Posted by Yogesh Malhotra on June 19, 1997 at 20:04:46:

In Reply to: Organizational structure that Facilitates KM posted by Rahul Rosha on June 19, 1997 at 09:17:47:

First, you may like to define what you mean by KM... given that there
are a http://www.brint.com/wwwboard/messages/62.html number of different interpretations of the term.

Second, you may ask why you need a different structure for KM. Is the current structure not capable of doing so. Please note that major structural changes 'imposed' on the organizational members may have their own repercussions that may not necessarily be consonant with what you are attempting to achieve.

Third, you may like to think if the form should drive function or the function should drive form. If it is the latter you may need to put into practice processes that you think would facilitate KM... of course in concert with the persons who will either be responsible for those processes or whose work will be affected by these processes. These issues are more related to issues of organizational control and organizational culture.

Finally, most organizations have gone from the hierarchical (product, function, matrix, etc.) to the network or spherical forms... however which form is best... the answer is whatever works.

After you cognize the KM that you are attempting to accomplish, here are some publications where you may start to develop an understanding of the 'right' structure. Many more online articles and papers are available in our sections on New Organization Forms and Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning.

Ackoff, R.L. (1981), Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or Be Planned For, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Forrester, J.W. (1965), "A New Corporate Design," Industrial Management Review, (Fall), 7, 1, 5- 17.

Miles, R.E. and C.C. Snow (1992a), "Causes of Failure in Network Organizations," California Management Review, (Summer), 53-72.

Miles, R.E. and C.C. Snow (1992b), "Managing 21st Century Network Organizations," Organizational Dynamics, (Winter), 5-20.

Mintzberg, H. (1979), The Structuring of Organizations, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company, New York: Oxford University Press.

Quinn, J.B. (1992), "The Intelligent Enterprise A New Paradigm," Academy of Management Executive, 6, 4, 48-63.

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Follow Ups:

• Re: Organizational structure that Facilitates KM Mark Mazzie 23:36:13 1/17/98 (1)
  • Re: Organizational structure that Facilitates KM Allen chen 09:34:33 6/08/98 (0)
• Re: Organizational structure that Facilitates KM qy 12:25:05 11/28/97 (1)
  • Re: Organizational structure that Facilitates KM Matt Olsen 17:51:34 10/05/98 (0)

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