denotes premium content | May 22 2013 Inside Knowledge Magazine /Knowledge Management Magazine Archive
Volume 2 Issue 8
Features
Connecting the TALK centre
The Arthur Andersen TALK (Tax and Legal Knowledge) centre was established in 1998 as a fusion of several existing departments. The traditional functions of the tax and legal libraries were combined with a database management team to create a central source of knowledge for the firm’s Tax and Legal service line. The TALK centre provides tax and legal information to offices throughout the UK and, in some instances, the world. Here, Ned Wilsher shows the fundamental success factor of the centre, i.e. context.
Evolution of the knowledge management
In the same way that natural selection chooses the best adapted animals for prevailing environmental conditions, so do companies try their best to cope with and adjust to changing technological environments. Here Basilis Masoulas outlines the Knowledge environment evolution, and advises on how companies can stay ahead in the survival of the fittest.
Fostering knowledge in a challenging environment
Pressure from changes in the external environment of financial markets may discourage companies from starting a knowledge project, but focus on short-term influences without dedication to long-term strategic change is a bigger risk. The environment of radically changing oil prices did not stop Enterprise Oil from going ahead with their project, and as John Keeble shows, they made the right decision to nurture knowledge for the long-term future.
Knowledge across the globe
Much has been written about the cultural implications for knowledge management and knowledge sharing in modern enterprises. It is generally accepted by practitioners that the greatest hurdles to successful knowledge management are not the technical or process issues, but the cultural issues. Problems frequently raised include concerns about knowledge hoarding and creating an environment that encourages open sharing. In this article, Ben Torrey and Vanita Datta extend this question into the realm of the affect of the an organisations cultural environment from a geographical perspective. In the past, the question of culture and knowledge management has been related almost exclusively to corporate or organisational culture, not what Ben and Vanita refer to as social culture.
Knowledge on-line
The basic needs of a successful knowledge environment are a sound infrastructure of experienced knowledge workers supported by a seamless technological solution. In this article, Daniel Berhin outlines the basic launch any organisation needs to start on the knowledge journey through the example of their intranet and corresponding knowledge community.
Real & Virtual: Best of breed environments for knowledge sharing in communities
In this article Eelco Kruizinga & Timo Kouwenhoven discuss the challenges that arise when one tries to introduce knowledge sharing in communities. They concentrate their thoughts on the transfer of explicit or codified knowledge in communities, as they believe that this category of knowledge creates many opportunities within virtual environments. A framework for understanding these challenges is offered, and the authors present a number of successful combinations of real and virtual components within a community support environment.
