Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques ... - Index of - Free

Actually, the concept of KM can be united with the goals of e-learning to create the
larger ideal of a learning organization—via blended learning, skills directories integrated
with course delivery, and the interleaving of working and learning. KM and
learning management are two complementary disciplines that are continuously growing
closer and support an innovative and agile enterprise.
“E-learning should be blended with communities of practice. Managers need to be
able to anticipate training needs based on business goals and deliver those courses
quickly to employees,” according to Barnfield and Wilson.
“KM and e-learning are converging—managers and employees need to focus on
doing while learning and learning while doing. Connected learning is the way to go,”
says APQC’s Cindy Hubert.
Siemens blends KM and e-learning at its Siemens Learning Valley (SLV) initiative,
founded in 2001 in Belgium and Luxembourg (branded as “Where Knowledge Shapes
(Y)our Future”). Online courses can be taken via HorizonLive. A newsletter called
SLV Gazette spreads awareness about this program and the associated Knowledge and
Learning Index (KLIX).
Consulting firm Bain & Company has an elaborate KM system consisting of the
Bain Virtual University (BVU) for online courses coupled with the Global Experience
Centre (GXC). Its content assets include the core global toolkit (launched in 1999),
codified insights into industry verticals (launched in 2000), sanitized summaries
of client projects, video modules of case study reviews, staff profiles, and external
market research.
“We have a number of dedicated knowledge roles, such as case team, regional
knowledge broker and global topic specialists,” says Robert Armacost, KM Director
at Bain. The company launched the latest version of BVU and GXC in October 2002.
The corporate university and the KM department at the Bank of Montreal jointly
funded the “kCafé,” which acts as a bridge between classroom training and on-thejob
tools, as well as an enterprise program called ideaNet to have employees identify
and brainstorm on banking solutions.
Buckman Labs, another pioneer in KM, launched an online learning center in
1996, new IT infrastructure for KM in 1998, a TeamToolz toolkit for team creation
in 2000, processes like After Action Review in 2001, and new people products in
2002.
Storytelling and Narratives
Overview: The Social Life of KM Tools 17
Building communities in business has become a priority in knowledge-sharing organizations
around the world. Storytelling has become an effective way to mobilize
change, according to Seth Kahan, President of the Performance Development Group
and internal communications consultant to the World Bank.
“Personal storytelling builds community and can revitalise the way we do business.
It brings us back to life and to our deeper purpose. How we share is as important as
what we share,” says Kahan, who has used non-traditional business communication
techniques like art, theatrical tools, poetry, and even a Cherokee talking stick to
improve internal and interpersonal communication.
“Springboard stories ignite action in organizations,” says Stephen Denning, author
of The Springboard (2001) and architect of the World Bank’s KM initiative. “The most
important challenge in this economy is creating conversations,” says Tata Steel’s Arora.
Models and theories from disciplines like complex adaptive systems can be
deployed in this regard. Organizations like IBM’s Cynefin Centre have developed classifications
of knowledge work into categories like known, knowable, complex, and