Managing Effective Knowledge Transfer

Author Goh

!!Objectices of paper

• Focuses on how org can manage intellectual capital
• KM Xfer is key to Org Learning
• Why KM Xfer is to difficult for orgs
• What are the hindrances to KM Xfer

!!KM on Orgs

• KM Xfer is possible throu JV's etc
• How does KM Xfer happen between grps and individuals?
• Need to xfer knowledge effectively and quickly
• HP amd 3M are egs of Learning Organizations
• Goh and Richards have competed 12 surveys 1200 people
• Chevron reduced op costs by $2bn using Best Practice
• One way to encourage KM Xfer is focus on "Increased Customer Satisfaction" - capture Best Practice then transfer K
• Org Barriers need to be overcome

!!Using IT to facilitate Knowledge Transfer

• BP used virtual teams
• Employees sharing Best Practices seem to be a central theme in KM Xfer (Goodman Darr 1996)
• Best Practice network often disappear or fail - Due to peoples attitudes rather than constraints of technology
• Use of IT to Xfer K or share Best Practice can work under right conditions - motivation, trust, culture
• IT is good at the hard factors (Intranets) but leadership is needed for Soft factors - culture, motivation

!! Org Culture

• Culture definition is very broad and has many dimensions
• Culture of co-operative behaviours
• Smith 1995 identified prerequisites for co-operative relationships
  • Trust
  • Fair treatment
  • rewards
  • Absence of unilateral D-M
  • Experimentation and toleration of failures
• Support structures
  • Nonaka - break down hierarchies
  • Barlett Ghoshal - breakdown silos that encourage "sticky" knowledge
  • Balanced Scorecard approach
  • takes time to develop environment

!!Knowledge recipients

• Recipient must be able to use it
• have motivation
• Absorptive capacity
• Should not be distant or poor communication

!!Types of Knowledge

• Tacit - better communicated personally through chat, Communities of Practice, less structured methods
• Explicit - written recorded in manuals, tech driven - structured approaches

!!Integrative Framework Model Leadership + trust + collaboration+ Problem solving capabilities leads to higher proensity to xfer KM leads to EFFECTIVE K XFER leads to l-t competitive advantage. IF Supprt structure exists, Knowledge Receipient has capacity and good realtionships and right methods are used to xfer Tacit and Explicit KM