).I would like to suggest that these sites are living laboratories if they function as they are intended. What exactly is the answer to a
question worth? How much is a person or group willing to pay? I will be monitoring these sites to see how they evolve, but they might very well be the basis for a model of what knowledge is worth. Keep your eye on these "ebays
of the mind."
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A Review and Synopsis of Managing Knowledge – A Practical Web-Based Approach by Wayne Applehans, Alden Globe, and Greg Laugero
In
knowldgWORKS News Volume 1 Number 12 KnowBits pointed you to a series of World Wide Web links on the Microsoft Web Site. The links consisted of a series of case studies offered by Microsoft as examples of how their technology could
be used as the basis of knowledge management efforts. Most of the case studies had very little to do with knowledge management, but quite a bit to do with Microsoft technology. One of the case studies distinguished itself. This was
the case study describing the knowledge management effort at J.D. Edwards. The description of the effort was so rich that I sprang for the book by the people responsible for the work at J.D. Edwards.
My overall opinion: BUY THIS BOOK !!
Without equivocation this book is the best compact description of what knowledge management is about. The book consists of practical information and advice about conducting a
knowledge management effort. It is short, to the point, and has lots of great diagrams. Here is a synopsis.
This book begins with a series of assumptions. They are as follows:
Assumption 1: (my favorite) "Knowledge
management does not have to be profound."
Assumption 2: You have a champion and are figuring out how to get started.
Assumption 3: Document management concepts, technologies, and procedures provide the basic disciplines to kick
off a successful effort.
Assumption 4: Yours is a mid to large size company with an intranet and extranet and an internet presence.
Assumption 5: Your business is consciously preparing for the internet economy.
The
parameters of the discussion are clearly set forth by these assumptions. But consider that even if you don't meet all of the assumption criteria, the information contained in this book is still extremely valuable.
One of
the challenges of any knowledge management effort is explaining why your organization might want to do knowledge management. Consider adopting these reasons :
1. Ease of partnering
2. Ease of managing expertise turnover
3. Ease of decentralizing decision-making
Each of these reasons represents a competitive imperative.
Any book about knowledge management needs to define the term. Remember my own definition goes, "Knowledge Management is the process of controlling, using,
manipulating, and communicating that which enables us to do things." Consider the authors's definition of knowledge.
The authors go on to say this is a tactical definition "because they are not interested in esoteric debates about the nature of epistemology." (Hooray !!)
With regard to managing knowledge, Applehans et al give the
following definition.
"managing knowledge means delivering the information and data people need to be effective in their jobs."
This book does not mince words. It tries to keep things fairly simple and straightforward. The authors represent the trichotemy of data, information and knowledge as a pyramid consisting of data at
the base, information in the middle and knowledge at the top. Interpreting this figure, one can infer the relationship between data, information and knowledge fairly easily.
The book is divided into four parts and several
chapters. Part one, "Getting Started", focuses on strategy and profiling people. Part 2 creates the basis for relating knowledge to the business and covers storyboarding the knowledge and designing the organization around the
knowledge it uses.
Part three deals with the topics, "Hiring People," "Modeling Content," and "Building the Technical Architecture."
Lastly part four presents a 90 day action plan.
One of the most
interesting parts of the book is in part two where business process is attached to the informational needs and people involved in the process. What this breakdown gives you is the ability to see where the knowledge resides and how
it is used in the business. The relationship of knowledge to process to people grounds a knowledge management effort in the business.
Given the success of the author's effort at J.D. Edwards, I certainly believe they are on
the right track. Given J.D. Edwards, size one has to wonder if the process scales down to smaller organizations. I would argue that, regardless of the size, the processes apply. The technical architecture may be substantially
different for a small organization but that does not change the desired results, and the process proposed by the authors should scale up and down for businesses of all sizes.
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