Analisi - knowledge management case studies - Aetnanet

• Enhance the value proposition 4 of BT products and services by:
o Reducing time to market and
o Increasing innovation;
• Improving the quality of work for BT employees by:
• Avoiding mistakes being repeated;
• Avoiding work being duplicated;
• Share good ideas and
• Eliminating the dependence on a few key individuals.
Knowledge management goals
• Making existing knowledge work harder,
• Generating and quickly recycling learning across the business, and
• (Re)connecting people.
Design and implementation
The knowledge management system (i.e. knowledge infrastructure) that BT’s has put in place
for reaching the organisational goals addresses leadership & management, organisational
structure & HRM, processes and Information & communication technology.
Leadership and management
Small central team
BT’s knowledge management activities are facilitated by a small central team. This is
different to the old way of doing projects, which typically have involved large, centrally
controlled project embracing lots of people in the project group. The new approach reflects
the culture BT is trying to promote, with small, fast and flexible teams working collaboratively
across the business to achieve goals. Therefore, very few people at the centre are employed
on knowledge management (4), working primarily as catalysts to encourage local initiatives
and accelerate cross-functional learning. Most of BT’s business units have people working on
knowledge management, through only a few (~12 people) have this as their specialist role.
BT also maintains a knowledge management research group, looking at future tools and
technologies.
No separate mandate for knowledge management
BT sees knowledge management as central, and not separate to its business strategy.
There’s no mandate from the top of BT for a separate, company-wide knowledge
management programme. Therefore, part of the work of the central team is to sell the
benefits of knowledge management into the business units. Also to provide some internal
consulting to help get initiatives going. No separate mandate means that its harder to
implement standard company-wide approaches e.g. if a business unit decides to develop a
lessons learned repository and publish the lessons on their web site they are free to do so.
4 Added knowledge equals added value, so there is an alternative for competing on price.
CIBIT 20
analisi-KM case studies.doc - 25/5/99