=Paper=
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|id=Vol-34/paper-7
|storemode=property
|title=Knowledge Management and Collaboration
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-34/clarke_cooper.pdf
|volume=Vol-34
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/pakm/ClarkeC00
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==Knowledge Management and Collaboration==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-34/clarke_cooper.pdf
Knowledge Management And Collaboration
Peter Clarke & Maggie Cooper
Department of Computing
City University, Northampton Square
LONDON. EC1V 0HB
[Peter Clarke is also an e business consultant with ICL]
P.Clarke@city.ac.uk maggie@soi.city.ac.uk
Peter.Clarke@icl.com
Abstract 1 Introduction
UK companies appear to need little convincing that they
We report on a study of the relationship must develop knowledge management policies. They are
purchasing knowledge management software and services
between collaboration and knowledge at a prodigious rate. Ovum, for example, predicts that the
management. Successful knowledge market for knowledge management software will grow
management projects encourage and from $515 million in 1999 to $3.5 billion in 2004. In the
enhance collaboration between same period, it estimates that the knowledge management
employees. The presence of services market will grow from $2.6 billion to just over
$8.8 billion [Ovu99]. But it is clear from survey evidence
‘collaborative’ technologies might help that most companies have only just begun the process of
that process but does not automatically developing successful knowledge management policies.
increase collaboration. Empirical
evidence is taken from a broad range of Cranfield Information Systems Research Centre carried out
organisations: Anglian Water plc, BG a postal survey of knowledge management in European
businesses during 1998. It received 260 responses. Using
Technology, BP Amoco plc, Ernst and this information Murray concludes that it is ‘early days’for
Young and the European Bank for knowledge management in industry [Mur99]. Interestingly
Reconstruction and Development 70% chose to define knowledge management as “the
(EBRD). Four of these organisations collection of processes that govern the creation,
dissemination, and utilisation of knowledge to fulfil
focus their knowledge management
organisational objectives.” This definition does not refer
policy on the development of their to technologies or tools.
corporate intranet. The empirical
evidence shows that knowledge At about the same time, the American Management
management is a collaborative activity, Association conducted a survey by fax in November 1998
[AMA98]. It received 1,051 responses. Respondents were
which depends on the creation of
asked if they had a knowledge management programme in
‘shared context’ between the place. 21% replied “yes, an effective one”; 16% “yes, but
participants. This is more likely to in name only – no real knowledge management is taking
occur with a combination of face-to- place”. 15% expected to implement a programme in the
face meetings and machine-mediated near future and 41% had no plans to introduce one. As
with the European Survey, companies were asked “which
communications.
of these statements best reflects your company's definition
__________________ of knowledge management?” (Respondents were asked to
The copyright of this paper belongs to the paper’s authors. Permission
tick all that applied but it is unclear whether the responses
to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provide that came from all the respondents or whether the statistics
copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage exclude those who said they had no plans to introduce a
Proc. of the Third Int. Conf. On Practical Aspects of knowledge management policy.) 29% replied, “Managing
Knowledge Management (PAKM2000) tangible intellectual capital – copyrights, patents, licenses,
Basel, Switzerland , 30 – 31 Oct. 2000, (U Reimer, ed.) royalties, etc.”; 62% “Gathering, organizing, and sharing
http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/Publications/SEUR-WS/Vol-34/ the organization's information and knowledge assets”; 61%
“Creating work environments for the sharing and transfer
of knowledge among workers.”
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-1
Others such as Rajan, as reported in the Financial Times
are dismissive; in a survey of 14,000 companies involved 4. Does knowledge management require face-to-face
with knowledge management, of 6000 usable responses, communication or will machine-mediated communication
only 140 were worth discussing. “The rest were misusing suffice?
the phrase knowledge management” [Mai99]. This is
unfair, given that the field is developing. Even early
1.2 The Machine-mediated Workspace
adopters, like Buckman Labs in the USA, report an
iterative process. Buckman points out that their knowledge The incremental incursion of computers throughout
management programme began in 1988 with the organisations has seen a development from isolated use for
introduction of e-mail, and has gone through three batch applications, such as accounts and payroll, to
technology driven enhancements [Buc00]. ubiquitous use for word processing, databases,
spreadsheets, etc. Now each application is potentially
For the purpose of this study, knowledge management is available to all employees if an intranet is used. This
defined as the “three main knowledge activities: delivers an on-screen ‘desktop’, providing a powerful,
generation, codification, and transfer.” [Rug97] multi-faceted and multi-channel means of communication
between employees, between the organisation and its
Knowledge management as currently practised by UK employees and between those employees and the outside
organisations appears to be interlocked with the world.
development of corporate intranets. In some quarters, this
information technology is thought of as a ‘knowledge tool’ Information technology alters the contours of reality
or ‘knowledge network’. A plethora of proprietary making work more abstract, and allowing intelligence to be
knowledge management applications are appearing. Some programmed and organizational memory and visibility to
products work as middleware, providing search and be increased [Zub88]. Intranets have, in many
retrieval tools within an intranet environment. Others are organisations, produced a virtual space into which the
communication tools, providing synchronous and more tangible environment of work merges. Preparing
asynchronous one-to-one and many-to-many reports and presentations, receiving and transmitting
communication by displaying words and symbols, voice, information, analysing data, logging timesheets,
pictures or video clips. maintaining financial records, allocating and processing
work tasks, even seeking authority for actions, can now
take place automatically or semi-automatically via the
1.1 Issues desktop computer connected to an intranet. This is the
The key focus of this paper is the relationship between machine-mediated workspace. It provides organisations
collaboration and knowledge management. It tests this with effective tools for operating in a more unified way at
relationship via a series of high level interviews and study geographically dispersed locations, and can facilitate the
of unpublished and published sources on corporate creation, in part or whole, of virtual organisations. As the
knowledge management practices. Empirical evidence is machine-mediated workspace has become more prevalent,
sought from a broad range of organisations: Anglian Water knowledge has taken on a new significance both as a goal
plc, BG Technology, BP Amoco plc, Ernst and Young and in itself and as a means of achieving organisational
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development objectives.
(EBRD). It is assumed that the success of knowledge
management depends on collaborative practices. This 2 What is Knowledge Management?
raises four areas of investigation:
At this point, it will be useful to revisit the definition of
knowledge management. On the face of it, definition
1. To what extent do organisations recognise that
might be regarded as self evident, since the component
knowledge management depends on collaboration, and to
words are both in common usage. Alternatively it can be
what extent are they trying to encourage collaboration?
viewed as an oxymoron. (How can an intangible such as
knowledge be managed?). Neither view is correct.
2. If organisations recognise the importance of
Business interest in knowledge management is specific,
collaboration, to what extent are communication and
and the definition is conditioned by that interest. It is that
collaboration supported and managed, and what role does
set of corporate policies which “explicitly enable and
information technology play?
enhance the productivity“ of activities which involve “the
movement of knowledge from one location to another and
3. Can the availability of collaborative information
its subsequent absorption” to yield the value of that
technology (such as an intranet) of itself stimulate
knowledge for the group as well as the individual [Rug97].
collaboration between employees? If it can, to what extent
is this due to the creation of shared context? Can the
It is common ground that knowledge may be classified as
machine-mediated workspace take on characteristics which
either explicit or tacit. Explicit knowledge is codified in
assist in the creation of new tacit knowledge?
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-2
corporate procedures, policies, manuals, computer engineering. The knowledge that they take with them is
programmes, dialogue scripts for call centre operators and permanently lost to the organisation and often cannot be
so on. Tacit knowledge is not codified. On the contrary it duplicated by the employees who remain. More
is ‘fuzzy’ and is found inside the heads of employees, in alarmingly, disenchanted employees may take their
accepted but un-codified practices adopted by employees, knowledge to competitors, or set up in business themselves
and in an unorganised way within computers in files or to challenge their ‘re-engineered’former employers.
large data sets.
2.2 The Role of Collaboration
Knowledge is created by human interaction with
information [DP97] [DP98] [Hon95]. This interaction can The role of collaboration, such as knowledge sharing, and
bring about different interpretations or even different the creation of shared context, are neglected factors in the
knowledge depending on the previous experience of the literature on knowledge management. More emphasis is
person interacting with the information, their access to placed on communication rather than collaboration.
existing information, their ability to process and Communication may imply collaboration between sender
understand the information, their specific purpose and their and recipient, but this supposition must be tested against
ability to communicate it effectively to those around them. empirical evidence.
A study of thirty-one knowledge management projects in
2.1 Why Knowledge Management? twenty-four companies, recognise the importance of
During the past five years many organisations have seen knowledge sharing [DLB98]. The American Productivity
knowledge as the key to the competitive advantage they and Quality Centre carried out a survey of the cultural
need to prosper or even survive. The growth in business barriers to knowledge transfer [OG98] [Szu94]. This
interest in knowledge management is largely due to its found that a knowledge transfer required a supportive,
potential to contribute to a range of key business collaborative culture and elimination of traditional
objectives, most specifically that it can improve rivalries. It assumes a basic level of organisational skills
profitability. Global organisations are focusing on such as teamwork.
knowledge management to drive innovation, refine
products or customer service, refresh and re-value The creation of shared context is crucial to knowledge
intellectual property and improve organisational best management; shared context is defined as “a shared
practice to respond faster to the market. understanding of an organisation’s external and internal
worlds and how these worlds are connected.” [FP98]
It is recognised that knowledge is an intangible asset, but
some see it as equally important as the physical assets of This deserves more detailed explanation. The supposition
organisations. The argument goes that, given the right is that shared context is developed by something more than
circumstances, tacit knowledge can be converted into communication, casual acquaintance or an awareness of a
better practice, new products or services. In other words, group of people who share interest in a topic or topics. It
creativity can convert knowledge into innovation, the requires some bonding activity to take place, perhaps a
lifeblood of a viable enterprise [Eco95] [Eco96]. face-to-face meeting, an exchange of views, the
establishment of a common vocabulary, and perhaps a
Academic interest in ‘knowledge management’ has correlation of beliefs, attitudes and opinions about the
developed over the past fifteen years. Initially it was participants. It may involve subjective factors such as
associated with artificial intelligence and expert systems whether the participants ‘like’ each other. It may also
[BM86] [Mac94]. Some suggest it is linked with data involve knowing that the people in the group are liked by
mining, the extraction of value and the search for patterns others outside the group, whose opinion is valued by
in huge stores of data, say, on customer transactions. Later members of the group. In a business environment, shared
it became associated with electronic document context may be a common understanding about business
management systems and workflow. There is now growing direction (future vision), objectives, methods of working
interest in ‘customer relations management’ as a sub-set of and spheres of influence and activity.
knowledge management [Qui92].
Groupware is built on the premise that it co-ordinates
Corporate interest in knowledge management intensified activities across time and space, and for many users this
with the publication of two books, Wellsprings of presents a radically different understanding of technology
Knowledge [Leo95] and The Knowledge Creating compared to previous experience [Orl93]. Groupware in
Company [NT95]. These books came at a time when US the workplace increases the opportunities for collaboration,
corporations were beginning to question the ‘slash and insight, knowledge production and value generation and
burn’ techniques which had become associated with “accelerates the conflation of learning and working”; but it
Business Process Re-engineering [HC93]. It did matter if is not a “dream come true”, as these opportunities are
experienced employees left as a consequence of re- seldom realised [Zub96]. Intranets offer the potential for
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-3
capturing and sharing knowledge, but in addition, it is Their intranet, despite being called “HAWK” – Harnessing
necessary to understand team dynamics to understand how Anglian Water’s Knowledge – appears to play a secondary
to implement groupware [Hil97]. If an organisation’s role in their knowledge management policy.
culture is collaborative the technology will support that
culture, but it cannot create a collaborative culture where The knowledge management policy is driven by culture in
one does not exist [Orl93]. one organisation, content in another, whilst at the
remaining three culture and technology go ‘hand in hand’.
At some the initiative is a joint effort between the Human
3 Empirical Evidence Resources and IT departments. In one, Information
Evidence about the existence of collaborative knowledge Scientists are in the lead. In another, the IT department is
management practices is sought by means of case studies, in the lead. Leadership of the project has a direct bearing
based on a structured interview lasting between half an on whether technology, culture or content is to the fore.
hour and three hours, with follow up contacts, plus
examination of published and unpublished documents Three organisations have specific ‘knowledge management
including material on the internet. Data from interviews tools’on their intranet platform. One is trying to use a tool
were verified and supplemented using corporate which is accessible via the intranet, but is not supported.
documents and externally published material. This causes difficulties in maintaining the availability of
the knowledge management application. Most are search
and retrieval tools. However one application produces a
3.1 Case studies
map of the knowledge arriving from external sources.
Case studies were carried out at Anglian Water plc, BG Presented as an island with contours, this is used to
Technology, BP Amoco plc, Ernst and Young, and the demonstrate the proximity of issues and is especially useful
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in detecting joint initiatives between competitors.
(EBRD).
Teams exist within all the organisations, nested within a
The organisations vary in size from 600 employees at BG hierarchical framework. However, some hierarchies are
Technology (within an organisation of 16,500) to over flatter than others. No probing took place on the
100,000 in the case of BP Amoco. They are in different definitions used by the respective organisations of the term
economic sectors, facing different demands for innovation ‘team’. However, BP Amoco, BG Technology and Ernst
of product or process. All operate at diverse locations and and Young recognise the special significance of the term
all have an international dimension. Three see themselves and have policies which provide support to teams.
as ‘global’, by which they mean they operate in a global
marketplace and have global competitors. One, by
definition, is international, though it does not see itself as 3.2 Collaboration
global. (It is an international organisation formed by Increased collaboration is an explicit objective of the
Treaty, so it does not have competitors in the strictly knowledge management policy in four of the five
commercial sense but is expected to meet normal examples. Indeed BP Amoco and Ernst and Young have
commercial criteria in its transactions.) active methodologies in place to develop collaboration. In
one case this is explicitly to create ‘Virtual Teams’ and in
All five have an intranet. In three cases this is based on another ‘Dynamic Knowledge Networks’. Ernst and
Lotus Notes (which would have formerly been referred to Young’s policy is particularly interesting. They allow
as ‘groupware’). Windows NT is used in at least one case. ‘Communities of Interest Networks’ to develop naturally.
Most appear to have introduced an intranet when their They intervene to resource the activity if it meets the
existing groupware application upgraded to intranet organisation’s criteria for business benefit in relation to
technology. overall corporate strategy. The ultimate goal is to create a
“Dynamic Knowledge Network”.
In four cases there is an explicit link between the concept
or term ‘knowledge’ and the intranet, in two cases by the BG Technology recognise that communities and teams
use of the word ‘knowledge’ as part of the corporate name have different characteristics and need different levels of
for their intranet. support, and both are encouraged as fora for collaboration.
Knowledge management is at different stages in each case. Anglian Water use an aggressive socialisation programme,
Earlier adopters of intranets, for example, BP Amoco and known within the organisation as ‘The Journey’ to help
Ernst and Young appear to be furthest ahead with their develop a collaborative culture. This has improved
knowledge management initiatives. However, Anglian collaborative work in teams, which are an established part
Water’s goal is to be a ‘learning organisation’, which they of the organisational hierarchy. However, networks and
see as distinct from the concept of knowledge communities have also developed as additional means of
management. This policy is in place and fully operational. collaboration.
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-4
Interestingly Ernst and Young depend upon word of
The evidence shows that new collaborative corporate mouth, rather than MIS information, to learn about the
structures are present. They are described as ‘networks’ or creation and early operation of ‘Communities of Interest
‘communities’, and only in one case as ‘teams’. ‘Teams’, Networks’, as they are allowed to develop naturally.
where present, appear to be a construct firmly within the
power of the organisation. But ‘networks’ and In four of the five cases the information technology is
‘communities’ are allowed to develop more freely and cut being developed in a way which supports the existing
across organisational and professional boundaries. All culture, be that culture ‘person to person’ or ‘person to
recognise that they cannot be imposed, though some paper’. However, in one case knowledge management is
encourage their development. However, a team can only being promoted as a means of making a competitive
be created by the organisation, and its full life cycle can be organisational culture more collaborative. This is
observed in the organisations under study. Teams are interesting because usually collaboration is seen as the
typically nested within hierarchical structures. There were means to achieving better knowledge management rather
no cases where the teams, networks or communities have than the end in itself.
replaced, or are likely to replace, the traditional
hierarchies. At BG Technology the importance of using information
technology to support teams and communities is
Increased collaboration appears to be stimulated by the recognised, but each receives a different level of support.
increased opportunity for communication provided by Face-to-face meetings between team members are still
information technology. This is irrespective of whether regarded as important. Anglian Water relies almost
the corporate knowledge management initiative is content, exclusively on a face-to-face approach. BP Amoco and
technology or culture led. Ernst and Young are operating larger and global
organisations, and take steps to reduce unnecessary face-
to-face meetings (to reduce cost and maximise the
3.2.1 Remarks on Collaboration
effectiveness of employees’ time). However, both
The empirical evidence demonstrates the clear value given recognise the vital importance of face-to-face meetings as a
by organisations to collaboration as an underpinning of basis for developing collaboration, which can then be
their knowledge management policies. New internal carried forward via technology. BP Amoco recognise that
organisational forms, called by some ‘networks’ and others electronic media must transmit meta-data and personal
‘communities’, are prevalent as vehicles for collaboration. information if it is to facilitate successful communication.
These compare to ‘clans’ and ‘fiefs’ which form in most This role underpins the support information technology
organisations [Boi95] [Boi98]. Futurologists who extol gives to their model of Virtual Team-work. Consequently
virtual organisations point to the proliferation of networks they are using video or web-cam technology to develop
as an expression of this new, more fluid, organisational one-to-one and many-to-many contacts.
form [Bar97] [DM92] [HW97].
At Anglian Water a more open and collaborative culture
In all cases, where these new structures are allowed to was created by ‘The Journey’. Later an intranet was built,
develop, they appear to make little impact on corporate and is increasingly being used, but it is not seen as the
policy on ‘teams’, except that it is recognised that teams principal vehicle for communication or collaboration.
are now better supported as a result of knowledge
management. In two cases corporate delayering is one of The case of the EBRD is interesting because it appears that
the drivers of the knowledge management. In one case this the mere existence of the technology is stimulating new
gives emphasis to teams. patterns of collaboration despite the corporate culture.
3.3 IT Support for Communication and Collaboration 3.3.1 Remarks on IT Support for Communication and
The evidence demonstrates a close link between Collaboration
knowledge management and information technology in The evidence suggests that knowledge management in its
four of the five cases. In these cases knowledge post-1995 guise would not have evolved without the
management would not have happened without an intranet. development of sophisticated communication and
At BP Amoco and Ernst and Young well established collaboration information technologies. In at least one of
methodologies for developing meetings and brainstorming the case studies, cultural and corporate developments are
are in place. Information technology is integral to the mapped closely to the developing capabilities of
development of Virtual Teams at BP Amoco and Dynamic information technology, each new technology being
Knowledge Networks at Ernst and Young. It supports exploited as soon as practical. In three cases, technology
channels of communication and collaboration and MIS is the servant, perhaps shaping the situation, but being
(Management Information System) information for the adapted according to the specific cultural requirements of
management and development of the teams or networks. the organisation. In one case the development is cultural
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-5
and information technology plays little or no role. led knowledge management can provide organisations with
increased opportunities for collaboration. But unless
organisations are aware of the complexity and the subtlety
3.4 IT as a Stimulus of Collaboration Between
of the human forces in play and understand how to work
Employees
with them, they are unlikely to gain real benefit.
Information technology is creating the opportunity to
collaborate, and in four of the five cases that opportunity is
being seized. In two of the five cases, participants are 3.5 Communication
steered towards collaboration by the inclusion of a A great deal of evidence is provided on communication or
collaborative metric within corporate performance the transfer of information. In all cases information
assessment schemes. However, in one of these cases, it is technology is being used to increase the channels of
admitted that they are yet to obtain total compliance with communication, both between the organisation and
the scheme. The other offered no evidence to suggest that employees, and between employees. Information
the policy has teeth. Some might suspect that cynical technology has improved the efficiency of transferring
employees will do whatever is necessary to make the information. Improved communication is the foundation
assessment metric work, which may have little to do with for all the knowledge management initiatives examined in
collaboration, but no evidence of this was found. the case studies.
In the case of the EBRD, collaboration is clearly being Standard corporate information is now being made
stimulated solely by the opportunity provided by the available in original form to all employees with access to
intranet. There is some evidence to suggest that this is the intranet. This has the advantage of ensuring no delay
causing cultural waves, not all positive, because it cuts in the diffusion of information and no alterations, for
across professional boundaries. example, by errors in re-broadcasting it. But it does not
guarantee the absorption of the information. Simultaneous
Clearly some individuals respond positively to the diffusion is seen as important where employees have to
opportunity to collaborate and some do not. For the operate standard procedures in diverse locations. Global
former, the machine may add to, if not create, shared organisations valued this improvement, finding
context. In three of the five cases, private ‘team rooms’ information technology more reliable and faster than
are being used for collaboration. There is corporate previous forms of communication, especially with
awareness of the importance of respecting this privacy, but asynchronous working. Indeed, some are taking advantage
Ernst and Young makes subtle and successful attempts to of the benefits of asynchronous communication which
yield corporate benefit from it. information technology facilitates.
Information technology now allowed graphics, pictures
3.4.1 Remarks on IT as a Stimulus of Collaboration
and video clips to be used to supplement written
Between Employees
communication. Video conferencing facilities are being
Machine-mediated collaboration is occurring, some of developed in one case as a prelude to collaboration.
which is stimulated by corporate assessment and reward
schemes, and some by peer group pressure. However, Common intranet content included specific information
some appears to be stimulated by IT alone. about individuals within the organisation and their skills,
known commonly as ‘Yellow Pages directories’. These
The existence of pockets of privacy within the virtual provide modified CVs with pictures and telephone
spaces provided by an intranet may be part of the attraction numbers for follow-up contact. Some organisations
of collaboration. It allows individuals the opportunity to mediate this content by making it subject to standard
brainstorm in unorthodox ways , to be credited and corporate assessment interviews. Elsewhere, established
recognised for their ideas and other contributions, and informal procedures are allowed to take their course;
considerations like status may be set aside, perhaps employees are no less likely to claim expertise in areas
promoting a healthy disrespect for established corporate where they have none than they were in a non computer-
policy. In all circumstances, collaboration via the mediated workspace. Indeed, there are reasons for
machine-mediated workspace appears to be occurring believing that such claims will be less likely since the
because it brings rewards to the individuals involved. broadcast capacity of the intranet enhances the chance of
false claims being discovered.
Of course, this may only be a modern expression of the
age-old informal webs of communication which exist Establishing such a register of skills is an important
within organisations. Though the evidence obtained on ‘codification’ exercise in four of the five organisations
this issue is crude, it sheds light on the frequently made studied. However, none have achieved 100% participation
suggestion that successful knowledge management cannot by employees; most are aware of the extent of take-up as a
be technology led. These findings suggest that technology- metric for judging success.
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-6
the link between successful knowledge management and
The case studies point to a huge increase in the collaboration. In other words, knowledge management can
codification of explicit knowledge made available by be successfully developed by corporate policy (such as the
search and retrieval software. There is evidence that its decision to establish a corporate intranet) so long as this
wide availability stimulates more meaningful contact, for technological development is accompanied by the adoption
example when establishing project teams or solving of collaborative strategies (such as the encouragement of
specific problems. BG Technology, BP Amoco and Ernst networks or communities of practice).
and Young see this as an important contribution to
corporate effectiveness. Shared context has to be created to facilitate collaboration.
It may be created by an intranet, but it seems unlikely that
In three cases incoming electronic data feeds such as this alone can create shared context. It is more likely to be
Reuters Business Briefing are being used. Search and created by a combination of face-to-face meetings and
retrieval push technologies are found useful in filtering machine-mediated communications.
these feeds. Here the communication is one way – the
objective is to provide high-grade information tailored to Networks and communities were revealed as more
individual employees requirements. ‘Information important structures for stimulating collaboration than
overload’is being experienced at one of the organisations. teams. There is some evidence to suggest that shared
context, a key ingredient for collaboration, is present in
The distinction between ‘person to person’ culture and networks and communities. More detailed work is
‘person to document’ culture [HNT99] is meaningful to necessary on these emerging corporate forms to document
those questioned in each of the case studies. Some, but not their lifecycle and map the development of the
all, are conscious of this distinction when designing their collaboration they stimulate. It would be interesting to
knowledge management initiative and its IT support. establish where they rank compared to ‘groups’ and
‘teams’[JJ94] [SW95].
3.5.1 Remarks on Communication
The operation of networks or communities in practice
Knowledge management as practised by in the case study requires study to determine the extent to which they
organisations is focused on increasing machine-mediated contribute to the cognitive processes of individual learning.
communication, though not necessarily on increasing face- At a higher level, do companies see knowledge
to-face communication. management interlocking with their corporate learning and
training policies? Networks and communities should be
It is possible to understand the corporate rationale for assessed to determine if they are delivering the expected
starting knowledge management by improving the means rewards to the company. Other strategies for encouraging
of internal communication. It is a positive first step which collaboration within the machine-mediated workspace
leaves undisturbed the more sensitive issue of the cognitive must be evaluated. This has important implications for the
processes of knowledge generation. These issues are development of business-to-business and business-to-
sensitive because they are embedded both in the customer e-commerce, and for IT mediated distance
individual’s self-perception and the corporate culture. learning policies.
Hierarchical patterns of communication and control, The case studies offer evidence that in four of the five
supplemented by informal patterns of communication, are cases, knowledge management delivers rewards to the
the norm within organisations. It is clear, however, that IT organisation. However, organisations appear to be a long
supplements and augments those channels, and makes way from directly tapping the tacit knowledge they so
possible other internal corporate structures. In particular, value, but are gaining from its generation and transfer.
the ability to compress time and space adds new This is a result of having created the right circumstances in
communication capabilities. These are being exploited by which the generation and transfer of explicit knowledge
global organisations such as BP Amoco, BG Technology can occur, with and without machine mediation.
and Ernst and Young. It is interesting to note that these Employees perceive that a knowledge management policy
opportunities are played down at Anglian, despite their offers them recognition, valuing their skills and
potential to improve communication over such a large knowledge, irrespective of their position within the
operating area. It is said that only face-to-face organisation. This may play a role in encouraging
communication offers an equal chance to communicate to employees to make full use of the corporate intranet.
all employees.
More work is needed on the motivations to collaborate
4 Discussion: Collaboration and Knowledge [Axe90] [Lun97]. Is there the wholehearted collaboration
Management that one would expect to take place between willing and
equal partners? How far does such collaboration go in the
The evidence above suggests that there is recognition of
machine-mediated work-space? What is the impact of
P.Clarke, M.Cooper 6-7
ideals such as equality and justice? for managing corporate intranets, which are burgeoning.
Organisations which do not deploy that rationale may more
Further work is necessary to discover why some employees quickly experience information overload and other
collaborate via the machine-mediated workspace and why detrimental effects from intranets. However, organisations
others do not. Is this a function of individual technical which pursue knowledge management policies are more
ability or does the presence of an intranet merely stimulate likely to succeed if they complement technological
those who are already more likely to collaborate? For developments with the development of collaborative
example, those who are altruistic, or egalitarian, in nature? strategies. The encouragement of employee-run networks
or communities of practice seems to be one successful
It is assumed that collaboration has to be voluntary. Yet strategy, providing both employees and the company with
employees enter into a contract with their organisation rewards from knowledge management within the machine-
which implies that they must collaborate both with the mediated workspace.
organisation and with others to fulfil that contract.
Collaboration which is not voluntary may not be optimal, 6 References
but since organisations must make all the gains they can, it
[AMA99] A.M.A. Knowledge Management AMA Survey
is wrong to assume that only optimal behaviour will
by Fax.At www.amanet.org/research/reports.htm 1999
suffice.
[Axe90] R. Axelrod. The Evolution of Co-operation
Penguin, Harmsworth, 1990.
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