7 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

• Connecting people with information to share explicit knowledge using
approaches such as best practices databases, and using content management
processes to ensure that explicit knowledge is current, relevant and easily
accessible
• Creating opportunities for people to generate new knowledge, for example
through collaborative working and learning
• Introducing processes to help people seek and use the knowledge of others
such as peer assists
• Teaching people to share knowledge in ways that inspire people by using
storytelling techniques
• Encouraging people to prioritize learning as part of their day-to-day work,
by learning before, during and after the tasks and projects they have
performed
These stages of the KMS functional process can be clearly identified and understood in
Figure 1.
Figure 1- Knowledge Management Cycle
Coll
ection
Value to
Organization
Navigation
4.Challenges
Repositories
Best Practices
Reports
Documents
Presentation Slides
Tips
Codification
Organizational
Learning
Decision Making Tools
Profiles for Customization
Pushed Reports & News
Collaboration Tools
Active Knowledge Transfer
Expert
Knowledge
Base
Contact Links
Expert Assistance as
Needed
Communities of Practice
Index
Communication
In a research environment, where an individual's knowledge is valued and rewarded,
establishing a culture that recognizes tacit knowledge and encourages employees to share
it is critical. One way organizations motivate employees to participate in KMS is by
creating an incentive program. However, then there's the danger that employees will
participate solely to earn incentives, without regard to the quality or relevance of the
information they contribute. KMS is not a technology-based concept. While technology
can support KMS, it's not the starting point of a KMS program. The KMS is mainly based
on people, knowledge, and business objectives. Technology is the last step in the KMS
process that says how it will be carried out. As with many physical assets, the value of
knowledge can erode over time. Since knowledge can get stale fast, the content in a KM
program should be constantly updated, amended and deleted. The relevance of knowledge
at any given time changes, as do the skills of employees. Therefore, there is no endpoint to
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