People-focused knowledge management

We Are Far From Finished!
As noted throughout this book, we really do not understand much
yet about knowledge. Our understanding of the cognitive aspects of
human functioning (as related to work) is marginal, and we have no
accepted economic “theory of knowledge.” Nor do we have a general
understanding of how to undertake comprehensive and systematic
knowledge management within an organization. We may need an
entirely new theory of the firm for us to manage knowledge effec-
tively — and to tie it properly to enterprise strategizing, tactics, and
daily operations while recognizing that people and their behaviors
contribute much more to enterprise success than conventional assets.
Advanced management teams are already aware that they 
need to manage knowledge-related activities systematically and
explicitly. They have numerous options, and we see many dif-
ferent approaches to applied KM. As the world gains further
experience, we expect to see strong patterns of what works 
well and what may be questionable or what only applies in 
specialized situations.
A new competitive battleground is emerging in which knowl-
edge and ICs are the ammunition. We can foresee difficulties for
“old guard” management teams who rely on tangible and visible
aspects of work and on conventional wisdom. There will be
greater differences between those who act proactively and those
who follow.
New advances in KM and the adoption of broad KM practices
will bring about great possibilities for creating new economi-
cally important products and services.
From a KM perspective, we need to develop and capture 
more successful working methods and approaches, including
computer-based tools.
We hope that KM will become a great equalizer between the haves
and have-nots, both within different nations and between nations.
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People-Focused Knowledge Management Expectations
269
Clearly, the knowledge possessed by a person is a separator (“knowl-
edge is power”), and good education provides a considerable edge.
However, when working in the developing world, we have often
found that people’s mental machinery — their intelligence and atti-
tude — is a greater resource than what they know and understand.
Given that finding, as well as the increasing levels of education in
many developing nations, we have the potential that people every-
where can participate in the knowledge economy more equitably 
than before.
One key lesson is that we need to adopt greater people-focused
perspectives of knowledge. To be viable, we need constant learning,
led by constant innovation. Technology only goes so far; it can only
provide us with rudimentary reasoning devoid of innovation and
with rather concrete analyses of the past through approaches such as
knowledge discovery in databases. People are the real intelligent
agents, those that see and act on new opportunities that really are
creations of the mind. It is those opportunities that will bring the
world forward.
In spite of all present limitations, KM is already very useful, even
when its scope is narrow. The saving grace is that the playing field is
quite level. For the next decade, most everyone is a beginner!
New Enterprises and Integrative Management
The modern enterprise must adopt integrating practices to ascer-
tain that internal operations everywhere are developed and con-
ducted in harmony. Mutually dependent functions need to support
each other during operations and to change in coordination with
others when adapting to new business situations. Integrative man-
agement and analysis formalize collaborative practices that combine
modern human resource practices such as cognitive science-observant
people management with systems perspectives, management science
methodologies, and considerations for interactions between opera-
tional entities’ and stakeholders’ short-term and long-term objectives,
marketplace performance, and conducive management philosophies.
Needs for integrative management are driven by increasingly
complex business environments and workplaces. Implementation of
integrative management in most organizations leads to considerable
changes, particularly in terms of new incentives, policies, practices,
and infrastructure.
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People-Focused Knowledge Management
The enterprise’s ability to adopt and practice integrative manage-
ment rests on its intangible capital. It also rests on people’s knowl-
edge, understanding, and motivation and on pertinent infrastructure,
including information management, the knowledge distribution
system, and automated methodologies such as comprehensive
dynamic simulation models. The success of integrative management
is a function of the enterprise’s ability to act — the value of its intan-
gible capital and its distribution throughout the organization.
The integration of activities within the enterprise is not new.
However, explicit and systematic integration of management and
operational plans and actions with broad perspectives is new.
Durable success and viability have always required coordination of
activities in different parts of the enterprise. However, integrative
management, as it is now seen, goes further. By considering enter-
prise strategy and short-term and long-term objectives held by rele-
vant stakeholders, it involves the integration of current activities 
and future plans while exploring potentials for joint, synergistic
approaches. It also considers impacts such as important peripheral
and long-term implications and side-effects that affect operational
departments and the creation of products and services. Integrative
management recognizes the interconnectedness of mutually depen-
dent functions and pursues systems perspectives that incorporate
dynamics and interactions between all affected subsystems.