Analyzing your organization before its KM transformation

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

KM can be used as the beginning of a major organizational change, but there are many barriers to such a plan. Here Michael Fung, deputy director of the Knowledge Innovation Development branch at Singapore Ministry of Manpower gives five top tips to consider when planning a KM transformation.

1. What to consider: By using a blended approach to complete KM integration, consider the following focus areas: Strategic alignment with the business plan; business process redesign; systems thinking; information architecture; and enabling IT systems.
2. Execution: To successfully execute a KM transformation plan, the KM team often needs to function as the overall business integrator, which orchestrates and collaborates with various business and corporate units ranging from corporate planning to HR to customer facing business units. By actively partnering with the various domain owners, you can take an inclusive approach in the KM transformation journey.
3. Make KM count: Effective initiatives need to show clear contribution to business priorities and alignment with business strategies. Frequently, strategies across different departments are not aligned and each department has its own piece of the puzzle and their own, fragmented view of the customer and world at large. Hence, one of the key KM challenges is to build a bridge across those different strategies and perspectives to give all employees a comprehensive understanding of what you're trying to do. At the outset, the business study phase, consider a plan to align your business's departments. There must be widespread consensus to the plan for it to work.
4. Carry out a knowledge audit: Once a strategy for alignment has been developed (point 3), identify the key knowledge assets created and consumed at each part of the process. This is akin to doing a knowledge audit, with an emphasis on identifying knowledge flows across organizational boundaries. The questions to ask during this process are:What knowledge do we need to carry out at this process step? What are the knowledge flows that will enable effective interfacing between departments? How is this knowledge currently created, stored and shared? Where are the gaps in the management of these knowledge assets? What else needs to be done to collect and manage these knowledge assets?
5. Map your organization: Following this knowledge audit, a knowledge asset map can then be translated into an overall knowledge architecture for the organization in its entirety.

Excerpted from Breaking Silos at Singapore Ministry of Manpower, by Michael Fung, Singapore MOM in the May/June issue of KM Review.

For more information, visit the KM Review homepage.

posted by upay at 9:46 PM