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Course Content
Session One: Course Overview
You will spend the first part getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.
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Pre-Assignment
Course Overview
Session Two: Definitions
Then, participants will learn the definition of knowledge, as well as the differences between tacit and explicit knowledge. The meaning and history of knowledge management will also be covered.
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What is Knowledge?
Assignments
What is Knowledge Management?
History of Knowledge Management
Session Three: The Business Case for Knowledge Management
In this session, participants will learn how knowledge management can reduce costs and grow sales. They will also learn how to build a business case for knowledge management. You will also examine the impact that knowledge management can have on business strategy and profit.
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Reducing Costs and Growing Sales with Knowledge Management
Assignments
Business Case Basics
Sample Knowledge Management Business Case
Assignments
Session Four: The Knowledge Management Mix
Next, participants will learn about three components vital to knowledge management: people, technology, and process. In this session, you will examine the relationship between these three essential knowledge management components.
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People
Assignments
Technology
Process
Assignments
Session Five: The Knowledge Management Framework
The knowledge management framework is comprised of four interdependent elements: needs analysis, resource identification, process analysis, and knowledge handling. In this session, participants will learn about the steps to building their knowledge management framework: needs analysis; resource identification; process analysis, identification, and construction; and accumulating, sharing, and storing knowledge. In this session, you will investigate what the four elements of the knowledge management framework are and how they work together.
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Introduction
Needs Analysis
Resource Identification
Process Analysis, Identification, and Construction
Assignments
Accumulating, Sharing, and Storing Knowledge
Session Six: ITandD’s Conundrum
A pre-assignment is designed to get you thinking about the topic, and to give you some indication of what is coming. In this example, the case study and the carefully crafted questions were intended to have you reflect on the vital role of knowledge within an organization. In this session, you will reflect on the answers you provided in the pre-assignment.
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Introduction
Assignments
Session Seven: Knowledge Management Models
Knowing the theory behind the practice can increase your knowledge and inform what you do. Having a foundational awareness helps you to understand the theory’s evolution and history in the business world and better enable you to see how this system will fit into your organization. In this session, you will investigate four different knowledge management models.
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The KM Process Framework (Bukowitz and Williams)
Knowledge Management Matrix (Gamble and Blackwell)
Assignments
Process Model (Botha)
Assignments
Knowledge Spiral Model (Nonaka and Takeuchi)
Session Eight: The Knowledge Management Toolkit
Cross-functional Teams, mentoring, organizational culture, and IT solutions are all techniques that you can use employ when implementing a knowledge management program in your organization. In this session, you will explore each of these techniques in depth. As you review the information, think about ways that you could use each technique in your workplace.
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Cross-Functional Teams
Assignments
Mentoring
Assignments
Organizational Culture
Assignments
IT Solutions
Which Technologies Would Be Best?
Assignments
Session Nine: Implementing Knowledge Management Initiatives
You see an organizational need for knowledge management. You understand what a knowledge management system is. You have the tools and information you need. Now it’s time to take action: it’s time to begin building the program. In this session, you will identify and investigate the necessary components for implementing a knowledge management program.
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Building Knowledge Networks
Creating a Knowledge Management Body of Knowledge (KMBOK)
Assignments
Creating a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) Position
Advertise for Your CKO
Assignments
Creating a Post-Mortem Plan
Assignments
Creating Measures
Assignments
Start With a Pilot
Assignments
Where Do I Put This?
Assignments
Support Your Organization Through the Change
Post-Course Assessment
Draft Lesson
Recommended Reading List
If you are looking for further information on this topic, we have included a recommended reading list below. Bergeron, Bryan. Essentials of Knowledge Management. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. Dixon, Nancy M. Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know. Harvard Business School Press, 2000. O'Dell, Carla, and Cindy Huebert. The New Edge in Knowledge: How Knowledge Management Is Changing the Way We Do Business. New John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Pasher, Edna, and Tuvya Ronen. The Complete Guide to Knowledge Management: A Strategic Plan to Leverage Your Company's Intellectual Capital. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Rumizen, Dr. Melissie Clemmons. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management. Alpha Books, 2002.
Knowledge Management
About Lesson

Before we make any organizational change, we need to evaluate how this change will impact our bottom line, since any change within an organization has the potential to be extremely expensive. Let’s explore the benefits of implementing a knowledge management program with some evidence of how it can improve your organization’s bottom line.

How Knowledge Management Can Help Reduce Costs

By connecting people to people and by providing employees with a systematic means to retrieve and store data, knowledge management increases efficiency. By providing the opportunity and means to connect individuals, knowledge management allows workers to share thoughts, ideas, and expertise. This can save time and money on projects. People don’t have to reinvent the wheel or find solutions to problems that have already been resolved.

By setting up a proper IT platform to store and retrieve information, organizations can dramatically decrease their response time. For example, let’s say that a client calls with an inquiry about a service they are receiving. Knowing where and how to access this information can have many results, including less time used to locate information, less confusion on the part of the employee attempting to retrieve the information, and happier customers.

Once knowledge management processes are in place, the occurrences of repeated mistakes will inevitably decrease. Having a systematic, organization-wide approach to sharing knowledge helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what they need to know. When knowledge is shared and easily accessible, it can create a higher degree of employee accountability. Making the same mistakes when processes and procedures are documented is much less excusable.

Taking stock of your company’s knowledge can decrease costs because we often are unaware of the stores of knowledge our people have. Through their years of experience or educational

backgrounds, we may have in-house experts without even knowing it. By looking into our internal expertise, we can save money by decreasing how much external expertise we bring in.

For example, let’s say that Jay in IT has just completed a computer course that taught him about upgrades to a program our company uses. Wouldn’t it make sense and be more cost-effective to have Jay teach other employees how to navigate the new program? Not only is this more cost effective, but it can also be a confidence booster.

In this way, knowledge management can help us recognize the brain power of our organization and the individuals behind that brain power.

Investing in and implementing IT solutions that connect people in real time can also increase efficiency and productivity. Offering people the option of connecting through instant messaging and other social media programs can help people get the solutions they need faster.

How Knowledge Management Can Help Grow Sales

Connecting people can have some powerful consequences. When we allow colleagues to connect, we allow them to engage in dialog and to learn. This learning can help inspire creative thinking and problem solving by allowing unexpected connections to occur. This creativity can help with innovation and the creation of new products and services. It can also help us enhance the existing products and services that our organization offers.

The proper sharing of knowledge can also help us to better know our clients, colleagues, the market in which we operate, and the needs of any of our other stakeholders. This can help us to improve and better understand the relationships we have with each of these stakeholders. In turn, this will help us with needs analysis and to create new services or offer better services.

Sharing knowledge can also help grow sales. Since everyone will now be on the same page, when you are dealing with clients, one person should be able to pick up where the last person left off. Increasing customer satisfaction and making their experience with your company a great one is a vital part of making a sale and ensuring continued business.

By knowing how and where to get the knowledge you need, knowledge management also shortens the sales cycle. Obviously, looking for documents or information can add to your customer response time. Having the information you need helps speed up the delivery of products and services to your clients.

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