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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

Albert Bandura is a psychologist who is famous for his social learning theory. This theory proposes that people learn by socializing with others, particularly through observing and modeling behavior. Through a series of social psychology experiments, Bandura identified the importance of modeling. He argued that people watch and emulate the modeled behavior of others. This theory underpins the importance of mentoring.

Defining Mentorship

A mentor can be defined as an adviser, but it can also be much more than that. A mentor performs the following functions:

  • They ask questions to provoke thought within us.
  • They help us understand and master new concepts and processes.
  • They help us understand and master the day-to-day activities we do to perform our jobs.
  • They can be our own personal counselor and coach.
  • They inspire us to grow and achieve and are interested in our growth and achievement.
  • They can be a sounding board for our ideas.
  • They model behavior for us to observe and imitate.

Having a mentor system within your organization is a powerful tool. A positive mentor experience can connect people in a profound way and goes beyond the boundaries of the office. It is an intimate exchange between two people that is designed to help both people grow. Mentors learn more about their craft and have a deeper understanding by teaching another person, and the person being mentored gets the chance to have their own personal teacher and advocate.

Mentoring is a great tool for sharing tacit knowledge. The mentor is forced to reflect on why they do what they do in the effort to pass this knowledge to the student. The student gets to observe and absorb knowledge that may be hard for the mentor to verbalize.

Additionally, a mentoring program is a great tool for helping onboard new employees. Of course, new employees can learn the policies and procedures of the organization through documents and conversations with colleagues, but mentoring offers a much more interactive, fulfilling, and stimulating approach.

However, mentoring should not only be reserved for new employees. Remember the pre-assignment about Mary, her retirement, and the stores of knowledge that would be walking out the door with her departure? A solution could be Mary mentoring another employee within the department. The key here is that Mary must be open to the idea of mentoring and understand what is involved in the mentoring process. She would need to be present and willing to mentor another person.

This brings us to one very important point. A mentor relationship or program must be voluntary. Those who mentor must want to help others. Forcing people to be mentors can have disastrous consequences. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of teaching another and having someone shadow them. The person who mentors must make their own decision to do so and be extremely comfortable in their professional skills and abilities. They must also be comfortable with sharing their experiences and lessons learned.

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