Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Knowledge Management CycleAdvanced IT Management IV 22 July 2009

Chapter Objectives Describe how valuable individual, group, & organizational knowledge is captured, created, codified, shared, accessed, applied, & reused thru-out the KM cycle. Compare & contrast major KM life-cycle models, including the Zack, Bukowitz & Williams, McElroy, & Wiig life-cycle models.

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Chapter Objectives Define the key steps in each process of the KM cycle & provide concrete examples of each. Identify the major challenges & benefits of each phase of the KM cycle. Describe how the integrated KM cycle combines the advantages of other KM life-cycle models.

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Introduction This chapter describes the major phases involved in the KM cycle, encompassing the capture, creation, codification, sharing, accessing, application, & reuse of knowledge within & btwn organizations. Four major approaches to KM cycles are presented from Meyer & Zack, Bukowitz & Williams, McElroy, & Wiig.Advanced IT Management 4

Introduction A synthesis of these approaches is then developed as a framework for following the path information takes to become a valuable knowledge asset for a given organization.

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Introduction The four models were selected based on their ability to meet the following criteria: They are implemented & validated in real-world settings. They are comprehensive with respect to the different types of steps found in the KM literature. They include detailed descriptions of the KM processes involved in each step.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle 1. The Zack KM Cycle The emphasis of this cycle is on the content and the structure of the content. Information content is the data held in the repository that provides the building blocks for the resulting information products. The content is unique for each type of business or organization.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Approaches to the KM Cycle The overall structure and approach is how the content is stored, manipulated, and retrieved.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle 2. The Bukowitz and Williams KM Cycle Focuses on a KM process framework that outlines how orgs generate, maintain & deploy a strategically correct stock of knowledge to create value.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle In this framework, knowledge consists of knowledge repositories, relationships, information technologies, communications infrastructure, functional skill sets, process know-how, environmental responsiveness, organizational intelligence, and external sources.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle The get, learn, and contribute phases are triggered by market-driven opportunities or demands, & they typically result in day-to-day use of knowledge to respond to these demands. The assess, build/sustain, or divest stages are more strategic, triggered by shifts in the macroenvironment.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Approaches to the KM Cycle

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle 3. The McElroy KM Cycle In knowledge production, the key processes are individual and group learning; knowledge claim formulation; information acquisition; codified knowledge claim; and knowledge claim evaluation.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle 4. The Wiig KM Cycle Wiig (1993) focuses on the three conditions that need to be present for an organization to conduct its business successfully: it must have a business (products/services) and customers; it must have resources (people, capital, and facilities); and it must have the ability to act. The third point is emphasized in the Wiig KM cycle.Advanced IT Management 4

Major Approaches to the KM Cycle There are four major steps in this cycle, as shown in Figure 2-9: 1. Building knowledge. 2. Holding knowledge. 3. Pooling knowledge. 4. Applying knowledge.

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Major Approaches to the KM Cycle

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An Integrated KM CycleThe three major stages are: 1. Knowledge capture and/or creation. 2. Knowledge sharing and dissemination. 3. Knowledge acquisition and application.

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An Integrated KM Cycle Knowledge capture refers to the identification and subsequent codification of existing (usually previously unnoticed) internal knowledge and know-how within the organization and/or external knowledge from the environment. Knowledge creation is the development of new knowledge and know-how innovations that did not have a previous existence within the company.

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An Integrated KM Cycle

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Strategic Implications of the KM Cycle An organized reflection of lessons learned & best practices discovered will allow companies to leverage their hard-won knowledge assets. A knowledge architecture needs to be designed & implemented in order to enable the staged processing & transformation of knowledge.

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Practical Considerations for Managing Knowledge KM requires an organizing principlea frameworkthat will help us classify the different types of activities & functions needed to deal with all knowledge-related work within & btwn organizations. This framework is often encapsulated in the form of a KM theory or model. An integrated KM cycle is/would be ideal.Advanced IT Management 4

Chapter Summary There are many approaches to the KM cycle such as those by McElroy, Wiig, Bukowitz and Willams, & Meyer & Zack. By comparing & contrasting them & by validating them thru experience gained to date with KM practice, the major stages are identified as: knowledge capture & creation, knowledge sharing & dissemination, knowledge acquisition & application.Advanced IT Management 4

Chapter Summary The critical processes thru-out the KM cycle assess the worth of content based on org goals, contextualize content in order to better match with a variety of users, & continuously update with a focus on updating, archiving as required, & modifying the scope of each knowledge object.

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