People-focused knowledge management

Knowledge Management Aspects. Asterix needed to manage
knowledge much more decisively and systematically. Some KM
efforts are short term, whereas others are significantly larger
long-term efforts. The objectives of these KM efforts are to
transfer insights and concepts to build knowledge in Asterix
employees at all levels to understand its strategy, customers, and
operations, and to build understanding of the markets.
Introduction to Enterprise Situation-Handling
Enterprise situation-handling is never simple. It is invariably a
multi-objective exercise with conflicting issues and necessities to
resolve dilemmas. Normally, important situations are evolving, and
time is of the essence; slow situation-handling will cause lost oppor-
tunities or deteriorating situations. Compared to the personal case,
within the enterprise environment it becomes important to recognize
that completed situation-handling consists of three sequential
“action” tasks where the last two rely on the results from the pre-
ceding ones. Thus, valuable time may be consumed from the instant
a situation is recognized until its handling is completed. This means
that situation-handling may often need to be expedited to be effec-
tive. However, that is not simple. As a rule, important situations, 
in addition to being multi-objective, also tend to be somewhat un-
familiar with new angles and lacking in full information. Hence, 
situation-handling also becomes an exercise in uncertainty.
Enterprises employ reference models in ways similar to the
employment of mental reference models by people. Some reference
models are culturally embedded as stories or as conventions of what
people share, such as “this is the way work is done here.” Others are
embedded in the enterprise’s structural IC in the form of practices,
manual and automated systems and procedures, enterprise policies,
and the manner in which the enterprise and its work processes are
organized.
From a theoretical perspective, enterprises have situation-handling
and organizational capabilities that are similar to those on the per-
sonal level. The primary tasks are also similar to those of personal 
situation-handling as indicated in Figure 6-1. However, their func-
tional characteristics and underlying mechanisms are different.
Although complicated, many are open to observation and analysis,
and that permits insights which on the personal level may only be
speculative.
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To a large extent, the enterprise capabilities are determined by the
personal proficiencies of the organization’s employees. However, they
also are shaped by structural resources such as systems, procedures,
operational and managerial practices, organizational structure, avail-
ability of structural knowledge, and quality of information at the
point-of-action. These resources are partly possessed by individuals
but are also delivered through structural IC assets. Other factors such
as managerial and enterprise attention and priorities influence the
ability of the enterprise to act appropriately and effectively in many
situations (Davenport & Beck 2001).
In the enterprise, routine situations — recurring day-to-day busi-
ness operations such as many small steps in manufacturing, payroll,
financial transactions, or basic order fulfillment — are handled 
automatically or by people who work with established systems and 
procedures within the organizational structure and according to 
the manner in which work is organized. All these mechanisms are
designed to handle work effectively and efficiently to fulfill enterprise
objectives. In reality, most of these mechanisms bear little resem-
blance to human mental mechanisms. However, from a more abstract
systems perspective, they perform functions that are quite similar to
the personal case. For decision making this is illustrated in Figure 6-
2. Instead of knowledge and mental models, the enterprise draws
Enterprise Situation-Handling
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