About KM
Overview
Effective KM
Benefits
Top Reasons
Roles of KM
Success Factors
  
 KM and Standards
SQA
CMM Level 5
Six Sigma
Fifth Discipline
  
 KM Links
Brint.com
KM Advantage
Sveiby.com
KM Resource Center
KM Magazine
KM Institute
Knowledge Board
KM Pro
KM World
  
KM Overview
What is Knowledge Management (KM)?
 

KM is a systematic approach for collaborative thinking, learning, communication and execution to harness the collective potential and to improve the operational excellence. An effective and TrueKM practices help nurture and maximize the collective knowledge and ability of the organization. The key objective of KM is to maximize productivity, quality and innovation.

The other definition of KM is that it is a collective management of knowledge assets through knowledge-sharing culture in line with the business processes. It helps develop competitive edge to build, market and support intellectual capital. Check out Effective KM for more explanation.

Types of Knowledge
SNo.TypeDefinition
1TacitThe learning impressions in the people's subconscious mind. The ability or skill that people apply without thinking. This ability comes naturally to people. We can also call it "unconscious competence". Some people believe that it cannot be communicated or shared with others. Some believe that through meditation, story-telling and great ability to articulate one can share this knowledge with others. So, there is one more level above this called "reflective competence".
   
2ImplicitThe learning impressions in the people's conscious mind. The ability or skill that people think and apply consciously. We can also call it "conscious competence".
   
3ExplicitThis is the codified or documented knowledge or information that people can read, hear or see. This is also called "content". It is easy to store and reuse.
   
4EmbeddedThis is a knowledge and ideas embedded in the products during the product development lifecycle.
   
The Three Pillars of KM
SNo.PillarDescription
1
People (Knowledge Workers)

An individual with the ability to think, learn and perform. The quality is measured in terms of innovation, excellence, speed and quality. They are responsible for knowledge creation and application.

Individual capability, energy level and interest are addressed here.

   
2
Process (Best Practices)

An innovative approaches for performing certain task or function in the best possible way. It drives collaboration or teamwork and brings consistency and scalability to some extent.

Collaborative culture and system thinking are addressed through KM practices.

   
3
Product (Platform)

A technology or a systematic approach that can enable KM. Sophisticated or innovative system must be process-driven and must be easy to embrace. Comprehensive system maximizes the scalability and consistency and help people embrace the KM practice naturally.

Comprehensive KM systems in line with the business functions or business objectives must be addressed here.

   
Note: All these three pillars of KM are equally important. If any of these three is missing, then KM will not be effective and the KM project will fail. To realize the size of KM and the importance of these three pillars, you need to thoroughly read all the sections under this about KM and about the solution sections.

 

The Role of KM in the Knowledge Economy
 

The threat of the Knowledge Economy to traditional business is real. Knowledge convergence and management of common knowledge are essential to accelerate learning & innovation, improve time-to-market and maximize service quality. Knowledge workers with decades of experience can easily migrate to any other location or organization. People with adaptive minds can park their knowledge anywhere and become mobile. In many ways, knowledge organizations can lose their vital intangible assets overnight. Organizations without a KM initiative become vulnerable to the turnover of knowledge workers and become victim to high-cost operations. The following are some of the key findings (Source: Mirror Worlds Technologies Inc., New Haven, Conn.; Gartner Inc., Stamford, Conn.):

  • When employees leave, 70% of their knowledge leaves with them.
  • Employees spend 30% to 40% of their time looking for information.
  • Redeveloping information that already exists costs approximately $5,500 annually per employee and the average document is copied nine to eleven times.

How can any organization survive this level of energy waste in the face of both price and quality pressures? Embracing KM is the solution.

 
Lpcube KM - Concept

The "I" factors focus on turning collective intelligence into valuable business ideas by adopting innovation culture, implementing KM initiatives, and inter connecting the intelligence.

The "C" factors focus on transforming a "community" into "core-competency" through collaborative culture, change mentality and driving "collaboration".

The "e" factors focus on e-business and exchange model to build and manage the collective expertise.

KM Benefits
  • Acclerates learning and Innovation
  • Improves operational excellence and drives quality
  • Maximizes productivity and profitability
    more..
     
     
    Pain Points
  • Poor access to knowledge
  • Disconnected knowledge silos
  • Information overload / loss
  • High cost of sharing
  • Reinvention / Repetitions
  • Lack of responsiveness
     
     
     
     
     
    KM Consulting knowledGenie igniTeam sharpMind trueAware wiseEnterprise