 Knowledge management

 Q.1:Diffrence between data ,knowledge and information?

 Ans:
 Data: Data represents raw numbers or assertions
 Data comprises facts, observations, or perceptions
 Data is just bits: lots of zeros and ones
 Example 1. Bits representing a restaurant sales order including two large burgers and two
medium-sized soft drinks.
 Example 2. One bit representing the observation that a tossed coin lands on heads.
 Example 3. 64 bits representing the wind component (u and v) coordinates for a
particular typhoon’s trajectory at specific instances of time.
 Information:
 Information is data with context and relevance
 In contrast, data can include millions of useless garbage bits, which are nothing more
than uninterpretable zeros and ones
 Information involves manipulation of raw data
 Often, information can be used to obtain a more meaningful indication of trends or
patterns
 Information is data with semantics.
 Example 1. For the restaurant manager, numbers that he understands to indicate the daily
sales of burgers and soft drinks.
 Example 2. Assume the context is a bet: John offers to pay $10 for heads and take $8 for
tails. Susan understands that the last 100 tosses included 40 heads and 60 tails. This is
much more information than the outcome of a single toss, and can be interpreted to
compute an expected value. (Information theory!)
 Example 3. A series of u and v components can be interpreted by storm software models
to create a forecast of the typhoon trajectory.
 Knowledge is information with decision-making and action-directed utility and purpose
 Knowledge is defined by some as “a justified true belief”
 Different from data & information
 Knowledge is at the highest level in a hierarchy with information at the middle level, and
data to be at the lowest level
 It is the richest, deepest & most valuable of the three
 Knowledge is information with direction.
 Example 1. The daily sales of burgers (plus other information like the amount of bread in
the inventory) can be used to compute the amount of bread to buy (which is still
information, but is more valuable information). The relationship between the quantity of
bread to be ordered, the quantity of bread currently in the inventory, and the daily sales of
burgers (and other products that use bread) is knowledge.
 Example 2. The expected value of the bet is still information, but is more valuable
information. The relationship between the probability of heads, the number of times the
coin lands heads, and the total number of tosses (probability theory) is knowledge.
 Example 3. The knowledge of a storm researcher as to the relationship of a series of u
and v components to the probability of trajectories is used to predict a specific typhoon
trajectory.
o OR

Data represents information in the elementary and crude form of information;
 information represents data endowed with meaning;
 knowledge represents information with experience, insight and expertise.
 Data is the rawest form of facts without any meaning. Information is organized,
analyzed and meaningful data with some connections or contexts. When
information is combined with experience, context, interpretation and reflection, it
becomes knowledge. Thus, knowledge is the combinations of collected
information, personal experiences, insights, expertise, logical reasoning in an
actionable context.
 Information is tangible in nature and easily available to anyone who wants to
seek it out, whereas knowledge is intangible in nature and not accessible to
everyone as it resides in the mind of people. Data or information has a chance to
be lost, as they are tangible in nature, whereas knowledge, which exists only
within one who knows, can not be lost suddenly.

 Q.2:explain with example?

 1:procedura l vs declarative knowledge:
 Ans: Declarative knowledge (or substantive knowledge) focuses on beliefs about
relationships among variables.
 e.g., “all other things being equal, greater price charged for a product would cause some
reduction in its number of sales”
 Can be stated in the form of logical propositions, expected correlations, or formulas
relating concepts represented as logical symbols and/or mathematical variables.
 Often characterized in KM circles as “know-what”.
 Procedural knowledge focuses on beliefs relating procedures or processes: sequences of
steps or actions to desired (or undesired) outcomes.
 e.g., the procedure that should be followed in a government organization in deciding on
whom to ward the contract for a particular area (e.g., information system development)
 Often characterized in KM circles as “know-how”.
 Procedural vs. Declarative: Automobile Manufacturing:
 Declarative knowledge regarding quality/cost optimization
o Effect that quality of each component would have on final product
 Reliability, fuel consumption, deterioration over time, quality of the ride
o Set of components needed for each model
o Prices of various alternatives for each component
 Procedural knowledge regarding assembly process
o Steps in engine assembly process
o Which tasks can be performed in parallel
o Amount of time each step should take
o Amount of waiting time between successive steps
 2.:explicit vs tacit knowledge:
 Ans:
 Explicit knowledge refers to knowledge that has been expressed into words and numbers
 e.g., basic principles for stock market analysis as in a textbook
 Such knowledge can be used by investors to make buy/sell decisions
 Can be shared formally and systematically in the form of data, specifications, manuals,
drawings, audio or videotapes, computer programs, patents, etc.
 Tacit knowledge includes insights, intuitions, and hunches, that are not verbalized or
documented
 e.g., stock market analysts who make recommendations to investors concerning likely
short-term and long-term market trends within some industry, based on years of
observation
 Difficult to express and formalize
 Therefore often difficult to share (can’t tell somehow how to do it!)
 We can convert explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge
 We often convert explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge
 e.g., when an individual reads a book and learns from it (but not by rote memorization,
which would still be explicit knowledge)
 We can sometimes convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge
 e.g., when an individual with lots of tacit knowledge writes a book formalizing that
knowledge
 Often a difficult conversion that requires hard efforts!
 3:technical vs contextually specific knowledge:
 Ans: Technically specific knowledge is deep knowledge about a specific area.
o Includes tools and techniques for solving problems in that area.
o Often acquired via formal training + experience in the field.
o e.g., scientific knowledge possessed by a physicist
o e.g., knowledge about computer hardware possessed by an engineer
 Contextually specific knowledge refers to the knowledge of particular circumstances of
time and place in which work is to be performed.
o e.g., the detailed knowledge that design engineers possess about the
idiosyncrasies of the particular design group in which they are working
o e.g., a basketball forward’s detailed knowledge of the team’s center Cannot be
acquired through formal training.

o Q.3:explain the sub process ,mechanism and technology for the following:
o 1:knowledge discovery:
o Ans:
o Knowledge discovery systems support the process of developing new tacit or
explicit knowledge from data and information or from the synthesis of prior
knowledge
 o Support two KM sub-processes:
o combination, enabling the discovery of new explicit knowledge
o socialization, enabling the discovery of new tacit knowledge .
o Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Mechanisms for Combination
 Mechanisms that facilitate combination:
o Collaborative problem solving
o Joint decision making
o Collaborative creation of documents
 Example:
o At senior management level, new explicit knowledge is created by sharing
documents and information related to midrange concepts (eg, product concepts)
augmented with grand concepts (eg, corporate vision) to produce new knowledge
about both areas
o This newly created knowledge might be a better understanding of products and a
corporate vision [Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995].

 Knowledge Discovery Subprocesses: Socialization:

 Socialization: synthesis of tacit knowledge across individuals
o Usually happens through joint activities instead of written or verbal instructions.
 Examples:
o By transferring ideas and images, apprenticeships or internships help newcomers
to see how others think.
o Conversations at the watercooler helped knowledge sharing among groups at IBM
 Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Technologies for Combination:
 Technologies that facilitate combination:
o Knowledge discovery systems
o Databases
o Web-based access to data
 “Reconfiguration of existing information through sorting, adding, combining, and
categorizing of explicit knowledge (as conducted in computer databases) can lead to new
knowledge”
 Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Technologies for Socialization:
 Technologies that facilitate socialization:
o Instant messaging
o Social chat groups
o VOIP
o Video-conferencing
 o Electronic support for communities of practice (COPs)
o Wikis
o Forums, BBS systems, newsgroups
o Blogs, especially those that allow comments and discussions
 This area has gotten off to a later start than other technologies, but is undergoing
accelerated development today (often under the buzzword “Web 2.0”), enabled by:
o increased penetration of networking and wireless technologies
o maturation of first-generation web technologies
o younger generation’s ease/comfort/familiarity with new paradigms

o 2:knowledge capture:
o Ans: Knowledge Capture Systems:
 Knowledge capture systems support the process of retrieving either explicit or tacit
knowledge that resides within people, artifacts, or organizational entities
 Technologies can also support knowledge capture systems by facilitating externalization
and internalization
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Mechanisms for Externalization:
 Examples of mechanisms that facilitate externalization, from the consulting company
Viant [Stewart 2000]:
o Before every project, consultants are required to complete a “quicksheet”
describing:
 the knowledge they need
 what aspects of knowledge can be leveraged from prior projects
 what they need to create
 the lessons they hope to learn that they can share with others later
o After every project, the team is required to meet to produce a sunset review to
document what worked and what did not work well
 Forgetting these reports is hard for several reasons:
o “Almost every document ends up on Viant’s internal website, hot-linked every
which way.”
o “Sunset reviews are done with a facilitator who wasn’t on the team, which helps
keep them honest.”
o “Every six weeks [the] knowledge-management group prepares, posts, and pushes
a summary of what’s been learned.”
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Mechanisms for Internalization:
 Mechanisms that facilitate internalization:
o Learning by doing
o On-the-job training
o Learning by observation
o Face-to-face meetings
 Example:
 o At one firm “the product divisions also frequently send their new-product
development people to the Answer Center to chat with the telephone operators or
the 12 specialists, thereby `re-experiencing’ their experiences”
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Technologies:
 Technologies that facilitate externalization:
o Knowledge elicitation is needed for implementation of intelligent technologies
such as:
 expert systems
 case-based reasoning systems
 Technologies that facilitate internalization:
o Computer-based training technologies
o Communication technologies
 eg, an individual can internalize knowledge from a message sent by
another expert, an AI-based knowledge capture system, computer-based
simulations, …

o 3:knowledge sharing:
o Ans: Knowledge Sharing Systems:
 Knowledge sharing systems support the process through which explicit or implicit
knowledge is communicated to other individuals
 Knowledge sharing systems operate by supporting socialization (which promotes sharing
of tacit knowledge) and exchange (ie, sharing of explicit knowledge) subprocesses .
o Knowledge Sharing Systems: Mechanisms & Technologies for Socialization:
 Mechanisms and technologies facilitating socialization: many play an equally important
role for knowledge sharing as in knowledge discovery
 Topically focused discussion groups (or technology-enabled chat groups) facilitate
knowledge sharing by enabling individuals to explain their knowledge to the rest of the
group
o Knowledge Sharing Systems:
Mechanisms & Technologies for Exchange:
 Mechanisms facilitating exchange:
o memos & letters
o manuals
o progress reports
o presentations
 Technologies facilitating exchange:
o Web 2.0, groupware & other team collaboration mechanisms
 o web-based access to data & databases
o repositories of information, including best practice databases, lessons learned
systems, and expertise locator systems

o 4:knowledge application:
o Ans: Knowledge Application Systems:
 Knowledge application systems support the process through which some individuals
utilize knowledge possessed by other individuals without actually acquiring, or learning,
that knowledge
 Mechanisms and technologies support knowledge application systems by facilitating
routines and direction.
o Knowledge Application Systems: KM Mechanisms:
 Mechanisms facilitating direction include:
o traditional hierarchical relationships in organizations
o help desks
o support centers
 Mechanisms supporting routines include:
o organizational policies
o work practices
o standards
 For both direction and routines, these mechanisms can be implemented either:
o within an organization (eg, organizational hierarchies)
o across organizations (eg, software support help desks
o Knowledge Application Systems: KM Technologies:
 Technologies supporting direction include:
o experts’ knowledge embedded in expert systems and decision support systems
o troubleshooting systems based on the use of technologies like case-based
reasoning
 Technologies that facilitate routines include:
o expert systems
o enterprise resource planning systems
o traditional management information systems
 Again, for both direction and routines, these technologies can be implemented either:
o within an organization
o across organizations

o Q.4:explain the factors driving knowledge management?

o Ans:
o Q.5:explain model of knowledge conversion?
 o Ans:

Nonaka and Takeuchi introduced the SECI model (Nonaka& Takeuchi 1996) which has
become the cornerstone of knowledge creation and transfer theory. They proposed four
ways that knowledge types can be combined and converted, showing how knowledge is
shared and created in the organization. The model is based on the two types of
knowledge outlined above.
 Socialization: Tacit to tacit. Knowledge is passed on through practice, guidance,
imitation, and observation.
 Externalization: Tacit to explicit. This is deemed as a particularly difficult and often
particularly important conversion mechanism. Tacit knowledge is codified into
documents, manuals, etc. so that it can spread more easily through the
organization. Since tacit knowledge can be virtually impossible to codify, the
extent of this knowledge conversion mechanism is debatable. The use of
metaphor is cited as an important externalization mechanism.
 Combination: Explicit to explicit. This is the simplest form. Codified knowledge
sources (e.g. documents) are combined to create new knowledge.
 Internalization: Explicit to tacit. As explicit sources are used and learned, the
knowledge is internalized, modifying the user's existing tacit knowledge.

o Q.6:Explain in brief the knowledge management processes?

o Ans:

 Knowledge management refers to the process of collecting, analyzing, managing,

and sharing relevant business information throughout an organization. As the
amount of data that businesses encounter daily continues to grow to tremendous
levels, an organization’s knowledge management strategy is becoming increasingly
important. The goal of the knowledge management process is to capture and utilize
knowledge resources and best practices, which are great assets for an organization,
to gain a competitive advantage. While the best strategy will be specific to each
company, managing the flow of knowledge among individuals within an
 organization can result in increased productivity, manufacturing efficiency, and
innovative thinking that can improve organizational practices and lead to a higher
level of performance.

 4 Key Steps for Discovering the Best Knowledge Management Process

 Discovery

 The first step in the process is to determine how knowledge in an organization will
be discovered. There are multiple sources of relevant data that businesses have
access to, so this step requires an in-depth understanding of the flow of knowledge
within the organization. This involves discovering where the most critical knowledge
lies within the organization, what the most important business practices from which
data can be gathered are, and how information can get trapped or lost within these
processes. A company can undergo the discovery step of the process by identifying
knowledge present in current organizational processes, interviewing individuals or
groups within the organization, hiring new talent or consultants offering critical
knowledge outside of the current realm of the company, and utilizing intelligence-
gathering and data-mining techniques culled from manufacturing, customer-
related information, and other business-based practices.

 Capture

 Capturing refers to the ways in which both established and new organizational
knowledge will be stored. This step benefits organizations by increasing the
organizational structure of the knowledge management process. The vast amount
of important business information needs to be categorized and mapped in order for
the organization to reap the most benefits inherent in the knowledge. Digital
storage is a useful aid for complex organizations. Written documents can be
scanned to digital databases for easier access and data management. Classifying
valuable information through the use of metadata, which involves identifying
repeated names, keywords, and dates, along with indexing, can assist in capturing,
searching, and retrieving the most relevant knowledge stored.

 Process

 Once knowledge has been discovered and captured, it will need to be processed to
increase its utility. At this point, organizations have acquired the information and
data making up the most relevant company knowledge. Additional analysis,
reorganization, and assessment are now required. The synthesis of knowledge
during this step will assist in determining how knowledge can be incorporated into
the procedures and rules of an organization. It will also aid in establishing a culture
of knowledge and developing individuals and teams who will make the greatest
improvements and innovations to the organization as a whole.
 Share and Benefit

 Sharing knowledge with individuals within an organization is the main reason

businesses adopt knowledge management strategies. First, it is important to
determine who would benefit most from the organizational knowledge available and
then find ways for those individuals to access it quickly and easily. Managers may
require that individuals participate in training to learn how to apply knowledge to
business practices and to understand what benefits the organization hopes to
achieve as a result of its knowledge management efforts.


o OR
o 1:knowledge discovery:
o Ans:
o Knowledge discovery systems support the process of developing new tacit or
explicit knowledge from data and information or from the synthesis of prior
knowledge
o Support two KM sub-processes:
o combination, enabling the discovery of new explicit knowledge
o socialization, enabling the discovery of new tacit knowledge .
o Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Mechanisms for Combination
 Mechanisms that facilitate combination:
o Collaborative problem solving
o Joint decision making
o Collaborative creation of documents
 Example:
o At senior management level, new explicit knowledge is created by sharing
documents and information related to midrange concepts (eg, product concepts)
augmented with grand concepts (eg, corporate vision) to produce new knowledge
about both areas
o This newly created knowledge might be a better understanding of products and a
corporate vision [Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995]

 Knowledge Discovery Subprocesses: Socialization:

 Socialization: synthesis of tacit knowledge across individuals
o Usually happens through joint activities instead of written or verbal instructions.
 Examples:
o By transferring ideas and images, apprenticeships or internships help newcomers
to see how others think.
o Conversations at the watercooler helped knowledge sharing among groups at IBM
 Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Technologies for Combination:
 Technologies that facilitate combination:
o Knowledge discovery systems
 o Databases
o Web-based access to data
 “Reconfiguration of existing information through sorting, adding, combining, and
categorizing of explicit knowledge (as conducted in computer databases) can lead to new
knowledge”
 Knowledge Discovery Systems:
Technologies for Socialization:
 Technologies that facilitate socialization:
o Instant messaging
o Social chat groups
o VOIP
o Video-conferencing
o Electronic support for communities of practice (COPs)
o Wikis
o Forums, BBS systems, newsgroups
o Blogs, especially those that allow comments and discussions
 This area has gotten off to a later start than other technologies, but is undergoing
accelerated development today (often under the buzzword “Web 2.0”), enabled by:
o increased penetration of networking and wireless technologies
o maturation of first-generation web technologies
o younger generation’s ease/comfort/familiarity with new paradigms

o 2:knowledge capture:
o Ans: Knowledge Capture Systems:
 Knowledge capture systems support the process of retrieving either explicit or tacit
knowledge that resides within people, artifacts, or organizational entities
 Technologies can also support knowledge capture systems by facilitating externalization
and internalization
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Mechanisms for Externalization:
 Examples of mechanisms that facilitate externalization, from the consulting company
Viant [Stewart 2000]:
o Before every project, consultants are required to complete a “quicksheet”
describing:
 the knowledge they need
 what aspects of knowledge can be leveraged from prior projects
 what they need to create
 the lessons they hope to learn that they can share with others later
o After every project, the team is required to meet to produce a sunset review to
document what worked and what did not work well
 Forgetting these reports is hard for several reasons:
o “Almost every document ends up on Viant’s internal website, hot-linked every
which way.”
o “Sunset reviews are done with a facilitator who wasn’t on the team, which helps
keep them honest.”
 o “Every six weeks [the] knowledge-management group prepares, posts, and pushes
a summary of what’s been learned.”
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Mechanisms for Internalization:
 Mechanisms that facilitate internalization:
o Learning by doing
o On-the-job training
o Learning by observation
o Face-to-face meetings
 Example:
o At one firm “the product divisions also frequently send their new-product
development people to the Answer Center to chat with the telephone operators or
the 12 specialists, thereby `re-experiencing’ their experiences”
o Knowledge Capture Systems:
Technologies:
 Technologies that facilitate externalization:
o Knowledge elicitation is needed for implementation of intelligent technologies
such as:
 expert systems
 case-based reasoning systems
 Technologies that facilitate internalization:
o Computer-based training technologies
o Communication technologies
 eg, an individual can internalize knowledge from a message sent by
another expert, an AI-based knowledge capture system, computer-based
simulations, …

o 3:knowledge sharing:
o Ans: Knowledge Sharing Systems:
 Knowledge sharing systems support the process through which explicit or implicit
knowledge is communicated to other individuals
 Knowledge sharing systems operate by supporting socialization (which promotes sharing
of tacit knowledge) and exchange (ie, sharing of explicit knowledge) subprocesses .
o Knowledge Sharing Systems: Mechanisms & Technologies for Socialization:
 Mechanisms and technologies facilitating socialization: many play an equally important
role for knowledge sharing as in knowledge discovery
 Topically focused discussion groups (or technology-enabled chat groups) facilitate
knowledge sharing by enabling individuals to explain their knowledge to the rest of the
group
 o Knowledge Sharing Systems:
Mechanisms & Technologies for Exchange:
 Mechanisms facilitating exchange:
o memos & letters
o manuals
o progress reports
o presentations
 Technologies facilitating exchange:
o Web 2.0, groupware & other team collaboration mechanisms
o web-based access to data & databases
o repositories of information, including best practice databases, lessons learned
systems, and expertise locator systems

o 4:knowledge application:
o Ans: Knowledge Application Systems:
 Knowledge application systems support the process through which some individuals
utilize knowledge possessed by other individuals without actually acquiring, or learning,
that knowledge
 Mechanisms and technologies support knowledge application systems by facilitating
routines and direction.
o Knowledge Application Systems: KM Mechanisms:
 Mechanisms facilitating direction include:
o traditional hierarchical relationships in organizations
o help desks
o support centers
 Mechanisms supporting routines include:
o organizational policies
o work practices
o standards
 For both direction and routines, these mechanisms can be implemented either:
o within an organization (eg, organizational hierarchies)
o across organizations (eg, software support help desks
o Knowledge Application Systems: KM Technologies:
 Technologies supporting direction include:
o experts’ knowledge embedded in expert systems and decision support systems
o troubleshooting systems based on the use of technologies like case-based
reasoning
 Technologies that facilitate routines include:
o expert systems
o enterprise resource planning systems
o traditional management information systems
 Again, for both direction and routines, these technologies can be implemented either:
o within an organization
o across organizations
 o Q.7: why asses knowledge management?
o Ans: 1. It would not be possible to determine where improvements are needed
o 2. Helps establishing a baseline for implementing KM solutions
o 3. Helps understand whether costs of KM efforts are justified
o 4. Helps identify the gap in KM efforts
o 5. Help make a case for more investment into KM

o Q.8:qualitative and quantative measurement of KM?

 Ans: Qualitative KM assessments aim to develop a basic understanding of whether the
KM efforts are working
 Quantitative assessments of KM produce specific numerical scores indicating how well
an organization, an organizational subunit, or an individual is performing with respect to
KM

o
o Q,9:who performs KM assessment?
 Ans: Peers
o Review of internal performance
 Customers, Suppliers, etc
o External appraisals
 Management
o Business evaluation of effectiveness, efficiency and innovativeness
 o Evaluation of the knowledge assets created.

o Q.10:recommendations for KM assessment ?

 Ans: Why do KM?–Design measures of success that focus on the organization’s critical
success factors)
 Establish a baseline–When you begin, not afterwards
 Qualitative methods–Management always likes quantitative measures, but they don’t
tell enough of the story
 Keep it simple–A handful of relevant, robust, and easily measurable metrics are better
than hundreds of measures
 Avoid KM metrics that are hard to control–Keep it specific and concrete; forget
general and visionary statements
 Measure at the appropriate level–Project level? Application level?
 Link rewards to KM assessment results–KM assessment is a means, not a goal. Link to
employee rewards and incentives
 Be conservative in your claims–Do not underestimate costs or overestimate value; that
will damage credibility in management’s eyes

 Q.11:categories of contingency factors of KM?

 The Contingency Factors are divided into four categories, including

 Environmental Characteristics, Organizational Characteristics, Task Characteristics
 and Knowledge Characteristics. Environmental Characteristics is about the
 environmental uncertainty. Organizational Characteristics is determined by
 organization size and business strategy. Task Characteristics is about task uncertainty
 and task interdependence. Knowledge Characteristics is to identify whether the
 required knowledge for the process is Tacit or Explicit and Declarative or Procedural.
 Environmental Characteristics
 Environmental uncertainty consists of the complexity and the stability of the
 environment. The complexity is determined by the external environmental factors of
 the organization. The external environment factors of Development Team is
 relatively uncertain and mainly focuses on user requests, thus the complexity is
 relatively high. The stability is determined by the speed of external environment
 changes. Development Team is under a changing environment, facing different
 business units and new technologies, so the environment is unstable. For example,
 under economy downturn, the environment is relatively complex and unstable. The
 environmental uncertainty of Development Team is high.
 Organizational Characteristics
 There are over 50 employees working in Development Team. They are
 responsible for developing in-house applications not only for Hong Kong
 Headquarters, but also branches in Beijing and Shanghai, and thus the organization
 size is large. In addition, Wisdom is experiencing whole economy downturn and
 wants to save cost from each working departments, the IT Department would not bethe
exception. Hence, the business strategy for Development Team is low cost
 strategy.
 Task Characteristics
 Different from the Environmental Characteristics and Organizational
 Characteristics can be analyzed as a whole, task characteristics measures the natures
 of the tasks itself. It should be analyzed independently on each sub-process of
 Feasibility Study & Analysis.
 Task uncertainty means whether the organization can confirm the result of
 sub-processes before performed. As different applications have various
 requirements and unpredictable risk, the task uncertainty of Feasibility Study, Risk
 Analysis, Prepare Project Plan and Gather Requirements is relatively high. For
 Prototyping and Documentation, the task and objective are relatively clear before
 the sub-processes are performed. Task uncertainty for these two sub-processes is
 relatively low.
 Regarding task interdependence, this means the extent to the team’s
 achievement of its tasks depends on other teams or departments. Feasibility study,
 Risk analysis, Prepare Project Plan and Gather Requirements requires more
 interactions with end-users and teammates, so they are high in task
 interdependence. However, both Prototyping and Documentation do not rely on
 other teams’ contribution much, so task interdependence of them is low.
 Knowledge Characteristics
 Tacit knowledge refers to the knowledge cannot be codified and is difficult to
 articulate. It is often a kind of insights, intuitions, hunches and skills. Knowledge
 required by Feasibility Study, Risk Analysis, Gathering Requirements, Prototyping and
 Documentation is a kind of intangible skill and it is individual and unconscious, so the
 knowledge is tacit. Explicit knowledge refers to the knowledge that can be codified.
 It can be expressed into words and numbers. Preparing Project Plan is structured and
 reusable, so it is explicit knowledge.

 Q.12:task charecterstics?
 Ans: Task difficulty: problems in analyzing the work and stating performance procedures
 Task variability: the variety of problems encountered in the tasks
 Task uncertainty
 Task interdependence
 1:Task Uncertainty:
 Task uncertainty reduces the organization’s ability to develop routines.
o Hence, knowledge application would depend on direction.
 When task uncertainty is high, externalization and internalization would be more costly
due to changing problems and tasks.
o Knowledge is more likely to remain tacit, thus inhibiting ability to use
combination or exchange.
o Hence, direction or socialization is recommended.
 Example:
o Individuals responsible for product design when customer tastes are expected to
change frequently would benefit most from socializing with, and receiving
directions from, each other.
 When task uncertainty is low, routines can be developed for the knowledge supporting
them.
o Benefits from externalizing or internalizing knowledge related to any particular
task tends to accumulate through the greater occurrence of that task.
o Hence, routines, exchange, combination, internalization, or externalization are
recommended.
 Example:
o Individuals performing tasks in credit and accounts receivables,large benefits are
obtained from
 routines: eg, credit-checking procedures
 exchange: eg, sharing of standards and policies
 combination: eg, integration of explicit knowledge that different credit
analysts have generated from their individual experiences
 externalization and internalization: eg, training and learning of existing
policies by new credit analysts
 2:Interdependent Tasks:
 Task interdependence indicates the extent to which the subunit’s
achievement of its goals depends on the efforts of other subunits
 For interdependent tasks, performance relies mainly on dynamic
interaction in which individual units of knowledge are combined and
transformed through communication and coordination across different
functional groups
 Q.13: Identification of Appropriate KM Solutions
 Ans: Assess the contingency factors.
 Identify the KM processes based on each contingency factor.
 Prioritize the needed KM processes.
 Identify the existing KM processes.
 Identify the additional needed KM processes.
 Assess the KM infrastructure.
 Develop additional needed KM systems, mechanisms, and technologies

 Q.14: Effect of Environmental and Organizational Characteristics on KM

Processes?
 Ans:
 :

o Q.15:subjective view of knowledge:

 Ans: According to the subjective view, reality is entirely dependent on human
perception, and is socially constructed through interactions with individuals.
o Knowledge has no existence independently of social practices and human
experiences.
o Knowledge is not an independent object.
o Knowledge has no single location.
o Knowledge is viewed as an ongoing accomplishment, which continuously affects
and is influenced by social practices.
 Knowledge as State of Mind
 Knowledge as Practice
o Q.16:objective view of knowledge?
 o Ans:
 According to the objective view, reality is independent of human perceptions and can be
structured in terms of a priori categories and concepts.
o Knowledge can be located.
 Knowledge as Objects
o Something that can be stored, transferred, and manipulated.
o Object-oriented programming analogy: instances of structs (classes).
 Knowledge as Access to Information
o Knowledge enables access and utilization of information.
o Object-oriented programming analogy: Interfaces and methods are more
important than structs.
 Knowledge as Capability
o Not merely access to information – instead, emphasizes knowledge as a strategic
capability that can potentially be applied to seek a competitive advantage.
o Q.17:types of expertise?
 Ans: Associational Expertise
 Motor Skills Expertise
 Theoretical (Deep) Expertise
o Types of Expertise: Associational Expertise:
 In most fields: desirable for experts to have detailed understanding of underlying theory
 But not always necessary!
o e.g., TV repairman
 can fix nearly all common problems
 but does not understand transistor theory or CRT/LCD/plasma display
theory
 works mainly by associating observations of performance/symptoms
 to specific repair actions
 based on experience, rather than analysis
 Can have expert-level associational knowledge
 May not understand the inner workings of the device
o may not know how to proceed when encountering a new, previously unseen
problem
o may not be able to invent or design new devices well
o Types of Expertise: Motor Skills Expertise:
 Motor skill knowledge is predominantly physical rather than cognitive
 Humans learn this type of knowledge via repeated performance (practice)
 E.g.,
o Riding a bicycle
o Kicking a football
o Wakeboarding or water skiing
 Expert reactions seem spontaneous and automatic
o From encountering thousands of past instances
o A small amount of conscious thinking is still necessary…
o … but too much conscious thinking can actually degrade performance
o Types of Expertise: Theoretical (Deep) Expertise:
 Finding solutions to technical problems often requires going beyond a superficial
understanding of the domain
 Must apply creative ingenuity
 Based on theoretical knowledge of the domain
 Cannot be solved via associational expertise
 Acquired via formal training and hands-on problem solving
 Very easily forgotten unless continually used, due to theoretical and often abstract nature
 E.g., engineers and scientists
o Q.18: Characteristics of Knowledge?
 Ans: Explicitness
 Codifiability
 Teachability
 Knowledge Specificity
o Explicitness of Knowledge:
 Explicitness refers to the extent to which knowledge exists in an explicit form (as
opposed to a tacit form).
 Emphasizes that “explicit” and “tacit” are often not black-and-white, but rather a
continuous scale.
 Any particular knowledge falls somewhere along the continuum of explicitness.
o Codifiability and Teachability of
Knowledge:
 Codifiability reflects the extent to which knowledge can be articulated or codified (i.e.,
made explicit) …
o even if the resulting codified (explicit) knowledge might be difficult to teach to
another individual …
o e.g., it’s hard to teach the explicit knowledge of how to fix PC problems.
 Teachability reflects the extent to which the knowledge can be taught to other individuals
(e.g., through training, apprenticeship, etc.) …
o even if the taught knowledge might remain in tacit form …
o e.g., it’s relatively feasible to teach the tacit knowledge of how to play basketball.
 Both codifiable and teachable → definitely explicit
 Neither codifiable nor teachable → definitely tacit
o Specificity of Knowledge:
 Specificity refers to the extent to which knowledge is specific (as opposed to general).
 Emphasizes that “specific” and “general” are often not black-and-white, but rather a
continuous scale.
 Any particular knowledge falls somewhere along the continuum of explicitness.
 High level of specificity → knowledge that
o can be acquired or effectively used only by individuals possessing certain specific
knowledge
o is possessed by a very limited number of individuals
o is expensive to transfer

o Q.19:impact of KM?
 Ans: KM solutions and knowledge can impact the organization performance and
therefore it is essential to assess the impacts
 Impact on employees
 Impact on processes
 Impact on products
 Impact on organizational performance
o Illustrative Measures of Impacts on People:

o
o Illustrative Measures of Impacts on Organizational Processes:
o
o Illustrative Measures of Impacts on Organizational Products:

o
o Illustrative Measures of Impacts on Organizational Performance:
o