Knowledge Management Systems

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Knowledge Management Systems & Experts in the Business Arena

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the main impediments to knowledge sharing? What strategies can be employed to overcome them?

There are several impediments to knowledge sharing; however, the following have the largest impact by causing a hindrance and or obstacle when it comes to knowledge sharing: extracting the knowledge, converting tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge by codifying, and distribution of the knowledge.

It is always a difficult task to get people to share knowledge especially in a company setting. In many cases it causes employees to feel insecure and could make them feel their job is in jeopardy. One strategy to extract information for knowledge sharing would be to properly communicate what the knowledge is being used for. It is also beneficial to provide incentives to the contributor, whether it is monetary or some other intangible incentive. The next challenge is converting the tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge and codifying it for use. This can be overcome by using knowledge mapping or semantic mapping. These tools help provide a structure of knowledge requirements that define their use. The last major contributor to hindering knowledge sharing is distribution of that knowledge after it has been codified. Developing a KM system that has stakeholder support and user buy-in is crucial. One method to make sure you develop a user friendly KM system is to include the user in the develop phase and test the system before implementation.

2. What are some of the key challenges in building Knowledge Management Systems?

Employing upper management buy-in and endorsement, capturing the knowledge, codifying the information, and getting user buy-in are just a few key challenges in building a Knowledge Management System.

3. If you were asked to select an Expert as a source for a KM system and then capture their tacit knowledge, how would you proceed? What are the factors and challenges?

First, look to identify the expert by checking into their credentials as to what they feel makes them an expert. What makes them an expert may be their formal schooling or their day-to-day interaction and knowledge of the system. An "expert" can be found by ...