People-focused knowledge management

Examples of Tools and Approaches: Programs for importing 
valuable external knowledge (benchmarking, collaborating with 
suppliers and customers, university relationships, etc.); environment 
and incentives to motivate employees to be practically creative and
innovative. Knowledge management professionals support operating
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entities in creating and conducting knowledge acquisition and 
creation activities and capabilities.
Knowledge Sharing and
Information Transfer Focus
By having access to better knowledge throughout the enterprise,
knowledge workers can innovate and adopt the most suitable 
practices and approaches and thereby deliver higher quality work. 
In addition, situation-handling is performed better when knowl-
edge workers are provided with excellent, up-to-date information 
(by being “informed that”) on the most effective approaches, prac-
tices, and solutions. By using qualified knowledge management pro-
fessionals, the knowledge transfer becomes more effective and
valuable and demands less time and effort from the knowledge
workers. Technology solutions provide these services with great 
effectiveness (Dixon 2000).
Purpose: Make available best available knowledge and facilitate
its use at each point of action (PoA) to allow knowledge workers to
deliver quality work for all activities, operations, and plans through-
out the enterprise; facilitate communication between individuals;
facilitate locating relevant information; screen information for appro-
priateness; reformat and organize information to facilitate end-use.
Examples of Tools and Approaches: Multiple approaches to 
transferring knowledge to points of action ranging from ad hoc to
systematic and well-designed methods; comprehensive and targeted
educational and knowledge distribution capabilities; identification of
specific knowledge requirements in key functions for transfer of
appropriate knowledge to PoAs. Knowledge management profes-
sionals act as knowledge-sharing facilitators by organizing knowl-
edge sharing events, by conducting knowledge elicitation and
organization for communicating knowledge to users (ranging from
conducting and documenting knowledge acquisitions to creation of
educational materials, including training program designers as well
as instructors and the like). Knowledge management professionals
assist in identifying and characterizing knowledge requirements 
for key functions. In addition, E-Mail/Intranet; Internet/WWW;
Groupware to support widespread collaboration; Global Information
Sharing System; “Yellow Pages” — Intranet homepages for each
Examples of Knowledge Management Practices and Initiatives
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employee with competencies and interests. Information specialists
provide information-facilitation services by obtaining requests for
information.
Information Technology-Based Knowledge
Capture and Delivery Focus
Information technology (IT) provides capabilities to organize,
reorganize, handle, store, locate, distribute, and present information
faster, with greater precision, in greater volume, with better timeli-
ness than otherwise possible. Technology-based approaches are used
to mine and capture historical knowledge from well-known and
routine tasks more effectively and comprehensively than people are
able to do. Knowledge workers perform better when they have access
to excellent, up-to-date knowledge (by “understanding how”) on 
the most effective approaches, practices, and solutions.