ID 5042
Lenz, Katrin: Managing knowledge: How to implement a knowledge management concept /
Katrin Lenz - Hamburg: Diplomica GmbH, 2002
Zugl.: Rotterdam, Diplom, 2001
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Managing knowledge
2
"If you want to invest for one year, grow rice.
If you want to invest for 10 years, grow trees.
If you want to invest for 100 years, grow people."
Confucius
Managing knowledge
3
I. Executive Summary
Nowadays, where uncertainty is the only constant in business, organizations try to be
flexible enough to adapt to these changes.
Often, knowledge management is seen as storing documents in a database, thus hoping
to enhance knowledge sharing through the implementation of technology. But
knowledge management is more: to capture the implicit knowledge of the employees,
and the need to transform the culture of the company, into one, that supports knowledge
sharing. Moreover, the management has to set the example to encourage the employees
to share what they know. Many organizations fail to build trust among their employees
which is the basis for knowledge sharing.
Obviously, knowledge management is a combination of various factors, namely: a vision,
a cultural change, motivating factors (rewards, incentives), an easy-to-use system, a
committed workforce, etc. Knowledge management is therefore a result of a balance
between the human-resource and the technology-based approach. Information
technology is important in knowledge management, but it plays a rather supporting role.
There is no knowledge management concept that fits every organization, but there are
several important features, one finds in every successful knowledge management
initiative: The basis for encouraging knowledge sharing is trust among your employees and
a chat near the water cooler is often more valuable than forcing employees to store
"whatever they know" in the system. Therefore personal interaction should be encouraged
in an organization. The management needs to set the example, thus starting to share
knowledge and store it in the system to ensure that valuable information is in the system
before everyone else is required to use the system. Involving the employees from the
beginning on is furthermore important in building trust and in avoiding resistance. The
system has to be easy to understand and to use in order to avoid barriers to usage and
knowledge sharing.
The research has shown, that almost everyone who speaks about knowledge
management has a different definition of what it is. For some companies simple document
management might be enough, whereas especially consultancies should practice
knowledge management in all its details to truly exploit their intellectual capital.
Managing knowledge
4
II. Table of Contents
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
3
II. TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
?
PART 1: INTRODUCTION ?
1. Crossing the threshold to the age of ideas
6
1.1. Knowledge as a competitive advantage
6
1.2. Knaupp Scharpff Associates
8
1.3. Aims and Objectives of the study
9
1.4. Summary
9
?
PART 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ?
2. What is knowledge management and how can it be implemented?
10
2.1. Knowledge management The basics
10
2.1.1. From Data to knowledge
10
2.1.1.1. Explicit versus implicit knowledge
11
2.1.1.2. Individual versus collective knowledge
12
2.1.2. Knowledge management What it is
12
2.1.2.1. Driving Forces behind knowledge management
14
2.2. How to implement a knowledge management concept
15
2.2.1. Four key areas of knowledge management
15
2.2.1.1. Structure
15
2.2.1.2. Processes
16
2.2.1.3. People
18
2.2.1.4. Tools
23
2.2.2. The four phases of implementing a knowledge management concept
27
2.2.2.1. Infrastructure Evaluation
27
2.2.2.2. Knowledge management system analysis, design and development
28
2.2.2.3. Deployment
28
2.2.2.4. Evaluation
28
2.3. Summary
28
Managing knowledge
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?
PART 3: METHODOLOGY ?
3. Methodology
30
3.1. Problem Definition
30
3.2. Aims and Objectives
30
3.3. Research Questions
30
3.4. Research Design
31
3.5. Access to Data
31
3.6. Tools of Analysis
32
3.7. Limitations
32
3.8. Summary
32
?
PART 4: ANALYSIS ?
4. Analysis of the Interviews
33
4.1.Accenture
33
4.2. OC & C Strategy Consultants
45
4.3. Arideon AG
49
4.4. Knaupp Scharpff Associates
56
4.5. Summary
57
?
PART 5: RESULTS OF THE STUDY ?
5. Findings
58
5.1. General Findings
58
5.2. Structure
60
5.3. Processes
62
5.4. People
64
5.5. Tools
66
5.6. Summary
68
6. Conclusions
69
7. Recommendations
71
8. References
74
9. Glossary
77
10. Appendices
80
10.1. Interview Guideline
80
10.1.1. Interview Arideon AG
81
10.2. Additions to Literature Review
92
10.2.1. The Information Life Cycle
92
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?
Part 1: Introduction
?
1.
Crossing the threshold to the age of ideas
In this chapter an introduction into the topic as well as an introduction of the company will
be given. This shall enable the reader to understand the importance of knowledge
management as well as the aims and objectives of this study.
1.1.
Knowledge as a competitive advantage
"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the
ultimate competitive advantage."
-Jack Welch, CEO, General Electric
Apart from the type of industry, companies are becoming increasingly knowledge-based
and intellectual assets take the leading role in defining market value. To put it in another
way: "Today, the most successful companies are becoming brain-rich and asset-poor."
1
It
is essential for companies to understand the importance of knowledge management as
well as to incorporate a well-reasoned knowledge management concept. "Knowledge is
a unique resource in that it grows when shared."
2
Companies like Microsoft, Netscape, Coca-Cola, eBay, and Yahoo can be found under
the top U.S. companies with the highest market values in 1999
3
. The market value
represents the measure of value that the investors and markets associate with the
company. However, these companies are not valued for their tangible assets (buildings,
inventory, etc.), they are valued for something which cannot be shown on a balance
sheet: their intangibles. These include brand recognition, Patents, customer loyalty,
innovative business ideas, past achievements, etc. These companies are valued for the
knowledge they possess. However, knowledge is of little value, if it cannot be found when
needed. Therefore, a successful knowledge management concept is of crucial
importance for these companies.
The knowledge management market is growing rapidly and it will continue to advance
over the next years. Knowledge management is still a relatively young field with new
1
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 130
2
Harryson (2000), p. 1
3
Tiwana (2000), p. 25
Managing knowledge
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concepts emerging constantly. Most knowledge management initiatives have focused
entirely on changes in tools and technologies, such as intranets and Lotus Notes. But
knowledge management is more complex: it covers everything the company does to
make knowledge available to everyone. It includes the motivation of the employees to
share knowledge as well as the technology to make the knowledge available to
everyone.
The pioneers of knowledge management can be found in many organizations, but the
management consulting firms took a leading role. "When a consultant comes across a
problem that a client is facing, it is often very likely that some other client maybe in some
other country- has faced a similar problem in the past."
4
Management consulting firms
have to ensure that what individual consultants learned during consulting projects is made
available to everyone in the consulting firm by applying best practices and lessons
learned. Some management consultancies implemented sophisticated knowledge
management concepts that are widely recognized, such as:
?
Accenture's Knowledge Xchange
?
Arthur Andersen's Knowledge Enterprise
?
Ernst & Young's Center for Business Knowledge in Cleveland
?
KPMG's KWEB knowledge management infrastructure and Cyber Park Avenue
?
McKinsey & Company's practice development process, and
?
Booz Allen & Hamilton's Vision 2000.
The twenty-first century gives companies the tools and connectivity to easily obtain, share,
and act on information quickly. Knowledge management uses these possibilities and
recent studies showed that companies gained a competitive advantage by
implementing it. According to Accenture research, a well implemented knowledge
management process can improve employee productivity by an average of 60%.
To successfully apply knowledge management, companies need to implement a process
of motivating and inciting people to share information. The old saying "Knowledge is
power" is still popular. The people who are hoarding their knowledge believe that it makes
them irreplaceable. However, real power does not come from knowledge kept, but from
knowledge shared. People are expected to cooperate, to be open, to participate within
the new economy, but resistance can be expected.
4
Tiwana (2000), p. 50
Managing knowledge
8
Knowledge management should become part of everything an organization does, and
be part of everyone's job. "If companies are successful in managing knowledge, they
may even forget that they are doing it."
5
1.2. Knaupp Scharpff Associates
"In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the sure source of lasting
competitive advantage is knowledge."
6
This study is conducted for Knaupp Scharpff Associates in Berlin. Knaupp Scharpff
Associates is a small management consultancy, founded in April 2000 by Dr. Thilo Scharpff.
Knaupp Scharpff Associates consists presently of eight former Price Waterhouse & Coopers
consultants. Knaupp Scharpff Associates specialized in the following areas:
?
corporate finance and development,
?
mergers and acquisitions (M & A), and the
?
setting up of new small- and middle-sized enterprises.
Knaupp Scharpff Associates is highly interested in implementing a knowledge
management initiative, in particular in respect to the future intention of growth. The
consulting projects are processed by Knaupp Scharpff Associates consultants as well as
interims consultants. This shows very clearly that the need for a well-implemented
knowledge management concept is necessary in order to capture, not only the
knowledge of the Knaupp Scharpff Associates consultants, but also that of the interims
consultants. Furthermore, the interims consultants should also have access to the
knowledge management system of Knaupp Scharpff Associates. This study will develop a
knowledge management concept for Knaupp Scharpff Associates, based on theoretical
aspects, as well as interviews with consultancies that already implemented a successful
knowledge management system.
5
Davenport, Prusak (2000), p. xv
6
Drucker (1953)
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1.3. Aims and Objectives of the study
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled
high with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think
anew and act anew."
Abraham Lincoln
Knowledge management is still a relatively young field, with new concepts emerging
constantly. Few executives would argue with the premise that knowledge management is
critical but few know precisely what to do about it. Change is the only constant in
business nowadays. Many organizations already implemented successful knowledge
management concepts, whereas some others are just discovering the need for it.
Especially in consultancies, knowledge management is of crucial importance, because
they are dealing mainly with knowledge. Instead of having consultants start every new
project with a blank paper, every management consultancy should implement a
knowledge management initiative. This ensures that consultancies apply lessons learned
and best practices from past projects. Knaupp Scharpff Associates was just founded in
April 2000 and has not yet implemented a knowledge management concept. It already
makes use of Lotus Notes but it is interested in implementing a whole knowledge
management concept.
The aim of this thesis is therefore to draw a concept on how to implement a knowledge
management concept at Knaupp Scharpff Associates. This involves a reward-system, how
to change the corporate culture, how to distribute responsibilities, and how to involve
interims consultants. The objective is to examine existing knowledge management
concepts in consultancies and to derive a concept of how to implement a knowledge
management initiative from them.
1.4. Summary
Knowledge management is regarded as an important factor to enhance the
competitiveness of organizations. Many organizations saw the need of knowledge sharing
and therefore implemented knowledge management initiatives. There are, however,
various opinions of what knowledge management actually is and what needs to be
implemented.
Knaupp Scharpff Associates saw the growing need for a knowledge management system
as well and are highly interested in implementing a solution which suits their needs best.
Managing knowledge
10
?
Part 2: Literature Review ?
2. What is knowledge management and how can it be
implemented?
There are various different opinions on what knowledge management actually is. This
chapter presents an attempt to explain what it is and how it can be implemented, but
due to several definitions and approaches to knowledge management, this will be one
explanation among many others. First of all, the term knowledge will be explained to
derive from it a definition of knowledge management. Then four areas of an organization
will be discussed which are of great importance when implementing a knowledge
management concept and finally, four steps of implementing knowledge management
are presented.
2.1. Knowledge management The basics
In this section the basics of knowledge management are presented. These are of crucial
importance in understanding the need for a knowledge management initiative as well as
knowledge on how it is implemented.
2.1.1. From Data to knowledge
Before one is able to fully understand knowledge management, one has to understand
what is meant by knowledge and its different elements. There are numerous definitions of
knowledge. Webster's dictionary gives the following definition: "applies to facts or ideas
acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience." This definition clearly
indicates, that knowledge evolves with experience, successes, failures, and learning over
time. However, to truly understand knowledge, one first has to differentiate between data,
information and knowledge:
"Data is a set of particular and objective facts about an event or simply the structured
record of a transaction."
7
The data itself has no meaning. Meaning comes to these raw
facts and figures when they are transformed into some kind of information. According to
Drucker, "information is data endowed with relevance and purpose."
8
If experiences are
added to the information, it turns into knowledge. "Knowledge emerges in the minds of
7
Tiwana (2000), pp. 59-60
8
Tiwana (2000), p. 61
Managing knowledge
11
people, through their experiences and jobs."
9
Thomas Davenport and Laurence Prusak
suggest the following working definition of knowledge:
"Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, expert
insight and grounded intuition that provides an environment and framework for
evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is
applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only
in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices,
and norms".
10
Knowing how to do things effectively and efficiently in ways that other organizations
cannot duplicate is the primary source of profit nowadays. In an information economy,
knowledge and core competencies are key organizational assets. To make the
differences between data, information, and knowledge clear, an example will be used.
An Example: Taking a flight
11
Suppose you are trying to take an urgent flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Shanghai, China.
If you are using a travel agent's Website to find an appropriate flight, you are moving
through the different stages from data to knowledge:
?
The Website provides data about available flights and departure times. Therefore one
is able to collect the raw data needed to find the best flight.
?
There are two different flights, both are going via London. One is from British Airways
and stops at Heathrow Airport in London, the other one is a Delta flight, which leaves
two hours later in Atlanta and stops at Gatwick Airport in London. This is the necessary
information, one needs to find the most appropriate flight.
?
You know (from former flights) that flights to the Asian continent are leaving from
Gatwick Airport in London. You also know from previous experiences- that a bus ride
from Heathrow to Gatwick takes an hour. Therefore you realize that the plane that
leaves first will not arrive first. Based on this knowledge, you book the later flight.
2.1.1.1. Explicit versus implicit knowledge
Knowledge can either be in the form of documented information (explicit knowledge) or
in the form of know-how and embedded organizational learning processes within the
company (implicit knowledge). Implicit knowledge resides in people's heads; it is their
9
Tiwana (2000), p. 58
10
Davenport, Prusak (2000), p. 5
11
Modified according to Tiwana (2000), p. 59
Managing knowledge
12
abilities and the skills they have acquired through practice. Both types of knowledge build
up the internal knowledge base of a company.
2.1.1.2. Individual versus collective knowledge
Another distinction is drawn between individual and collective knowledge. Individual
knowledge represents the personal knowledge of an individual which can be explicit or
tacit. Collective knowledge is the knowledge of an organization. The goal of every
organization is to make the individual knowledge of the employees collective. Therefore
the corporate culture should support knowledge sharing.
After having understood knowledge, one is able to understand the different aspects of
knowledge management. In the next section, the basics of knowledge management will
be explained.
2.1.2. Knowledge management What it is
"Knowledge Management is a fancy term for a simple idea. You're managing data,
documents, and people's efforts. Your aim should be to enhance the way people work
together, share ideas, sometimes wrangle, and build on one another's ideas and then
act in concert for a common purpose."
- Bill Gates, CEO Microsoft Inc.
Sharing knowledge is important: It is one of three business processes for which General
Electric CEO Jack Welch takes personal responsibility (the others are allocating resources
and developing people).
12
The most frequently used definition of knowledge
management is to get the right knowledge to the right people at the right time so they
can work on it and achieve the best possible outcome. However, knowledge
management is more complex; it also involves the process of motivating employees to
share their knowledge, embedding key information in systems and processes, and
creating new knowledge. "The goal of knowledge management is to build and exploit
intellectual capital effectively and gainfully. "
13
Intellectual capital (IC) are the intangible
assets of a company, such as know-how, patents, brands, etc. IC has become popular
when in 1994 Skandia AFS published the first report on IC. Nowadays, many companies
manage IC as part of their day-to-day business. "IC is something you can't see, you can't
touch, and yet makes you rich."
14
12
www.fortune.com/indext.jhtml?channel=print_article.jhtml&doc_id=00000539 (27.04.2001)
13
Depres, Chauvel (2000) ; p. 6
14
Mertens, Heisig, Vorbeck (2001); p. 60
Managing knowledge
13
The Fraunhofer IPK's Competence Center Knowledge Management recently studied the
state of the art of knowledge management in Europe. Since former studies focused almost
exclusively on North America and the UK, this study focused on German TOP 1000 and
European TOP 200 companies. It was based on the business process classification of the
American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC), which was broadly recognized. The
study led the Fraunhofer IPK to the following definition of knowledge management which
will form the basis of this study:
"Knowledge Management describes all methods, instruments and tools that in a
holistic approach contribute to the promotion of the core knowledge processes to
generate knowledge, to store knowledge, to distribute knowledge and to apply
knowledge supported by the definition of knowledge goals and the identification of
knowledge in all areas and levels of the organization."
15
This definition shows very clearly, that knowledge management involves more than just
getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time. It involves everything the
organization does to make knowledge available to the business.
Knowledge management is closely associated with specific people, such as:
?
Peter Drucker was the first to use the name `knowledge worker' in 1969.
?
In 1997 the University of Berkeley in California set up a professorship for knowledge
management, which the Japanese professor Ikujiro Nonaka holds.
?
The Swedish financial services company Skandia AFS was the first to publish a Report of
its IC.
?
Professor Gilbert Probst developed the `building blocks' for knowledge management,
based on the core processes and problems related to it.
?
In the middle of the 90s the integrated concept of knowledge management (to
combine the technological and the human resource approach) emerged; professor
Bullinger is one of the advocates of this approach.
Knowledge management can be divided into the technological approach and the
human resource approach. The technological approach focuses on the employment of
information- and communication technologies, whereas the human resource approach
focuses on the people, who are the upholders of knowledge. Nowadays, knowledge
management initiatives combine the two approaches.
15
Mertins, Heisig, Vorbeck (2001); p. 3
Managing knowledge
14
Knowledge management is not a new concept: people are aware of the importance of
knowledge since many years. This subject once occupied even Plato and Aristotle and
many other philosophers after their time.
16
But why did it emerge in recent years? Which
factors contributed to the success of knowledge management as a competitive
advantage? The next section will deal with these questions. Understanding the drivers of
knowledge management is important in understanding the need for a knowledge
management concept.
2.1.2.1. Driving Forces behind knowledge management
International Data Corp. estimates that "FORTUNE 500 companies wasted $12 billion last
year as employees duplicated one another's work and waded through disorganized
files."
17
The emergence of knowledge management in recent years can be explained by several
external and internal causes.
18
Various changes in the environment within the last years
have forced companies to find new ways to respond. These are the major external driving
forces:
?
Globalization. The process of globalization led to increased competition, national as
well as international, and forced companies to be more effective. In global
competition, only the fittest survive.
?
Sophisticated customers. Customers are in a better position nowadays: companies
need to customize products and "treat customers as kings." Therefore companies
have to find ways to understand customers needs and capabilities better than their
competitors.
?
Sophisticated competitors. Competing companies implement continuously innovations
and an organization has to continuously learn to stay competitive.
?
Sophisticated suppliers. Suppliers improve their products continuously as well and one
has to understand these improvements in order to take advantage of it.
Also within companies, several developments changed the use of knowledge and
improved opportunities to manage it. These are the major internal driving forces behind
knowledge management:
?
Bottlenecks in enterprise effectiveness. Former bottlenecks have been removed, but
they moved from tangible areas to intangible ones, such as knowledge. Therefore one
has to understand these new areas to react effectively to bottlenecks.
16
Davenport, Prusak (2000), p. xviii
17
www.fortune.com/indext.jhtml?channel=print_article.jhtml&doc_id=00001577 (27.04.2001)
18
Despres, Chauvel (2000), pp. 10-12
Managing knowledge
15
?
Increased technological capabilities. Recently, many improvements in Information
Technology made knowledge management approaches utilizable.
?
Understanding of human cognitive functions. One has to understand how knowledge
affects decision-making to incorporate a successful knowledge management
concept.
This section built the basis of understanding knowledge management as well as its
implications. But how does an organization implement a knowledge management
initiative? What are the key areas of knowledge management? And how do you start
when implementing a concept? These questions will be addressed in the following section.
2.2. How to implement a knowledge management concept
2.2.1. Four key areas of knowledge management
The key to effective knowledge management is to define what knowledge and how it is
important to the organization and to create processes to put that knowledge to work.
There are four key areas for successfully building knowledge management capabilities
within an organization:
?
Structure,
?
Processes,
?
People, and
?
Tools.
2.2.1.1. Structure
"It is the context which gives the message its meaning to the data and turns it into
information."
19
The first step in developing a knowledge management initiative is identifying the areas in
the organization where knowledge-sharing can help improve business performance.
Therefore one has to focus on the strategic objectives of the firm. The corporate strategy is
important to create the right environment within the company. Its goal is to present the
aims of the organization to suppliers, customers, shareholders, etc. A corporate strategy
shows the employees where the company wants to go and therefore simplifies the process
of participating for the employees. This is also important for the knowledge management
system because then the needed knowledge to fulfill the organization's goals may be
identified. It is essential to start with a strategy that brings people, processes and tools
together and it must include a program for cultural change. A negative scenario is often
19
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 186
Managing knowledge
16
a more effective motivator for change than a positive one. A sense of crisis usually puts the
issues in stark relief, whereas it is often complicated to motivate the employees of an
organization to change if a company is apparently `healthy'.
A helpful tool that assists in deciding which knowledge is important is a knowledge map.
"A knowledge map is an overview of all the knowledge that is vital to the attainment of
strategic business goals."
20
The knowledge map also shows which domains are critical to
the future of the company.
The core competencies of the organization have to be identified in order to focus on
these areas within the knowledge management system. In doing this, organizations may
easily sustain and increase their competitive advantage. There are mainly two reasons
why companies need to define their value propositions and thus focus on their efforts. First,
focus on guarantees that valuable resources are applied to high-payoff areas. In most
businesses, there are only limited resources to spend on managing knowledge. The second
reason is that this focus helps ensure that the right knowledge is managed. The aim is to
determine what knowledge provides the highest business value, what needs to be
captured, its actual content, and who has it.
By defining what knowledge content counts, companies have a better chance of
obtaining valuable returns. To clarify the objectives helps to succeed in knowledge
management.
Identifying the owners and assisting them in sharing their knowledge is the key challenge of
any knowledge management initiative. This strong focus on motivation is one of the key
factors leading to the success of knowledge management projects.
2.2.1.2. Processes
Standardized processes should allow people to perform the key activities of knowledge
management, namely: create, share, use, collaborate, and improve knowledge.
Therefore the degree of connectivity between these core process activities of knowledge
management have to be evaluated, in order to standardize processes. The main
questions are: How is the created knowledge stored? How is the stored knowledge
shared? How is the shared knowledge used? How is new knowledge created? The result of
this analysis is a profile demonstrating the strong and weak points of the business process
depending on the degree of connectivity between the identified core activities.
21
The
optimization of the processes aim at closing identified gaps and sequencing the core tasks
of knowledge management. One principle is to use standardized procedures, methods,
tools and results. This is due to the fact that one important barrier to knowledge
20
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 232
Managing knowledge
17
management is the lack of time of staff and managers. "To understand knowledge
management as a work assignment means to incorporate it into daily business without
significantly increasing the workload of employees."
22
Therefore, the knowledge
management process has to be "baked" into key knowledge work processes.
People are not only the owners and the key enablers in using knowledge as a competitive
advantage, they are also the major limitation. When an organization implements a new
knowledge system such as Lotus Notes, the situation becomes clear: everybody wants to
get knowledge out, but nobody wants to put knowledge in. Maybe because the
ownership of knowledge is thought to make one irreplaceable ("Knowledge is power"),
people are unwilling to share it. "People need to be motivated and inspired to create and
share knowledge."
23
Companies are faced with a seemingly unsolvable problem: how to
gain the trust of their employees to share knowledge against a continuing trend of
downsizing and reengineering. But without trust, there will be no sharing of knowledge.
"When knowledge is shared in dialogue, the sharer knows it will only get richer. It will be
readjusted and supplemented by others. The result is a natural knowledge sharing
behavior."
24
Von Krogh, Ichijo, and Nonaka put it in a similar way: "Knowledge workers
cannot be bullied into creativity or information sharing; and the traditional forms of
compensation and organizational hierarchy do not motivate people sufficiently for them
to develop the strong relationships required for knowledge creation on a continuing
basis."
25
Therefore organizations have to instill a knowledge attitude in which sharing of
knowledge is natural. That implies to judge the knowledge of others in a positive way in
contrast to the not-invented-here syndrome. A corporate culture must support knowledge
sharing within a company. This is without doubt the hardest part in implementing a
knowledge management initiative. "Organizational culture should have several
components with regard to knowledge:
?
People have a positive orientation to knowledge employees are bright, intellectually
curious, willing and free to explore, and executives encourage their knowledge
creation and use.
?
People are not inhibited in sharing knowledge they are not alienated or resentful of
the company and do not fear that sharing knowledge will cost them their jobs.
?
The knowledge management project fits with the existing culture."
26
There is not "the right" organizational culture to support knowledge management. The
organizational culture may support knowledge sharing, but the employees have to be
willing to share.
21
Mertins, Heisig, Vorbeck (2001), p.29
22
Mertins, Heisig, Vorbeck (2001), p.42
23
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 182
24
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 165
25
Von Krogh, Ichijo, Nonaka (2000), p. 5
26
Davenport, De Long, and Beers (1998), p. 16
Managing knowledge
18
2.2.1.3. People
"Any time there is change, there is opportunity. So it is paramount that an organization get
energized rather than paralyzed."
- Jack Welch, CEO General Electric
Early hopes that knowledge could simply be vacuumed out of people's heads and stored
on databases are proving as naive as they were insensitive. Knowledge-intensive
companies must obtain the key competence of retaining their knowledge workers by
increasing the significance of motivation, rewards and compensation, and performance
appraisal. "If a key knowledge worker leaves, the company loses more than just that
employee; it loses the informal network that employee has constructed around himself or
herself and is in danger of losing clients who see their relationship not necessarily with the
company but rather with the individual concerned."
27
The set of rules and incentives that
administer knowledge transfer are as vital as the organizational framework itself. Rewards
and incentives need to encourage people not to compete with one another, but to share
and work together. The task of the human resource management is therefore to qualify
and motivate employees for the more efficient deployment of a corporate knowledge
management approach.
28
But how can employees be motivated in a way that they share
their knowledge and stay with the company for a long time? Daniel Goleman a widely
recognized author in the area of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and leadership qualities -
defines Motivation as "a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status, a
propensity to pursue goals with energy and enthusiasm."
29
Although job satisfaction and
morale are important, employee motivation is even more critical to a firm's success as one
can see from Goleman's definition of motivation. There are several theories about how to
the motivate employees, such as:
?
the Classical Theory of motivation (Workers are motivated solely by money)
?
the "Hawthorne Studies" ("Tendency for productivity to increase when workers believe
they are receiving special attention from management"
30
)
?
Maslow's "Hierarchy of needs" (People have several different needs, such as:
physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Maslow concludes
that because different people have different needs, they are motivated by different
things)
?
Herzberg's "Two-factor Theory" (Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction depend on two
factors: hygiene factors, such as working conditions, and motivation factors, such as
recognition for a well done job)
27
Tissen, Andriessen, Lekanne Deprez (2000), p. 169
28
Mertins, Heisig, Vorbeck (2001), p. 41
29
Henry (2001), 128
30
Ebert and Griffin (2000), p. 185
Managing knowledge
19
?
the Expectancy Theory (People are motivated to work toward rewards that they want
and that they believe they have a chance of obtaining)
?
the Equity Theory (People evaluate their treatment by the organization relative to the
treatment of others)
Deciding what provides job satisfaction and motivates workers is part of the Human
Resource Department's work. There are various strategies that can be applied within a firm
to motivate the employees, such as:
?
Reinforcement Theory (Encourage/discourage behavior of employees by means of
rewards and punishment)
?
Management by Objectives ("System of collaborative goal setting that extends from
the top of an organization to the bottom
31
")
?
Empowerment ("Process of enabling workers to set their own work goals, make
decisions, and solve problems within their sphere of responsibility and authority"
32
)
?
Participation ("giving employees a voice in making decisions about their own work"
33
)
?
Job Rotation Programs (Employees are rotating through various positions in the same
firm). Job rotation offers among others the following advantages:
34
1. obliging people
to learn new skills, 2. discouraging empire building, 3. providing employees with a
broader view of a company, which lets them appreciate colleague's problems, 4.
forcing management to prepare more than one person for a job, 5. creating
additional opportunities for those who might otherwise be trapped.
?
Modified work schedules, such as work-share and flextime programs ("Allowing
employees to select, within broad parameters, the hours they work"
35
)
?
Telecommuting and Virtual Offices (Form of flextime that allows employees to work
away from standard office settings)
In order to motivate their employees, managers may also apply many different styles of
leadership. Nowadays, more and more leaders find it necessary to change their own
behavior. Since organizations become flatter and workers are becoming more and more
empowered, managers are functioning more as "coaches" or "mentors" than "bosses".
Robin Rowley and Joseph Roevens go even one step further and advice leaders to
undergo four role changes to adapt to changing needs:
36
1.
Deal Maker: In this role, leaders articulate a vision for change.
2.
Coach: The leader listens to his employees, maybe questions some ideas and supports
his employees in making the company more successful.
31
Ebert and Griffin (2000), p. 190
32
Griffin (1999), p. 499
33
Griffin (1999), p. 499
34
Semler (1995), p. 331
35
Griffin (1999), p. 502
36
Rowley, Roevens (1999), p. 182
Managing knowledge
20
3.
Mentor: The leader is now a strategic advisor, who shares information, informs and
consults and supports his employees to do things their own way.
4.
Top Client: The leader acts now as the top client of the company who demands world-
class delivery from his employees.
Leaders who run through these four stages do truly empower their employees and move
to self-organizing teams which motivates employees.
Money is no longer the prime motivator for most people. But how can they be motivated
then? Which of the theories about motivation fits best for implementing a knowledge
management concept? Mahen Tampoe identified reward strategies to motivate and
compensate the so-called knowledge workers. "Knowledge workers are those who apply
their theoretical and practical understanding of an area of knowledge to produce
outcomes that have commercial, social or personal value."
37
He identified four key
expectations of knowledge workers concerning rewards. Knowledge workers are therefore
motivated by a mixture of the following:
?
personal growth (Self development rather than growing managerial or professional
skills)
?
autonomy (Being allowed to define their own rules)
?
creative achievement (Work that stimulates them intellectually rather than meeting
targets assigned by the organization)
?
financial rewards (Salary plus bonus on personal achievement)
The financial rewards were not very important since most of the knowledge workers that
participated in Tampoe's research were in well paid jobs. In which of the theories about
motivation does this reward system fit? "Motivational researchers and theorists who have
studied the motivation of knowledge workers agree that the Expectancy Theory of
motivation is the most appropriate for this category of employee."
38
The best way of motivating knowledge professionals to stay with a company are therefore
opportunities for self-expression and career development, combined with a fair share of
the profits. According to Tissen, Andriessen, and Lekanne Deprez people can be
motivated by three basic forces:
?
Personal forces. These come from within people themselves (i.e. strong political views).
?
Push forces. These come from other people (i.e. family, colleagues).
?
Pull forces. These come from external factors (i.e. second house, a new car).
All these theories show that rewarding an employee for sharing knowledge needs to be a
combination of several factors.
37
Mullins (1999), p. 440
38
Mullins (1999), p. 441
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- , 2001, Managing knowledge, Hamburg, Bedey Media GmbH, https://www.diplom.de/document/220191
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