Table 7

Summary of identified KM mechanisms

No.KM mechanismDescription and explanation
1Project-based Knowledge GenerationProjects provide major contributions to effective knowledge creation and storage; experiences gained in projects (e.g. stored in documents in KIT) are shared with the whole organization
2Standardization of KM Practices and ResourcesA disciplined commitment by employees to store knowledge in KIT is central to successful KM; this behaviour is supported by two KM inputs: (1) a standard delivery process supported by audits to ensure compliance, and (2) KIT's ease of use and the usefulness for employees, supported by PQM members as ‘power users’
3Putting People in the KM CentrePeople are key assets since they work with KIT and are required to follow the prescribed processes; an area of concern are individuals not using KIT or not following the processes; a key countermeasure for ensuring quality of the content are Project Quarter Masters assigned to individual projects
4Cyclic Refinement of Knowledge into a Strategic AssetKnowledge is the key asset of the company; PQM plays a central role in linking management units to the projects (systems S1) and their environment; it is responsible for analysing the knowledge and assessing its utility for other projects, thus ensuring a knowledge cycle from and to the projects by using KIT and setting up a knowledge supply chain
5Allowing Deliberate Misalignment of KMS, KM Identity and ProcessesDespite standard KM processes being in place, employees (i.e. operational units at the lowest level of VSM recursion) use workarounds; this reflects a misalignment of KIT, KM identity and processes; this non-adherence to the prescribed processes and frequent use of workarounds impairs the knowledge supply chain
6Combining Operational and Strategic ViewKIT provides communication channels for knowledge transfer (i.e. knowledge storage and retrieval) on an operational level, while also serving the company's strategic KM outcomes; it enables the strategic staffing of projects and allows to analyse existing knowledge to gain insights for strategic decisions at the company level. This is enabled by KIT supporting communication channels and flows across the company

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