Knowledge Management in the SocioTechnical World

The effective use of knowledge management in organisations is an essential factor in their successful operation, but knowledge management is a many faceted domain, in which there is a danger of emphasising only a limited view.

This chapter takes a sociotechnical perspective on the organisational issue of knowledge management.

Current management theory is urging managers to lead their organisations to become “learning organizations” (Senge, 1990) and proactively to manage knowledge as a strategic element of their organisations’ asset base. Some are suggesting that being a successful knowledge-based organisation is both a precondition and a necessary condition to competing and surviving in this century’s knowledge-based economy (Drucker, 1988; Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Sveiby, 1997). Increasingly, these exhortations are highlighting the necessity for the appropriate organisational culture being in place to be successful in the knowledge management arena.

During recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in knowledge management and organisational learning. But why focus on a subject that, at some level, has been around since the pre-Socratic philosophers? The answer to the question is manifold. One explanation is that knowledge and improvement of knowledge is considered to be crucial for the performance and development of organisations. It is also argued that in our contemporary society knowledge is an important asset in order to reach sustainable competitive advantage (see for example Drucker, 1993; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Quintas, Lefrere and Jones, 1997; Davenport and Prusak, 1998). One question of concern is what are the implications of seeing knowledge as an organisational asset? When comparing intangible assets, such as knowledge, with tangible assets, such as machines or land, they can hardly be treated as having the same properties. Another question is: how should we relate knowledge to the organisation’s total ability to perform actions and deliver value to its customers? Is knowledge the only constituent of organisational ability or are there other inherent parts? The purpose of this chapter is to investigate these questions and thereby develop the notion of organisational ability In order to do this the chapter begins by looking at some theories around the area of interest.

Many organisations today are making large investments in their information systems to enhance the creation and sharing of knowledge among individuals in the organisation. Despite such large investments and concerted efforts by managers, many of these attempts to build corporate knowledge management systems (advanced information systems built to support systematically a company’s effort to manage knowledge) have not been able to produce the intended return on investment. The symptoms of wasted investment vary from a total abandonment of the system to the accumulation of a large body of irrelevant and outdated static documents that yield little practical value to the intended users.

The effective design of usable information systems has been a particular challenge in recent years. The initial effect of the introduction of computer systems into organisations was to reduce greatly the socialisation opportunities inherent in a working situation. The incorporation of organisations’ information systems into communication networks is introducing new forms of distance and distributed socialisation, the dynamics of which are currently still emerging and little understood.

In an uncertain economic and business environment, knowledge is “the one source of lasting competitive advantage” (Nonaka, 1991), with products and services essentially differentiated by knowledge and intellectual capital.

In recent years, there has been increasing research interest in the management of knowledge in relation to organisational efficiency (Grant 1996; Kogut and Zander, 1996) and competitive advantage (Matusik and Hill, 1998). This has included a particular focus on the anticipated significance of “knowledge-intensive” (Starbuck, 1992) sectors such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology (IT) and the service industry (Pisano, 1994; Klavans and Deeds, 1997; Boisot and Griffiths, 1999). Relatively few studies have examined the dynamics of knowledge management in the retailing sector. To fill this gap, an in-depth case study of a knowledge-intensive organisation in the British retailing industry was conducted to gain much needed empirical evidence relating to knowledge management (Leidner, 1999).

Competition in the current global market is becoming ever more intense. As companies seek new ways to leverage their resources to gain competitive advantage, there has been a growing awareness that knowledge that exists within a company is one of its most valuable assets (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge management has been increasingly recognised as an important activity for many large multinational companies (KPMG, 1998). Current literature in knowledge management and organisational learning shows that one of the major lines of thought emphasises human networks.

Information technology (IT) can be used as an enabler for the acquisition and reuse of knowledge. The development of IT-based information systems for knowledge management is not an easy task to accomplish. Issues concerning the reuse and acquisition of knowledge, user participation in the development process, and considerations concerning control and the working environment, are of importance when developing IT-based information systems for knowledge management.

The organisation investigated in this case study is the Royal Naval School of Educational and Training Technology (RNSETT). RNSETT is the “lead school” for educational and training technology within the Royal Navy (RN) and provides policy, training, advice and consultancy to all RN organisations involved in training. The RNSETT Mission Statement is: “To identify, disseminate and assure Educational and Training Technology best practice throughout the Naval Service”.

A clear understanding of what constitutes knowledge, knowledge management, knowledge processes (identification, collection, organisation, sharing, adaptation, usage and re-creation), and knowledge enablers (culture, technology, measurement, strategy and leadership) is essential. The aim is both to increase and to enable an individual to participate in decision making based on value-added information in addition to being in a position to exercise control over his or her work domain. This chapter advocates the appropriate use of technology for culture and social norms, which may be seen as a core need for knowledge management success. The coverage is primarily on knowledge know-how and, more so perhaps, minimal critical specification in terms of sociotechnical principles (Cherns, 1976, 1987).

This chapter describes a knowledge requirement system (KRS), which is an approach to determining the requirements of information technology (IT)-enabled business systems. KRS is the outcome of a research study conducted in the retail sector that identified serious problems, including a knowledge and communication gap between developers and the business that has proved a significant barrier to the successful development of information systems.

This chapter looks at two international and multisite management consultancies and contrasts how knowledge management initiatives in two organisations were organised and developed.

This conclusion takes an overview of the book’s four sections, and reviews what has been added to the body of knowledge from the sociotechnical point of view.