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Knowledge and Knowledge Management at Accenture

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1. Why Knowledge and Knowledge Transfer?

2. Accenture.

3. What Are We Managing?

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Agricultural

•The Cobbler

•The Farmer

Industrial

Land

Labor

Intellect

Changing Values -Three Economies

The Knowledge Economy...

Land

Capital

1. New basis of competition --- routinization matters less than rapid learning.

2. New basis for management – not looking for compliance but innovation.

3. New basis for offerings – not more product but value added through knowledge

Knowledge

Prof Services

Advertising

Pharmaceuticals

Software/Electronics

Clothing

Consumer Products

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Organizations are looking to leverage their knowledge in the form of adding value-added services to their products

Source: Corporate Strategy Board, 2001

GE integrated into the airlines’ value chain and found more and more things to do

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Improving an organization’s ability to manage knowledge can positively impact a number of factors

Responsiveness by giving people access to the information they need when they need it, they can solve customer problems more quickly, make better decisions faster, and respond more effectively to changing market conditions.

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Improving an organization’s ability to manage knowledge can positively impact a number of factors Innovation by finding and nurturing new ideas, bringing people together in "virtual“ development teams, creating forums for brainstorming and collaboration.

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Improving an organization’s ability to manage knowledge can positively impact a number of factors

Efficiency by capturing and sharing best practices and other reusable knowledge assets organizations can shorten cycle times and minimize duplication of effort.

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1. Why Knowledge and Knowledge Transfer?

2. Accenture.

3. What Are We Managing?

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Class Discussion Questions

Accenture is an early mover and a classic example of a data-base oriented approach to KM.

Count off to five and give me a few minutes of thought on the below.• Team 1. What benefits does accenture hope to get from KM (innovation,

efficiency and effectiveness)? Give an example.• Team 2. In the vignette on page 2-3, what was the issue and how did it get

solved?• Team 3. How does knowledge exchange help? What is it composed of

and what does it do?• Team 4. Knowledge Management Roles? How many? What do they do?• Team 5. Challenges going forward and problems with posed solutions.

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Knowledge Xchange at AccentureContents Core Methodologies. Best Practices/Reusable Work Products. Discussion Databases. External Info.

Challenges 3,000 databases (5-65,000 records in each).

• How do you find things (e.g. search engines, agents)? What does this assume? • How do you organize things?

Several hundred servers for 35,000 users. How do they maintain quality in the system?

• Formally: Pre-filtering by experts.• Informally: People rely on networks.

Do you assign knowledge managers to each team?

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Knowledge Roles at Accenture

Supporting Organizational Infrastructure CIO organization

• Create global Lotus Notes applications• Set standards for contribution format, structure and location.

Over 200 full-time knowledge managers.• Sponsors – Partners responsible for creation & maintenance.• Knowledge Integrators – Content specialists.• Knowledge Base Admins – Administrative and technical D-

base work.

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Were They Successful?(A Vote)

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1. Why Knowledge and Knowledge Transfer?

2. Accenture.

3. What Are We Managing?

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We all have too much information to be efficient, responsive or innovative

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Knowledge Is Complex and Multi-DimensionalExplicit and Tacit Knowledge

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So why not just dump ideas into databases?

Give me three minutes of thought on the following question:With a year under your belt, you have learned a lot about what it takes to succeed here at McIntire. In particular, you learned a lot last year about getting internships and jobs. Rather

than let the incoming class re-learn these lessons, you have decided to share your collective wisdom to save them grief. Your job is to identify what you have to know to be successful in an interview.

Think broadly and create a list of 8 items for me in the following format:

Exactly what knowledge do these third years need?

How can you get this to them?

Company Facts…… Build a Database……

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• Company Company FactsFacts

• Current Current EventsEvents

• Personal Personal ValuesValues

• Creative Creative SolutionsSolutions

• Problem Problem SolvingSolving

• Financial Financial CalculationsCalculations

• Interpersonal Interpersonal SkillsSkills

• Sense an Sense an InterviewerInterviewer

EXPLICIT TACIT

Know What(Know the rules of

tennis)

Know How(Know how to play

tennis)

Types of Knowledge in Interviewing

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DocumentsDocumentsDatabasesDatabases

ReportsReports

• FactsFacts• IdeasIdeas• TheoriesTheories

• IntuitionIntuition• BeliefsBeliefs• ValuesValues

• RoutinesRoutines• ProceduresProcedures• InstructionsInstructions

• ExpertiseExpertise• InstinctsInstincts• Informal Informal

PracticesPractices

EXPLICIT TACIT

KnowWhat

KnowHow

ManualsManualsEngineering Engineering

MethodsMethods

DialogueDialogueConversationConversation

MentoringMentoring

ExperienceExperienceApprenticeshipsApprenticeships

CoachingCoaching

Types of Knowledge

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Knowledge Transfer(From Working Knowledge)

Lack of Trust Different Cultures, Vocabularies and

Frames of Reference Lack of Time and Physical Space

Status and Rewards Go To Knowledge Owners

Lack of Absorptive Capacity Belief That Knowledge Work Occurs

Only in Certain Groups and NIH Intolerance for Mistakes

Build through face to face. Create common ground through

education, discussion, rotation. Create time and places: Fairs,

Brown Bags, etc. Incent to Share

Educate/hire for learning Encourage non-hierarchical

approach to ideas/knowledge Accept and reward creative errors

Frictions Solutions

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Information Versus Knowledge in Retail Banking

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General Case Questions: McKINSEYCome Prepared to Discuss

• What strategically differentiates McKinsey? How does KM (repositories, collaborative technologies and employee development) play into this?

• What does the policy that McKinsey not accept routine assignments do for them strategically and organizationally (e.g., 1945 engagement guide & 1971 Commission on Firm’s Goals)?

• What were the key elements of the knowledge management project launched in 1987?

• Be prepared to discuss the Jeff Peters vignette. Specifically, how did he solve his problem?

• What challenges does McKinsey face as evidenced in the case and vignettes?