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April 26, 1999

Sharing Knowledge
Editor's Note: Transferring Knowledge

By Eric Chabrow

Sharing Knowledge

Editor's Note

CIO Panel

Building A Culture

Corporate Portals

The Role Of IT

nowledge management--or knowledge sharing, as some of its practitioners prefer to call it--is not about IT; it's about how people share ideas and best practices. But without a technology infrastructure, knowledge sharing cannot exist within an organization. Technology is the engine that drives knowledge management.

Specialty chemical maker Buckman Laboratories in Memphis, Tenn., transformed its IT function into the knowledge-transfer department. "We wanted them to focus on transferring knowledge instead of being IS … a name that really doesn't describe what they're trying to do," says CEO and knowledge-management champion Robert Buckman. He chatted with two other knowledge-sharing practitioners, Hubert Saint-Onge, senior VP of strategic capabilities at the Mutual Group, a Canadian financial-services company, and Thomas Brailsford, manager of knowledge leadership at Hallmark Cards, the Kansas City, Mo., greeting-card maker. They discussed how their companies approach knowledge management. An edited transcript of their conversation begins here.

A growing number of IT executives recognize the need for synergy between knowledge management and information technology. Eight of 10 IT executives define knowledge management as a blend of technology and best practices, according to an InformationWeek Research survey of 200 IT executives.

A culture that lets managers and employees share best practices is no more evident than at American Management Systems. The management consulting firm established communities in which designated experts--called associates--located around the globe can dispense their know-how to any of the company's 8,000 employees over a Lotus Notes groupware system, explains Susan Hanley, senior principal and director of knowledge management initiatives (Building A Culture).

Knowledge management works best when it's incorporated into existing jobs, though it is often seen as just one more thing to do. Seven of 10 IT executives surveyed said knowledge assets are managed within their organizations as an additional task for managers and staff.

For the IT organization, adding knowledge-sharing responsibilities may represent more of a change in mind-set than in tasks, says Christine Ferrusi Ross, research manager at AnswerThink Consulting Group. So, for example, when helping a user resolve a technical problem, an IT professional should focus on the ultimate goals of users and businesses rather than a mere technical solution, Ferrusi Ross writes (The Role Of IT).

Getting knowledge to the knowledge worker is another challenge IT staffs confront. The business portal--the inside-the-firewalls version of My Yahoo--offers one solution. Portals help individual employees manage the overwhelming amount of information they need to become efficient knowledge workers, which, in turn, helps their companies minimize risks and maximize profits, says Thomas Koulopoulos, president of the Delphi Group, a consulting and market-research firm specializing in knowledge, document, and workflow management (Corporate Portals).

Connecting those information sources will be where IT plays a critical role in creating successful knowledge-sharing organizations. Let us know what you think about IT's role in knowledge management at the address below.

Eric Chabrow
Editor, Special Projects
echabrow@cmp.com