Whilst there are many books on knowledge management there are few aimed directly at HR practitioners and the critical role that they can play in building a knowledge-centric culture. This practical book draws on the author's own experience, as well as that of leading-edge Human Resource and Knowledge Management practitioners (including Linda Holbeche, Elizabeth Lank, and David Snowden), each of whom recognise that building a knowledge-centric culture cannot be achieved through technology alone. It covers areas such as: * Defining the key ingredients of a knowledge-centric culture * The changing structures, roles and responsibilities needed to create a knowledge-centric culture * HR's unique contribution to building a knowledge-centric culture, together with practical steps for getting started on the KM journey and for keeping the momentum going * Tools and techniques for: opening up a dialogue about why knowledge management is crucial for business and personal success; knowledge mapping; encouraging and facilitating knowledge sharing, as well as ways of identifying key knowledge players * How to help your organisation reframe its assumptions about learning in the knowledge economy * How to ensure that your HR practices are knowledge aligned *Outline the strategic and practical elements of HR's involvement in knowledge management *Features contributions from Dave Snowden and Elizabeth Lank *Practical case studies to help create an organizational culture that knows how to mobilize and leverage its knowledge
Author(s): Christina Evans
Edition: 1
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 304
Contents......Page 6
Figures......Page 8
Tables......Page 10
Foreword......Page 12
The Knowledge Economy - opportunities and challenges for business......Page 14
Why another book on managing knowledge?......Page 15
Notes......Page 18
Acknowledgements......Page 20
Part One - The Strategic Context for HR's Role in Managing for Knowledge......Page 22
Knowledge as a key business asset......Page 24
Changes in the global business economy......Page 25
Changes in technology......Page 27
The changing nature of work and the workplace......Page 28
The changing landscape of careers......Page 31
Building a shared understanding of knowledge and knowledge management......Page 33
Defining knowledge management......Page 37
The need for a strategic approach to managing knowledge......Page 43
Case study: The knowledge management journey within ICL......Page 44
Summary 1
......Page 47
Notes 1
......Page 48
2
The changing role of HR - from operational to strategic HR......Page 49
Partner in strategy execution......Page 50
Employee champion......Page 51
Change agent......Page 52
How can HR develop their competencies?......Page 56
Summary 2......Page 58
Pause for reflection 2......Page 59
Characteristics of knowledge-creating organisations......Page 60
Barriers to effective knowledge sharing......Page 62
Designing a blueprint for a knowledge-centric organisation......Page 64
Summary 3......Page 78
Notes 3......Page 79
Part Two - Building a Knowledge-centric Culture......Page 80
Changing organisational structures......Page 82
Pause for thought: Is your organisation 'boundaryless'?......Page 84
Organisational size and impact on knowledge building and sharing......Page 87
Changing roles and responsibilities in knowledge businesses......Page 88
Case study: The Berkshire NHS Shared Services Unit4......Page 90
The role of managers......Page 91
Case study: Influencing knowledge creation and sharing - the critical role of managers......Page 96
The role of individuals......Page 99
Case study: Sharing the learning task......Page 100
Summary 4......Page 103
Notes 4......Page 104
5 HR's role in building a knowledge-centric culture......Page 105
An interview with Linda Holbeche, Director of Research, Roffey Park Institute......Page 106
Case Study: Building a customer-focused culture in Enterprise Rent-A-Car......Page 112
Moving forward - Developing organisational capabilities......Page 116
Training and development......Page 121
Learning and Knowledge Management - The challenges and experience of Oxfam GB......Page 122
Summary 5......Page 132
Pause for reflection 5......Page 133
The learning and change spiral......Page 134
Developing organisational 'know how' - the need for an integrative approach......Page 138
Opportunities for learning through everyday practice......Page 139
Communities of Practice......Page 142
Facilitating learning through informal thinking and learning spaces......Page 143
Building learning environments to facilitate experimentation and play......Page 145
Building a coaching culture......Page 147
Organisational background......Page 148
Building blocks in the firm’s knowledge management approach......Page 149
Bridging the gap between formal learning and workplace learning Ò The rise of corporate universities......Page 153
Benchmarking activities......Page 155
Volunteering......Page 156
Notes 5......Page 159
Motivational factors associated with learning......Page 161
How independent HR professionals manage their learning......Page 162
What broader lessons can be drawn from this piece of research?......Page 166
Note 7......Page 168
Re-visiting assumptions about learning......Page 169
Communities and communities of practice - what are they?......Page 171
Mutual engagement......Page 172
From theory to practice - the role of communities of practice in knowledge building......Page 174
Case study - The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE)......Page 179
Pause for thought 8......Page 183
Part Three - Building HR's KM Credibility and Capabilities......Page 184
Aligning HR and KM - start by getting some of the basics right......Page 186
Recruitment and selection......Page 189
Induction......Page 191
Reward and recognition......Page 192
Resource management......Page 194
Addressing the changing psychological contract of employment......Page 195
Training and development......Page 197
Case study: Introduction of a Business Skills Development Programme in a small technology- based company......Page 198
Career management......Page 200
What can HR do to help individuals build meaningful careers in the knowledge economy?......Page 201
Retention management......Page 203
Pause for reflection 9......Page 205
Notes 9......Page 206
10 Knowing what we know: language and tools for knowledge mapping......Page 207
Conceptual problems with early knowledge management practice......Page 208
Knowledge can only be volunteered, it cannot be conscripted......Page 209
We always know more than we can say and we will always say more than we can write down......Page 210
We only know what we know when we need to know it......Page 211
Creating a meaningful context......Page 212
Asking a meaningful question: the ASHEN model......Page 215
ASHEN - a different perspective......Page 218
Abstraction and the cost of codification......Page 220
Diverse types of community......Page 222
The dynamic flow of knowledge......Page 225
Social networks......Page 226
Knowing what you know......Page 227
References 10......Page 229
11 Building your KM toolkit......Page 230
Some basic tools......Page 231
Questions to facilitate transformative learning......Page 234
Tools to open up a dialogue......Page 235
Tools to facilitate the sharing of tacit knowledge......Page 238
Organisational background......Page 240
Earlier experiences of oral history projects......Page 241
More recent experiences of applying Storytelling techniques......Page 242
Tools for identifying key knowledge resources and players......Page 247
Rethinking evaluation......Page 251
Learning points in the evaluation process......Page 255
Delivery......Page 256
Beyond implementation......Page 257
Notes 11......Page 258
12 Using technology wisely......Page 259
What has all of this got to do with HR?......Page 261
Practitioner tips......Page 262
Technology to connect a mobile and global workforce......Page 268
Technologies to locate and connect people......Page 269
The organisationÌs knowledge management journey......Page 271
The development of the Knowledge Store......Page 274
The cultural shift needed to gain full advantage of the Knowledge Store......Page 275
The way forward for the Knowledge Store......Page 277
Notes 12......Page 278
13 Summary and conclusions......Page 279
References......Page 284
Index......Page 290
