Corporate E-Learning

Welcome to the Knowledge Management workshop. Today’s culture thrives on knowledge. It is evident in the items we buy or activities we invest time managing. Possessing knowledge gives advantages in making the right decision or strategy to implement. The Internet distributes knowledge at split-second rates. Laptops and smart phones bring knowledge to our fingertips. As the old adage says, “knowledge is power.” Organizations have a wealth of knowledge accessible through the people they touch internally, like employees, and externally, like customers. Organizations that allow knowledge to go unmanaged may be giving their competitors the upper hand in the market. The organization that is able to capture, store, and retrieve knowledge effectively is then capable of learning as an organization. A learning organization is one where employees are empowered to change and develop new methods, thoughts, and strategies that will advance the mission of their organization. Knowledge Management is the establishment of a system that captures knowledge purposefully for incorporating into business strategies, policies, and practices at all levels of the company. This course will teach the learner how to initiate a knowledge management program at work. When it comes to knowledge management, any organization is able to implement a strategy. Wherever there are humans working together for one goal, there is knowledge to be harvested, stored, and dispensed as needed.

The words knowledge and management are two very broad concepts when separated. When the two words come together, it speaks of a concept that strives to organize information in a way that produces an advantage for an organization. While anyone would think that harnessing the knowledge of an organization is a positive thing to do, there are many who do not see the value of knowledge management. They may see this as a waste of time. This is true of many other disciplines like project management. Many see planning and assessing risk as time consuming. Therefore, they do not support initiatives that bring this change. In all honesty, change is the real issue. This course will give you the tools to present knowledge management to your organization in the most positive way in order to gain the right support for it to thrive in your organization. The more information you can share with your organization about knowledge management the more apt they are in accepting it. This module explains the principles, history, and application of knowledge management in the workplace. This will be the base on which we will build upon throughout the entire workshop.

There are many ways to implement knowledge management. The information available to you may be overwhelming. Understanding the types of knowledge and places to acquire it will reduce errors and increase efficiency in implementing your knowledge management project. In this module, you will learn about data, information, tacit and explicit modes of knowledge, and categories where knowledge converges.

Knowledge management is a cycle of identifying information that may or may not be useful knowledge, formatting it into usable knowledge, and integrating it into the organization. This module will teach you the basic phases in the knowledge management cycle. This information will help you communicate to those in your organization the components of knowledge management in a way that makes sense, creating more support for your project.

With the advent of information technology, knowledge management has evolved into a technological based program. Understanding what knowledge management is today requires review of what it was in the past. What and how it is applied is the overall goal of knowledge management. Understanding these concepts will allow you to understand the principles behind today’s knowledge management model. This in turn, will allow you to be more knowledgeable about the program you are about to introduce to your organization and recognize if you already have a knowledge management system in place but is outdated.

We are delving into the origins and core principles of knowledge management in this module. There are models that have influenced knowledge management greatly over the years and these are worth understanding. Again, by having more background information on the principles of knowledge management, you will be able to influence those in your organization that may not know of the origins and the extent of the history in this discipline. Many times, projects are doomed when the stakeholders do not understand the product. Lack of information when attempting to create change will typically create resistance to the change. Let us increase your knowledge and ability to share it.

All projects must a have a reason for its existence. Implementing a knowledge management program is no different. A good rationale for implementing knowledge management will help influence those that control budgets to see the value of sinking funds into your project. This module will help you develop a solid rational for implementing knowledge management in your organization, by building a business case, sharing success stories, and making the knowledge in your organization valuable by making it a commodity.

At this point, you want to customize what knowledge management will look like within your organization. This is important because your project stakeholders would like to know what you are attempting to achieve. Without a clear definition of what knowledge management will be in your organization, you may lose support for your project. In this module, you will learn how to define your knowledge management project by identifying the components, customizing them to suit your organization in a body of knowledge.

Now you are ready to put together your project plan. Like in any other project, there is a level of support both politically and financially. The more organized and detailed your plan is, the more your chances of support increases. Management rarely supports poorly planned projects, especially in tight budget situations. In this module, you will learn how to gather support, find funding for your project, map a plan, and implement your project in the case where there is no budget available for your project.

You need all the help you can get when trying to create a change as great as the one involved with implementing knowledge management within your organization. Items that help to increase success may include a person in charge of knowledge management at you organization. This is just one example. In this module, you will learn the tips to successful implementation of knowledge management at the workplace.

This module will discuss some advance concepts related to knowledge management. These concepts will help you understand when knowledge management becomes a mature program in your organization. In addition, you will learn how to keep it healthy and strong throughout the years after it has been implemented.

Although this workshop is ending, we hope that your journey to improve your knowledge management is just beginning. Please take a moment to review and update your action plan. This will be a key tool to guide your progress in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We wish you the best of luck on the rest of your travels!