1Chapter 7: Knowledge Management and Specialized Information SystemKnowledge management (KM)- comprises a range of practices concerned with increasingawareness, fostering learning, speeding collaboration and innovation, and exchanging insightsknowledge management system- organized col-lection of people, procedures, software,databases, and devices that creates, captures, refines, stores, manages, and disseminatesknowledgeTypes organization’s knowledge assetsExplicit knowledgeis knowledge that is documented, stored, and codified—such asstandard procedures, product formulas, customer contact lists, market research results,and patentsTacit knowledgeis the know-how that someone has developed as a result of personalexperience; it involves intangible factors such as beliefs, perspective, and a value system.Examples include how to ride a bike, the decision-making process used by anexperienced coach to make adjustments when her team is down at halftime of a biggame, a physician’s technique for diagnosing a rare illness and prescribing a course oftreatmentTwo processesarefrequentlyusedtocapturetacitknowledgeShadowinginvolves a novice observing an expert executing her job to learn how sheperforms. This technique is often used in the medical field to help young interns learnfrom experienced physiciansjoint problem solving, the novice and the expert work side by side to solve a problem sothat the expert’s approach is slowly revealed to the observant noviceKnowledge Management Applications and Associated BenefitsFoster Innovation by Encouraging the Free Flow of IdeasoTMW Systems, a provider of logistics operations and fleet management systems,has experienced rapid growth over the past several years. The company now hasmore than 700 employees in its Cleveland headquarters and in satellite officesacross North AmericaoThe system, which is part of an intentional cultural shift at TMW toward a moreopen and collaborative working environment, allows employees to easily sharenew ideas, expertise, and best practices with other employees no matter wherethey are basedoOrganizations must continuously innovate to evolve, grow, and prosperLeverage the Expertise of People across the Organizationpg. 1
2oenables its employees to share and build on one another’s experience andexpertiseoWhite & Case, an international law firm headquartered in New York City,represents well-known organizations around the world through its offices inmore than 20 countries. The firm’s employees have diverse backgrounds andspeak more than 60 different languagesCapture the Expertise of Key Individuals before They RetireoIn the United States, 3 to 4 million employees will retire each year for the next 20years or so. Add to that a 5 to 7 percent employee turnover as workers move todifferent companies, and it is clear that organizations are facing a tremendouschallenge in trying to avoid the loss of valuable experience and expertiseBest Practices for Selling and Implementing a KM Project1.Connect the KM Effort to Organizational Goals and ObjectivesClearly define how that effort will support specific organizational goals and objectives,such as increasing revenue, reducing costs, improving customer service, or speeding upthe time to bring a product to market2.
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Term
Spring
Professor
campeanu
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