Developing a High-performance Workforce: Practical strategies for exploiting knowledge in the intelligent enterprise

Knowledge Management was heralded as the tool that would enable companies to pool the information contained in individual employees' heads. What it became was an expensive database that no one ever used. It failed because it didn't address the needs of managers or take account of the human element in passing information from one point to another. This report, based on two major research projects, bridges the gap between knowledge management theory and practice, between the apparent potential and deliverable reality, between communication and conviction. As the report identifies, the key is for the developers of knowledge solutions to directly identify with the needs of their business users, rather than attempting to 'convert' them.Contents include: *A historical perspective on knowledge management *Presenting knowledge management in terms of the issues facing business today *The Need for Knowledge: A View across the Organisation *Putting knowledge to the test: satisfying front line requirements *Putting People in the Picture: The Importance of Knowledge Communities *The Virtual Workplace: Structuring a Knowledge Portal *Sustaining Knowledge Management: Building for the Long Haul *Linking Knowledge Management to the Rest of the Business *Knowledge Management Technology: Choosing the Future

Table of Contents:
1. A historical perspective on knowledge management *Examining the origins of knowledge management *Total quality management *The learning organisation *The adaptive enterprise *The people-centred organisation *The concept of intellectual capital *Knowledge as a flow *The personal perspective on knowledge *Linking tacit and explicit knowledge *Giving knowledge management a new script *Summary 2. Presenting knowledge management in terms of the issues facing business today *The Internet imperative: get connected *Winning business *Giving customers what they want *Keeping your employees *Profitability of the business *Staying ahead of the competition *Summary 3. The Need for Knowledge: A View across the Organisation *Preaching to the converted? *Where knowledge should deliver benefit *Good News, Bad News? *Summary 4. Putting knowledge to the test: satisfying front line requirements *Understanding what sales need to know *Helping sales get to know their customers *Helping sales to win *A starting point for knowledge management *Driving knowledge to maximise value extraction *Getting a return from knowledge expolitation *Summary 5. Putting People in the Picture: The Importance of Knowledge Communities *Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture *The Knowledge Environment: Nature versus Nurture? *The Key Components of Community *Managing Communities: Not too Little, Not too Much *The Management of Content Value *The Value of Content Management *Making the Organisation Learn *Managing the Knowledge Community *The Relevance of Taxonomy *Summary 6. The Virtual Workplace: Structuring a Knowledge Portal *Integrating People, Systems and Knowledge *Information: Feast or Famine? *Personalised Portals, Impersonal Intranets? *My Portal is My Environment *Summary 7. Sustaining Knowledge Management: Building for the Long Haul *Getting the Message Across *Proactive Knowledge Management: Driving Knowledge Exploitation from the Centre *The Knowledge Management Team *Creating and Sustaining the Business Case *Aligning Knowledge Management Services with business demands *Picking up the Bill for Knowledge Management *Summary 8. Linking Knowledge Management to the Rest of the Business *The Big Picture: Talking the Same Language *Strategy and Planning: Managing Change *The Relevance to Marketing and Communication *Human Resources *Training, Development and Quality Functions *Research, Development and Innovation *Sales and Customer Service *Information Technology *Summary 9. Knowledge Management Technology: Choosing the Future *The Technology Debate: Chicken or Egg? *What has been Learnt? *What Characterises Successful Knowledge Management Technologies? *Emerging Technologies *The Emergence of the Enterprise Knowledge System *Summary Postscript: Knowledge in the Virtual Enterprise Appendices *The Cranfield 2000 Knowledge Exploitation Survey *The Cranfield 1998 Knowledge Management Survey *Questionnaire for Knowledge Exploitation Survey 2000 *Questionnaire for Knowledge Management Survey 1998 References