Compare and contrast KM applications that are driven by an objective of reuse versus those driven by an objective of innovation
Unlike KM applications that are driven by an objective of reuse, the ones powered by the objective of innovation pursue the goal of fluidity. The former, however, are much more apt to institutionalization, which makes the structure too formal. However, both types of KM applications are aimed at improving company knowledge management. Therefore, it is crucial to find a way to combine both.
What are the major steps involved in developing a KM strategy? What sorts of information are needed to recommend a KM strategy to an organization? List the major categories of stakeholders who should be involved in the strategy formulation process
According to Dalkir, the key steps towards developing an efficient KM structure are: determine the benchmark elements, forming a benchmarking team, creating a benchmarking shortlist, gathering data for analysis, collect and analyze data and outline the expected results (Dalkir, 2005, 274). As for the sources of information that are largely required for recommending a knowledge management strategy to an organization, questionnaires can be used to distill the key problems with the company’s knowledge management process. Finally, in the course of the strategy formulation process, such types of stakeholders as “senior managers, human resources, information technology, and major business unit managers” (Dalkir, 2005, 252) should be involved.
What are some of the key challenges in developing and managing an organizational memory system? Outline some of the key obstacles that may be encountered and how you would address each one
Used to store the company’s most valuable information, i.e., the key facts that allow the company to take the leading position in the charts, organizational memory is an important segment of the company knowledge management system. The concept of an organizational memory system has been shaped greatly over the past few years. Speaking of the most significant change, one must mention that the present-day organizational memory system aims at “capturing, organizing, disseminating, and
reusing the knowledge created by its employees” (Dalkir, 2005, 260). Among the key obstacles on the way of organizing the knowledge that the employees have created, the fact of intellectual property theft should be mentioned. As long as employees are afraid that someone else will take credit for their ideas, there will be no knowledge sharing and, therefore, no efficient knowledge management. The problem can be solved with the help of direct communication between the manager and the employees.
What does the term corporate amnesia mean? How would you characterize the costs involved in corporate amnesia? Provide some examples to illustrate your points
According to the definition that Kimiz Dalkir provides, corporate amnesia is the lack of any concern about the company information management: “Corporate amnesia is a risk when no systematic approach has been applied in creating organizational memory systems” (Dalkir 279). While the term “amnesia,” which usually implies the loss of memory, might make one think about the company losing its valuable information, it, means the inability to organize the corporate information.
There is no surprise that the inability to manage corporate information is likely to lead to the most drastic effects. The costs involved in corporate amnesia can be characterized as the loss of track of the corporate information. The latter riggers the loss of a leading position in the business charts, which, in its turn, results in a mini-crisis within the company and, in the most unfortunate cases, bankruptcy.
Reference List
Dalkir, K. (2005). Knowledge management in theory and practice. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth–Heinemann.