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Que es el conocimiento? Conocimiento: The ideas or understandings which an entity possesses that are used to take effective action to achieve the entity's goal(s). This knowledge is specific to the entity which created it.

Why is knowledge valuable? In today's fast-paced society, an entity's knowledge base is quickly becoming it's only sustainable competitive advantage. As such, this resource must be protected, cultivated and shared among entity members. Until recently, companies could succeed based upon the individual knowledge of a handful of strategically positioned individuals. However, when competitors promise more knowledge as part of their services, the competition is over. Why? Because organizational knowledge does not replace individual knowledge; it complements individual knowledge, making it stronger and broader. Thus, the full utilization of an entity's knowledge base, coupled with the potential of individual skills, competencies, thoughts, innovations and ideas will enable a company to compete more effectively in the future.

What is knowledge management? The systematic process of finding, selecting, organizing, distilling and presenting information in a way that improves an employee's comprehension in a specific area of interest. Knowledge management helps an organization to gain insight and understanding from its own experience. Specific knowledge management activities help focus the organization on acquiring, storing and utilizing knowledge for such things as problem solving, dynamic learning, strategic planning and decision making. It also protects intellectual assets from decay, adds to firm intelligence and provides increased flexibility.

Why use a knowledge management tool/system? Many companies have vital knowledge resting with one individual and do little to make the knowledge more generally available. Many companies are unaware of their own knowledge base and evidence has shown that knowledge is often lost from a company through employee attrition or related cost saving measures.

Communities with purpose The only limit to potential subject matter for a community of practice is that it must serve the enterprise’s strategic and business goals. Rather than establish a program simply because it seems like a good idea, the first step is to identify why the organization needs one. Communities of practice should have a purpose centered around the members’ work activities. When deciding what communities should be developed, look to areas of business that will provide the best opportunity for a return. Because support resources are limited, says Eric Lesser, an executive consultant and research manager at IBM’s Institute for Knowledge Management in Cambridge, Mass., "An organization should be sure that the communities it provides resources to have a clear business impact."

Therefore, planners should ask two questions early in the process, according to Etienne Wenger, an independent consultant on communities based in North San Juan, Calif.: "What knowledge do we need to share? What kinds of activities will facilitate sharing it?"

Despite their presence, it’s surprising how often these communities work in isolation when their members and the overall enterprise could profit from sharing knowledge and collaborating with others. In one client engagement at a pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Lesser says, IBM discovered that research scientists in its different labs didn’t know what one another were doing and what knowledge resources were available in other parts of the organization. Instead, they were turning to academics and other outside sources for advice and information when they could have received it faster and at less cost from fellow scientists in-house.

Lesser advises companies to map their existing communities, then layer a formal community program on top of the ones that are properly aligned with company objectives and goals. Doing so, he says, can save time and resources.

Population practices When you have identified the areas worthy of focus for a community of practice, it’s time to enlist the right people as members. First off, communities need the support of senior management, particularly an influential executive who sees the value of the project. This support, consultants say, provides the "political cover" under which a community can garner resources. These resources can include conference spaces, travel costs for the occasional face-to-face meeting, IT access and freedom during work hours for members to devote time to the community. (Ejem incluir a Susana Romagni)

The second addition should be experts in the community’s field from within the organization. Besides the obvious means of identifying experts, such as targeting people who have published articles and received academic or business awards, analyzing existing informal communities may reveal other potential members. The added value of this method is that if experts are already part of a prototype community, they are likely to be receptive to joining the more formal one. Of course, the aim is not to create a community of experts who share only among themselves. For maximum impact, a community must disseminate expertise to as large a group as is appropriate. The other members should be people who have a "passion to learn" about the subject, Hanley says. They can be among a community’s most valuable participants, as their eagerness and interest help to draw out the tacit knowledge of subject experts.

Such passionate learners may be among the "core" members who inaugurate the community. Typically, core members are a mix of volunteers from the ranks and those whom upper management appoints to participate. Once core members are on board, one of their first duties should be to network throughout the enterprise seeking others who are interested in their topic area.

Expanding beyond the core group requires marketing. IBM’s Lesser suggests posting paper notices on bulletin boards, passing out fliers, speaking personally with potential members and spreading the word through e-mail and other online means. Not only is this necessary when initiating the community, the effort must be repeated to refresh the membership throughout the community’s life cycle, according to Lesser. "Marketing a community is a continuous, ongoing process," he says.

This is not to say that everyone should be included in every conversation. Consultants point out that private chat rooms or bulletin boards might be necessary for members exchanging valuable proprietary information or for a community that mentors senior managers. Or it might take the offer of private online space to persuade experts to cooperate with the larger membership. Such levels of access bring up the issue of management. Communities of practice don’t run themselves. Most have at least three official or semiofficial functions. The first and most important is the community sponsor, who is usually a member of the senior management team. Typically, the sponsor provides direction for the community, promotes it and the community concept, and appoints and works with the community leader. The community leader’s job is to keep the community of practice going by scheduling online events, picking topics for discussion, providing informative materials and the like. The leader is also charged with recruiting new members and keeping current ones involved. This person should be picked for social and organizational skills, not for subject expertise. "It’s rare that you will have both an expert and a community leader in the same person," says Richard McDermott, president of McDermott Consulting in Boulder, Colo.

Without active leaders, many communities of practice won’t achieve their goals. As a negative case in point, one of Ericsson Research Canada’s first communities of practice went on "life support" just a few months after it was launched, Hemre says. The community leader was transferred to another job in the organization’s California operations, and without the leader to steer the group, set meetings and agendas, and oversee the marketing to recruit new members, activity within the community fell off precipitously, Hemre recalls. He and his group tried to revive it by appointing a new leader, but it was too late, he says. Eventually, they had to pull the plug on that community.

The third necessary position is community manager, also called knowledge manager. This person performs many operational duties of running and monitoring the community’s online venue and its content, such as keeping its database updated.

Typically, when new communities of practice are launched, senior managers or members of the knowledge management team choose the leaders who will govern those communities. But Schlumberger takes a different approach. Its communities are democratic, according to McDermott, who helped Schlumberger to launch its first communities. Each community of practice writes a constitution rather than a charter and elects its community leaders, he says. This choice, Edmundson says, "provided a complete break with the existing management structure of the organization." Nos parece una manera muy interesante de estimular a la gente a comenzar a utilizar la comunidad, el hecho de abrir un foro para que la gente participe proponiendo reglas ahorraría además mucho trabajo para el administrador, puesto que no va a tener que inventarlas el solo y su aceptación se facilitaría enormemente.

Maintain continuity A basic tenet of real estate economics is that once a community is built it begins to deteriorate. The same can happen with a community of practice if it isn’t maintained and nourished. As well as continuous marketing, it is necessary to schedule regular events, both online and off, to keep your communities thriving. Among these events may be discussions (hosted or free-form), guest lectures and question-and-answer periods.

Por qué implementer KM, Objeciones y Respuestas???

"Why should we invest in KM? It is expensive and time consuming." The long-term benefits of KM systems are well worth an initial investment of resources. For example, a Knowledge Management database can: otherwise be spent searching
 * Provide fast, easy access to prior work that can be re-purposed, or to new ideas
 * Save hours in classroom time by delivering "just -in-time" information and advice
 * Put essential information at employees' fingertips, saving valuable time that would
 * Spread expertise company-wide, including "best practices" and "lessons learned"

"Our employees will never use this kind of system. They don't want to play with a computer; they want to be in the field, doing their jobs!" Employees will use and contribute to KM systems if there are clear benefits to doing so, including: their concerns and priorities
 * Extrinsic rewards for contributions to the system, at least initially
 * Credit for contributions to the system
 * Time saved by having essential resources at their fingertips, resources that address
 * The ability to instantly collaborate with colleagues, regardless of location
 * Access to expert advice in the form of "best practices"
 * The opportunity to learn from others' mistakes by studying "lessons learned."

"People don't want to share what they know. Knowledge is power in our organization." This kind of change isn't easy, especially in places where worth has traditionally been defined by the individual possession of expertise. Organizations introducing a KM system must create a new culture, one where:
 * Collaboration and teamwork are encouraged and expected
 * Sharing and creating knowledge yields tangible rewards
 * Job security is an issue for employees who are not contributing to the system

Bibliografía:

Something in Common .PDF Autor: By Philip J. Gill KM+FAQ .PDF Autor: Desconocido