Moreover, Stonehouse et al. (2001) noted that the concept of knowledge management has evolved from research on organizational learning. They argue that it is simply the next phase of an evolutionary process of strategic frameworks that seek to explain how an organization may generate superior performance relative to the competitors in its market. Earlier approaches centred on the competitive position of an organization within its industry. Subsequent attention was focused on the creative mastery of an organization’s core competencies to achieve competitive advantage. Currently, the concentration is firmly upon effectively “working” knowledge to produce the fruits of fiscal gain, as reflected in the company’s financial statements and stock price. Concurrently, Senge (1994) contends that the only construct within grasp of an organization, which will produce lasting, sustainable advantage, is the usable knowledge produced from purposeful, well-orchestrated learning by all employees within the firm. This collaborative effort toward openness to learning and new ideas creates a culture of excitement and creativity, which forms the basis for the organization as a learning organism synergistically created by the steadfast efforts of individual employees committed to this underlying philosophy.
Several Approaches to Knowledge Management
Over the years, the extensive research on knowledge management identified a lot of different approaches to the practice of knowledge management. In fact these researches were able to determine which particular approach is compatible for a specific organization. This proves the fact that the actual way that knowledge management is implemented in an organization varies widely according to the types of organization, its industry and culture. Some o the most common approaches to knowledge management includes; approach through innovation, quality control, knowledge technology, human resource management, intellectual capital, strategic approach, network approach, learning organization approach, and Information and Communication Technology approach.
Knowledge management can be approached from the perspective of innovation. This perspective has an emphasis on research and development and marketing. More specifically the approach manages knowledge related to the acquirement of new products and services. The approach through innovation is particularly applicable to the recently popular software industry. For this industry, it is very important that new innovations are acquired as well as preserved in the organization since there is a very strict competition among companies in this industry. Furthermore, the modern consumers are increasingly demanding for innovative products and services necessary for the modern world.
An approach through quality control is basically aimed at the improvement of the quality of the products of a particular organization by means of quality safeguarding systems. This approach is applicable to organizations involved in the manufacturing industry. The learning organization approach as well as the organizational approach is more general compared to the approach from the perspective of quality control. These two focuses on the whole organization, in other words knowledge management is aimed at organisational development.
Knowledge management approached from the point of view of knowledge technology has an emphasis on the transfer of knowledge. Transfer of knowledge in this scenario is made explicit in knowledge systems. This approach is similar to the network approach. Like the former approach, the network approach is centered on knowledge sharing or the transfer of knowledge within the organization. In the network approach, knowledge is shared through an intensified collaboration agreements and alliances. A more advanced and comprehensive approach in terms of knowledge transfer is the information and communication technology approach. The ICT approach emphasizes on the contribution of information and communication technology to the co-ordination, communication and sharing of knowledge. This approach is also in a larger scale compared to the other two. That is, the ICT approach maximizes the use of the Internet and all the available resources of the advanced technology in knowledge management. This is particularly applicable to organizations operating internationally.
The approach to knowledge management from the perspective of the human resource management can be considered as the universal approach. That is, this can be applied to any industry, organization and company. Knowledge management through the human resources managers deals with self-governing teams, co-operation, motivation and stimulation of (natural) leadership to learn people in organizations to adjust and to change. In this approach, the human resource managers who are the most experienced when it comes to managing people are the major players. Since the people involved in the organization determine knowledge, it is a good practice that knowledge management is practiced together with human resources management.
What makes the strategic approach different from all the other approaches is that it has a concrete basis. Although all the others have their basis too, the strategic approach is more objective and scientific. Its main objective is to develop a method for analyzing key knowledge. The strategic approach holds on the idea that knowledge is key if it distinguishes an organisation from competitors. The approach believes that key knowledge should be recognized, sometimes be spread, secured and should always be locked. Several issues play a role in the strategic approach, these include; what’s the right reasoning about knowledge, defining key knowledge in a theoretical perspective, tracing and prescribing key knowledge and taking right decisions on key knowledge.
Organizations may choose to adopt any one of these approaches or combine several approaches that are applicable for their company. Organizations and companies of today are being confronted with a lot of different choices concerning knowledge management. Of all these approaches, however, three general approaches stand out (Skyrme, 2002):
- Sharing existing knowledge: this was the thrust of many early knowledge initiatives.
- Creating and converting new knowledge: this is the innovation thrust.
- A growing external focus on the approach: this has led to an upsurge in the interest in customer relationship management systems and interest in knowledge markets.
Why is Knowledge Management Difficult? (http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk)
There are many problems associated with identifying these knowledge assets and being able to use them and manage them in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Organizations need: to have an organization-wide vocabulary to ensure that the knowledge is correctly understood; to be able to identify, model and explicitly represent their knowledge; to share and re-use their knowledge among differing applications for various types of users; this implies being able to share existing knowledge sources and also future ones; to create a culture that encourages knowledge sharing.
Knowledge management methods and approaches have come a long way towards addressing the use of a company's knowledge assets. They provide disciplined approaches to designing and building knowledge-based applications. There are tools to support the capture, modeling, validation, verification and maintenance of the knowledge in these applications. However these tools do not extend to supporting the processes for managing knowledge at all levels within the organization.
At the strategic level the organization needs to be able to analyze and plan its business in terms of the knowledge it currently has and the knowledge it needs for future business processes. At the tactical level the organization is concerned with identifying and formalizing existing knowledge, acquiring new knowledge for future use, archiving it in organizational memories and creating systems that enable effective and efficient application of the knowledge within the organization. At the operational level knowledge is used in everyday practice by professional personnel who need access to the right knowledge, at the right time, in the right location.
Knowledge Management as a Communication Tool
As knowledge workers communicate and operate through the social processes of collaborating, sharing knowledge, and building on each others' ideas, knowledge management serves as an effective communication tool within the sector. As knowledge management is also created in order to meet certain productive outputs and to reach out to the consumer group, it can be an effective tool for the improvement of relations between the producers and the consumer group.
Knowledge Management as a Strategic Tool
The fundamental objective of any corporate Knowledge Management program is to support the achievement of strategic business objectives. In other words, the "starting-point" for KM is to understand what the organization's business objectives are. (Hauschild et al, 2001) Many KM projects fail because they are treated as technology-projects. In order to be successful, KM must not be an end in itself, but must be a strong enabler to achieving real business results.
Moreover, consequent to understanding the basic strategic objectives, the next step is to identify key drivers including Knowledge Capabilities that are vital to achieve these business objectives. (Hauschild et al, 2001) This is followed by a Knowledge Inventory. This is characterized by an identification of what knowledge capabilities currently exist - and where or with whom. At this stage, a Knowledge Map may be prepared. This is described as a graphical representation of the business objectives, critical knowledge capabilities to achieve them and where or with whom they reside in the organization. The Knowledge Inventory and Knowledge Map enable identification of the organization's Knowledge Assets and where & how they can be accessed, Knowledge Gaps and definition of strategies & initiatives to bridge the gaps, which could include the implementation of appropriate IT tools to support knowledge-sharing & collaboration both within the enterprise and in the extended enterprise - including customers, partners and suppliers - to help the organization make better decisions. Another is the formation of communities of practice by experts in each of the critical knowledge-capabilities identified earlier. In addition to that is the sharing of relevant best practices, case studies, lessons-learned, etc. from both internal & external sources.
Effective knowledge management will enable the organization to become nimble and make well-informed business decisions. A key-objective of knowledge management is to ensure that the right knowledge is available with the right person at the right time in a "consistent and systematic" manner to enable timely decision-making. (Hauschild et al, 2001) An organization's Knowledge Map must be a living organism that is updated continuously as Knowledge Gaps are filled, new Subject Matter Experts are identified or new Knowledge Capabilities are defined.
A Proposal for the Newcastle Law Firm
Effective knowledge management is a required factor for the efficient fulfillment of an organization’s goal. In the case of the Newcastle law firm these goals are to increase their client base, develop a sound reputation in existing areas of law, workforce development and attract qualified staff. The fact that the law firm was formed out of a merger of three smaller law firms is a good indication that the law firm has already started its move to better knowledge management. The possible benefits of this merger could include an accumulation of experts in the field. Since the law firm was able to increase the number of its staff it would be possible that knowledge may be shared and transferred.
After the merger, the firm has implemented a knowledge management program. The program which includes the following parameters is a good start in implementing a sound knowledge management.
- creating a management in the form of partnership
- having designated a specific work for each staff and all the other people involved in the firm
- moving into a new office wherein they can be together
- providing each staff with a personal computer connected to the internet
What is lacking in the Newcastle’s knowledge management program is the initiative of the management as well as all the other staff to make knowledge management more efficient, effective and successful. The most important thing that the firm has to consider is how they could make knowledge management really effective. Since they already have started to implement a knowledge management program, it is necessary that they review their process and evaluate the program. At this stage the strategic approach is the most applicable for the law firm.
After their evaluation, the factors that lead to the failure of the program will be identified. Based on this, they can supplement their knowledge management approach with other approach that would be necessary for the achievement of the firm’s goals.
Reference
Han, Frances. (2001). Understanding Knowledge Management. The Public Manager. Vol. 30, 2. p34.
Hauschild, S., Licht, T., & Stein, W. (2001). Creating a Knowledge Culture. McKinsey Quarterly, No.4.
Scarborough, H. (1999). Knowledge Management: A Literature Review. Institute of Personnel and Development.
Senge, P.M. (1994). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.
Skyrme, David J. (2002). Knowledge Management: Approaches and Policies. Available at: . Retrieved May 8, 2004.
Stonehouse, G.H., Pemberton, J.D., & Barber, C.E. (2001). The role of knowledge facilitators and inhibitors: Lessons from airline reservations systems. Long Range Planning, 34 (2), 115-138.