In The eLearning Guild’s newest white paper, Managing Organizational Knowledge: Capturing, Sharing, and Using Collective Knowledge to Drive Learning and Productivity, authors Marc Rosenberg and Steve Foreman begin by asserting that “Organizational knowledge is the lifeblood of any business, government agency, military unit, nonprofit, educational institution, etc. Too often, however, that knowledge is hidden, buried, lost, out of date, or simply undiscovered. Managing organizational knowledge can be the difference between enterprise success and failure.”
A fresh look at knowledge management
The concept of knowledge management (KM), defined as “a collection of best practices and technologies that provides ways to capture, use, and share information” is not new, and for some it has a negative legacy. But the challenges that call for a KM solution have not gone away; in fact, they have intensified. So it is important to take a look at KM again, with fresh eyes.
One of the many valuable aspects of this article is this “fresh” look at what KM is (Table 1), and what it is not (Table 2). Understanding that critical difference is essential to moving forward with KM insights and solutions.
Knowledge management: a larger toolbox of options
As Rosenberg and Foreman go on to note, “KM is not just training or eLearning in another format, nor is it their replacement. Rather, it is part of a broader, multidiscipline approach that provides a larger toolbox of options that better meets today’s complex learning challenges.”
The authors provide the following essential information in this white paper:
• KM’s potential and what it means for organizational learning
• How to define KM and distinguish it from other training and learning approaches, including eLearning and performance support
• Differing perspectives of KM, including “top-down” and “social” approaches
• Key components and technologies of a typical knowledge management system (KMS)
• KM project steps and evaluation strategies, as well as several case studies which illustrate these steps and strategies
• KM’s future and what it means—for organizations and for learning
The KM component of a learning and performance ecosystem
KM augments training, changing its role in each organization’s overarching learning strategy. The relationship between training and KM is an essential element within the learning and performance ecosystem, as shown below in Figure 1. The KM component of the ecosystem enables people to access needed content while working. From a workers’ perspective, the goal is to successfully research a topic and get answers quickly. From an organization’s perspective, the goal is to provide easy and reliable access to information.
NOTE: As defined by our authors, a learning and performance ecosystem enhances individual and organizational effectiveness by connecting people and supporting them with a broad range of content, processes, and technologies to drive performance. For more information on this important topic, see Learning and Performance Ecosystems: Strategy, Technology, Impact, and Challenges—also by Marc Rosenberg and Steve Foreman—for more about learning and performance ecosystems.
Source: The eLearning Guild Research, 2016.
Figure 1: KM within a learning and performance ecosystem
Knowledge management: future implications
Rosenberg and Foreman conclude this important white paper by stressing that “the implications of the growing use of KM by the learning and development (L&D) organization will be profound. Expanding the focus and changing the culture of those charged with providing L&D leadership is key. Shifting the paradigms of more traditional training departments will be more important to success than any particular technology or process.”
Organizational knowledge needs assessment
One final point: You can get actively involved with these KM principles and insights by using the Organizational Knowledge Needs Assessment in the white paper. The assessment will help you determine which of the 14 problematic telltale signs that it describes is also present in your organization. If you can identify more than one of these signs, the authors recommend that you discuss the situation with your stakeholders and determine the most critical challenge(s). The assessment process and findings will help you prioritize and focus your organization’s KM work on the areas of greatest urgency and payoff.
Reprinted from LEARNING SOLUTIONS MAGAZINE
