experience
      • workflow improvement which will reduce cost, resources or time of manufacturing
  6. Facilitation of Learning for followers
    • How to facilitate other people or followers to learn either past knowledge & experience, or new knowledge discovered
    • What is the reason for such learning, and what should be the focus

 

Examples from Singapore

 

For the Individuals

  • How these knowledge and learning will bring benefits or improved results to the individual (career development), or the organization who worked for
  • How can the organization, or other people can benefit due to your learning
  • What are the alternatives?  Are there other alternatives?  Which is better?

 

For the Organizations

  • What are the values/benefits in real term that can be brought to the organization after all these (all these are costs.  Learning is also a cost.)

 

Note

  • The focus is:
    • Always some benefits in real-term, tangible or intangible, that can be brought to other people or organization - not the individual
    • Compare:  What will be the difference (1) with the knowledge; and (ii) without the knowledge
  • The outcomes or results re-defines what knowledge is really needed, either for the individuals or for organizations.

 

How to Practice KM in Organizations

  • Identify what knowledge can bring real benefits to the organization
    • for now - improvements of products, workflow, reduction of cost & resources, simplification of workflow, improved products or user-experience to acquire larger market size
    • for future - market trend, competitors, technology improvement, ... which drives the change in products, user requirements, market needs, ... for survival in future market
    • for innovation - discovery or new market or new opportunities
    • A key question
      • What will be the difference if (1) with the knowledge; and (ii) without the knowledge
  • Allocate resources for exploration of knowledge & experience with potentials
    • Learning of new technology, methodologies, experiment and experience, identify relevancy, ...
    • Cost and expertise
  • Knowledge repository
    • Establish objectives and guidelines for knowledge repository
    • Identify suitable methodology to facilitate repository process
      • platform and facilities
  • For every strategy or tactics established, we should also ask:
    • What will be the difference if (i) follow it; and (ii) forget it
    • and in how long's term

 

Design Criterias

  • No. of Clicks to Target - not more than 3