Introduction
Organizational change can in most cases be understood as a continuous process of transmission and reception of management ideas and procedural innovations, that is, transfer of some sort of “management knowledge”. Consultancies are widely seen to play a particularly important role in this process. Management knowledge is accessed and disseminated through (i) Business Schools (ii) Practice within non-advisory businesses such as manufacturing companies, banks and insurance companies (iii) Consultancies as business to business advisory institutions. It is important to understand that management knowledge is a process, not an end.
The fundamental premise in the acquisition of management knowledge is that knowledge capital available with an organization can be leveraged towards competitive advantage.
Here are 10 amazing tips for management knowledge that will help develop, maintain and distribute knowledge.
Step 1
1. Define management knowledge for your organization: You may have some obvious answers like ‘proprietary processes’ or ‘product excellence through research and development’. Additionally, it also includes critical pieces of information about customers, competitors, stakeholders and so on.
Step 2
2. Working knowledge, not knowledge workers should be your focus: While knowledge exists at every level in the organization and in all types of organization – agrarian, industrial and service, knowledge workers refer to an apparent minority of employees, who exist mainly as professionals. The best thing therefore would be to focus on in your organization on people who know things that will probably include just about everyone.
Step 3
3. Map information flows and repositories: Effective management knowledge requires mapping knowledge flows and storage. In other words, you need to know who has the knowledge defined in point 1? What do they do with it? Who has the access to it? How is the knowledge captured and can it be replicated?
Step 4
4. Measure the value of your knowledge: Since there is no single best method, it doesn’t matter how you do it. The best place to begin would be to evaluate the worth of knowledge relative to your organization’s markets, strengths and future, so that you may discover how important these pieces of current information are.
Step 5
5. Determine whether you have the technology that supports management knowledge: You will need to understand your existing IT investments. Additionally, you may want to look into required inventory of systematic and technological innovations.
Step 6
6. Identify knowledge surplus and knowledge starved zones in your company: For effective management knowledge, you will need to ensure that knowledge flows freely. In most of the cases, information remains concentrated in one sector and flows freely there while the other sector stagnates for want of knowledge. Critical information must be shared across all areas.
Step 7
7. Identify where management knowledge-sharing relationship can be improved: Look into the areas of common interest for partners, suppliers and customers. When knowledge is effectively shared with partners, suppliers and customers, the processes become more efficient.
Step 8
8. Ensure that knowledge repertoire with you has positive outcome: The task of management knowledge is to ensure that the huge repertoire of data and information available with the company is turned into knowledge and accessible to everyone that needs it for solutions with positive outcome.
Step 9
9. Promote knowledge culture: It is the task of management knowledge in collaboration with change management to promote a culture conducive to knowledge sharing as against knowledge hoarding. The employees must be able to trust management knowledge to begin using it.
Step 10
10. Create the position of chief knowledge officer: The initiatives in context of management knowledge must be supported by the organizational management to facilitate adaptation of management knowledge. A formal position of chief knowledge officer will facilitate the process.
