themselves – an admission of ignorance rather than of learning.
Consequently, individuals hoard their personal knowledge and refrain from sharing or learning new knowledge.
2 ‘Knowledge sharing is not my job.’Employees view knowledge management as a job ‘add-on’. They are paid to do their job, not for the time it takes them to do it. This attitude is perpetuated by the inadequacies of existing knowledge systems that often are not user-friendly. Furthermore given the extra effort required and the loss of ‘power’, the way work is structured and rewarded may run counter to nurturing a sharing and learning culture.
Attitudes that hinder knowledge management must be communi- cated and understood by managers and employees. This helps employees to accept the need for a culture change and its value for the organization and, ultimately, for themselves.
attitude that ‘knowledge is power’ to that of ‘sharing knowledge is power’.
In addition, other values that will support a sharing and learn- ing culture include:
● Open communication: encouraging dialogue and access between all levels of employees to facilitate real-time exchanges and feedback, thereby creating learning opportuni- ties from both successes and failures by encouraging experi- mentation, learning by trying, and management having a higher tolerance to mistakes taking them as lessons learnt.
● Networking: establishing a community with a common pur- pose in which employees assume a broader perspective and engage in exchanges through cross-functional teamworking.
Recruitment of suitable personnel
Hiring people who are good at learning and teaching makes a big difference in the effectiveness of knowledge management. ‘If you’ve got people who are hungry to learn, and people who are good at transferring knowledge, the organization will be much more alive’ (Davenport, quoted in Wah, 1999). The role of the human resources department has therefore never been more criti- cal as it has to have the vision to employ the right people with the desired traits, either determined through psychometric tests or through a well-developed training programme that is capable of inculcating and maintaining the will to learn and transfer learn- ing. Hence it has to have systems in place to hire appropriate staff as well as training systems and job rotation schemes to ensure knowledge is shared and used as competitively as possible.
Role of human networks
There are probably many potential strategies to facilitate a culture where knowledge is valued and shared efficiently, but one that is highly effective is that of creating formal communities of interest (Kaye and Hogan, 1999).
In a recent survey (Eckhouse, 1999), 72 per cent of IT managers responded that their technical teams have a clear understanding of the value of knowledge management, but estimated that only 43 per cent of senior executives grasp its value. More crucially, only 11 per cent of these IT managers indicated that it is easy or somewhat easy to change their organizations’ culture to encour- age knowledge sharing and collaboration.
In another survey of CEOs and senior executives (Skyrme and Amidon, 1997) on how they were restructuring to meet the needs for knowledge management indicates that organizations were becoming flatter and highly networked. The top four responses are shown in Figure 3.2.
Knowledge sharing will only take place if mechanisms exist in the organization to bring people together. Connecting people can be done either through formal or informal mechanisms (Table 3.1). The more there is of such mechanisms, the higher the chances of facilitating more of the right conversations between individuals.
Table 3.1 Mechanisms for creating connections
Temporary/flexible Permanent
Formal Office layout Reward systems
Multi-function teams Training and development Multi-function committees Building design
Co-location Formal knowledge bases
Secondment, job rotation Cross-functional career path Defined co-ordination roles Informal E-mail, groupware (some) Groupware, intranet (some)
Meeting areas, team rooms Informal networks Meetings, events Professional networks Share-fairs
Communities of practices Source: Skyrme and Amidon (1997)
71%
78%
79%
82%
60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85%
Functions becoming more interdependent Creating a more responsive networked organization
More work being undertaken in teams Creating a slimmer and flatter organization
Fig. 3.2 Reasons for restructuring
As a result of business process re-engineering and other change initiatives, many companies have moved to a cross-functional team model as a key building block of the organization. These teams usually comprise individuals from different professions or jobs, whose knowledge and skills are needed to produce a whole output. Cross-functional teams are characterized by common goals, interdependent work and joint accountability for results.
Despite their benefits, cross-functional teams can also become the new silos and could experience trouble in getting information from other teams. Being aware of this can certainly help in being part of an effective cross-functional team.
Rewards and motivation
Creating a culture of sharing may be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. Current performance and rewards systems exemplify an individual’s personal achievement and rarely takes into account an individual’s contribution to or participation in formal collaboration efforts. For sharing to take off, this must change.
Reward structures and performance metrics need to be created which benefit those individuals who contribute to and use a shared knowledge base. Based on Herzberg’s (1987) theory of individual motivation, which assesses five factors as motivators – challenge of work, promotional opportunities, sense of achieve- ment, recognition of job done and sense of responsibility – those who excel at knowledge sharing should be recognized either in public forums such as newsletters and e-mails or be made to understand that the success and advancement in their career will be based on knowledge management principles. Davenport sug- gests that, ‘sharing knowledge is mostly considered a sideline activity. Workers will only take it seriously when rewards are built into the compensation and benefits plan’. He goes on to say that ‘the best kind of knowledge transfer is informal, but the best way to get knowledge transferred is to reward them for transfer- ring it’ (Davenport, quoted in Wah, 1999).
The role of a champion
In any new form of management initiative, a leader should be chosen to head the call for reform (Puccinelli, 1998). In organiza- tions they may be referred to as champions. It is, however, criti- cal to select the right champion. Earl and Scott (1999) point out that it is advantageous if the champion were to come from within the organization, as knowing the organization, its culture and its
key players, renders acceptability and yields advantages in the consulting and influencing aspects of becoming a champion.
Also, having been in the organization and having had a certain length of experience, helps give credibility to the entrepreneurial and building aspects of the job. Some organizations have elected chief knowledge officers (CKO) as their champions, but one of the fundamental requirements for sharing is the lack of any formal hierarchy. A hierarchical title of ‘CKO’ can damage the creation of a successful knowledge-based organization. This would appear to indicate that a CKO should only exist, as a temporary position until the organization becomes self-sufficient and the CKO’s championing of sharing has become part of the organizations cul- ture.
A good example of electing a champion is found in Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development, which uses ‘thought lead- ers’ as knowledge carriers within the organization (Macleod, 1999). Crucially, their roles involve ensuring that knowledge is leveraged into profitable innovations, which is important in a busy environment where knowledge can easily be lost.
Conclusion
The organization’s people are central to the deployment of a knowledge management strategy. Because knowledge is rooted in human experience and social context, managing it well means paying attention to people and to individual and organizational culture. As such, the implementation of processes supporting knowledge management can only be carried out successfully if it is accompanied by corresponding changes in both individual and organizational behaviours.
In attempting to build an enduring company, it is vitally impor- tant to understand the key role of the ‘soft’ side of the organiza- tion in knowledge management. Many companies have failed in their learning and knowledge programmes because they focused narrowly on managing technical aspects of knowledge manage- ment and failed to appreciate the importance of culture and cli- mate in innovation. Many companies expend large amounts of energy in turning around their technology-led knowledge pro- grammes or re-energizing them. Instead, their time would have been better spent designing and creating an environment for learning and knowledge sharing. These company leaders need to note that the most successful knowledge management companies have leaders who spend their energy and effort in building orga- nizational cultures and climates which perpetually create learn- ing and innovation through knowledge sharing. Without doubt
the most successful companies of the future will be dominated by those that do not simply focus energies upon products and tech- nical innovations, but those who have managed to build endur- ing environments of human communities striving towards knowledge sharing through the creation of appropriate cultures and climate. This will be the energy of renewal and the drive to a successful future.
4
Leadership role in the management of knowledge structures and culture
Leading edge organizations constantly and consistently learn. It is the task of organizational leaders to install a culture and climate that nurtures and acknowledges knowledge at every level.
Notwithstanding the fact that leaders are critically important, they alone are not sufficient to build cultures of sharing and learning.
To do this leaders must amplify their energy and direction by using the management layers below them. This requires them to identify, recruit, develop, train, encourage and acknowledge knowledge champions and advocates throughout the company.