Intro to Knowledge management Spiral of knowledge Spiral

Intro to Knowledge management Spiral of knowledge

Spiral of knowledge • “The centerpiece of the Japanese approach is that recognition that creating new knowledge is not simply a matter of “processing objective information”. Rather, it depends on tapping the tacit and often highly subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches of individual employees and making those insights available for testing and use by the company as a whole. ” – The knowledge-creating company (Nonaka Ikujiro, 1991) HBR. Borg collective

Redundancy • The conscious overlapping of company information, business activities, and managerial responsibilities. • Create a common cognitive ground – Internal competition – Proliferation of information – Strategic rotation

Explicit vs. implicit

Information processing view of organization • Hierarchy – Authority – Information • Division of labor

Type of knowledge Facet analysis of “knowledge” Explicit Conscious Objectified Implicit Automatic Collective Individual Social Locus of knowledge

Channels of knowledge sharing

Organizational learning • How organizations translate individual insights and knowledge into collective knowledge and organizational capacity – Skeptics: learning is essentially an individual activity • Yet, sometimes the whole is larger the sums of its parts (synergy) • Both individuals and organizations are learning entities.

Knowledge consultant

The spiral of knowledge (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 1995) Synthesize parking, sports Com vs. innovation

From tacit to tacit: socialization • Where tacit knowledge can be converted into tacit knowledge through interactions between individuals, whether it is through language, observation, imitation, or practice – synchronizing fireflies

Socialization (cont. ) • Apprenticeship – Learning through observation, imitation and practice (“mirror neuron”) – Shared experience in specific contexts – Emotions and commitment – Not merely transfer of information, but also finding or forming one’s identity in a community

Mirror neuron and imitation

Knowledge spillover • The exchange of ideas among individuals or organizations • We benefit from innovations or ideas from our neighbors which we do not assume the cost – Mainly due to “non-rivery” nature of information/knowledge • af

Knowledge as a pubic good Individuals cannot be effectively excluded (Nonexcludable) from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others (Non-rival).

Types of knowledge spillovers • Among companies within the same industry – The proximity of firms within a common industries often affects how well knowledge travel among them. • Among companies from different industries – The Proximity of firms from different industries affect how well knowledge travels among them to facilitate innovation • Compete for innovation within a business cluster

Public goods

Externalization • A process of articulating tacit knowledge into explicit concepts. – In the shapes of writings, metaphors, analogies, concepts, hypotheses, or models. – Marshmallow challenge

From tacit to explicit: articulation • Find a way to express the inexpressible – Conceptualization; theorization • Smile curve; M-shape Society – Story telling • Ichiro Suzuki's bat – Metaphor and model • A way of perceiving or intuitively understanding one thing by imaging another thing symbolically

Make implicit explicit • • 1. Story-telling (parable), 2. metaphor 3. Codification 4. Identify novel patterns in data (book buying) –…

To the left of blue wall

Illustration of John Snow’s deduction that a cholera epidemic was caused by a bad water pump, circa 1854.

Metaphor • from the Greek for "transference, " is the use of language that designates one thing to designate another in order to characterize the latter in terms of the former. • a statement that characterizes one thing in terms of another thing, juxtaposing concepts from separate domains of experience. Metaphor can be used to describe abstract or unfamiliar topics, and to express ideas difficult to convey with literal language. – James Geary on Metaphor

“Meme”, a metaphor Meme (“Memory” + “gene”) the mind “virus” (Richard Dawkins ) Any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances

Metaphor in the creative process • Theory of Automobile Evolution, p. 5 – What image does “evolution” conjure up? – The image of sphere – “Man-maximum, machine-minimum” – Tall boy product concept • Umbrella concept – “Optoelectronics” » The merging of microelectronics with optical technologies • Cannon’s mini-copier – Disposable beer can

Vision and corporate culture • At AVIS, We try harder • RR makes the finest car in the world • "Our [Amazon's] vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. “ • We devote this university to the spirit of the universe

From explicit to tacit: internalization • Reading, studying – Communication (perfect copy) vs. – Innovation (somewhat not so perfect) • Creativity in the interpretation of existing materials • Learning by doing – Driving, swimming, cooking

Necker’s cube Vision as a metaphor

Knowledge across boundaries • Knowledge transfer • Knowledge translation • Knowledge transformation

From implicit to explicit • “Articulation (converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge) and internalization (using that explicit knowledge to extend one’s own tacit knowledge base) are the critical steps in this spiral of knowledge. The reason is that both require the active involvement of the self – that is, personal commitment. ” • Teaching and learning not merely transfer of information

Combination • Systematic knowledge • Discrete pieces of explicit knowledge can be combined into a new whole • Combination knowledge of different originals often a way of innovation – Scientists develop a patch which can inject medicines through the skin without causing any pain. < http: //news. bbc. co. uk/go/em/fr//2/hi/health/7002482. stm – http: //www. teslamotors. com/

Synthesizing leader • “The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann once said to me that he thought the most valued personal trait in the twenty-first century would be a facility for synthesizing information. Increasingly, I am convinced he was correct. The ability to decide what information to heed, what to ignore, and how to organize and communicate that which we judge to be important is becoming a core competence for those living in the developed world. The skill of synthesis is particularly crucial for leaders. ” (H. Gardner, 2006)

Innovative combinations • “I don’t have to invent anything…It’s out there somewhere if I can just find it and integrate it…Inventing is frustrating, it’s dangerous, it’s expensive, and inventors should avoid it whenever possible. Be a systems integrator. ” Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway

Innovation of printing press

Art and computer “I wonder if the Bilbao Guggenheim is a work of architecture at all? Perhaps it belongs to the category of exhibition and fairground displays, of giant inflatables and bouncy castles. ” – J G Ballard. the

• “I started making shapes that were hard to draw. That led us to the computer and to Catia software which made me realize the possibilities and the level and degree of accuracy you could create in your documents and your relationships because of the software. ” Frank Gehry

"one of the most remarkable creative statements of the last half-century, in any artistic form. It is also profoundly flawed, a gigantic torso of burstingly noisy music that absolutely refuses to resolve itself under any recognized guise. “ The Penguin Guide to Jazz

From explicit to explicit: combination • Synergy : the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – 1+1>2 • Synthesizes information from many different sources – Synthesizing knowledge of persons – Synthesizing codified knowledge (information) – Synthesized data (data mining: make explicit the implicit) • searching for patterns, rules and interesting insights from collected (business) data

Dialogue Or collective reflec Building a filed of interaction Systematic Knowledge Learning by doing Networking newly created And existing knowledge

Knowledge spiral in Practice • Matsushita’s Home Bakery bread-making machine • Engineers worked as baking apprentices (socialization) • Creative chaos due to shift from household appliances to high-end products • Integration of different divisions (Rice Cooker, Heating and Rotation) created requisite variety • Home Bakery success led to Human Electrics Division

Structure capital • Physicality and technology – Ba – Beckman institute (school of Art and Humanities, NTU) • Rule and practice – Brown bag lunch • Norms and culture

A place for knowledge exchange • 'Ba' - a physical or virtual collaborative space, where participants feel safe and exchange insights.

“Talk room” “Water cooler”

Sellers’ concerns • Economic cost and benefit (time, effort…) – Private benefits vs. social benefits • Social cost – “Asking” a sign of incompetence? • Political cost – Unpopular information/opinions

Knowledge transfer, translate, transform

Types of knowledge transfer

Transfer Type Definition Team Roles/task analysis Knowle dge Types Guidelines Serial Knowledge gained while team is doing a task is used by team doing similar task in different circumstances Source team is same as receiving team Tacit and explicit Regular, brief meetings Facilitated locally Near Knowledge gained by doing frequent, repeated task used by different team doing similar task Receiving and source teams do similar tasks in similar circumstances Explicit Knowledge pushed electronically Limited to task at hand Far Knowledge from non-routine task shared with another team doing similar work in another part of the organization Receiving and source teams do similar work in different circumstances Tacit Reciprocal exchange Knowledge carried by people Strategic Knowledge of whole organization shared to accomplish strategic, critical, but infrequent task Receiving and source teams do tasks of universal impact in different contexts Tacit and explicit Need comes from the top Collected and processed in real time by specialists Expert Team acquires knowledge from Receiving team does experts within company to solve different task than source technical problem beyond its scope team, but in similar circumstances Explicit Knowledge pulled from electronic forums Differing levels of participation encouraged Adapted from stude, Winter 2003. Mark Merwin and Brian Schwartz p. 294 Yang Tung Chin

Nancy Dixon (2000) • Knowledge transfer – Serial transfer • U. S. Army’s After Action Reviews – Near transfer • Ford’s Best Practice Replication – Far transfer • British Petroleum’s Peer Assist – Strategic transfer • British Petroleum’s Knowledge Assets – Expert transfer • Buckman Labs’ Techforums