KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ISSUES

The various approaches referred to above do not provide easy answers. The issues that need to be addressed in developing knowledge management processes are discussed below.

The pace of change 

One of the main issues in knowledge management is how to keep up with the pace of change and identify what knowledge needs to be captured and shared.

Relating knowledge management strategy to business strategy 

As Hansen et al (1999) show, it is not knowledge per se but the way it is applied to strategic objectives that is the critical ingredient in competitiveness. They point out that ‘competitive strategy must drive knowledge management strategy’, and that managements have to answer the question: ‘How does knowledge that resides in the company add value for customers?’ Mecklenberg et al (1999) argue that organizations should ‘start with the business value of what they gather. If it doesn’t generate value, drop it.’

Technology and people 

Technology may be central to companies adopting a codification strategy but for those following a personalization strategy, IT is best used in a supportive role. As Hansen et al (1999) comment: 

In the codification model, managers need to implement a system that is much like a traditional library – it must contain a large cache of documents and include search engines that allow people to find and use the documents they need. In the personalization model, it’s more important to have a system that allows people to find other people.

Scarborough et al (1999) suggest that ‘technology should be viewed more as a means of communication and less as a means of storing knowledge’. Knowledge management is more about people than technology. As research by Davenport (1996) established, managers get two-thirds of their information from face-to-face or telephone conversations. 

There is a limit to how much tacit knowledge can be codified. In organizations relying more on tacit than explicit knowledge, a person-to-person approach works best, and IT can only support this process; it cannot replace it.

The significance of process and social capital and culture 

Apreoccupation with technology may mean that too little attention is paid to the processes (social, technological and organizational) through which knowledge combines and interacts in different ways (Blackler, 1995). The key process is the interactions between people. This constitutes the social capital of an organization, ie the ‘network of relationships [that] constitute a valuable resource for the conduct of social affairs’ (Nahpiet and Ghoshal, 1998). Social networks can be particularly important in ensuring that knowledge is shared. What is also required is another aspect of social capital: trust. People will not be willing to share knowledge with those whom they do not trust.

The culture of the company may inhibit knowledge sharing. The norm may be for people to keep knowledge to themselves as much as they can because ‘knowledge is power’. An open culture will encourage people to share their ideas and knowledge.

Knowledge workers 

Knowledge workers as defined by Drucker (1993) are individuals who have high levels of education and specialist skills combined with the ability to apply these skills to identify and solve problems. As Argyris (1991) points out: ‘The nuts and bolts of management… increasingly consists of guiding and integrating the autonomous but interconnected work of highly skilled people.’ Knowledge management is about the management and motivation of knowledge workers who create knowledge and will be the key players in sharing it.