Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know

Rating:
Summary: All of Us Know More Than Any One of Us Does
Review: Dixon does indeed explain HOW companies thrive by sharing what they know. (She apparently agrees with Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, when responding to irate parents after a tuition increase: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.") In her Introduction, she identifies three myths (or assumptions about the idea of knowledge sharing: (1) build it and they will come (the so-called "Field of Dreams Syndrome"), (2) technology can replace face-to-face, and (3) first you have to create a learning culture. "Many of the organizations I studied started with one or more of these assumptions and then had to make corrections to get back on track." She then explains why each myth or assumption is either wrong or inadequate. After that, she observes: My major goal in writing this book is to broaden readers' thinking about how a company might share knowledge. Therefore I discuss many ways in which real companies have successfully transferred knowledge....Another goal is to help readers figure out which of these many systems [subsequently analyzed] would be most effective in their own settings -- how to tell whether BP's Peer Assist would be more effective than Ford's Best Practice Replication." All this in the Introduction (!) which serves as the first of the nine chapters within which her material is organized.

The objective of Dixon's study of ten organizations (ranging from Bechtel to the U.S. Army) was to understand why some knowledge transfer systems are effective...and why others are not. Eventually, she concluded that "These organizations know a great deal about how...but much less about why." Moreover, "Organizations like the ones I have written about in this book, that are on the leading edge of knowledge transfer have been learning on their own, primarily through trial and error." To which I presume to add, that we must understand how to learn if any knowledge (about anything else) is to be gained. Moreover, there are also quite specific skills required when helping others to learn what we know. In her book, Dixon provides a wealth of information which includes cases and examples, a "synthesis that retains the separate voices of the examples", "stories" which preserve the emotions and values of people involved. general principles derived from the cases, and an "articulation" of the reasoning behind the various categories (eg absorptive capacity) inorder to reveal the WHY behind the categories. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline and his more recent The Dance of Change.

Rating:
Summary: Read This Before Foisting KM on Your Org....
Review: In presenting alternative systems of knowledge sharing, and their strengths and weakenesses for the types, times, and range of knowledge, Dixon's best contribution is to guide the reader from following certain dead-ends, though not necessarily ensuring a success down the right path.

This book, though incredibly well-written in clarity and focus, is not so practical for the working manager faced with creating a "KM Solution" that will stick, as it is for those task forces and executives thinking about KM solutions and wanting to avoid mistakes - oh so common in today's organizations!

So, if you are looking for high-level descriptions of the various systems of knowledge sharing, their strenghts and weakenesses, the cases in the book are lively, thought-provoking, and interesting to follow along.

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Summary: A very useful taxonomy of knowledge transfer techniques
Review: Looking for in-depth case studies of KM in action at large organisations? This book offers a superb collection and analysis of knowledge transfer techniques at companies like Ernst&Young, Bechtel, Ford, Chevron, British Petroleum, Texas Instruments, and the U.S. Army.

The material is divided into 9 chapters, and the writing style is very focused and precise. Useful flowcharts and checklists make the material a must-read for KM professionals and management strategists.

Dixon begins by deconstructing some common myths ' such as 'build it and they will come.' Knowledge transfer which is merely based on accumulating electronic databases will bring about neither appropriate contributions nor adequate retrievals; incentives, discipline, actionable results, alignment with objectives, and face-to-face communication are key requisites.

Going beyond broad generalizations of organizational knowledge management, the book focuses specifically on the issue of knowledge transfer, and identifies five key categories of lesson sharing in large companies: serial transfer, near transfer, far transfer, strategic transfer and expert transfer.

They differ in terms of who the intended knowledge receiver is (same or different from the source), the nature of the task involved (frequency and routine), and the type of knowledge being transferred (tacit/explicit).

One chapter each is devoted to the five kinds of transfer mechanisms, and two chapters tie all the material together in terms of guidelines for building knowledge transfer systems.

In serial transfer, the collective knowledge a team has gained from doing its task in one setting is transferred to the next time that the same team does the task in a different setting. The tasks are frequent, so meetings are held regularly and assessment questions are standardized.

In near transfer of explicit knowledge, the source and recipient teams are different ' but the tasks are quite similar. The tasks are routine; selected goal-oriented information is disseminated electronically, along with supplemental personal interaction; information usage is monitored and assessed.

In far transfer, the tacit knowledge a team gained from doing a non-routine task is made available to other teams doing similar work in another part of the organization. There is a reciprocal exchange of knowledge, and face-to-face meetings as well as movement of experts are involved.

Examples include BP's Peer Assist (initiated in 1994, to share experience in challenging areas like deciding whether to invest in a new rig; the transfer includes a visit to rig sites by peers), Chevron's Capital Project Management (with online forums as well as physical movement of project managers to spread learned lessons across the company), and Lockheed Martin's LM21 Best Practices (to identify and eliminate redundant facilities, capabilities and structures across its 30 subsidiaries; assessments were made of performance and financial performance).

Other examples include Japan's Dai-Ichi Pharmaceuticals, where researchers are expected to spend 20 minutes a day in 'talk rooms' where anyone can dialogue with them. 'Tacit knowledge can be transferred by moving the people who have the knowledge around. Calling on tacit knowledge is not just a memory task, it is as often an act of creation or invention,' says Dixon.

Top-level commitment to the process is called for. Some companies like Ernst&Young designate certain knowledgeable people as 'shared resources,' who spend a chunk of their time sharing their knowledge companywide.

Strategic transfer is called for when the collective knowledge of the organization is needed to accomplish a strategic task that occurs infrequently ' but is critical to the whole organization. The knowledge gathering is conducted during the actual operation; it can be expensive and resource-intensive, and also involves knowledge specialists who collect information, conduct interviews, videotape discussions, interpret the examples, and synthesise knowledge.

A useful methodology here is MIT's 'learning history' process, which results in a narrative document describing an event and incorporating quotes from multiple sources and even contradictory perspectives. The process should include subsequent reflective research and validation. These events need not have to be the 'best,' but will always have useful learnings.

The resulting documentation from strategic transfer can be disseminated on Intranets, and should have guidelines, checklists, people profiles, contact information, colourful overall narratives, records, and artifacts. Once created by KM specialists, the product is handed over to a community of practice that has the responsibility of keeping it current.

Expert transfer involves the transfer of explicit knowledge from an expert to someone who faces a problem beyond their current scope. Knowledge is pulled from the expert on demand, via threaded electronic forums to which support is dedicated for monitoring, escalation and support.

Examples include Buckman Lab's TechForums (started in 1992, monitored by librarians and sysops, and supported by editorial help in producing weekly summaries of discussions), Tandem Computer's Second Class Mail (for tech support), Chevron's Best Practices Resource Map (a yellow pages of employee resources), the World Bank's internal help line, and Ernst&Young's Knowledge Stewards. Online infrastructure is critical here for multinationals, and there can be infrastructure problems in developing countries.

In terms of RoI, Ford reportedly claims that US$34 million were saved in just one year by transferring ideas between Vehicle Operations plants; Texas Instruments saved enough from transferring knowledge between wafer fabrication plants to pay for building a whole new facility.

The books shows how each organization can have multiple ways of transferring knowledge, involving databases, response systems, monitoring, meetings, and dedicated KM staff. Appropriate audits of knowledge assets, knowledge gaps, existing knowledge flows, and critical processes need to be conducted, sometimes with external assistance.

As for branding knowledge transfer initiatives, Dixon observes that they often don't even mention the word 'knowledge' ' the emphasis is on words like peering, assistance, team building, and networking.

In sum, this book provides an excellent view of knowledge practices right from the trenches of companies at the cutting edge of KM. The inductive analysis and roadmaps for implementing knowledge transfer are essential reading for knowledge professionals in all manner of large organizations.

>>>>>>>

Madanmohan Rao is the author of "The Asia-Pacific Internet Handbook" and can be reached at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Common knowledge, another view
Review: Nancy Dixon's new book gives 5 knowledge transfer methods that result from the interaction between the intended receiver (similarity of task and context), the nature of the task (how routine & frequent) and the type of knowledge (explicit vs. tacit) being transfered.

Serial transfer: Same team, same task, different settings. After action reviews, learning histories and set meetings, open diaglog, local facilitation.

Near transfer: Explicit knowledge of frequent & routine tasks moved across organizational boundaries. Electronic dissemination, supplemented by personal interaction, 'push', best practices are shared where context is not an issue.

Far transfer: Tacit knowledge is moved by coaching and consulting, same task different context, reciprocal exchange, peers travel to assist.

Strategic transfer: Infrequent and non-routine, complex system, knowledge is gathered by specialists, multiple 'voices' are synthesized mostly in realtime.

Expert transfer: Explicit knowledge is pulled from forums, summarized and recorded in terms of solutions, rules and distinctions. Context is the same but the task differs, e.g. technical questions to 2nd level helpdesks.

Somehow the whole notion of knowledge transfer does not sit too well with me, feels too much like an object is being exchanged rather than an individual or group learning experience! Are we starting to see greater clarity and the emergence of some KM theory here? I'm thinking of Dixon's transfer types, KM models from Don Mezei, Bo Newman and others, knowledge validation practices from KMCI, ontologies and classifications of tool sets, KM strategy options.....

Task characteristics and knowledge sharing:

Nancy uses, how routine the task is, not in the sense of similariry, but how easily the task can be expressed in terms of explicit steps and the frequency. These are important attributes for knowledge transfer (along with an appreciation of key changes in context). I'm not so sure these are the best task characteristics when we look at learning and knowledge sharing, which are important aspects of to consider when looking at transfer in a holistic (ecosystem) perspective. Here I tend to favor the generic task ontology developed by Chandrasekaran and colleagues: e.g. classification, diagnosis, problem solving and others.

Transfer & learning:

There is little attention to reciprocity, dialog and generative knowledge exchanges in Nancy's categories. I get the feeling Nancy favors knowledge transfer as passing objects and only recognizes transfer resulting in greater than the parts in "far transfer" (tacit exchange). Seems in true knowledge sharing there is always some measure of reciprocity, knowledge creation and learning on both sides. One of the most effective ways to share knowledge is to take time to share meanings, surface assumptions through constructing ontologies, practicing deep dialog and crafting distinctions.

I missed FAQs, co-location, yellowpages and boundary spanning between communities as alternative promising ways to share. Knowledge travels via relationships and I think this aspect could have received more attention in the book. Knowledge transfer goes far deeper than just passing information and Nancy's treatment of context and absoption potential was new and through. It is encouraging to see an entire book devoted to this key knowledge practice, think this is an important text, deserving of a place alongside Brown and Duguid's "The social life of information".

Use of simulation and cases, in particular, Time-Revealed Senarios (TRS) are recent advances to assist with knowledge sharing: TRS as used in Wisdom Tools.

Rating:
Summary: Our best guide to knowledge transfer
Review: This is the best book available on knowledge transfer. Based upon the author's deep understanding of organizational learning theory and her careful examination of the practices of major corporations, it offers clear definitions of five types of knowledge transfer, along with criteria, design guidelines, business drivers and potential barriers for each. Examples of each transfer type (from teams reviewing their actions in order to perform better together in a new setting to strategic learning and sharing of expert knowledge) are employed less to bolster a thesis than to illustrate how classifications were evolved and tested. Intelligently crafted categories based upon similarities of tasks and contexts, the nature of tasks, and knowledge type provide a framework for organizations to build a system for employing "common knowledge" for business objectives. Written with clarity and grace, this volume explores the power of metaphor and of the values of sharing, listening and trust, while developing our most practical guide for integrating effective knowledge transfer into organizations' strategic architecture. Highly recommended.