People-focused knowledge management

Problems with Conventional Knowledge Management
The forays of Informatics (Information Management/Information
Technology — IM/IT) into KM during the 1990s were largely ad hoc
and were not solidly founded on a deeper understanding of such 
fundamentals as cognitive processes of people-at-work, business
functions, or management philosophies and practices. The lack of
customer sophistication and understanding may partly be to blame
for unsophisticated market offerings and supplier focus on relatively
simple solutions. When acquiring a KM/ERP system, many organi-
zations are still surprised to find that they have installed not only a
broad-ranging IM/IT capability but also a rigorous system of man-
agement and operations practices that are at odds with their man-
agement philosophies and business practices. Yet other problems
have surfaced:
Idealistic KM system implementers working in isolation 
from senior management create capabilities that match their 
personal beliefs and understandings of best operating prac-
tices but not those that the enterprise prefers. It is thereby 
provided with a capability that may not be used fully — or 
will force operating practices that may not be in its best 
interest.
KM systems have been promoted to have unrealistic capabili-
ties, with resulting frustrations, disappointments and, fre-
quently, cancellations.
Instead of focusing on business needs and opportunities, the
focus has been on introducing KM as a generic capability of
unquestioned but unspecified value. Many such KM efforts have
been found to be of limited business value.
Many KM efforts have failed after having been introduced
without allocating sufficient effort — capable personnel and
other resources.
KM problems caused by lack of understanding of the long dura-
tion before the initial KM efforts translate into enterprise
bottom-line results.
Most KM practitioners are aware of such problems and are
working to heighten the level of understanding of what KM requires
and to improve KM and related practices. As a result of these efforts,
NGKM has emerged, providing KM practitioners with increasingly
effective capabilities.
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People-Focused Knowledge Management in Daily Operations
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Fahey and Prusak (1998) highlighted another perspective on the
problems often associated with conventional KM as “The Eleven
Deadliest Sins of KM”:
1. Not developing a working definition of knowledge
2. Emphasizing knowledge stock, not knowledge flow
3. Viewing knowledge as existing mainly outside people
4. Not understanding that a fundamental KM purpose is to
create shared contexts
5. Paying little heed to the role and importance of tacit 
knowledge
6. Separating knowledge from its uses
7. Downplaying thinking and reasoning
8. Focusing on the past and present and not on the future
9. Failing to recognize the importance of experimentation
10. Substituting technological contact for human interface
11. Seeking to develop direct measures of knowledge