KM Most Cited 10-12

Karthik GaekwadGraduate Student

, Computer Engineering

Papers Covered Todayo Exploring Internal Stickiness:

Impediments to the transfer of best practice with the firm.

o Organizational Memory: Review of concepts and Recommendations for Management.

o The firm as a distributed knowledge system: A constructionist approach.

Exploring Internal Stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of

best practice with the firm

Gabriel Szulanski, 1996

Exploring Internal Stickinesso Summary

o By Gabriel Szulanski, Wharton School of Business (1996)

o Introductiono Stages in the transfer processo Origins of Stickinesso Research Results and

Conclusions

Introduction and Definitionso Transfer of Best Practices

o Transfer: o Movement of knowledge

within the organization is a distinct experience

o Practices: o Organizations of use of

knowledgeo Contains Tacit components

embedded

Stages in the Transfer Process

o Initiationo Implementationo Ramp-Upo Integration

Initiation Stageo All events that lead to the

decision to transfero Begins when a need and the

knowledge to meet that need coexist in the organization (possibly undiscovered)

o Could take months of information collection and evaluation

Implementation Stageo Resources flow between a

source and recipient and maybe a 3rd party

o Activities diminish after the recipient beings using the transferred knowledge.

Ramp Up Stageo Concerns of the Recipient

o Identifying/solving unexpected problems

o Likely to use the new knowledge ineffectively.

Integration Stageo After the recipient achieves

satisfactory results with the transferred knowledge.

o In time, new practices become institutionalized.

Origins of Internal Stickinesso Factors that impede

knowledge transfer:o Characteristics of

o Source of Knowledgeo Recipient of Knowledgeo Knowledge Transferredo Context

Characteristics of Sourceo Lack of motivation - may

fear losing ownership, privilege, resent not being rewarded for sharing success

o Not seen as reliable, trustworthy, knowledgeable

Characteristics of Recipiento Lack of motivation

o the "not invented here" syndrome

o Lack of Absorptive capacityo Lack of ability to value,

assimilate and apply new knowledge successfully to commercial ends

o Lack of Retentive Capacityo Lack of persistence to make it

work instead of giving up and reverting to status quo

Knowledge Transferred o 2 Factors: Casual Ambiguity,

Unproven nesso Some knowledge is easier to

transfer than others. o Difficult to transfer practices that

have a high proportion of indefinable knowledge due to the tacit components

o (human skills involved, collective nature of the information, idiosyncratic features of the context )

o Knowledge that does not have a proven track record will be harder to "sell"

Characteristics of Contexto barren organizational context –

o hinders gestation and evolution of transfers.

o It would be nice to have a fertile context

o Arduous relationship between unit – o if the communication is fluid and

the overall relationship is "intimate," the transfer will go more smoothly than if the relationship is laborious and distant.

So, the question iso Out of all the factors

mentioned above, which ones are most impede the transfer of knowledge?

Research Resultso The three factors that most

impede Knowledge Transfer are:o Causal Ambiguity of the

Knowledge Transferredo Lack of Absorptive capacity of

the recipiento Arduous relationship between

the units

Discussion of Resultso Contrary to conventional wisdom

that blame only motivational factors

o Knowledge-related barriers dominate rather than motivation-related barriers

o Fundamental question: Why organizations do not know what they know?o It may be less because organizations

do not want to learn but rather because they do not know how to

Organizational Memory: Review of concepts and recommendations

for management

E. W. Stein, 1995

Summaryo Introduction and Definitionso Contents of Organizational

Memoryo Process of Organizational

Memoryo Recommendations and

conclusions

Introductiono Definition:

Organizational Memoryo Means by which knowledge

from the past is brought to bear on present activities, resulting in higher / lower levels of organizational effectiveness.

o Organizational Memory is persistent

Introductiono Reasons to explore the

concept:o Provide insight into

organizational life (as a metaphor)

o Embedded in other management theories

o Relevant to management practices

o Assist managers in solving issues related to retention of knowledge in the organization

As a metaphor

o Can steer an organization by usingo Information from the outside

worldo Information from the pasto Information about itself

o Implies that long term autonomy is dependant on memory

Relevance to management theories

o Relates dialectics ofo Learning vs. unlearningo Flexibility vs. stabilityo Human resources vs. info

resources

o Required for the decision making and planning process!

Relevant to management practices

o Significant during times of restructuring and employee turnover

o Loss of employee = leaves hole in the social interaction network

o Undermines the competitiveness and competence of the firm

o Need to retain the components!

Characteristics of Memoryo 3 types of memories

o Information tokens encoded but not sent

o Information tokens in transmission

o Information tokens that are received

Recommendations for a Manager

o Identify the types of memory that dominate in the firm?

o Examine coupling between sender and receiver?

o Consider role of short/long term memories.

o Classify the contents of memory…

Process of Organizational Memory

Provides means by which knowledge from the past affects current knowledge

Acquiring Processo Focus on learningo Different kinds of learning:

basic/higher order/ first order learning/ second order learning/single and double loop learning.

o Learning is completed when new knowledge is accepted and encoded in employee’s mind.

o Organizational learning is incomplete until individual learning is embedded !

Acquiring Processo Recommendation:

o Explore impact of both individual and organizational learning on knowledge acquisition

o What extent are single loop learning favored?

o How do organizational memories impede double loop learning?

Retention Process o “The graybeards serve as a

repository for institutional memory.”

o There are 3 categories:o Schemas: Helps people

organize efficientlyo Scripts: Describes sequence

of eventso Systems: set of inter related

elements that are connected

Retention Process

Retention Processo Recommendations:

o Examine retentive capacity of personnel/shared oSchemaoScriptsoSocial and physical structures

o Need to leverage IT to support the processes/products of organizational memory

Maintenanceo Turnover is key for this stageo Departing members introduce

holes into existing networkso Maintenance Techniques

oHire former employees as a consultant

oRecurrent social patterns of interaction

MaintenanceoRecommendations:

oAssess loss of knowledge due to turnovers

oHow to maintain different types of knowledge through communication process/repetition/sanctification and validation

Retrieval Processo Memories can be recalled to

support decision making and problem solving

o An inquirer is motivated to retrieve information if:

o the inquirer values what has been done in previous contexts

o the desired information exists and the inquirer is aware of the information

o the inquirer has the ability to search, locate, and decode the desired information

o the cost to locate the information is less than re-computing the solution from scratch

o An organization that maintains but does not use its knowledge-base is dysfunctional

Retrieval Processo Recommendations:

o Examine degree to which the firm supports the retrieval of knowledge from the past

o Impact of past knowledge on organizational effectiveness

Conclusionso Organizational Memory can

benefit a firm in many ways:o Assist managers to maintain

strategic direction over timeo Avoid reinventing old

solutionso Facilitate learningo Strengthen the identity of the

organizationo Provide newcomers with

access to experts

The Firm as a distributed Knowledge System: A

Constructionist Approach

Haridimos Tsoukas, 1996

Organizational Memoryo Summary

o By Haridimos Tsoukas, School of Economics and Management, University of Cyprus (1996)

o Introductiono Recent Developmentso Structure of Social Practiceso Industry Recipeso Conclusions

Introductiono 2 key management

questions:

o What direction should a firm channel it’s activities?

o How should a firm be organized?

Introductiono Traditional approaches

don’t take into consideration for particulars of space and time

o Full knowledge is assumedo However, this knowledge is

cannot be surveyed as a whole!

Recent Developmentso Agrees with the idea that firms

draw upon existing knowledge and it’s collective knowledge

o Individuals interact to a scenario using their past experience and create their surroundings

o This ideao Creates Taxonomieso Creates analogies between mind

and organization

Recent Developmentso Taxonomists:

o Create types of organizational knowledge and explain their implications

o Tacit v/s Explicito Against the view of Nonaka/Takeuchi

(inter connectivity between tacit & explicit)

o Analogieso Between Mind and Organizationo Knowledge is distributedo Collective mind is created as

employees interact with one another.

Recent Developmentso Human understanding uses

background knowledgeo the rationalist view is left

lacking

o The individual uses his background to a targeto Results in understanding the

target

o The background is a result of socialization

Structure of Social Practiceso Has 3 dimensions

o Normative expectationso past socializations affect

current situationso Interactive-situational

dimensionoSpecific context of activity

activates expectations

o The absence of predictable rationale results in a dispersed environment!

Structure of Social Practiceso Human decisions are always

grounded in local/socialized and personal experience

o Institutional context manages the infinite number of resulting possibilities.

o “Human agency is always confronted with specific conditions and choices”

Industry Recipeso Recipe: Consists of

background distinctions tied to a particular field of experience

o Represent tacit knowledgeo Managers must understand

distinctions to get things under control.

o Managers internalize industry specific distinction through socialization

Conclusionso Resources are created

through human interactiono Firms rely on knowledge

that is dispersed through employeeso Firm is a distributed

knowledge system

o Knowledge is a broad context

Conclusionso Management should be the

process of allowing individuals to interact; not be rule making

o The interaction of individuals creates knowledge

Discussiono I thought the first 2 papers

were easy to read and more helpful.

o I found it a little difficult to read the paper on distributed knowledge.

o The 3 papers are management type papers trying to appeal to a managerial audience inside a firm

Themes/Emphasiso The emphasis of the papers

written by Stein and Tsoukas is knowledge itself.o Stein : Knowledge in a

company in generalo Tsoukas: Breakup of

knowledge in a company.

o Emphasis of Szulanski is how to transfer knowledge in a smooth manner in a firm

Issues and questions raisedo Stein: Doesn’t mention

details about how managers should go about the recommendations.

o Tsoukas: His paper seems a little generalizedo difficult to understand the

background. o Doesn’t talk about the different

roles in the organization (Experts vs new hires)

Issues and questions raisedo Szulanski:

o How to reduce the origins of stickiness after discovering what the origins are.

o Expects the management to have solutions for that already.

Final thoughtso I think overall,

o these papers matched well together

o common theme of knowledge inside of an organization