Knowledge Management - Strategy                            

Knowledge management strategy is a general, issue-based approach to define operational strategy and objectives with specialized KM principles and approaches. It helps in addressing questions like −

● Which knowledge management approach, or set of approaches, will bring the most value to the company?

● How can a company prioritize alternatives, when any one or several of the alternatives are appealing and resources are limited?

A good Knowledge Management strategy possesses the following components −

● A Stated Business Strategy and Objectives − It should have products or services, target customers, referred distribution or delivery channels, characterization of regulatory environment, mission or vision statement.

● A Description of Knowledge-Based Business Issues − Need for collaboration, need to level performance variance, need for innovation, and need to address information overload.

● An Inventory of Available Knowledge Resources − Knowledge capital, social capital, infrastructure capital.

● An Analysis of Recommended Knowledge Leverage − Points that briefs what can be done with the above-identified knowledge and knowledge artifacts and lists Knowledge management projects that can be undertaken with the intent to maximize ROI and business value.

Knowledge Audit                                                        

A knowledge audit service marks the core information knowledge requirements and uses in an organization. It also outlines the gaps, duplications, and flows and how they contribute to business goals as well as the owners, users, uses, and key attributes of core knowledge assets.

It produces the following types of results −

● Identification of core knowledge assets and flows like who creates, who uses.

● Identification of gaps in information and knowledge required to manage the business effectively.

● Areas of information policy and ownership that needs progress. Opportunities to minimize information-handling costs.

● Opportunities to improve coordination and access to commonly required information.

A better understanding of the contribution of knowledge to business results.

GAP Analysis

This involves establishing the current and desired states of knowledge resources and KM levels. Specific projects further defined in order to address specific gaps that were identified and agreed upon as high-priority areas.

A good gap analysis addresses the following points −

● The major differences between the current and desired KM states of the organization.

● Enlist barriers to KM implementation like culture where “knowledge is power” or where individual possession of knowledge is consistently rewarded.

● Enlist KM leverage points or enablers like existing initiatives that could be built upon.

● Identify opportunities to collaborate with other business initiatives like combine knowledge continuity goals with succession planning initiatives in Human Resources.

● Conduct a risk analysis like knowledge that will soon “walk out the door” due to imminent retirements or knowledge that is at risk because only a few individuals are competent in this area and very little of their expertise exists in coded or tangible knowledge assets.

● Redundancies within the organization like the case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

● Presence of knowledge silos like groups, departments, or individuals that hoard knowledge or block fluid knowledge flows to other groups, departments, or colleagues.

This analysis is further used to list and prioritize KM objectives to be addressed by the organization.