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People-Focused Knowledge Management
need to be acknowledged and included when collaboration
teams are structured and evaluated. In most instances, people
who wish to act in support roles are
crucial for performing the
enterprise’s basic work tasks.
Still, most people are eager to take on broader responsibili-
ties that allow them to use their versatility, be more flexible,
and adjust their work to facilitate the situation at hand. They
frequently report greater job satisfaction and feelings of per-
sonal rewards as a result. Greater customer satisfaction, lower
costs, reduced error rates, and increased preventions of mishaps
are reported by enterprises that support employees to build
knowledge and accept increased responsibilities in areas of
competence.
More importantly, the increased innovation that
produces new approaches for enterprise strategies, tactics, and
services is significant and leads to a considerable increase in
structural intellectual capital.
Management philosophy must support changes in the enter-
prise culture, particularly through practices and incentives to
approve and foster new behaviors that must become “the way
things are done around here.”
2. Deliberate and Systematic Knowledge Management
If we accept that it is correct that personal knowledge and
structural IC assets in general are the most important factors
behind enterprise success, then
these assets must be managed
diligently. These assets must be created, renewed, and exploited
for the greatest benefits for all concerned by deliberate and sys-
tematic KM. That includes a widespread intellectual asset man-
agement mentality and culture, which we will discuss further
below. The purpose of KM is the systematic, explicit, and delib-
erate
building, renewal, and application of IC assets to maxi-
mize the enterprise’s knowledge-related effectiveness and the
returns from these assets.
3. Knowledge and Other Resources
Professional, craft, navigational knowledge, metaknowledge,
information, and other necessary resources must be made avail-
able for employees to deliver quality work products that satisfy
the requirements of the situation and the general service para-
digm. Employees must possess requisite skills and attitudes and
be supported in their ability to think
critically and creatively by
being provided with relevant metaknowledge. They must be
provided with all other essential resources to handle situations
appropriately.
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The Effective Enterprise
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4. Motivation and Personal Energy
Employees must be energized and motivated to be willing to
act effectively and intelligently — “to do the right thing” — by
knowing that they are provided with understanding and have
emotional acceptance of how their actions will be of value to
stakeholders, to the enterprise, and, most importantly, to them-
selves.
In addition, they must have the secure understanding
that “doing the right thing” can be accomplished with the avail-
able resources. Motivation is the most important and difficult
factor to effectuate. It requires honest and ethical behavioral
and communication approaches to create trust and goodwill
that will be new to most organizations. As an example, Figure
2-5 indicates how appropriate management behavior generally
can be expected to lead to high workplace respect, which is a
precursor to positive workplace
cooperation that results in
achieving desired outcomes.
In addition, energy is a necessity for success — personal
energy to pursue situation information, search and innovate
aggressively to identify and create the best approaches to handle
situations, act decisively, and monitor with strong leadership
(Loehr & Schwartz 2003).
5. Opportunities
Employees must be placed in situations that require compe-
tent handling and offer them the opportunity to contribute and
use their capabilities. Frequently,
organizations fail to take
advantage of the important expertise possessed by many of
their employees and that results in less than desirable quality
of work and unhappy employees who feel they are neglected.
A totally different kind of opportunity that has resulted in
highly valuable innovations is created when employees, as well
as outsiders, are allowed to collaborate — or meet informally
— to explore ideas and potentials for new approaches, solu-
tions, and products and services. Valuable knowledge-
related opportunities include:
— Opportunities to create and innovate.
— Opportunities to contribute and be recognized.
— Opportunities to perform and deliver value.
— Opportunities
to learn, network, and share valuable
knowledge.
Work flows must be organized to take advantage of people’s
capabilities and to exploit the potentials for innovation and
application of diversity.
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