FATIMA JINNAH WOMEN UNIVERSITY

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Lecture # 1:
THE KNOWLEDGE CONTEXT

Humayun Akhtar
 WHO AM I ?
• Name : Humayun Akhtar Awan
• Organization:
National Engineering & Scientific Commission (NESCOM),
Government of Pakistan, Islamabad
• Position : Project Director – Programme Mgmt. / Technology
Integration
• Qualifications:
– MS (Engineering Management)
– BS (Mechanical Engineering)
– ISO 9000 QMS Lead Auditor
• Prior Experience:
– Allied Engineering & Services Ltd (CATERPILLAR)-Industrial Sales
– Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (British American Tobacco – BAT) –
Manufacturing / TQM / QMS
– Freelance Consultant – Quality Management Systems
– Packages Limited – Production / ERP
– JWT Asiatic Advertising – Client Services
– Fauji Foundation – Production / Quality Assurance
TRAINING / TEACHING EXPERIENCE
– Lead Trainer on Supply Chain Management / Project Management / Warehouse
Management & Contract Management at Air University, Islamabad
– WTO, ITC and UN Trainer on Supply Chain Management
– Guest Trainer for NRSP on Strategic Planning
– Visiting Faculty Member / Thesis Supervisor for Post-Grad and Under-Grad (MS,
MBA, MPA & BBA) 2006 onwards:
• Iqra University
• Fatima Jinnah Women University
• Army Public College of Management Sciences
• SZABIST, Islamabad
• Management Development Institute (MDI)

– Subjects taught to date:

• Innovation & Technology Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Project Management & Project Constraints
• Strategic Management
• Operations Research / Management
• Global Outsourcing
• Total Quality Management
• Strategic HRM / Managing Organizations
• Knowledge Management
• Project Quality & Communication Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management
• Production & Operations Management
 Introduce yourself
I am……………………………….

My qualifications ………….

I’ve been working for ….. yrs.

I work at …………..

………… motivates me most

I wish I was…………….

My goals through MS (PM)

Goals in LIFE
Page 4
 REFERENCE BOOKS
• Knowledge Management
WILEY – Shelda Debowski

• Knowledge Management in Therory &

Practice
Kimiz Dalkir

• Harvard Business Review on Knowledge

Management
Harvard University - Peter Ferdinand Drucker, David Garvin,
Dorothy Leonard, Susan Straus, John Seely Brown
 Start
Impression About Management

Yes Does it
No
Work ?

Leave it
Yes Did you fiddle No
alone
with it

Did your
IDIOT! Yes Subordinate fiddle No
with it?

No Did anyone see Yes Fire

you? Him!
Can you blame
Even Bigger Yes No
RUN Idiot!!! on a rival?

Can you Talk No

Yes
your way out
of it? Go do Try Any
It! Way!
Yes RESIGN? No
Start
Talking!
Good Bye! FIRED!!!

QUIT
 Chapter 1

The Knowledge Context

 Today’s focus:

• How is our working world changing?

• What is knowledge and how does it impact
on organisational practice?
• What is knowledge management?
• Why and how does knowledge management
vary across different organisations?
 Introduction

• Technological and social change have

reshaped our world and the way we work
• We have shifted from an industrial economy
(focusing on commercial products) to a
knowledge economy (focusing on services
and expertise)
• This has affected most workplaces and most
workers
 External Influences on Organisations

• Globalisation
– Access to more customers from far-flung
areas
– Greater awareness of international practice
• Increased competition
• Increased pressure to be innovative and
responsive
• Shareholder expectations
– Pressure to achieve economies of scale
 External Influences (cont'd)

• Technological change
• Competition for high performing staff
• Forward planning and analysis
– Review of emerging trends
– Learning from competitors

Organisations are dynamic, vulnerable and

volatile….
 The Changing Nature of Organisations
• The workplace has changed:
– Series of career paths
– Workforce composition
– Evolving roles and responsibilities
– Teamwork: complex and dynamic
interactions
– Strong focus on relationship building
 The Changing Nature of Organisations
(cont'd)

• Communication
• Leadership
– Many people fill leadership roles
– Good leadership is expected in most
workplaces
• Decision making
– More people participate in decision-making
– Many sources of information guide decisions
 The Changing Nature of Organisations
(cont'd)

• Change management
– Ongoing process improvement
• Worker motivation
– Self-managing employees anticipate challenging
and fulfilling work
– Desire positive and constructive workplaces
• Infrastructure
– Systems and services which support the
organisation
 Types of Organisations

• Organisations differ according to:

– Their purpose and long-term goals
– Who funds and directs their activities
– The stakeholders
• Types of organisations include:
– Private
– Public
– Not-for-profit
 Private Enterprises

• Focus on profit
• Likely to have shareholders, or may be
privately owned
• Anticipate ongoing growth and development,
but with a healthy short-term return
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the public
face of the firm
 Public Enterprises

• Sponsored and funded by government

• Linked to ministerial portfolios
• Provide service or govern the community
• Increasing efforts to collaborate and work
together, e.g. Australian Government
Information Office
 Not-for-profit agencies

• Provide specialised support for community

members
• Funding may be derived from different
sources including government, sponsors and
members of the community
• Frequently have higher demand than
capacity to deliver
• Strong staff loyalty and commitment
 Strategic Management in Organisations

• Long-term planning + ongoing responses to

existing needs and demands
• Relevance and appropriateness of the
business to meet the users’ expectations
• Goals are promoted to all employees
 Organisational Influences on Strategic
Management

Values

Organisational
Priorities
Strategic
Leadership
Focus and Process
Systems and
Policies

Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Strategic Values

• Collaboration
Values
• Communication
Organisational
Priorities • Flexibility
Systems and • Teamwork
Policies
• Service orientation
Organisational
Activities • Quality focus
Employee
Capabilities
 Organisational priorities

• The goals and directions the

Values
organisation should emphasise to
Organisational
ensure both long-term and short-
Priorities term viability
Systems and • Strongly guided by effective
Policies
leadership within the organisation
Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Systems and Policies

• Policies provide guidance on the

Values
main principles which should be
Organisational reflected across the organisation
Priorities
• Systems enable the implementation
Systems and
Policies
of the specified policies through
practical and functional processes
Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Organisational Activities

• Strategic management aims to

Values align organisational activities with
the values, priorities and systems
Organisational which are in place
Priorities
• The goal is to ensure plans and
Systems and
Policies goals are actually reflected in the
real activities of the organisation
Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Employee Capabilities

Values
• Employee skills, knowledge
and expertise
Organisational
Priorities
• Capabilities should reflect the
organisational requirements
Systems and
Policies • As the firm evolves, so too
will capabilities
Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Knowledge Management
• Knowledge is the process of translating information and
past experience into a meaningful set of relationships which
can be applied by an individual
• Knowledge is an organizational asset: it should be
identified, managed and valued to the same degree as
other assets. We are now living in the INFORMATION AGE.
• Levels of Knowledge Evolution:
– Data (Just Numbers and Facts)
– Information (Logical arrangement of Data which starts making
sense)
– Knowledge (Info. from various sources used for informed and
effective decision making)
– Skill (Knowledge combined with Experience)
– Art (Knowledge and Experience combined with Creativity)
 Knowledge Management (cont'd)

Knowledge as an asset
• Explicit knowledge can be documented,
categorised, transmitted, demonstrated… It
can be accessed by other people even if the
knowledge source is absent
• Tacit knowledge draws on the accumulated
experience and learning of an individual. It is
hard to reproduce or share with others
 Knowledge Management (cont'd)
Sources of Organisational Knowledge

Experience
Individual
Advice Knowledge

Learning Organisational
Knowledge
Errors
Corporate
External Sources Knowledge
History
 Knowledge Management (cont'd)

• Strategic Knowledge assists with taking the

organisation toward its desired future goals
• Closely linked to the organisational focus
• May be different in each organisation
 Knowledge Management: an Emerging
Concept

• The management of knowledge to enable its

definition, identification, capture,
organisation and dissemination across the
organisational community
• Knowledge management is dependent on
effective leadership and a collaborative
culture
 Knowledge Management (cont'd)

Values

Organisational
Priorities

Systems and
Organisational Policies
Knowledge
Organisational
Activities

Employee
Capabilities
 Knowledge Management (cont'd)

Knowledge Organisations
• The Learning Organisation
– Encourages learning, growth and development of
individuals and the community
• The Developmental Organisation
– Undertakes regular review, adaptation and
re-orientation to maintain strategic focus
• Asset-based corporate development
– Recognition and capitalising on knowledge assets
of value to the organisation
 A Model of Strategic Knowledge
Management

Knowledge
Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge
Enhancement
Influences Foundations Applications
and Review

Organisational Human Core Knowledge

Context (1) Resource Knowledge (7) Evaluation (11)
Management (5)
Strategic Knowledge Knowledge
Knowledge (2) Knowledge Repositories (8) Sustainability (12)
Systems (6)
Knowledge
Leadership (3) Issues and
Service (9)
Research (13)
Knowledge Learning and
Culture (4) Development (10)
 Concluding Points

• Knowledge is an essential asset

• Organisational knowledge draws on the
collective knowledge held by both individuals
and within corporate sources
• A strategic focus assists with preserving the
knowledge which is necessary for long-term
viability
• Knowledge management is the method of
reaching these outcomes
THANK YOU