Introduction to Knowledge

Management

By
Sophia Ahmed
Department of information system
Debere Birhan University
2021
Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction to Knowledge Management

• Knowledge Management Definition?
• Alternative views of knowledge
• Different types of knowledge
• Location of knowledge
• Forces driving knowledge management
• Knowledge management systems
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Introduction to KM

• Knowledge management (KM) is a process

that helps organizations identify, select, organize,
disseminate, and transfer important information and
expertise that are part of the organization’s memory
and that typically reside within the organization in an
unstructured manner.
• It is a process through which organizations generate
value from their intellectual property and knowledge-
based assets
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KM?
• KM involves the creation, dissemination, and
utilization of knowledge
• It is also viewed as the intersection between
People, Processes and Technology
• The information technologies that together
make knowledge management available
throughout an organization are referred to as a
knowledge management system (KMS).
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Concepts of Knowledge
• Difference among data, information and
knowledge
• Data is a raw facts on any thing
▫ Example - Addis Ababa, 1000,
1.8cm
• Information is
▫ a processed data meaningful to the
user
▫ A relationship between data sets
▫ Example
 Addis Ababa has 150c daily
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Alternative views …
• Information can have different meanings
in different contexts
▫ 40 degrees can have different meanings.
▫ Is the context of Medicine, Geography or
Engineering?
• Example
▫ 40 deg Celsius (is a sign of fever in Medicine);
▫ 40 deg Angle (has a shape like V in Geometry)
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Knowledge
• Knowledge is information combined with experience,
interpretation and reflection of an individual
• Knowledge is a justified personal belief.
▫ Knowledge is relative to the knower
▫ More structured information in the human mind
• A capability to apply information
• Example
 The programmer salary is small, I will not be a
programmer
• Actionable information
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Wisdom
• It is Knowledge that is combined with Learning,
Insight, Intuition and Judgmental abilities.
• Almost exclusive to our own minds.
• An Ability to make wise decisions and
judgment using one’s knowledge
• Example – King Solomon’s decision for
two
mothers
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Temtim Assefa (PhD),

Addis Ababa
University

Data to Knowledge Hierarchy

Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
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From Facts to wisdom

one example of the hierarchy

Volume Less is Value

Completeness More Structure
Objectivity Wisdom Subjectivit
y
Knowledge

Intelligence

Information
Facts
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– Alternative views Knowledge

• Subjective View of Knowledge
▫ According to the subjective view, reality is socially
constructed through interactions with individuals
(Schultze 1999).
▫ Knowledge is viewed as an ongoing accomplishment
that continuously affects and is influenced by social
practices (Boland and Tenkasi 1995).
▫ Knowledge cannot be placed at a single location, as it
has no existence independent of human experiences
▫ knowledge could be considered from two perspectives,
either as a state of mind or as practice.
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Subjective View of Knowledge

• Knowledge as State of Mind
▫ This perspective considers knowledge as being a state of
an
individual’s mind.

▫ Organizational knowledge is viewed here as the beliefs of

the individuals within the organization

▫ Various individuals have differing experiences and

backgrounds, their beliefs and hence knowledge, could
differ from each other.

▫ Under this view, the focus here is on enabling individuals to

enhance their personal areas of knowledge
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Subjective View of Knowledge …

• Knowledge as Practice
▫ According to this perspective, knowledge is also
considered as subjective but it is viewed as being
held by a group and not as being decomposable
into elements possessed by individuals.
▫ Thus, from this perspective, knowledge is “neither
possessed by any one agent, nor contained in any
one repository” (Schultze 1999, p. 10).
▫ Moreover, knowledge resides not in anyone’s
head
but in practice.
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Objective View of Knowledge

• The objective view is the diametrical opposite of the
subjective stance.
• Reality is independent of human perceptions and
can be structured in terms of a priori categories and
concepts (Schultze 1999).
• Consequently, knowledge can be located in the
form of an object or a capability that can be
discovered or improved by human agents.
• The objective view considers knowledge from three
possible perspectives.
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Objective View …
• Knowledge as Objects
• This perspective considers knowledge as
something that can be stored, transferred, and
manipulated.
• Consistent with the definition of knowledge as a
set of justified beliefs, these knowledge objects
(i.e., beliefs) can exist in a variety of locations
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Objective View …
• Knowledge as Access to Information
• This perspective considers knowledge as the
condition of access to information (Alavi
and Leidner 2001).
• Thus, knowledge is viewed here as something that
enables access and utilization of information.
• This perspective extends the above view of
knowledge as objects, emphasizing the accessibility
of the knowledge objects.
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Objective View …
• Knowledge as Capability
• This perspective is consistent with the last two
perspectives of knowledge as objects or as access
to information.
• The focus is on the way in which knowledge can
be applied to influence action.
• Emphasize knowledge as a strategic capability
that can potentially be applied to seek a
competitive advantage.
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Different types of knoweldge

• Knowledge is classified into different categories
in the existing literature
1) Procedural or Declarative Knowledge
• Declarative knowledge (facts) focuses on beliefs
about relationships among variables
• Procedural knowledge (how to ride a cycle)
focuses on beliefs relating sequences of steps or
actions to desired (or undesired) outcomes.
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Different types of knoweldge …

2) Tacit or Explicit Knowledge
• Another important classification of knowledge
views it as tacit or explicit (Nonaka 1994;
Polanyi 1966).
• Tacit knowledge includes insights, intuitions,
and hunches.
• Explicit knowledge typically refers to
knowledge that has been expressed into words
and numbers.
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Tacit Knowledge
• A knowledge that is embedded with the knower
• Highly contextual knowledge
• Unstructured as compared to explicit knowledge
• Difficult to verbalize and codify on knowledge
repositories and also to share it
• It contains the largest part of our knowledge
• As Polanyi Said “We know more than we can
say”
Temtim Assefa (PhD), Addis Ababa University
 29

Explicit knowledge
• Knowledge that can be verbalized and codified
• Knowledge that we found in books, databases
• Structured compared to tacit knowledge
• Easy to store in databases and documents
• It is easily accessible to every one as it is detached from
the Knower
• Some Researcher label it as Information
• The Issue is not resolved among philosophers
and scholars
• The smaller part of our knowledge
Temtim Assefa (PhD), Addis Ababa University
 30

Temtim Assefa (PhD),

Addis Ababa
University

Tacit versus Explicit knowledge

Explicit
knowledge

Tacit
knowledge
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Different types of knoweldge …

3) General or Specific Knowledge
• Focuses on whether the knowledge is possessed widely or
narrowly (Sabherwal and Becerra-Fernandez 2005).
• General knowledge is possessed by a large number of
individuals and can be transferred easily across individuals.
• For example, knowledge about the rules of football

• Specific knowledge, or “idiosyncratic knowledge,” is

possessed by a very limited number of individuals, and is
expensive to transfer
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Location of Knowledge
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Locations of Knowledge …
Individual knoweldge
• Individual knowledge is knowledge created and possessed by individuals

• It is the base for other categories of knowledge

• It is more of personal belief which may or may not be accepted by the group
and the organization

• More of tacit type knowledge

• Emanates from experience by doing tasks

• Individuals must share their knowledge to be used as organizational

knoweldge resource

• The knowledge stored in individuals is the reason several KM initiatives by

companies
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Locations of Knowledge …
Group knoweldge
• Considerable knowledge resides within groups because of the relationships
among the members of the group (Felin and Hesterly 2007).
• When people work together for a long time, (Skyrme 200they instinctively
know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, understand the other’s
approach, and recognize aspects that need to be communicated and those
that could be taken for granted0).
• Groups form beliefs about what works well and what does not,
• Collective knowledge is synergistic—greater than the sum of their individual
knowledge.
• Communities of practice that interact frequently with each other (physically
or virtually) to discuss topics of mutual interest, and they possess a typical
group knowledge
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Locations of Knowledge …
Knowledge in Artifacts
• Over time, a significant amount of knowledge is
stored in organizational artifacts as well.
• Knowledge is embedded in procedures, rules,
and norms that are developed through
experience over time and guide future behavior
(Levitt and March 1988).
• For example, fast-food franchises often store
knowledge about how to produce high-quality
products in routines (Argote and Ingram 2000).
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Location of knoweldge …
Knowledge in Organizational Entities
• Knowledge is also stored within organizational
entities.
• These entities can be considered at three
levels:
▫ Organizational units (parts of the
organization),
▫ An entire organization, and
▫ In interorganizational relationships (such as
the relationship between an organization and
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Organizational units
• In department or an office, knowledge is stored
partly in the relationships among the members
of the units.
• This knowledge may have been acquired through
the systems, practices, and relationships within
that unit.
• Moreover, contextually specific knowledge is
more likely to be related to the specific
organizational unit.
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Organizational knowledge
• An organization stores certain knowledge,
especially contextually specific knowledge such as
health and Banks.
• The norms, values, practices, and culture within the
organization, and across its organizational units,
contain knowledge that is not stored within the
mind of any one individual.
• Organizations respond to environmental events not
only upon the knowledge stored in individuals and
organizational units but also in the overall
organizational knowledge
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Interorganizational relationships …
• As organizations establish and consolidate relationships with
customers and suppliers, they draw upon knowledge
embedded in those relationships.
• Customers who use the organization’s products have
considerable knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses
of those products.
• Likewise suppliers who provide the basic components from
which the products are made,
• Organizations often learn from their customers’ experience
with products about how these can be improved.
• They can also learn about new products that might be
appealing to customers.
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Forces that drive KM

• Information and knowledge have become the
fields in which businesses compete.
• Several important factors include:
▫ Increasing Domain Complexity
▫ Accelerating Market Volatility
▫ Employee turnover
▫ Managing Information and Communication
Overload
▫ Knowledge Embedded in Products
▫ Sustainable Competitive Advantage
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Increasing Domain Complexity

• The complexity of the underlying knowledge domains is
increasing.
• The complexity of the knowledge required to complete a
specific business task has also increased.
• Sophistication of internal and external processes, increased
competition, and the rapid advancement of technology all
contribute to increasing domain complexity.
• For example, new product development requires the
partnership of interorganizational teams representing various
functional subunits—from finance to marketing to
engineering.
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Accelerating Market Volatility

• The pace of change, or volatility, within each

market domain has increased rapidly in the past
decade.
• For example, market and environmental
influences can result in overnight changes in an
organization.
• New products technologies are invented
every month
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Intensified Speed of Responsiveness

• The time required to take action based upon subtle changes
within and across domains is decreasing.
• The rapid advance in technology continually changes the
decision making landscape, making it imperative that
decisions be made and implemented quickly, lest the window
of opportunity closes.
• Today’s sale process is undertaken through online bidding
marketplaces
• Consider the dilemma faced by a hotel manager that
participates in an Internet auctioning market of hotel rooms:
“Should I book a $200 room for the bid offer of $80 and fill
the room or risk not accepting the bid hoping to get a walk-in
customer that will pay the $200?”
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Employee Turnover
• Organizations continue to face employee turnover
• Employee turnover inevitably leads to the
organization losing some of the knowledge
possessed by the departing individuals.
• Leaving individuals might have knowledge that
would be valuable to competitors.
• According to Kenny (2007), “As staff leave,
retraining is necessary. Replacing a full-time,
private-sector worker costs, at a bare minimum, 25
percent of his or her total annual compensation,
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Sustainable Competitive Advantage

• Knowledge has become third strategic resources of the
organization just like land and capital
• KM provides you to quickly integrate your knowledge
resources and convert into products and services
• Knowledge is unique to every organizations.
• Once you innovate new products using your knowledge,
it is not easily imitated
• Knowledge also increases your innovation capability and
able to create new products with short product life cycle
• All these feature gives you sustainable competitive
advantage
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Forces that drive …

• Managing Info Overload:
▫ data must be categorized in some manner if it is to be useful
rather than overwhelming
▫ Use of data mining tools help to overcome problem

• Knowledge Embedded in Products:

▫ the intangibles that add the most value to goods and services
are becoming increasingly knowledge-based
▫ Products like mobile banking, software products,
etc
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Knowledge Management Systems

• The term Knowledge management started

to be used in 1980s
• However activities were practiced before that by
Librarians, philosophers, teachers, and writers
• Denning (2000) relates how from
▫ “time immemorial, the elder, the traditional healer
and the midwife in the village have been the living
repositories of distilled experience in the life of
the community”
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KMS
• Rapid changes in the field of KM have resulted from the
dramatic progress we have witnessed in the field of
information technology (IT).
• IT facilitates sharing as well as accelerated growth of
knowledge.
• IT allows the movement of information at increasing speeds
and efficiencies.
• According to Bradley (1997):
▫ Today, knowledge is accumulating at an ever-increasing rate. It is
estimated that knowledge is currently doubling every 18 months
and, of course, the pace is increasing. . . . Technology facilitates
the speed at which knowledge and ideas proliferate (p. 54).

Temtim Assefa (PhD), Addis Ababa University

 50

KMS …
• The use of leading-edge information technologies
(e.g., Web-based conferencing) to support KM
mechanisms enables dramatic improvement in KM.
• Knowledge management mechanisms are
organizational or structural means used to promote
knowledge management.
• knowledge management systems (KMS): the
synergy between latest technologies and
social/structural mechanisms
• Technology + Social
Mechanisms = KMS
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KMS …
• Knowledge management systems utilize a variety of
KM mechanisms and technologies to support the
knowledge management processes.
• Based on observations of many organizations, a
framework emerges for classification of KM systems
as:
1. Knowledge Application Systems
2. Knowledge Capture Systems
3. Knowledge Sharing Systems
4. Knowledge Discovery Systems
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Issues in knowledge management

• Many attempts have been made to launch KM initiatives, but
not all KM implementations have been successful.
• Many KM systems implemented at organizations have failed
to enable knowledge workers to share their knowledge for the
benefit of the organization.
• The case in point is that effective KM is not about making a
choice between “software vs. wetware, classroom vs. hands-
on, formal vs, informal, technical vs. social”
• Effective KM uses all the options available to motivate
employees in order to put knowledge to work.
• Effective KM depends on recognizing that all of these options
basically need each other.
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Issues in KMS …
• Employees play active role building the content of KMS
unlike traditional information system.
• The successful implementation of KM systems requires
users not only effectively “use” such systems, but also
contribute to the knoweldge repository
• Managers understand the factors that lead to the
successful implementation of KM systems which is
area of research that is still in its infancy.
• Effective KM is 80 percent related to organizational
culture and human factors and 20 percent related to
technology
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Issues in KMS …
• KM practices must
▫ first identify ways to encourage and stimulate the
ability of employees to develop new knowledge.
▫ Second, KM methodologies and technologies must
enable effective ways to elicit, represent, organize,
reuse, and renew this knowledge.
▫ Third, KM should not distance itself from the
knowledge owners but instead celebrate and
recognize their position as experts in the
organization.
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END OF CHAPTER ONE