Dr. Dan's Daily Dose

In his post on knowledge management manates at , Dr Dan is of the opinon that mandating Knowledge Management implementation will probably produce the same results as with any other organizational mandate. Failure to address the organizational cultural issues will result in being unaware of the many factors that will inhibit (or encourage) successful Knowledge Management implementation. The end result will probably be ineffective KM implementation. He illustrated the failure of mandates in ensuring knowledge management.

Learning Points

1. Compulsory KM is not going to work because when individuals are "forced" to contribute the GIGO effect raises its ugly head.

2. KM has a strong organizational change component but I also belive that the technology has a place. When individuals are required to adopt new and often difficult to use knowledge management systems there is an inherent barier to adoption. It essentially means that when knowledge is more difficult to share electronically than it is through traditional means the technology will be underutilized and KM objectives cannot be met or measured. So no matter how much time and effort is focused on the change piece a cumbersome technical component will kill the deal.

3. Leadership will have a much easier time promoting KM when they can appreciably demonstrate the value to the end users. End users do not necessarily care about the strategic advantage that can be created with KM if it all adds up to "more work". Part technical change, part organizational change is my call. There is always going to be some resistance when "rules" are applied to the knowledge transfer process but putting the ability to share at the fingertips of the user community can help overcome the cultural resistance.

Feel free to discuss.

References:

Dr Dan, Knowledge Management Mandates, 2006, [Online], [Accessed on 14 Feb 2009], [Available]http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/dr-dan/knowledge-management-mandates-12620