Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

The exit interview uses the interviewing process to capture the knowledge of individuals who
are leaving the organization. See also the interviewing profiling tool. While interviews with
highly knowledgeable employees will generally prove valuable at some level, the capture of
“knowledge” from departing individuals requires a systems approach. See the MQI chart A
Systems Approach to Capturing Knowledge. Note that the capture of knowledge begins long
before an individual is scheduled to leave. For proactive strategies to deal with a shifting work
force, see the APQC best practice report on Retaining Valuable Knowledge.
The bottom line for the U.S. Army TEAM C4ISR is knowledge capture is essential to our
mission. In Case Example #15, trained knowledge harvesters capture expert knowledge
through the interview process. Knowledge capture and dissemination is critical to the KM
approach shared in the NASA-Kennedy Space Center Case Study.
Knowledge Harvesting
Best practices and lessons learned have no intrinsic value. Their benefits come from
ensuring that they are effectively transferred and applied. The harvesting of information by
decision-makers that can create the knowledge needed to make the best decisions is achieved
through good information systems, the flow of information and knowledge across the Utility, and
the decision-maker’s competency. Good information systems means systems and processes
that ensure the value, relevancy, currency and credibility of information and the ability to access
what is needed (see the discussion on multiple search technologies in technology-related tools).
The flow of information and knowledge across an organization is enabled by the interactions
among people, whether that is through formal work structures, teams and communities, through
information relationship networks, or through casual conversations and discussions. See
knowledge sharing and group learning.
An expertise locator helps connect knowledge seekers to knowledge holders. For example,
NASA developed the ExpertSeeker to utilize existing structured data as well as semi-structured
and unstructured web-based information to develop a skills database that profiles each
employee’s competency areas. See the case study on KM at NASA-Kennedy Space Center.
In an information-rich work place and a changing environment, every decision-maker needs
to hone new skills. For example, Information Literacy (MQI research paper) is necessary in
order to make full use of Internet resources. Systems and Complexity Thinking (MQI research
paper) provides a frame of reference that enables decision-makers to understand the
relationships and patterns among issues and opportunities. Relationship Network Management
(MQI research paper) helps decision-makers have the conversations and participate in
knowledge moments that matter, those that will help them make effective decisions in the future.
Knowledge Mobilization
Knowledge mobilization is the process of creating value through the creation, assimilation,
leveraging, sharing and application of focused knowledge to a bounded community. This
means that there is specific knowledge (such as that required to manage a drinking water utility)
and a specific community (such as managers in training or new hires) and knowledge is
mobilized such that future decisions and consequent actions (taken by these managers in
training) are effective and sustainable. Thus KMb is a process for moving specific knowledge to
action (and value) in a bounded situation or location. Thinking in terms of specific knowledge
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