Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Environments

1. Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Environments From a cross-cultural perspective provided by you, the audience

2. Contents • Knowledge Management/Sharing • Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Environments • Virtual Teams • Communities of Practice • Research Communities David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

3. What is Knowledge Management (KM) • “Broad KM is the systematic and explicit management of knowledge related activities, practices, programs and policies within the enterprise” (Wiig, 2001, p. 6), or… • Knowledge management is the process by which the organization generates wealth from its knowledge or intellectual capital(Bukowitz & Williams, 2000), or….. • In June 1995, a health worker in Kamana, Zambia, logged on to the CDC Web site in Atlanta and got the answer to a question on how to treat Malaria(Denning, 2001),or,……. David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

4. and a virtual ad hoc, one-off, emergency response team • A New Zealand company with international offices had a one-month deadline to supply a South-east Asian government ministry with a strategic business plan. The project leader in Wellington accessed company expertise in New Zealand, Australia and on location in Asia and was able to complete the project on time. She said: “While it is good to have people by your side, if we had tried to get all these people up to Asia, we probably would never have met the deadline.” David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

5. Davenport and Prusak, in Working Knowledge(1997) define knowledge as: “a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information …” David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

6. What is Knowledge from a Chinese Perspective? the Chinese philosopher Fung Yu-Lan stated: • "Epistemology has never developed in Chinese philosophy. Whether the table that I see before me is real or illusory, and whether it is only a idea in my mind or is occupying objective space, was never seriously considered by Chinese philosophers. No such epistemological problems are to be found in Chinese philosophy (save in Buddhism, which came from India), since epistemological problems arise only when a demarcation between the subject and the object is emphasized. And in the aesthetic continuum, there is no such demarcation. In it the knower and the known is one whole.“ ref: Yu-Lan, F. (1948). A short history of Chinese philosophy: A Systematic account of Chinese thought from its origins to present day. David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

7. History of KM • KM has been an important matter from the beginning – even one of life and death • Then a religious and philosophical matter • Then an economic matter, e.g.Crafts Guilds • No overarching theory of KM, yet. • KM is rooted in a variety of disciplines David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

8. Recent KM Roots • Organizational Management • Rationalization of work - Taylorism, TQM • The importance of information and explicit knowledge as organizational resources – Drucker • The cultural dimension of KM – the “learning organization” – Senge • Innovation diffusion and information and technology transfer David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

9. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) • Dealing with exponential increases in the amount of available knowledge and increasingly complex products and processes • Early groupware and hypertext applications – Engelbart, 1978; McCraken • Artificial Intelligence and expert systems • CSCW (computer-supported collaborative work), Decision Support Systems, Workflow, Document Management, Relational and object databases • Records Management David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

10. Other • Psychology • The role of knowledge in behavior • Library and information science • Cognitive sciences • How we learn and know to improve tools and techniques for gathering and transferring knowledge • Economics • Social Sciences David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

11. 1980’s “Knowledge Management” enters business vocabulary • To provide a technological base, the Initiative for Managing Knowledge Assets was started in 1989 • KM articles begin appearing in journals • 1990’s • Management consulting companies begin in-house knowledge management training programs • 1991 – “Brainpower” article in Fortune magazine • 1995 - The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation (1995), Ikujiro Nonaka & Hirotaka Takeuchi • By mid-90’s – KM initiatives are flourishing – OECD, World Bank, etc • Became a big business for the likes of Ernst & Young, Arthur Anderson, Booz-Allen & Hamilton David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

12. Driving Forces • Competitive environment/knowledge economy • Knowledge is often the only advantage • Globalization • Technology • Information management • communications • The knowledge worker • Changing/mobile workplace David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

13. Status • Categorization of KM Approaches (Sveiby) • Management of Information • Knowledge = objects and can be handled by information management systems • Management of People • Knowledge = processes, a complex set of dynamic skills, know-how, etc that is constantly changing. David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

14. Issues • No shortage of issues • defining KM and related issues • determining organizational needs • getting people onside • selecting and implementing strategies • human resource issues • selecting and implementing technologies • measuring success (ROI) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

15. KM & Strategy “ Knowledge has become the key economic resource and dominant – and perhaps even the only – source of competitive advantage’” Peter Drucker Managing in a time of great change (1995, p.90) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

16. Motivation for KM • Knowledge confers the ability to attain business goals • Knowledge is the only truly sustainable personal and organizational advantage • The knowledge worker • The most expensive resource is knowledgeable staff • Technology • Information management • communications David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

17. Three Levels of KM and Appropriate Technologies (Allee, 2000) • What? • Operational • Connecting knowledge to people who need it • How? • Tactical • Connecting people to each other • Why? • Strategic • Connecting knowledge to the business model David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

18. Operational KMConnecting knowledge to those who need it • How can we codify knowledge and share routine tasks? • e-learning tools • workflow software • knowledge repositories • best practice databases • knowledge engineering • imaging technologies • search engines • newsfeeds • What else? David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

19. Operational KM Usefulness of Knowledge Automation Technology advances help movemore complex work to routine Databases Job Aids Training IT Tools Allee, 2000 Frequency of Work Routine Logical Variations Unusual Variations NonRoutine New & Innovation Ack: Karl Wiig Complexity of Work David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

20. Tactical KM Connecting people to each other • How can we better create, share and apply our knowledge? • Communities of practice • collaborative tools • after action reviews • knowledge mapping • video-conferencing • project histories • personalization tools • social network analysis • virtual team tools • group processes David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

21. Tactical KM Usefulness of Knowledge Automation Technology advances help movemore complex work to routine Databases Job Aids Training IT Tools Allee, 2000 Frequency of Work Routine Logical Variations Unusual Variations NonRoutine New & Innovation Ack: Karl Wiig Complexity of Work David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

22. Strategic KM Connecting knowledge to the business model • How do we create business value? • Scorecards, business modeling • New modeling tools • Systems mapping • Scenario building • Network ethics • Collaborative cultures • Non-financial reporting • Partnering agreements • Dialogue • Open exchange David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

23. Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Environments

24. Cyber teams E-teams Distributed teams (Temporary), culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, electronically communicating workgroups. Business Research Education Government NGO’s Virtual Teams David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

25. A Virtual Scenarioavailable now London New York Wellington Rio Tokyo Shared document, video and audio link, and database David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

26. Factors driving virtual teams • Organizational structure changing to meet the demands of the fast-paced, dynamic global economy • Many organizations are moving from a systems-based organizational model to a collaborative, networked organizational model. David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

27. Practitioner-based literature on organizational virtual teams began in 1994 (O’Hara-Devereaux & Johansen (1994), Grenier & Metes (1995), Lipnack & Stamps (1997). • Academic studies on students date from about 1997-98. (e.g., Cramton, 2001, Jarvenpaa, Knoll & Leidner, 1998), Kayworth & Leidner, 2000; Lau Sarker & Sahay, 2000), • Published empirical research on organizational virtual teams began appearing in (in earnest) in 1999-2000 Jackson, 1999; Vickery, Clark, & Carlson, 1999), (Nandhakumar, 1999), (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000. • Quite a popular subject now David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

28. Research Areas • Team Issues Issues of trust (Jarvenpaa et al, 1998;Nandhakumar, 1999 Attribution bias (Cramton, 2001)Collaborative processes (Cramton & Webber, 2000; Sahay et al 1999) Communication (Tan et al, 2000; Warkenten & Beranek, 1999).Virtual team dynamics and effectiveness (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000 Leadership (Kayworth & Leidner, 2002) • Organizational aspects of virtual teams (Jackson, 1999; Vickery, Clark, & Carlson, 1999) • Boundary Issues – Time, Distance, Organizational, Culture, etc Espinosa et al., 2002; O’Leary & Cummings, 2002; Montoya-Weiss et al., 2001 • Knowledge Management Situated learning in virtual teams (Robey, Khoo & Poers, 2000) Information Sharing in virtual teams (Crampton & Orvis, 2001) Situated Knowledge and Learning (Sole & Edmondson, 2002) Creation of Intellectual Capital (Majchrzak et al., 2002) • The Use of ICT Communication channels in building virtual relationships (Pauleen & Yoong, 2001). • Theory-based studies Adaptive Structuration (Majchrzak et al., 2000) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

29. What has the research looked at? • Creating social interaction, building trust, aligning and maintaining motivation • sharing tacit knowledge to maintain common understanding • choosing appropriate team management structures • making team member expectations explicit • Effective use of ICT David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

30. Communities of practice • Groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise. Knowledge is not some substance that can be managed from a distance like an inventory. It is part of the shared practice of communities that need it, create it, use it, debate it, distribute it, adapt it, and transform it. (Despres & Chauvel, p. 206) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

31. Characteristics of Communities of Practice Members choose to belong because they • Enjoy knowing each other • Find each other interesting • Respect each others’ perspectives Peers in the execution of real work. What holds them together is a common sense of purpose andreal need to knowwhat each other knows. - John Seely Brown, VP and Chief Scientist,Xerox Corp Verna Allee David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

32. 3 Important Dimensions Domain A domain of common knowledgegives people a sense of jointenterprise that emerges fromtheir shared understanding. Community They function as a community through relationships of mutual engagement that build relationship and trust. Practice They build capacity by building a shared repertoire of resources, tools, and artifacts that support future learning. David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington Verna Allee

33. Communities of practice • are self-organising systems • cannot be started arbitrarily • thrive under the right conditions “As communities of practice generate knowledge, they renew themselves. They give you both the golden eggs and the goose that lays them” (Wenger and Snyder, 2001, p. 9) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

34. Nurturing communities of practice requires paying attention to: • Knowledge strategy • Organisational orientation • Organisational systems • Organisational resources David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

35. Communities of practice add value to organisations by • Helping drive strategy • Starting new lines of business • Solving problems quickly • Transferring best practice • Developing professional skills • Helping recruit and train new talent David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

36. Virtual Research Communities • Geographically distributed, work across time, dynamic, etc. • Benefits (Lewis, 1998): • Reduction in costs and risks • Access to expertise and knowledge especially tacit knowledge • Personal motivations • Enter new areas, be part of something bigger than otherwise possible David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

37. ICT- The driving factor in Virtual KS • ICT links people across functions, divisions, and organizations, as well as distance, time and culture. • ICT supports the use of virtual teams, CoP’s and research communities David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

38. ICT Task /Communication-Mode Matrix Types of Tasks Communication Mode Negotiating complex sits Gen ideas/coll data Routine Problems Complex Problems Audio Good fit Poor fit Marginal fit Good fit Poor fit Marginal fit Marginal fit Good fit Video Data only Good fit Marginal fit Poor fit Poor fit F2F Marginal fit Marginal fit Good fit Good fit David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

39. Any-time Any-Place Matrix (Johansen, 1991) Application Sharing, Audio and Video conferencing, E-mail, Voice Mail, Usenet, Fax, Computer conferencing Different Time Different Place Same Time Different Place Electronic Whiteboards, Electronic Meeting Rooms, Voting Tools Desktop computers, Blackboards, Group rooms Same Time Same Place Different Time Same Place David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

40. Sharing and Distributing Knowledge – Key Questions • Who needs to know? • What do they need to know? • How much do they need to know? • How can we facilitate that? • How to share across cultures? David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

41. In Teams • How to deal with issues? From a practitioner perspective • How to research these issues? From a researcher perspective • How to set up collaborative virtual research? David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

42. Four Premises • The most valuable knowledge is tacit • “Show me” and “explain it to me” are the best ways to share knowledge • It’s not always in a person’s best interest to share knowledge • Organizations do not support this kind of sharing David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

43. The Challenges to Creating Successful Virtual knowledge Sharing Communities • Creating social interaction, building trust. Aligning and maintaining motivation • Sharing tacit knowledge to maintain common understanding • Choosing appropriate group management structures • Making community and member expectations explicit David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

44. World Bank Case study

45. Knowledge Sharing at the World Bank Clients Sea of paper Staff Electronic knowledge Information is often low quality and hard to find Tacit Knowledge Present Past Knowledge Help manager desk What the client also needs ..... Briefing Relevant polices, guidelines, procedures Relevant bibliographyreference materials Most frequently asked questions materials Relevant best practice Country conditions, correspondence personae, issues Best analytical tools, e.g. economic, financial analyses Relevant knowledge is made available just-in-time Text of previous similar task outputs Most knowledgeable gurus on key issues Relevant country, sector data Most frequently made mistakes in the past

46. AFR EAP EAP ECA LCR MNA SAR ESSD Task Teams FSI HD OPS Thematic Groups PREM Knowledge Sharing: Organization Task Teams and Thematic Groups David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

47. Knowledge Sharing: Network Activities • Thematic Groups (communities of practice) • Advisory Services (help desk facilities) • Sector Knowledge Collections (Web) • Sector Statistics and Indicators • Project Databases - Directories of Expertise • Knowledge Packs (synthesis of experience) • Dissemination (formal/informal learning) David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington

48. Knowledge Sharing: Practice University of Toronto Retired ECA Region MNA Region DEC Indonesiafield office Tax policy and administration Thematic Group Public expenditure review Mission Madagascar David J. Pauleen Victoria University of Wellington