This document provides an overview of a presentation on knowledge management concepts and methods for delivering knowledge in the digital age. It discusses key concepts of knowledge management including explicit and tacit knowledge, data, information and knowledge. It also explores knowledge management programs in businesses and post-secondary education, and identifies some controversies around knowledge management. Examples of knowledge management initiatives at Red River College are also summarized.

1. Knowledge
Management
Concepts and methods for delivering
knowledge in the digital age
Canadian Institutional Research and Planning
Association
L’Association canadienne de planification et de recherche
institutionnelle
Conference 2004, Montreal
.ppt available at www.rrc.mb.ca/researchplan
Jim Goho
Red River College
jgoho@rrc.mb.ca

2. Objectives for this session
• To explore the concepts & theory of
Knowledge Management (KM)
• To learn about some KM programs
• To discuss the idea of KM in
Postsecondary Education and in IR
• To identify some of the controversies
around KM

3. Knowledge Management
© United Features Syndicate, Inc.

4. What is Knowledge
Management?
• Defined in a variety of ways.
• KM in education: a strategy to enable people
to develop a set of practices to create,
capture, share & use knowledge to advance.
• KM focuses on:
• people who create and use knowledge.
• processes and technologies by which knowledge is
created, maintained and accessed.
• artifacts in which knowledge is stored (manuals,
databases, intranets, books, heads).
Sources: Petrides, L.A. & Nodine, T.R (2003). Knowledge management in education: Defining the landscape. Edvinsson, L. &
Malone, M.S. (1997). Intellectual capital: Realizing your company's true value by finding its hidden brainpower . Ford, N. (1989).
From information- to knowledge-management. Journal of Information Science Principles & Practice.

5. What is Knowledge
Management?
“Knowledge management is a discipline
that promotes an integrated approach
to identifying, managing and sharing all
of an enterprise’s information needs.
These information assets may include
databases, documents, policies and
procedures as well as previously
unarticulated expertise and experience
resident in individual workers.”
Source: GartnerGroup Research.

6. A Community College’s
Definition
“A discipline and framework
designed to help our organization
acquire, package and share “what
we know” to enable decisionmaking, creativity, innovation and
communication.” (Cuyahoga Community
College)

7. Where does KM come from?
• Technology
• Infrastructure, Database, Web, Interface
• Globalization
• World wide markets, North American integration
• Demographics
• Aging population, workforce mobility, diversity
• Economics
• Knowledge economy
• Customer relations
• Quality
• Increase in information
• Specialization, Volume, Order
Sources: Brown J.S. & Duguid, P. (1991). Organisational learning and communities-of-practice.
Organisational Science. .O’Dell C. & Grayson Jr., C.J. (1998). If only we knew what we know. Stewart, T.
(2002). The wealth of knowledge.

8. The Rise of the
Knowledge Worker
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1900
1910
1920
1930
farmworkers
service
managerial & admin.
Source: Stewart T.A. (1997). Intellectual capital.
1940
1950
1960
labourers & operators
clerical
prof. & tech.
1970
1980
crafts
sales
1990
2000

9. Labour market employment
shift to a knowledge economy
Average annual rate of growth in Canadian
labour market sectors (%) 1971-1996
2.1
Overall
0.6
Production
2.6
Services
2.2
Data
7.6
Management
4.1
Knowledge
0
2
4
Source: Lavoie, M. & Roy, R. (1998). Employment in the knowledge-based economy.
6
8

10. Digital Students
By age 21, the average college student
will have spent:
•
•
•
•
•
10,000 hours video games
200,000 emails
20,000 hours TV
10,000 hours cell phone
Under 5,000 hours reading
Source: F. Prochaska, Students and Faculty Today: Inhabiting the Evolving Universe of
Teaching, Learning, and Technology, 2003.

11. Why KM?
Source: Luan, J & Serban, A. (2002, June). Knowledge management concepts, models and
applications. Paper presented at Annual AIR Forum, Toronto.

12. What is Knowledge?
• Knowledge is justified true belief. Ayer, A.J. (1956). The
Problem of Knowledge.
• Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed
experience, values, contextual information
and expert insight that provides a framework
for evaluating and incorporating new
experience and information. It originates and
is applied in the minds of knowers. In
organizations it often becomes embedded
not only in documents or repositories but
also in organizational processes, practices
and norms. Davenport, T.H. & Prusak, L (1998). Working Knowledge.
• Knowledge is information in action. O’Dell C. & Grayson
Jr., C.J. (1998). If only we knew what we know.

13. Data, Information & Knowledge
DATA
Def init ion
Reason
I NFORMATI ON
KNOWLEDGE
Raw facts, figures
and records
contained in a
system.
Data placed into
a form that is
accessible, timely
and accurate.
Processing
Storing /
Accessing.
Information in
context to make
it insightful and
relevant for
human action.
Insight,
innovation,
improvement.
Source: Luan, J & Serban, A. (2002, June). Knowledge management concepts, models and applications. Paper
presented at Annual AIR Forum, Toronto.
"We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge"
Naisbitt , J. (1984) Megatrends: Ten new directions transforming our lives.

14. Two types of knowledge
Documented information
that can facilitate
action.
Explicit knowledge
• Formal or codified
• Documents: reports,
policy manuals, white
papers, standard
procedures
• Databases
• Books, magazines,
journals (library)
Know-how & learning
embedded within the minds
people.
Implicit (Tacit) knowledge
• Informal and uncodified
• Values, perspectives &
culture
• Knowledge in heads
• Memories of staff,
suppliers and vendors
Knowledge informs decisions and actions .
Sources: Polanyi, M. (1967). The tacit dimension. Leonard, D. & Sensiper, S. (1998). The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Group
Innovation. California Management Review.

15. Layers of knowledge
Explicit
Implicit (Tacit)
In people’s heads.
Individual
• Undocumented
ways of working in
teams, teaching.
Organizational
• Cultural
conventions
known and followed
but not formalized.
Source: Luan, J & Serban, A. (2002, June). Knowledge management concepts, models and applications. Paper
presented at Annual AIR Forum, Toronto.
Personal documents
on my C:
• Formalized process
for developing
curriculum.
• Corporate polices and
procedures.

16. In the Business World
• KM is becoming a “big deal” in industry.
• KM involves collaboration,
organizational learning, best practices,
workflow, IP management, document
management, customer focus and using
data meaningfully [data mining].
• KM requires understanding the soft
skills necessary to work with people.
Source: Clare Hart, President and CEO
Factiva, Knowledge Management London 4 April 2001

17. What are USA companies doing?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Capture & share
best practices
Corporate learning
strategies
CRM
Competitive
intelligence
[Source: Milan, J. (2001) KM: A revolution waiting for IR. Paper presented at the 41st Annual AIR Forum.]
81% of businesses with KM solutions
see productivity improvements. [Malhotra, Y. (2001).

18. If Statistics Canada
Measures KM It Must Exist.
Proportion of firms with dedicated spending
on KM practices
2,000 & more workers
500-1,999 workers
250-499 workers
50-249 workers
Less than 50 workers
0%
Source: Statistics Canada. (2002) Are we managing our knowledge?
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%

19. What are organizations doing
in Canada?
1. Knowledge capture and acquisition
•
E.g., environmental scanning.
1. Developing strategies for implicit K
sharing:
•
E.g., CoPs, virtual teams, list of experts &
mentoring.
1. Using technologies to store, analyze &
distribute explicit K.
•
Corporate portals, business K base,
process control inventories, CRM.
Source: Statistics Canada. (2002) Are we managing our knowledge?

20. Relevance to PSE
• Not on the agenda of most
• However, universities and colleges
are in the knowledge business.
• Many have KM organizational
initiatives
• Some use technology
• and some offer KM education.
(Kidwell, Vander Linde &
Johnson, 2000).
(e.g., Washington State Univ., Jackson State Univ., Santa Barbara City College,
Cuyahoga Community College)
•
George Mason, Dominican Univ., Univ. of Washington, RRC

21. Technology Components of a
KM Solution
•
•
•
•
•
Portals
Websites
Search Engines
Shared Drives
Specialty Knowledge Applications
• Share Point
• FAQ and Lessons Learned
• Online survey tool
• Knowledge and Information Tools

22. Campus Web Portals
(2003 National Survey of IT in US Higher Education)
28% of institutions have web-based campus
portals (21% in 2002)
Source: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

23. Web Portals
An electronic gateway to a
comprehensive pool of information and
services that is organized and presented
to serve the needs of a defined user
population.
Source: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

24. Characteristics of Web
Portals
• Visual appeal; ease of navigation
• Organized around user’s information and
transaction needs
• Is customized by system to meet user’s
needs and convenience
• May be personalized by user to meet user’s
preferences
Source: Green, K.C. The Campus Computing Project

25. What’s KM in IR?
•
•
•
•
•
Information authority.
Spin doctor.
Policy wonk.
Scholar & researcher.
Manager of knowledge.
Source: Serban, A.M. (2002). KM: The fifth face of IR.

26. Illustrated KM Models
Tiered Knowledge Management Model (TKMM)
in Institutional Research
Tiers:
Tiers:
three
two
one
Data Mining
Classical
multivariate
statistics
Querying
OLAP
Data Warehouses
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge Base
Knowledge Workers
Portals
CRM
one
Collaborative Working
Environment (CWE)
Knowledge
Mapping
three
Tacit Knowledge
Source: Luan J. & Serban A.M. , (2002). KM: Building a competitive advantage in higher education.
two

27. KM at RRC
•
•
•
•
•
•
Learning about KM.
Knowledge capture & acquisition.
Knowledge sharing.
KM strategy.
ConnectRRC!
Continuing Education program.

28. IR and KM
• Documentation – data dictionary.
• Enrolment management (forecasting
model).
• Academic curriculum renewal –
program benchmarking – best
practices.
• Strategic planning.
• Web deployment of IR.

29. Environmental Scanning
• Formalized annual scanning process.
• Internal and external.
• Tested against knowledge of College Board,
leaders, faculty and staff.
• Face to face
• Web consultation.
• Used to inform strategic and operational
plans.
• Vision, mission, values, goals, and objectives.
www.rrc.mb.ca/researchplan

30. Learner Management
• Go from reporting what happened to why it
happened to forecast what will happen.
• Graduate outcomes
• Employment – logistic and multinomial regression.
• Earnings – linear regression.
• Collapsing satisfaction questions – factor
analysis.
• Effectiveness of selection interviews – metaanalysis.
• Goal – Forecast which prospective students
will be consistent donors as alumni.

31. ConnectRRC!
•
•
•
•
Community of interests.
Will build for the future.
Start at the grassroots level.
Bring together people who have an interest in
KM.
• Work together to connect and share.
• Promote an understanding and use of KM.
• Website: http://connect.rrc.mb.ca
Source: George Siemens, RRC.

32. Activities
• Blogging/aggregation.
• New model innovation built on the unique
attributes of the Internet/
• Listserv.
• Face to face forums.
• Collaborate, e.g., RROC.
Source: George Siemens, RRC.

33. Other things
- Sharepoint - small team collaboration already being used by several
committees, connect, instructors, etc..
• Informal knowledge sharing
• College-wide FAQs
Source: George Siemens, RRC.

34. KM Courses
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge Management - An Overview .
Organizational Culture – Adapting to Change.
Knowledge Mapping an Organization.
Training and Development.
KM Process Management:
• Creating, structuring, storing knowledge.
• Retrieving, acquiring and using knowledge.

35. KM is Nonsense
• KM is a management consultant
conspiracy (search and replace
marketing).
• KM practitioners don’t know what
“knowledge” really is.
• KM is the ‘Learning Organization’
rebranded.
• KM cheerleaders misunderstand tacit
knowledge (Polanyi’s sense).
• KM is nothing new.
Source: Wilson, T.D. (2002). The nonsense of ‘knowledge management.’
Information Research, 8(1).

36. KM is here to stay
KNOWLEDGE IS LIKE LIGHT. Weightless and
intangible, it can easily travel the world,
enlightening the lives of people everywhere.
Yet billions of people still live in poverty
unnecessarily. Knowledge about how to treat
such a simple ailment as diarrhea has existed
for centuries but millions of children continue
to die from it because their parents do not
know how to save them.
Source: Opening statement of the World Bank 1998/99 World Development Report: Knowledge for Development.
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
H.G. Wells.