Knowledge Management--Acquire and manage knowledge to excel

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Module 1: Section I, lecture A: Significance of Knowledge Management

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This lecture will be covering why we should study knowledge Management. It includes managing intellectual capital, timely decision making, knowledge a driver of competitiveness.

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Managing Intellectual capital

Let’s first understand what is intellectual capital and then we can move onwards. Intellectual capital is an intangible component, a form of tacit knowledge, which contributes the most in the process of firms wealth creation.

Being in the field of human resource management over the last years, I am fully aware of the importance of retaining smart people. And to retain high intellectual people and take benefit from their expertise, a knowledge management system is mandatory.

In case, the organization do not take timely action to manage intellectual capital, they might exit from the company along with their knowledge which was supposed to be retained.

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With time, organizations learn by experimenting different products or a mix of product & service depending upon the nature of the business. This is how the learning curve of the organization moves. You can see the graph on the right side of slide.

So, how can the company preserve this learning? What are the ways to fully utilize the potential?

Of course, the company does want to save all the information which the employees have gathered during experiments because it will be beneficial for them in the future to take business decisions.

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To retain valuable employees, we have to take data so that we can structure the employee retention policy accordingly. there are many ways through which we can analyze the behavioral pattern of employees like we can conduct surveys to take data for analysis. Secondly, it’s a healthy practice to promote knowledge sharing culture so that employees feel motivated and comfortable in sharing their ideas with each other.

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Timely Decision making

This is one of critical element which can bring drastic changes in any business. Early information can give an edge to the company as they can take early decisions as compared to the competitors.

“Early movers”, “Laggards”, “Adopters”, these are some terms which we usually use in discussing how different business take approaches. Early information can give you an opportunity to be an “early movers” which will lead you to the competitive position in the industry. We can take the balanced decision based upon data and experience which you can see in this picture.

For example, Samsung, a renowned name in technology, released a phone with a built-in-camera back in 2000.

Well, how this idea come in the mind of management of Samsung that they can launch a phone with a camera.? It is due to research which they have done and the ideas collected from their teams. In this way, they did not only change the dynamics of phone industry but also availed the first mover advantage.

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Knowledge as a driver of competitive advantage

Going further into research & innovation, a company can produce new products. The reason behind innovation is that it’s the key to survival. As mostly, we have heard the term “survival of the fittest” which means to continue your business in the market, one has to sense the future market needs and provide solution to it.

It can also be done to improve the existing products. As, in today’s era, knowledge is depleting every second and you really have to be on your toes to compete in the market.

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By continuous learning, one can improve the existing procedures too. Just the picture is depicting how one person is dragging the ball easily because it causes less friction with the floor.

Recently we all have suffered a pandemic, which has taken thousands of lives around the globe. Since, its emergence, different pharmaceutical companies and biotech research institutes conducted researches n a larger scale to make the antidote. Due to these efforts, we got the vaccines which were produced by Pfizer and Sputnik.

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Continuing with the significance of knowledge management, we are heading towards lecture b.

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In this lecture we would be discussing Excelling in career, stimulates cultural change and build learning organizations.

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Excelling in career

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” a saying by Benjmain franklin

Now, we can see that updating the knowledge is not only for the companies or businesses. It also works well for the individuals who want to grow their expertise. There are numerous tools or softwares available in different domains and a knowledge seeker can utilize as per his/her requirements.

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For instance, learning organizations provide opportunities to their employees to upgrade their knowledge. They have departments like talent management where the top performers are provided with different learning opportunities in the form of course/certificate or trainings to develop their skillset and retain them for future.

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Stimulates cultural change

The progressive organizations welcome new ideas and they have a very open culture in terms of knowledge sharing and discussing ideas for improvement in procedures.

For example, General Electric has a program, called as Change Acceleration Process (CAP). This includes, Business development, business unit leadership & focused workshops, so they get theirselves ready for change.

This is just one example, you can find many organizations who are having similar type of programs to bring change and keep itself updated to meet the needs of industry.

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Builds learning organization

Organizations aims at continuous improvement have a rigorous approach and they utilize knowledge in an efficient way.

Just think about the armed forces, they have a very strict and disciplined environment and they continuously provide training opportunities for their personnel. Infact, the promotion is based on how many training the person has cleared.

Additionally, strict criteria to measure and appraise performances is also a good way to keep the competition high and also motivate them for improvements.

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Continuing with the significance of knowledge management, we are heading towards lecture c.

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In this lecture we would be discussing Identification of skill gaps and streamline flow of information

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Identification of skill gaps

Progressive organizations are keenly observing the market trends and they ate pretty much sure that about skills which are in demand and which ones are likely to be in demand in the near future.

By proper documentation of their tacit knowledge, one can identify the gaps. The area which needs to be covered by putting relevant skill or updating of existing one. This is not only necessary at the individual but also at the unit/departmental level.

Organizations do proper training needs Assessment often referred as TNA to analyze the existing needs and skills gap so that it can be filled by proper training.

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Streamline flow of information

The proper management of knowledge provides required information timely. There are many benefits of readily available information like,

· It reduces time consumption

· Less hassle

· And higher productivity

For instance, a department has maintained all the relevant data which the employees may be required time to time in a Google drive. So, if someone wants any data, he/she does not have to ask any colleagues or line manager. Just simply go to centralized data bank and get it from there.

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An example of IBM Watson,

Its artificial intelligence powered search that uses natural language processing to retrieve answers and uncover insights buried in documents, webpages and big data.

This move produced amazing results, Watson discovery cuts down search time by more than 65% which is very impressive number in terms of productivity.

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To get more information regarding importance of knowledge management, I would recommend you to visit these links.

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In this lecture, we are going to discuss in detail about Knowledge, types of knowledge; tacit and explicit knowledge.

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What is Knowledge?

As we are studying the concept of Knowledge Management, so let’s first scan the term “Knowledge”. Apparently, this a very common word and almost anyone can define it.

Here, the purpose is to not only define knowledge but also differentiates it with other concepts which are interlinked and somehow frequent used as a synonym of Knowledge.

Nonaka and Takeuchi defined Knowledge as “A justified true belief”. On the other hand, John Locke said that “Objects do exist in the outer world and that our sensory perception is the most important source of our knowledge.”

As, you can see a pyramid on the right side of the slide, the data lies at the bottom and the top is wisdom. Data is a raw form or collection of facts and figures which are not aligned and does not provide a meaningful picture to take any decision.

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Moving upwards in the hierarchy, a refined form of data is information and when the information is utilized by the person as per his/her expertise, it becomes a knowledge. Every person has unique mental patterns through which he observes the environment and hence, the knowledge becomes a more refined version of data.

Wisdom is the top of the hierarchy which is beyond the scope of knowledge that is gained by sensory organs. It also encompasses those ideas concepts which do not only based upon the observations but also some unique patterns of mind through which a person make connections and present a theory or an idea which is not time bound. The wisdom is the highest form of intellectual level, where human mind is working beyond his sensory world and can analyze the nature patterns and understand the connections which are not easily understandable.

This is not only a simple hierarchy which distinguishes between the terms rather it depicts that how a person or an entity can reach the level of wisdom and What are those steps required to reach that level.

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Types of knowledge

Now, we will discuss types of knowledge, when we are discussing knowledge management, knowledge is divided into two segments; tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge.

Tacit knowledge includes your observations, signals, images, sharing experiences. And explicit knowledge means the knowledge which is present in the written form, metaphors, case studies

Tacit knowledge is present in the mind of individual and is not easily understandable to others. Whereas, explicit knowledge is a structured form of knowledge which can easily be understood by other people.

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Explicit & Tacit Knowledge

Have a look at this iceberg, it is showing how tacit and explicit knowledge are different and how they appear on the landscape has its own meaning.

Tacit knowledge comprises of ones’ unique experiences, thinking patterns, competence, commitment, actions which are under one’s possession and can’t be transferred in the same form.

For this purpose, the tacit knowledge has to be converted to explicit knowledge in the form of data, information, documents, files or any records which is readable and easy to comprehend.

The diagram shows that tacit knowledge has a overwhelming percentage that is 95% and explicit knowledge is only 5% which shows that there is a huge portion of knowledge available which is still not extracted and not shared. This also shows that how much human mind has the capacity to store knowledge and the huge potential available to convert that tacit portion into explicit one.

LECTURE B

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Continuing with the Introduction to knowledge management, we are heading towards lecture b.

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In this lecture we would be discussing types of tacit knowledge and an over view of Nonaka’s SECI model.

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Studying further about tacit knowledge, it is divided into two types: Technical and cognitive.

Technical tacit knowledge refers to the informal personal skills or crafts which is highly personalized. For example, making something by using one’s own way or technique. How to do a particular task comes under this technical tacit knowledge.

Whereas, Cognitive tacit knowledge encompasses the thinking patterns, models, ideas, values and beliefs which are deeply embedded in the mind.

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Now, comes very renowned model presented by Nonaka, and that is SECI model. SECI stands for socialization, externalization, combination and Internationalization.

It’s a knowledge creation process which occurred in 5 stages;

1. Sharing tacit knowledge

2. Creating concepts

3. Justifying concepts

4. Building an archetype

5. Cross levelling knowledge

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SECI Model in detail

Let’s look into more detail about this model. In the socialization, tacit knowledge is converted into tacit knowledge. This stage is visible when we have meetings and discussions on a certain topic or we share our ideas for a new product or service. In Externalization, tacit knowledge is converted into explicit one. It happens when you have dialogues within a team.

Going further, In the combination phase, explicit knowledge is converted to explicit. For instance, when an employee sends a document via email or when an employee receives a document and read it. She understands it and develop opinions. These mind connections come under tacit knowledge and it is being created from explicit knowledge, which is termed as Internalization stage.

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Continuing with the Introduction to knowledge management, we are heading towards lecture c.

Slide: 2 In this lecture we would be discussing Nonaka’s SECI model each stage with examples.

SECI model is the foundational concept of Knowledge management and one has to develop clear conceptualization of it so that the extended concepts will be easy to understand. We will be discussing each stage along the examples at organizational level.

Slide: 3 Socialization:

In this stage, knowledge is created when people interact and learn from each other. The learning can be in the form of observations, analysis and discussions. When we talk about organizational level, this type of knowledge creation takes place frequently. Interaction with customers, meetings with vendors and stakeholders, are few examples of socialization.

Slide: 4 Externalization

Here, the mode of knowledge creation is tacit to explicit. Collective group knowledge, metaphors and analogies. At the organizational level, focused group which are discussing processes and how to bring improvements. For instance, organizations belong to the manufacturing industry, they are very much concerned about the production quality and improvements in procedures. They usually have quality assurance group in which people share their experiences of daily operations.

Slide: 5: Combination

In this phase, the knowledge is created in a more crystallized form. By Crystallized form we mean that it is in the form which is easy to understand. For instance, financial or business reports, marketing data, accounts statements, data bases etc.

In case of new product idea and its feasibility report, the survival of product is being analyzed. This report is being shared with production or operations department and finance department so that all stakeholders will be on the same page. This scenario also comes under combination stage.

Slide 6:Internalization

This is the stage when the knowledge which has been created previously is being re-used or practiced by the individuals.

For instance, organizations do organize training programs for their employees so that they can upgrade their knowledge and skills. The training manuals, user guides, case studies, are some of the examples of internalization stage.

Slide 7: I would suggest to read these articles to know more about foundations of knowledge management.

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Module 3, Section 1, lecture A--Knowledge Management Timeline (1990-2022)

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In this lecture, we are going to discuss the timeline of the emergence of the concept of Knowledge Management. We have divided the content into three periods; First period is (1990-2000), second is (2000-2015) and third is (2016-2022).

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Timeline (1990-2000)

Lets’ now discuss each time period besides the themes which were either emerged in that particular time period or transformed into sub branch of the main theme.

The main areas which were under study were knowledge technology and how policies can be devised, KM based systems, KM processes, KM enablers etc. In the next slide, we will be going to discuss the prominent areas of development/research in this decade.

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The first half of the 90’s decade was the foundational phase and the realization of knowledge and technology came to limelight. As, we know this decade has tremendous progress in Information technology so the concept of more knowledge, more competitiveness emerged. Firms rigorously pursued for opting for new technology as it was believed that IT can give you a competitive advantage which is no doubt was true with respect to circumstances present at that time. As, new inventions were coming in and organizations who early adopted to new will reach the position of leaders and others were forced to follow them because they had the specific technology”.

Kogut and Zander, very renowned scholars have laid the foundations of the domain of knowledge management and they presented a perspective which is KBV, knowledge-based view. As per this perspective, knowledge is the asset which brings competitive advantage. So, the philosophy is that the more you are knowledgeable the more you will be ahead in the market competition.

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The KBV is also called as the revised version of resource-based view. According to RBV, the more resources you have, the more competitive you will be. Here, by resources, we mean the tangible resources. For instance, if a company has more capacity to manufacture, it has more machines and fixtures so it will be leading to more production and have higher market share as compared to the competitors.

In KBV, Kogut and Zander said that those assets are not the tangible ones but intangible. And knowledge is the biggest intangible asset one can have. The more knowledge you have, the more competitive you will be. Another featured scholar, Kayworth and Leinder. They extended the concept and came up with the enablers which play an important role in the successful implementation of knowledge management systems.

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No coming towards the start of 21st century and onwards fifteen years, 2001-2015, the focus from the Information technology shifted towards behavior towards adapting KM systems, readiness of people to use the KM systems and extended research on relationship between innovation and knowledge management.

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Timeline (2001-2015)

Now, coming to first decade of the 21st century which is 2000-2010, the main themes of this era surrounded around the users of knowledge management systems and that is of course targeted at the employees working in organizations. So, in 90’s organizations invested huge money in having that sophisticated KM systems and processes but somehow the results did not show what was anticipated. It was expected that if a company acquired a sophisticated KM system, people will automatically use it without nay hassle.

So, as we discussed that KBV perspective posits that the more knowledgeable you are the more competitive you are. The way it is useful and effective at the organizational level may not be replicate at the individual level. Similar events observed during and after implementing KM systems at a very large scale.

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Highlights of the period (2000-2015)

This time period has already done with the huge investment in IT infrastructure and then the focus shifted to the users of the system, employees who were in charge. It was analyzed that the implementation of KM systems faced some problems as the behavior of people were not aligned with the requirements of the system.

The behavior and the intentions to share their knowledge has a substantial importance. As we discussed that tacit knowledge is present in the minds and unless and until it is transferred to explicit one, it can be utilized. So, people were reluctant to share their knowledge because they had the perspective that the more knowledge the more competitive you are and knowledge gives you power. So, why should one give his power of course to the other one or to the company without getting any reward.

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Continuing with the knowledge management timeline, we are now moving towards lecture B

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In this lecture, we are going to study the prominent research themes of 2016-2022.

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Timeline (2016-2022)

These years have witnessed research in KM in relation with organizational learning, how KM performed its part in the pandemic and its role in digital transformation and industry.

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By the time we hit 2015, scholars were already known that KM and innovation go side by side. The more you are good at extracting tacit knowledge, the more you are good at innovation and will be able to launch innovative products in the market and can get high market share.

this can only happen when you have creative minds in the team and they happily want to share their ideas with you.

Researches were done in the pandemic period (2020-2021) mainly and KM became even more important because at that time period the researchers were at toes to find out the antidote for Covid-19 and relevant knowledge was in high demand.

Timely sharing of knowledge made it successful to make the vaccines which saved many lives.

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Closing the second decade, different themes also studied besides KM and those are organizational learning and organizational memory. The decade of 2020 is totally different from 90’s as it has now emerged not only KM but also levelled up to the knowledge economy and presenting the concept of industry 4.0 which talks about digital economy. Concluding the lecture, Knowledge management domain is further growing and now digital economy and industry revolution 4.0 are also a kind of interconnected branches of KM.

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Module 3: Section 2, Lecture A, Theories related to Knowledge Management

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In this lecture, we are going to shed light on Theoretical paradigm and conceptual foundation of Knowledge Management.

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Theoretical Paradigm

By paradigm, Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill said that it’s a way of examining social phenomena from which particular understandings of these phenomena can be gained and explanations exempted.

It is basically a scientific way to understand a phenomenon or a concept which you are observing in your environment. The foundation for any theory related to the firm provides foundation to develop logical arguments with respect to the structure, behavior and output of the firm.

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Under Theoretical paradigm, we have two sub types; ontology and epistemology. In the next slide, we will discuss these one by one.

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Ontology

Ontology is concerned with the nature of reality. It is a belief towards a reality and it is a system in which a researcher has to make a choice that whether the reality is objective; depending outside the mind of individual or subjective; product of individual’s own thought patterns.

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Epistemology

Epistemology defines the way by which a person is going to understand the reality. It includes how does one can get the knowledge from the environment and share with others. The acquisition of knowledge depends on the researcher that whether he is going to personally observe it like a natural scientist without getting involved him in the research setting or not.

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Now, we are going to discuss Knowledge-based perspective.

In the decade of 90’s the concept of knowledge management come to limelight. Grant, kogut and zander were the prominent theorists of Knowledge based perspective. Companies started realizing that knowledge is resided in the minds of the employees and loosing them will be quite risky in case if tacit knowledge has not been codified form. One of the purposes behind Knowledge management process is to store the relevant knowledge for future use.

For instance, when an employee quit the job, an exit interview is conducted by the HR department. The information extracted from interview discussion will be documented and will analyze to make better employee retention policies.

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Due to rapid change in marketplace and demand for new and improved products/services, it has become mandatory for the firms to be creative in order to survive in the industry. This depends on how they are managing their knowledge and how they use it efficiently as it has now become a success factor for the firms.

As per KBV, the knowledge ability of the organization leads towards creativity which gives it competitive edge in the market

Slide: 9 The important points under this perspective are:

It is based on constructionist view of knowledge and particular socio-historic context and it is always connected with action

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We view Knowledge as context-specific, relational, dynamic and humanistic. Knowledge is essentially related to human action. Without understanding the nature of human beings and the complex nature of human interactions, we cannot understand the theory of knowledge creation.

The theory of organizational knowledge creation is based on the assumption that individuals and organizations have a potential to grow together through a process of knowledge creation. In organizational knowledge creation one plus one could be more than two. It can also go in the opposite direction, if the coordination among employees is not fruitful or positive. It can also zero, if interactions among individuals work negatively.

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For a firm to be knowledgeable, it is not enough that its individual employees are skilled and educated. The scattered, un organized data from individual organizational members are not enough to produce competitive advantage. Hence, in order to produce sustainable value, they must be combined into a synergistic whole.

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Economies of Scale

Now, lets look at economies of scale with respect to knowledge. The replicating cost of knowledge is less than the orginial knowledge creation costs.

If we talk about explicit knowledge, then it is economical to reproduce in digital form.

Whereas, tacit knowledge replication is costly but not more than its original creation cost.

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Economies of Scope

When we talk about scope of knowledge then it should be understood that knowledge is not specific to the production of single product or service rather it is extended to the overall production or we can say production of other outputs.

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Continuing with the theories related to knowledge Management, we are now moving towards lecture B

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In this lecture, we are going to discuss Resource-based perspective.

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let’s have a look how scholars have defined resource-based theory. According to Barney “The resource-based view of the firm recognizes the transferability of a firm's resources and capabilities as a critical determinant of their capacity to confer sustainable competitive advantage.”

And as per Grant, the employee’s mind is the knowledge creation center, and this can be transfer to organization level by learning and aggregating the available knowledge.

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The main points under Resource-based perspective are:

1. Transferability

2. Capacity for Aggregation

3. Appropriability

4. Specialization in Knowledge acquisition

5. The knowledge requirements of production

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Transferability:

Transferability of knowledge is critical element and depends upon the communication within in firm as well between firms. The information has been traditionally categorized as public good because once it is transferred, it becomes available to the public to utilize it without bearing any cost. Tacit knowledge becomes available to the public when it is being processed. If the tacit knowledge is not codified and only visible when it is being applied then, it will be difficult for general public to take benefit. The rate of transferability of knowledge will be slow and costly.

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Capacity for aggregation

By aggregation it means that how much a system or an organization can aggregate knowledge for effective use. Knowledge receipt has been analyzed in terms of the absorptive capacity of the recipient.

Knowledge absorption or absorptive capacity relies on the receiver that how much new knowledge he/she can receive.

Knowledge aggregation provides optimal location of data which facilitates in decision making.

Slide: 7 Example: information on Ford Motor Company's cash balances, its foreign currency exposure, its inventories of spark plugs and crankshafts is readily transferred from multiple locations within the company and aggregated at
a single location.

Slide: 8 Appropriability: By appropriability, we mean that the owner of knowledge receives an equal value of the knowledge. Tacit knowledge is appropriable only when it is being implemented via some activity. Although, it it is easy to appropriate explicit knowledge but it usually faces two issues, First, anyone can resell it without losing it. Secondly, it is easily available to buyers when it is being marketed by the owner. So, it can be available free to everyone.

Slide: 9 To counter these issues, patents and other intellectual property rights are utilized to protect valuable knowledge. Since, tacit and explicit knowledge is stored in the minds of individuals who work there so it is very much firm specific. This creates difficulties over the allocation of the returns to knowledge and achieving optimal investment in new knowledge.

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Specialization in knowledge acquisition:

According to Simon's principle of bounded rationality, a human brain can process new knowledge upto a certain limit.

For instance, if the person has an expertise in some particular domain, he/she would be more inclined ready to have new knowledge. In case of non-specialize domain, he would prefer to have low knowledge but in different domains.

This stance validates the Simon’s principle about limited capacity of human brain to involve itself in knowledge management process. The result is that efficiency in knowledge production requires that individuals specialize in particular areas of knowledge. This implies that experts are (almost) invariably specialists, while jacks-of-all-trades are masters-of-none.

Slide: 11 The knowledge requirements of production

The last point is that we required knowledge to produce value and have competitive advantage. Fundamental to a knowledge-based theory of the firm is the assumption that the critical input in production and primary source of value is knowledge.

LECTURE C

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Continuing with the theories related to knowledge management, we are now moving towards lecture C

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In this lecture, we are going to discuss organizational capabilities perspective

Slide: 3 Organizational capabilities perspectives

This perspective has infrastructure and processes, infrastructure capabilities and structural infrastructure .

New knowledge is created through two generic processes; combination and exchange.

The three key infrastructures; technical, structural and cultural, enable maximization of social capital.

Structural infrastructure refers to the presence of norms and trust mechanisms as these elements are necessary to strengthen the social networks.

Let’s discuss the three key infrastructures one by one:

Slide: 4 Infrastructure Capabilities—Technology

It has multi benefits and firms are required it to invest in infrastructure that is supportive to reap benefits

As you can see the diagram, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, distributed learning, knowledge mapping and opportunity generation counts under technological infrastructure.

Slide: 5 Now, we are going to discuss them one by one.

Collaboration and distributed learning technologies allow individuals within the organization to collaborate, helps; to eliminate geographical barriers that can affect such interactions.

Effectively track sources of knowledge, creating a catalog of internal organizational knowledge.

Opportunity generation technologies allow the firm to track knowledge about its customers, partners, employees, or suppliers.

Knowledge discoveries technologies allow to fine new knowledge that is either external or internal to the firm.

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Now, moving towards the second part of technologies infrastructure which is structure.

We have notable five areas which needs to be discussed; Units and functions to share knowledge, more flexibility, modular organization, hypertext organization and incentives systems.

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Units and functions to share knowledge

Structures which are inclined towards promoting individual behavior, and units are rewarded to hoard information. This is actually not a productive activity as it will limit the knowledge to one unit and not being shared with the whole organization.

Therefore, the flexibility in structure should be promoted in order to optimize the knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing should be encouraged across the units and also across the supply chain.

Modular organizational design in combination with modular product design can reduce the cost of coordination and adaptation which results in more flexibility in the structure of organization.

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Hypertext organization

Nonaka and Takeuchi developed a new organizational structure which has the capacity to enable five-stage process of knowledge creation. This type of set-up has less hierarchy, a more decentralized structure which gives autonomy to the agents of its inhabitants.

Incentives systems

A proper system of incentives and rewards are necessary to determine how knowledge flows. The absence of rewards can lead to knowledge hoarding. Further, workers can also feel demotivated if they share their ideas to the company but in exchange do not get anything. So, in this case, she might not be interested to share again.

So, by combining these components, organizational has a formal KM structure.

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Culture

Culture is the most discussed and complex element to be considered in effective implementation of KM. The interaction of employees promotes more communication and mutual understanding. The frequent coordination promotes open discussions and sharing of ideas which is very helpful in creating new knowledge. The formal and informal interaction is a very effective way to transfer tacit knowledge which is no doubts, a very valuable knowledge.

In any organization, the vision are values act as a backbone and it dictates the overall working of the entity and establish the culture of the organization. We have seen that the companies who really want its employees to follow the culture and values, make it inevitable part of their daily routines and hence people start Living those values. To effectively management KM, companies must include the openness and trust in their values so that people feel easy in coordinating and sharing their knowledge.

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Grant has provided a framework of Knowledge integration and it depends on three factors which we are going to study in the next slide.

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So, the factors are

1. Efficiency of integration

2. Scope of Integration

3. Flexibility of Integration

The more frequently, a company carries out its KM processes, the more routine the norms will be. Similarly, the more variable company is in KM processes, the less company is efficient and less integration. The variety of knowledge that is integrated through the presence of these processes define the scope of integration. The manner in which the company combines its knowledge.

LECTURE D

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Continuing with the theories related to knowledge management, we are moving towards lecture D

Slide: 2 In this lecture, we would be discussing a sub-section of organizational capabilities perspective and that is knowledge process capability of the organization.

Slide: 3 There are four stages in the knowledge process capability including Acquisition, Conversion, Application and Protection.

Slide: 4 In The first stage, acquisition, knowledge is acquired via effective collaborations among individuals and organization. At the organizational level, joint ventures, Alliances are an example of win-win situation for the both collaborators. We commonly observe this type of strategic moves in the market When bigger organizations acquire the emerging player. So, instead of considering it a competitor, acquire them. For instance, Meta (Facebook) acquired WhatsApp.

Slide: 5 Conversion: As the name is depicting, some sort of transformation is taking place at this stage. When a knowledge is acquired, the next step is to convert into a comprehensible form which is not only readily available but also easy to understand. Knowledge integration as we have just studied before stepping into this section, is very important is fully utilizing knowledge and reduced wastage of time. Specialized data is valuable in a very confined form, it means no duplication and more value. Its very important as the data will be used in solving complex problems and making decisions.

Slide: 6 The third stage is application, when it is being implied in the given scenario to solve the issue which the employee is facing. It improves the efficiency of the KM process and reduce costs because the knowledge is already integrated.

Slide: 7 The last stage, and undoubtedly, it’s the very critical stage which is knowledge protection. Due to advancements in technology, new ideas can easily be stolen and intellectual property can be at stake if the organization doesn’t follow necessary security protocols. One element is important to discuss here, as we are discussing knowledge sharing and more collaboration, every knowledge is NOT for everyone. We need to know that a unit or depart is legible to have all the relevant knowledge and not that knowledge which is not required at any level. So, this thing needs to be considered as well while setting security protocols of knowledge management. Firms have to set systems which are security proof and knowledge must not be leak out from the organization premises via loose security SOPs.

Well, there are numerous ways to secure KM systems against illegal use or theft. The organization must have patent new inventions, ideas so that its competitive advantage can be secured.

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Module 4: Section 1 Lecture A: Knowledge Management Professionals

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As in the previous three modules we have discussed theoretical perspectives related to knowledge management so now from this module till the end of this course we would be discussing the practicality of the knowledge management concepts.

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In this lecture, we will be discussing

1. Chief Knowledge Officer

You must be remembering from the previous lectures, that knowledge is power but it has now replaced by the new motto which is “Sharing knowledge is power”.

Slide: 4

Scope of Chief Knowledge Officer

The title of Chief knowledge Officer has a variety in terms of how it is being utilized in different organizations. The role is same but the names are different. For instance, Chief Learning officer, director of organizational learning, knowledge strategic director, corporate director of intellectual capital, director of competitor advantage.

So, as these designations or job titles are having knowledge or learning element common which shows the scope of the role. It also shows the diversity of the knowledge management that it has been prevailing in the organizations with different names but with the same motive.

Slide: 5

Chief Knowledge Officer

The role of Chief knowledge officer is to leverage the knowledge which the organization creates, building and maintain an organizational culture which a tendency to receive new knowledge.

Here is a little fact from the history for all you that skandia was the first organization who hired a person as the first Chief knowledge Officer and over all period of decades, this title has been recreated a lot of times which we have just studied in the previous slide.

Slide: 6

Scope of Chief Knowledge Officer

Let’s study in detail about the role of chief knowledge officer which includes to utilize corporate knowledge by understanding the skills and competencies of the teams. She needs to create a culture that recognize common values.

Slide: 7

Moreover, Chief knowledge officer enables the easy flow of information and enhance the coordination among the people by providing them more opportunities to communicate.

Slide: 8

For instance, the World Bank has managing online communities, help desks where people can put their opinions, feedback and this information can be refined and analyzed to make better decisions at the strategic level. This practice can be included in strategic mission so that it can embedded in the culture and reflect in the norms and routines of the organization.

LECTURE B

Slide: 1 Continuing with the knowledge management professionals, we are now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2 In this lecture we are going to differentiate the role of chief knowledge officer and chief information officer and also attributes of CKO

Slide: 3 In this slide, we have segregated the roles of Chief Information Officer and Chief Knowledge Officer which sometimes used interchangeably. Let’s differentiate them on the basis of their core job role.

So, CIO has a technology focus and CKO is focused on people and culture

The CIO will be enabling a technology and CKO will be enabling users; people to reap benefits.

CIO remain focused on making strategies and operations of IT and will be managing them. Whereas, CKO will be focused on goals and acting as a change agent, influencer and deals cope with stress which she faces during change process.

IF we talk about the number of people with whom CIO will be dealing with so, it’s usually a large number of staff. Whereas, CKO being a people focused would be managing a small number as the staff like 3-12 people and they would be specialized consultants.

Students, I hope you are now having clarity in terms of how to distinguished between the roles of chief Information Officer and Chief Knowledge Officer.

Slide: 4 Now, have a look at the attributes of Chief Knowledge Officer as per different scholars.

According to Davenport

He must be an advocate for knowledge and learning;

Designer, implementer, and overseer of an organization's knowledge infrastructure

Has the ability to set a good example by displaying a high level of “knowledge ability” and success.

Slide: 5 As per David Skyme Associates. The attributes of chief knowledge officer are:

Good at conceptual thinking , advocacy ,project and people management , communications, leadership , Team working, Influencing and Interpersonal skills. Out of these attributes, the most important are: good at conceptual thinking, influencing and interpersonal skills. These can make up a very sound Chief Knowledge Officer

Slide: 1

Continuing with the knowledge management professionals, we are now moving towards lecture C

Slide: 2

In this lecture we are going to study Knowledge-oriented leadership in detail

Slide: 3

So, we have covered half part of this module and that was related with Chief Knowledge Officer and how this role has been playing its part in the corporate world.

The second part of the module is related with a leadership focused on knowledge management. The scholars have devised a construct for it; Knowledge-oriented leadership.

As per Abdolreza and Fereshteh, Knowledge leadership is considered to be the stimulus of the relationship between the components of intellectual capital management of the organization.

Slide: 4

Heading towards Definition and scope of Knowledge oriented Leadership, as per Skyme: “knowledge leadership refers to constant development and innovation – of information resources, individual skills and knowledge, and learning networks”

And Yang, Huang and Hsu says that knowledge leadership style is to bring a culture of managing knowledge in the organization where

continuous learning, experience , expertise, and innovation have a higher value over command and control

Slide: 5

Crawford has explained this type of leaders as the combo of both technical and social problem solver. They create learning environment which facilitates team members to utilize their skills and share their experiences. In this way, they acquire knowledge from inside and outside organization’s
pool of expertise .

Up till now, we have studied different scholars on how they define knowledge-oriented leadership. So it is the combo of three types of leadership which has been a part of literature for decades and these are transformational, Transactional and shared leadership.

Slide: 6

Let’s focus on the attributes of Knowledge-oriented leadership.

Knowledge leaders have high administrative and coordination skills. These skills are necessary since their main role revolves around people management. They need to develop trust and maintain a highly cooperative culture where people feel convince and they can easily communicate and share their knowledge. They are the ones who motivate and influence people to share their tacit knowledge so that it can be codified for future use. They need to develop both hard and soft skills of the team members so that they can cope with the changing needs of market.

Slide: 7

Knowledge-Oriented Leadership & Knowledge sharing

KO leadership is expected to be an influencer so that people can follow them and their performance will be improved. People who are performing good will be appreciated by KO leaders and hence they would be more inclined towards knowledge sharing. KO leader play vital role in inculcating a knowledge sharing culture by excellent interpersonal skills.

Slide: 1 Module: 5, Section: 1, Lecture A: How organizations can take benefit from knowledge management Before starting this lecture, I would like to tell you that we have covered the theoretical portion related knowledge Management and now from this module we will be focusing on how KM processes and systems are actually implementing in the organizations.

Slide 2: So, in this lecture, we are going to discuss:

Ø timely availability of information,

Ø less training costs, and

Ø quick decision making,

Slide: 3 Timely availability of information

When organization has proper knowledge management systems then its easy to access the desired data. For instance, the newly hired marketing executive wants to know the organizations past product launches so she can easily access the data by herself instead of asking to her manager or colleagues. In this way, her dependency on other will decrease and she will more independent and can spend more time on data analysis. This will also increase the consistency of data management.

Slide: 4 Less training costs

Employees can gain knowledge via training documents/real case studies to get their selves trained. In this way, the cost of real time training will be decreased. For instance, when a new employee joins the organization, the HR focal person can provide her the company manual so that the she will have all the relevant information; HR policies, procedures etc. of the company.

The customized training material will be having more value to than the generalized trainings because it will be fulfilling the specific need and the user will be getting more benefit out of it.

Slide: 5 Quick Decision making

This is, undoubtedly very important element for the organizations as decisions are based on the data and facts available at that time. Concrete and updated data facilitates the decision makers to analyze all the available options and take a decision. The users of the knowledge management feel more empowered because they have the relevant information and they are not dependent on the peers or managers. This availability of data not only provides opportunity to gain more insights but also give space to the juniors to develop their analytical skills which will enable them grow in their careers as they move up in the hierarchy.

Slide:1

Continuing with the how organizations take benefit from knowledge management, we are now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2 In this lecture, we’re going to discuss reduced duplication of work and inclusive achievement

Slide: 3 Reduced duplication of work

In this this digital age, Nobody likes to waste time on already developed content/material rather it’s always a better idea to go for a new invention. If there is no proper management of knowledge then employees will be creating same document again and again and there will be no record. It will consume rather waste time of the employees to do same task (employees on same position, doing same work) in different time span and with no additional benefit.

By having efficiently managed knowledge management systems, the organization can save the time and can fully utilize their human resources in productive tasks.

Slide: 4

Inclusive Achievement The knowledge management systems not only help in providing data but also a sense of belonginess’ because the knowledge is equally shared with the relevant employees so they are strongly connected via this system. Whenever the decision is being taken, they have their consent and ownership and they will be taking the responsibility for the results too.

This will stir an inclusivity at the workplace which will increase the learning and knowledge sharing in the organization. Moreover, it will also increase employee engagement and has less turnover rate.

Slide: 1

Module: 5, Section 2, Lecture: A, Knowledge Management Softwares in practice by organzaitions

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we are going to discuss details about significance of knowledge Management tools and why these are required and which tools are most commonly used in the organizations.

Slide: 3

Significance of KM tools

The KM system is dependent on the tools which the organization is utilizing and it gives benefit at both operational and strategic level.

At operational level, all the relevant information is being stored and user can retrieve it. The proper channels and domains of specialized knowledge aids in providing required data timely and it saves time and costs of the organization as the user is locating and searching knowledge base at his/her own and very least asking for his/her supervisor’s help.

At the strategic level, it provides a data for analysis to the top management and relevant key personnel who are in charge of decision making. It also provides a strong foundation to do more research on the targeted domain.

The researcher does not have to start from the scratch as he already has the previous researches and findings so he/she can consult to the material or content and design the research process accordingly.

Slide: 4

The Knowledge management softwares streamlines the processes and the interdepartmental information is readily available to the employees. It makes the organization more flexible, updated and become more agile to the environment. Hence, these incorporated elements help the organization to attain competitive advantage.

Slide: 5

List of some Knowledge Management Softwares

The knowledge Management softwares plays a central role and facilitates employees to share information. The softwares does not only provide information to the users but also saves time of searching and provide value to the users.

Students, You can see a list of different KM softwares which are mostly used in the organizations. It includes Documenby360, intercom, Zoho Desk, Tettra, Bitrix24 etc. If you want to know more about softwares, click on their links which are mentioned on the slide and get more information about their features and application.

Slide: 6

Renowned KM softwares

The renowned Knowledge management softwares which are being used by many organizations worldwide include Click up, Zendesk and Document 360.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the KM softwares in practice by organizations, we are now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we are going to discuss users and kinds of KM softwares and important features of them.

Slide: 3

Users of KM softwares

Now, we are going to discuss that who will be frequently using the KM softwares. In this scenario, internal and External users can get the required information. The information will remain saved in the knowledge bank in case the employees move to different position in a company or in another company. The information is available for the company to utilize it anytime. The new employees can also search the data base and they can get preliminary information and it saves company’s cost of training.

Slide: 4

If we talk about the External user; customers. And if any prospective customer wants to know about the company so he/she can visit website, can check the FAQs, place queries to find more about the product which the organization is providing.

Slide: 5

For example, organizations use KM software to manage their hiring and onboarding process. For instance, Clickup is a renowned tool which is being used for this purpose. Further, it also used in the on-boarding new employee and different tasks are divided so that it is easy for the new joiner to get the information and become part of the company’s culture smoothly.

Slide: 6

Kinds of KM Softwares

There are two types of knowledge bases; internal and external.

To access internal knowledge base, username and password is required. After login, the user can access to the required information, tasks, case studies and company policies.

Whereas, To access external knowledge base, there is no binding of username and password. The user can go to website to access knowledge. Further, FAQs and blogs also provide useful information to the external knowledge seeker.

Slide: 7

Important features of KM softwares

In the last, we will discuss about the features of KM software. To make it easier for my students, I have segregated them and you can see each feature separately.

The features include search bar where you can enter the key words so that system can provide you the desired data. The options like uploading a document, sharing file and tagging are available to the user. Further, if the user wants to ask something, he/she has an option to put queries and can also ask in a public or privately to a relevant member.

Slide: 8

Here is the link of the article, If you want to know more about the softwares in KM, click on it.

Slide: 1 Module 5, Section 3, Lecture A, Examples of five big corporations

Slide 2 This section is completely dedicated to the examples of those organizations who have implemented knowledge management and attain benefits from it. So, in this lecture we are going to discuss Ford, General Electric and Pratt and whiney.

Slide 3: Ford Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in the United States.

Ford has been a consistent practitioner of knowledge management best practices.

In early 90’s and beginning of Knowledge Management conceptualization, ford used a web-based knowledge base tool to maintain quality standards across its product line.

Due to this, It also witnessed results of using the system as the quality increase by 18% and warranty cost decrease by $1 billion.

Slide 4: General Electric Co. (GE)

It is a global industrial company that provides power generation, renewable energy, industrial aviation products, and healthcare products and services.

Let’s see how GE has managed it knowledge management system.

It laid the foundation of a corporate Executive council and it has representation of every department. A 2-day meeting is organized and focal persons from each department share their ideas with each other. This helps in knowledge sharing at a broader level which improves the coordination among departments and boost knowledge sharing culture. As a result, Inter departmental coordination increased and business processes become easily trace able.

Slide: 5 Now, I will be discussing an interesting example and that is of an aerospace manufacturer.

Pratt & Whitney

It is an international aerospace manufacturer based in Connecticut. Let’s look at why this company started to have knowledge management system.

They faced a situation when half of their engineers were going to retire and they realized that it will affect the company as they have lots of valuable knowledge and experience which they have gained over the years. That knowledge is getting out of the organization

To retain their knowledge, they transfer their knowledge into documentations, case studies etc. and in this way, they timely retain the valuable knowledge. This not only help in storing useful data but also provide the training material to train the new Engineers.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the example of 5 corporations, we are now heading towards lecture b

Slide: 2

In this lecture, I will discuss Amazon and Ras-network of damage adjusters

Slide: 3

Amazon

It’s a US based ecommerce giant and I assume many of you would be having information about it. The today’s eCommerce business was once an online book seller. The unique strategy they had when they started the business to have a warehouse far away from the city and hence reducing warehousing cost. From a bookseller, it has diversified itself into an ecommerce business. Amazon has efficiently use customer data and market insights which helped them to grow into different niches.

Slide: 4: RAS

Now, we are going to discuss another example of a firm, RAS. RAS is an organization that is characterized by its innovative approach, allowing the development of new features in its ERP system, in order to adapt it to their operational needs, to improve their corporate processes and to add value to the attention of all its customers.

For its part, the RAS knowledge module gives the company the ability to adapt and flexibility to the conditions of the insurance market and the needs of the company, providing continuous training, networking and collaborative learning.

Slide: 5:

The table in front of you is showing how RAS has implemented knowledge management module.

On the left side, there are stages of Nonaka’s famous knowledge creation model also known as SECI model which we have already studied in the previous module. With each stage they have their actions, level of expertise required, responsible person and activities to be performed.

In socialization, stage, peers are sharing knowledge via sophisticated IT infrastructure in the form of transparency in exchanging.

In externalization stage, each collaborator will be presenting his/her analysis in the form of reports.

In the combination stage, knowledge is getting more specific and store in a systemic way and in this stage the of IT department is important. The knowledge in data banks is continuously being updated to avoid redundancy of data.

In the internationalization stage, knowledge is being acquired at all levels; whether its individual or group. The daily interaction, performance evaluation mechanisms are some of the activities through knowledge is acquired.

Slide 1: Module : 6, Section: 1 Lecture A: Knowledge Management Capabilities

Slide 2: In this lecture, we’re going to discuss internal knowledge capabilities.

Slide 3: Knowledge Management Capabilities--Internal

Starting with the internal knowledge management capabilities, In this domain, two main perspectives come in; social perspective and technological perspective.

Slide: 4 The social perspective includes the structure and culture of the organization and the technological perspective deals with the IT systems that is being used in the organization.

Here, social perspective refers to the knowledge transfer relationships among the employees. They transfer formal and informal knowledge. The hierarchy of the organization plays an important role as it can either facilitate or hinder the successful transfer of knowledge.

Slide 5: Knowledge Management capabilities--Internal
The element of culture has its importance since the successful transfer of tacit knowledge depends upon how the culture aids in this process. The more the culture is open and supports open communication, the more the people share their ideas which will lead to knowledge sharing. The friendly and inclusive culture strengthen the KM system of the organization.

Slide 6: On the other hand, The technological perspective refers to the firm’s information system used to maintain, store, and analyze knowledge. The IT systems; including intranets, internal search engines and tools which are implemented to provide support to search the relevant information. Further, warehouse and logistic data are also a part of knowledge management systems.

Slide: 7 Explicit knowledge is mainly stored in the organization’s information systems. It is the Knowledge Management technology which provides systems in which
organizational data and knowledge is stored. By using search engine, employees can easy access the relevant data as per their requirement. Students, you are very much aware that how important the timely availability of information is. So, this system provides smooth passage to analyze the data and take better decisions.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the Knowledge Management capabilities, we are now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we’re going to discuss External KM capabilities.

Slide: 3

External KM Capabilities

Strong KM acquisition processes allow firms to constantly be aware of changes occurring in the business environment. They increase the overall alertness of potential threats and allow firms to continuously reevaluate the competitive state of their business model. This ongoing evaluation process is critical for identifying innovative opportunities and for guiding the strategic positioning of the firm.

Slide: 4

The acquisition of external knowledge is critical for making strategic business model decisions. From an operational point, firms require conversion processes in order to integrate the acquired external knowledge into organizational knowledge and for developing new knowledge assets.

Slide 5:

Students, as we have discussed the what does external KM capabilities covers now we will be focusing on the pros and cons of it.

Slide: 6

Pros: Acquiring external knowledge

The benefits of utilizing external KM capabilities are: first it is combining your internal departmental strengths with external parties and leading to higher level of innovation which might not be possible otherwise. Second, it effects on processes, indirectly uplifting the innovation process at your organization.

The intensive use of open innovation brings new ideas from external partners. By open innovation, we move beyond organizational boundary and In this way, alliances with another firms are developed which creates win-win situation and provide innovative products/services to the customers. If anyone of you don’t know the definition of open innovation, just visit the glossary document.

The firms utilize funds to make alliances that can be in the form of partnerships, ventures, accelerators, acquisitions.

Slide: 7

So, what are the cons of utilizing KM as an external capability.

Firstly, it substantially increases the cost of Research & Development due to over investment of resources in searching of new ideas. Due to fast pace environment, product renewal and shorter product life cycles, the organizations have to bear huge costs and can hurts its cash flow if the organization is operating at a mid-scale.

Slide: 8

Students, now we are going to discuss a term which is called as “The Quadruple Helix”

It is basically referring to Model of innovation, when a company collaborates with external environment to co-produce something. It has four major actors in it and these are science, policy, industry, and society. Organizations follow this model to create innovative products at a bigger level.

Click on the link below to get more detail about how this model lead to innovation.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the knowledge management capabilities, we’re now moving towards lecture C

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we are going to look at some examples of renowned organizations who opted to utilizing external Knowledge management capabilities and come up with innovative products/services.

Slide 3:

Students, we are going to study Samsung, LEGO, P &G, FACEBOOK (Meta), General Electric and Philips

Slide: 4

Samsung’s partnership with IoT company “smart things”

The Samsung Home IoT Hub is now built directly into your TV or Smart monitor, making it possible to easily connect, monitor and control all the connected devices in your house, all without a separate hub device. Click on the link smart things to know more about it.

Slide: 5 Lego, a very renowned company based in Demark, produces plastic construction toys. The company's most famous product is Lego. It consists of multicolored interlocking plastic bricks which can be assembled to make various structures. It is equally popular in kids and adults.

There is Lego’s Ideas site (when any idea from community crosses 10k votes, Lego evaluates the design.

You can click on the link mentioned here to get more details how LEGO actually works on the ideas.

Slide 6: The Procter & Gamble Company is an American multinational consumer goods corporation based in Ohio, founded in 1837.

P&G’s open innovation with external partners results in the generation of new ideas. P&G partners with external resources to drive discontinuous, sustainable innovation and productivity. You can click on the link mention here to get to know more details about how p& G works to capture innovative ideas.

Slide: 7 Facebook:

It is an online social media and networking service, founded by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard college students. It started by name of facebook and now it is known as Meta. What meta does is ,organize hackathons for their employees where they generate ideas and bring innovation. Over the period of time, facebook has added so many changes to its UI design and services they are providing

Slide : 8 General Electric, General Electric Company (GE) is a US based multinational firm, operating in power, aviation, renewable energy, digital industry, healthcare, venture capital and finance.

GE has their own open innovation page for ideas creation and innovation.

Slide: 9 Philips: It is a Dutch multi-corporation, founded in 1891, one of the largest electronics companies in the world, and is organized into three main divisions: Personal Health, Connected Care, and Diagnosis & Treatment.

Philips also established its own open innovation campus High Tech Campus at Eindhoven in 2003.

LECTURE: D

Slide: 1

Continuing with the knowledge management capabilities, we are now moving towards lecture D

Slide: 2 In this lecture, we are going to discuss issues which the organizations face while utilizing KM capabilities

Slide 3:

Students, lets look at the difficulties which organizations face. The first one is absorptive capacity which means that how much capacity an organization has to contain ideas.

It’s a situation when the firm has too many ideas and they find it difficult to evaluate all and select the best one. The huge number of ideas can consume extra time and the company can miss the opportunity to avail it.

For instance, In the same time period, any other organization who have fewer ideas can work on them timely and launch the product. Being encircled in so many ideas, the focus of attention diverts and one cannot simply give attention to a specific idea. This situation arises and cause attention allocation problem because unnecessary attention to a less profitable idea can cause cost to the organization.

Slide 4:

Student, this is very important area which we are discussing and that’s why I have gathered some more examples.

Some firms over emphasize on current business model and lose focus on their external environment and they Lose the market position, face decline in revenues. In extreme scenario, company can completely extinct from industry.

Some firms sensed the external competition and trends very late and they left far behind in the competition. (e.g., Blockbuster Video, Blackberry, Kodak, etc.).

Slide 5:

I would recommend to read these articles to further enhance your understanding about Knowledge Management capabilities.

Slide: 1

Module 6, Section 2, Lecture: A, Business Model Innovation (BMI)

Slide: 2

In this lecture we would be discussing in detail about Business model innovation, its scope and components

Slide: 3

What is Business Model Innovation?

Let’s see how scholars have defined Business Model Innovation. According to Massaet, it is said to be a new and different type of innovation, which complements product and process innovation through a holistic perspective on innovation potentials in the elements of the organization.

It’s a different process of innovation where the focus is on value capture, creation and value delivery.

Slide: 4

Scope of Business Model Innovation

According to Velu and Jacob, the scope of BMI does not necessarily require radical changes in one or all business model elements but can also be the result of more incremental reconfigurations of these.

Business model innovation includes, sensing and seizing innovative opportunities, like Samsung sense the opportunity of adding camera in the mobile phone and hence it was a shift in the business model and also open new perspective to view the mobile industry and how new interventions can be made. Similarly, Kodak, a camera manufacturing company and Nokia are the examples who did not sense innovative opportunities and hence adopted very late lose their market leader position. So, these clearly shows that how business model innovations are important and it can take you to the competitive position in the market.

Slide: 5

Components of BMI

Now, we are going to discuss components of Business Model Innovation in detail. It has three main components; value proposition, value creation and value capturing.

Slide: 6

By value proposition, we mean that how the product or service is positioned in the minds of customers and how it is going to fulfill the need. For instance, few companies positioned the product on low cost and some positioned the product as a premium one. So, for the low cost, people have this thing in mind that it will be putting less burden on their pockets but the quality is not promised. Whereas, premium products are positioned as superior product which gives higher value.

In value creation, the firm translate resources into some product/service which gives value to the customer. For instance, the company utilize resources to launch a product in the market. Apple launches iPad, a digital product in the market which is positioned as a premium product. Walmart, which is renowned name in retailing business, has a tag line, “Always low prices” and they have positioned itself as a low-cost brand which is cost -saving and not put a burden on pocket. Value capturing is when a company delivers its promise and provide value to the customer.

Slide: 7

Landscape of BMI

The landscape of BMI is vast, it does not only bring a lot of new opportunities to explore but also aids in having large scale interventions. In this model, the whole business model is having a shift and also has the ability to change the business dynamics.

For instance, e-commerce has completely changed the way buying and selling takes place. The physical market place has shifted to the online web stores where sellers are offering the value in the shape of products and customers buy the product. The value can be created by providing services on online portal. There are various services like online-tutoring, consultation etc are being offered. Further, we are also having services for which we have to pay every time we use. There are software’s available like project management tool, clickup, online documentation software (Adobe), Doc hub which can be use and we pay their monthly charges. So, Adobe has changed the way documentation has been done.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the business model innovation, we are now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2 In this lecture, we are going to discuss risk components associated with utilizing KM capabilities and example of BMI in practice.

Slide: 3 KM capabilities and risk-taking tolerance in firms

KM capabilities and Risk-taking element are inter connected and effect the performance of the firm.

The firms which are more prone towards taking risk have their focus on external environment and internal knowledge sharing because these are the sources of new ideas generation. They emphasize on learning and experimentation and advocate of Discovery driven approach. Employees are encouraged to trial and error, leverage knowledge sources and seek ideas for new trends.

Risk-taking and controlled behaviors actually predict that organizations are on which side of the coin and it actually resonates in their overall operations. The organizations which are more inclined towards systematic changes and controlled behaviors are less likely to be the competition of innovative products.

Slide: 4 Business Model Innovation and Professionals

Professionals or people in charge need to analyze that how much resources they have for the experimentation of new products. If they have adequate resources to hit and trial different ideas, they can go for utilizing external KM capabilities. In case of limited resources, firms must go for exploring internal KM capabilities. Researches claim that both of these approaches can lead to Business Model Innovation.

Slide: 5

Let’s look at an example in this regard.

Business Model Innovation arising from internal knowledge capabilities is being dominant in the engineering industry, where companies try to reconfigure the way value is delivered to and captured form customers.
For instance, Rolls Royce transformed their business logic from selling aero-engines to offering them on a service-based model called “power by the hour”,

By following this, many engineering firms are trying to restructure their business model by utilizing their internal KM capabilities and shifting from product to service-based model or a hybrid model.

Slide: 1

Module 6, Section: 3, Lecture A: Examples of Business Model Innovation

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we are going to discuss companies who have taken advantage of knowledge management capabilities and innovate their business model. The examples are: Traditional taxi VS Uber, Traditional Cinema VS Netflix, Traditional hotel VS Airbnb

Slide: 3

Business Model Innovation leads to shift in industry

The first example which we are going to discuss is traditional taxi service versus Uber. Before entrance of Uber in public transportation market (in 2009) the service provided by traditional taxis was expensive and it was not easy to locate it.

since there were cartels and specially in busiest areas, where there is more traffic and daily arrival of passengers. For instance, airports, universities, main markets, shopping centers etc.

Taxi services are mostly local and they do not have economies of scale, which they can leverage upon.

Slide: 4

Uber has had a first mover advantage which made it to hit a 75% market share within the rideshare industry in the US.

In traditional taxi service, the passenger needs to move to the taxi place or stand, whereas, in case of uber, you just need to download an application, and you can get the ride as per your time and feasibility. And you can also track the ride, rate the driver etc.

This makes the service more agile and provides convenience and more comfort to the passengers as comparison to the taxi service. It acted as a game changer in the ridesharing industry and hence, giving a lesson to the companies that no monopoly can survive for a longer period and only that company will survive who provide valuable and innovative services.

Slide: 5

The second example is Traditional cinema versus Netflix

Let me take you back to the decade of 90’s when there was no concept of streaming services and people enjoy watching movies in cinemas. So, as this era witnessed a technological change which brought several changes in the way how businesses work. So, does with the cinema industry.

Netflix, an American subscription streaming service started in 1997. It provides films, documentaries, TV shows.

Slide: 6

Netflix had a 1st mover advantage and it provides their users to watch movies from the comfort of their room and without stepping in to the theater. It has somehow reduced the market share of cinema. If we talk about the recent pandemic of COVID 19, Netflix has gained more subscriptions because the governments did not allow people gathering to avoid multiplication of virus.

So, now the cinemas are providing 4DX, allowing to stimulate 5 senses to give better experience to the customer. We can say that Netflix has gathered its due share and also took some of the share from the cinema but the cinema goers are there and they still prefer big thereafter experience.

In the end, we can say that NETFLIX has created its market which has not existed before and both industries are co-existing and providing entertainment to the viewers.

Slide: 7

Traditional hotel versus Airbnb

Airbnb started in 2008 and the concept of renting out rooms for strangers was a completely different concept. In the traditional hotel industry, huge investments are required for the infrastructure and the travelers have to bear a cost which somehow put a burden on their travelling budget.

Slide: 8

Airbnb closely monitor the travelers and hosts who rent out their rooms and they all are registered with Airbnb. It takes commission when a room is booked and it is less costly as compared to the hotel. It is providing facilitating in sharing economy as the travelers and hosts both are getting monetary benefit from this model of renting out rooms.

This was an innovative shift in the hotel industry in which the company does not own a single room but making revenue stream from commissions.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the examples of Business Model Innovation (BMI), we’re now moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2

We will focus on ZARA and IKEA in this lecture.

Slide: 3

ZARA, It’s a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer. It has a philosophy that it produces where it sells it product. It has completely integrated all the operations vertically and this makes it unique that it has a command to bring change wherever it wants.

ZARA follows a strict supply change process, from initial design to final production. As, they are very refined vertical integrated business operations so they have a short lead time and they have the ability to adapt new trends within a short span; two weeks.

Slide: 4

It offers good quality products that are as stylish and people from middle class can afford them. It never over stock as the designers keeps on bringing new designs so customers are always excited about their designs. It has more than 2,200 stores and has e-commerce websites across 48 markets. A well-managed supply chain helps support the production process which also supports the design department when they want to bring new ideas to the stores.

Slide: 5 Now, we are heading towards the last example of this lecture which is of IKEA. Ikea is a Swedish retailer of furniture, kitchen and home appliances. It designs and sell ready to assemble furniture appliances and home appliances. It produces low-cost European design furniture with minimal and elegant design.

IKEA is following a low-cost strategy and having an efficient supply chain management. It is a pioneer in giving options to customers to assemble furniture as per their need. In this way, they have reduced their costs and also provide opportunity to customers to “Do It Yourself” (D.I.Y) which gives more freedom to the customers which was not available in a traditional furniture industry.

Hence, all these examples depict that companies who chose business model innovation (BMI) have not only gained a higher market share but also a first mover advantage. This is how organizations can utilize Knowledge management capabilities to bring innovation.

Slide: 6 students, click on link if you want to learn more about knowledge management capabilities.

Slide: 1

Module 7, Section 1, Lecture A, Factors to be considered in implementing KM systems

Slide 2:

In this lecture, we are going to discuss different factors which have effects in implementing Knowledge Management systems.

It includes Reward system, Organizational structure, Social relations, Network focus and density, Culture, Individual’s willingness, Information & technology, Leadership.

Slide 3:

Let’s discuss all the factors one by one.

REWARDS SYSTEM

The reward system possesses a vital importance as employees will be motivated towards rewards which they would be getting after sharing their knowledge. This can create a whole ambience of how people would be behaving towards sharing their ideas with each other.

There are ample number of researches in this domain and it’s a very complicated field too because possession of knowledge gives a power to the individual and one cannot simply share it without getting anything in return. So, the companies who want to successfully implement KM systems have to structured their rewards systems accordingly.

ORGANIZTIONAL STRUCTURE

The organizational hierarchy or structure has its impact on the overall coordination of people and how frequently and easily they communicate with each other. The centralized structure does not allow an open sharing of information but the flattened or de-centralized structure does. There are less barriers and protocols and one can easily access each other.

Slide 4:

SOCIAL RELATIONS

The nature of networking of people within the department or unit and among departments effect the KM system implementation as communication and trust are developed when people are closely connected.

Similarly, if we discuss about network focus and density, the frequency of interaction and the strength of networking will depict the overall implementation of KM system.

Slide 5:

CULTURE

The organizational culture has a deep influence as there are various types of culture; open-ended, close-oriented, bureaucratic etc. which can either aid or hinder the KM processes. The KM systems are more likely to flourish when the culture is inclined towards innovation, people trust each other and there is high engagement of people at different forums.

Further, individuals’ willingness is also very important and researchers have shed light on the fact that despite of huge investments in KM systems, people still not willing to share their knowledge and take active part in KM processes. In this scenario, the higher management must induce a climate of openness and change receptive so that people can easily get along with the change, which is soul of KM systems.

Slide 6:

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY As, we have just discussed about the structures and culture, people of the organization. Now, we will discuss how Information technology which includes internets, intranets, data bases, portals, wikis, electronic forums etc. which are available for the employees and they can access the required data anytime.

Lastly, the leadership, which serves as a backbone in implementing successful KM system, guides the people towards KM systems and they have the role to mentor, coach the employees. The leadership who is more emphatic, concerned with people, invite people to participate in decision making paved the way towards successful implementation of KM systems.

Slide: 1

Continuing with the factors which needs to be considered in the way of implementing KM system, we are now heading towards lecture B

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we will study dominating factors at organizational level

Slide: 3

The first dominant factor is Rapid technology change

It can slow down the process of KM because the workforce might not be having skills to cope with the change and respond accordingly.

Organizational climate and empowering

Leadership and organizational climate also impact as the non-participation of employees can lead to a mistrust and lack of engagement. The feeling of “not being involved” in critical decisions create a sense of disconnection which adversely effects the culture of the organization.

Institutional pressure on knowledge sharing

The continuous pressure from higher management on employees to share knowledge can frustrate them and they might feel demotivated towards KM systems as they feel overburdened.

Slide: 4

In this slide, we would be discussing Cooperation across teams, attitude toward mistakes and knowledge hoarding

The interdepartmental cooperation serves as a glue among employees and less cohesion can lead to individualism and isolation which will impact the overall organization.

Additionally, the behavior and attitude towards working methodology; including less inclination towards doing experiments, less ownership of group work, and less tolerance towards acceptance of each other mistakes.

Further, the situation gets aggravate if the company has not devised any reward systems and recognition programs tied with knowledge sharing.

Slide: 5

Lack of discussion boards, lack of resources and lack of diverse culture

Organization which are less inclined towards de-centralized decision making, lack discussion boards; which provides a space for employees to have their opinions face hurdles in smooth process of KM system.

Secondly, if the company does not have enough funds to invest in latest KM system and low skilled employees who do not have enough skills to run the system.

and Lastly, the static or we can say non-dynamic workplace culture hinders the flow of information and results in decline in coordination among employees.

Slide 6

We are just closing this lecture and I would suggest you to click on the links that are appearing Infront of you to have more understanding about obstacles which the companies face in implementing KM systems.

Slide: 1

Module 8: Section 1, Lecture A: What is knowledge economy?

Slide: 2

In this lecture, we are going to study origin of knowledge economy, how it is making a difference in the overall economic landscape globally.

Slide: 3

Let’s start with the origin of Knowledge economy, it emerged in the 1960s and early 1970s, when management theorists and sociologists sought to contrast ‘manual workers’ who engage in physical labor to produce conventional goods and services with ‘knowledge workers’ who engage in intellectual labor to produce ideas and information.

Slide: 4

The knowledge economy holds the promise of changing, to our benefit some of the deep seated and universal features of economic life. Technologically advanced economies were experiencing a shift from manual work to knowledge work, which would drive future growth and prosperity..

Slide: 5 (How the economy has evolved)

As per Hall (2015), economic policies pursued by developed democracies in the
post-war period can be usefully divided into three distinct eras:

Mixed economy, Market Liberalization and Knowledge based growth. As you can, from 1950’s till 1975, there ws mixed economy and then later on uptill early 90’s maket liberalization prevailed. Knowledge based growth started in late 1990’s and it is continuously being evolved.

Slide: 6 (Knowledge economy in 90’s)

Knowledge economy took a mainstream in late 1990’s with the rise of information technology and computers. The IT industry took a huge leap and the businesses showed tremendous growth in this decade. In this regard, Dell, Yahoo and Microsoft were the prominent businesses who witnessed tremendous growth. The source of competitive advantage, which used to be infrastructure and physical assets, shifted to human resources. The intellectual resources gained more worth and the significance of knowledgeable workers increased.

Slide: 7 (How knowledge economy makes a difference)

The entrepreneurs are constantly bringing new ideas to capture the market as the competition is very high. The barriers to entry in knowledge economy are low because the new entrants can enter the market easily after getting some preliminary knowledge of the industry.

So, due to this, there is a high competition among the established players and the new players. Further, the product life cycles are short which has even strengthened the competition.

Slide: 8

Since, knowledge economy has more focus on efficiency of processes and less manual labor involved, the significance of labor somehow reduced. The knowledge workers have more smart ways to efficiently do a task as compared to the traditional or les knowledge able worker.

Dell’s famous JIT technique (Just in time) has significantly reduced warehousing cost and increase the efficiency of supply chain process. Just in time means the dell assemble the computer parts after the order is received.

Further, there are many companies who designs their products at their workspace but production is carried out somewhere else; where cost of labor and production is comparatively low.

Slide: 1 Continuing with the Knowledge Economy, we are moving towards lecture B

Slide: 2 In this lecture, we’re going to discuss Effects of immigrants on knowledge economy, developed and emerging economies and finally the drawbacks of knowledge economy.

Slide: 3 (Impact on different industries)

Knowledge economy has been showing different impacts on industries based upon the nature of business operations. There is no doubt, a high potential to grow in software or tech sector, financial services and consultancy, creative or design industry, science and engineering. There are notable software firms which have given some breakthrough technologies and leading in the tech sector. Due to rapid pace business environment, businesses has also shown growth and more intelligent techniques have been introduced to make better business decisions.

Slide: 4 There are some industries where barriers to entry are still high as it required high investment for research and development. For instance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and bio-medical sectors are prominent. These industries rely on heavy infrastructure cost and require high degree of experimentation to come up with the viable product.

Slide: 5 Due to tech giants, Facebook, google and YouTube, the jobs in advertisement, journalism and broadcasting are lower down as these are providing services for free and their business model is different from the conventional ones. They mainly generate revenue from the advertisement they get when the users search on their portals or web spaces.

Slide: 6 (Effect of immigrants on knowledge economy)
Since we’ re talking about knowledge economy which has a worldwide scope so the migration of human resources is also an important element. Due to digitalization, talented individuals finding their way to untapped their potential, no matter in which region or country they need to migrate. Companies who are equipped with latest technology also attract knowledgeable workers with high compensation packages.

One the one hand, highly paid jobs are in demand but it has reduced and eliminated some jobs too which are replaced by modern machines.

This has led to an overwhelming effect which has resulted in open, liberal, inclusive and multicultural societies which are more adaptive and more innovative.

Slide: 7

Moving towards (Developed and emerging economies), lets see how knowledge economy has effected them

For instance, if we talk about bigger emerging economies; notably China and India are in the limelight. Due to their economic growth. China; is leading in manufacturing and India is providing low-cost labor to the world. China is the manufacturing hub of the world-renowned brands, who have outsourced their manufacturing plants due to low labor and manufacturing cost. Both countries are excelling in utilizing manpower intelligently.

Here, I want to highlight that India has significantly uplifted social status of educated middle class and as a proof you can find many Indian CEO in fortune 500 companies, including Youtube, google, Microsoft IBM.

You can check the below link to find more about Indians working as CEOs.

Slide: 8

Developed countries have different economic dynamics as they are far ahead from the under developed regions. They have sophisticated infrastructure but the costs are very high

They prefer to outsource manufacturing in the far east Asia, South Asia (India and Bangladesh) and Africa to settle down the costs.

So, over the period, they are now more inclined towards providing services and very less on manufacturing.

As a result, it has become a global trend and not in the case of businesses, but also in the case of human resources. due to high quality of life, knowledgeable worked also prefer to move to the developed regions as compared to stay at their homeland.

Further due to recent pandemic of COVID-19, remote jobs are very popular now. The employers are hiring remotely from developing countries at comparatively low compensation package which reduce their overall staffing cost as well as they get diversified workforce.

Slide: 9

Up till now, we have discussed the positive side of the knowledge economy and yes, it very much prominent that it has a lot of benefits but it has some drawbacks too which we are going to discuss.

Slide: 10

The advancements in technology brings efficiency processes and more automation due to which low and mid skilled jobs decline and hence, there will be unemployment. For instance, the job of customer service representatives has been replaced by chat bots which are intelligently deigned based upon artificial intelligence.

Slide: 11

Another example is of driver less vehicles. The labor force of drivers will be going to lose their jobs and hence, their would-be unemployment. How can we reduce the risks of un employment? We can provide new skills to the people who are currently having low of mid-level skills and train them to build a diversified portfolio so that can earn their livelihood.

Slide: 12

A per the research, the upward trend in knowledge economy does not guarantee the increase in jobs for knowledge workers. This is because theorist anticipated a high volume of jobs for the knowledge workers and if we analyze the facts, those forecasting are not that much aligned with the reality. The new business models uses AI (artificial intelligence for data analysis instead of having middle class employees who were having cognitive skills to analyze the data. There is also a chance that this trend will continue towards job polarization risking the knowledge workers jobs as well. So, has knowledge economy ahs brough or will be bringing economic stability in the region?

Slide: 13

You can also find the answer and, I would recommend you to read these articles to know more about knowledge economy