Posted by Michael Rosetz on March 20, 1998 at 12:06:35:

In Reply to: Re: Knowledge management and transfer of best practices posted by Lars-Oluf G. Nielsen on March 16, 1998 at 15:29:30:

Hi Lars-Oluf,
the danger of getting what you call tacit information is existing.
Of course, the essential point for Knowledge Management is the use of knowledge, not the
availability. Externalising Knowledge is time-consuming, and so is navigation to find the knowledge
artefacts. My point is that it is the social process around Intranets, its introduction process which makes the difference.
If you regard the Intranet as a knowledge stock in a technical sense, all these problems you metioned occur.
Letīs look at it as a library. In most libraries you can look for the books you need on CD-ROMs, on-line etc.
That did never replace the librarians. To my mind, you canīt manage navigation without human help.
What is most important is a kind of "meta-information": What is going on, what is the scope of former and actual
projects. Now, you have two ways to define roles of the librarian:
1. let him/her collect all relevant information on a topic and make sure he/she scans it all and gives then adviseto users
This is quite time-consuming and will soon increase your librarian staff (now being "knowledge brokers")
2. let him/her collect a small, but essential stock of books. For each new book let him/her answer the question: What is
the added value when taking it into the library? This is time-consuming for the librarian but less for other users. If they
they really want to know more (always keeping in mind efficiency of work) the librarian tells them where to look for.

In Intranets/Lotus the role of the librarians will often be taken by groups. These groups, the cores of communities of practice,
will provide each other with the necessary "meta-information" and agree upon procedures to filter ingoing artefacts.
(eg.As a presentation is barely used twice, how to deal with a new presentation using parts of the old one: skip the old, skip
the new or keep both).
If you impose this "human filter" on the existing intranet by assigning people to do it, that wonīt work. If you build up
social networks and manage/coach them well there will be a common interest in contributing to he "filter function" thanks to own
experiences that efficiency of work will be increased by these Intranet systems.
Donīt you think so?

Michael

and make sure

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• Re: Knowledge management and transfer of best practices Lars-Oluf G. Nielsen 16:34:00 4/01/98 (0)

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