denotes premium content | Aug 30 2008 Inside Knowledge Magazine /Knowledge Management Magazine Archive
Volume 5 Issue 2
Reinforcing your KM strategy: Understanding the role of technology
While there are no magic bullets when it comes to knowledge management, the shrewd application of technological tools can go a long way in helping you achieve its primary goals. This month, four articles attempt to put the use of technology in perspective, beginning with the Your Say discussion and continuing with an exploration of the current state of the art by Arif Azar and Justin Souter from ICL. And as well as a case study from Andersen, Patti Anklam explains how a relatively simple (by today’s standards) technology transformed the way people worked at Digital Equipment Corporation back in the 1980s. The key message that emerges from all of these features is that while knowledge management is and always will be primarily about people, technology can be a powerful enabler.
Features
The value of knowledge doesn’t exist: A framework for valuing the potential of knowledge
A great deal of work has been done in the past that seeks to identify how best to measure the value of knowledge, and indeed the added value of knowledge management. Paul Iske and Thijs Boekhoff believe, however, that the real value of knowledge lies in its potential, which is in turn dependent on the context in which that knowledge is used.
Book review: The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000-2001
Mikko Arevuo reviews The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000-2001.
Dog eat dog: Learning by becoming your own predator
‘Predator’ is a five-stage scenario development exercise aimed at facilitating an understanding of the value of knowledge within an organisation. Victor Newman explains the basics behind the concept, and offers KM practitioners a word of warning: those who do not become their own predator are likely to become the prey. [WEB ONLY ARTICLE]
KM country focus: Turkey
This month, Simon Lelic talks to Gülgün Kayakutlu and discusses the impact knowledge management has had in Turkey.
Learning after doing: Using the retrospect process to harness knowledge
In the last of a three-part series, Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell draw on their experience – and their recently published book, Learning to Fly – to describe another of their practical tools for learning, before, during and after any business activity. This month’s article explains the ‘retrospect’ process, the tool used by BP for learning after doing.
The Camelot of collaboration: The case of VAX Notes
Before knowledge management, there was a company in which a collaboration technology transformed how its employees worked in a way that today’s CKOs can only dream of. Patti Anklam describes the technology and the environment it enabled, one in which employees across the world relied on the existence of communities for business, professional and personal support.
The state of the art: Putting KM technologies in context
Eighteen months ago, ICL founded KM Technology Watch, a community of practice with members across the company’s 20,000 staff, devoted to sharing experiences and developing a comprehensive understanding of the KM technology market. Arif Azar and Justin Souter outline their views on the current state of the art, describing the tools available and providing a broad perspective of how to implement a KM technology strategy.
Tools of the trade: Andersen’s solution for global knowledge management
Andersen has long realised the value of knowledge management, but it is only relatively recently that technology has become such a crucial component of the company’s KM initiatives. Kelly Tabisz, Michelle Icard and Ashley Edmonson describe the history of knowledge management within the firm, and discuss how the tools it has developed fit into a broader KM framework.
