Five Cs of Knowledge Management

Stan Garfield
1. Capture
2. Curate
3. Connect
4. Collaborate
5. Create

Knowledge is the lifeblood of every company. Without capturing knowledge, you’ll find it
difficult to make decisions, learn from mistakes, develop new products. Knowledge
Management is the approach to capture, organize and share knowledge with both internal and
external stakeholders.
- It is the process of capturing, distributing and effectively using knowledge (Tom
Davenport, 1994)
- Making knowledge available to everyone in the team instead of having it reside in the
heads of few
Types:
1. Explicit Knowledge – information that can be codified and communicated; easy to share
and can be quickly understood by others (e.g. standard operating procedures,
documentation, training programs, employee handbooks, HR policies)
2. Tacit Knowledge – harder to capture than explicit knowledge; comprises the skills and
experience of employee that is difficult to explain and share (e.g. know-hows, design
skills, etc.)
3. Implicit Knowledge – similar to tacit except that it can be more easily be codified;
embedded in the organization’s process and is currently unarticulated (e.g. cultural)

Value of KM:
1. Capture valuable information from different sources that can be used to create articles,
videos and similar resources that help users solve their problems (Faster decision
making)
2. Easily track down resources through a centralized platform (Efficient access to
knowledge and information)
3. Cultivate an environment where knowledge is valued (Improve quality of information
and data)
4. Help treat knowledgeable employees as an asset (optimized training)
5. increase collaboration and idea generation, enhancing communication throughout
organization)
6. More security for intellectual property
Knowledge Management is the process of organizing, creating, using, and sharing collective knowledge
within an organization and includes maintaining information in a place where it is easy to access.

Types:
1. Explicit – knowledge that is easy to write down and share
2. Implicit – applied knowledge
3. Tacit – knowledge gained from personal experience
4. Declarative – static knowledge that is specific to a topic
5. Procedural – knowledge that focuses on the ‘how
6. A posteriori – subjective knowledge gained from individual experience
7. A priori – knowledge gained independent from evidence

Process
1. Creation
2. Organization
3. Sharing

KM Manager is responsible for ensuring employees have easy access to the essential information they
need to be productive.
- Establishes the processes and procedures how knowledge is stored and shared throughout the
organization
- Set the tone for a culture of knowledge storage and sharing throughout their organization,
making sure the right knowledge gets to the right people without the risk of information
overload

Documentation

People Processes

Onboarding Practice

Knowledge
Manegement
Information Technology

Training Advice

Continuous
Expertise
Improvement
Introduction to Knowledge Management in the Public Sector
DAP Webinar – John Del Rosario

Knowledge
- Human or organizational asset enabling effective decisions and actions in context
- Intellectual capital (human, relationship [knowledge exist in the interaction of people],
organizational)
- Can be found Individual, work unit and organizational

Knowledge that is not applied is worthless.

Knowledge resources – what organizations have or need to have
Intellectual capital – how organizations apply or use their knowledge resources
From intellectual capital to intellectual property – from innovations to patents
The role of research and development – create and apply knowledge to increase organizational
value

How?
Stakeholders > Strategic Thrusts > Operations > Performance competencies & organizational
capabilities > results & evidence > satisfaction of stakeholder needs

Knowledge Management
- Managing the environment and the organizational/ institutional and individual/ personal
processes that assure the application or use knowledge produces the results that
provide value for stakeholders
- Use and apply knowledge
- KMS, OMS, Knowledge maps, expert directories (in & out of the organization),
transactive memory system (who knows what network), service-level agreement
between and among work units, job rotation among heads or managers, communities of
practice, benchmarking and localization of best or good practices, knowledge databases,
repositories, or portals, quality circles, action research, research and development

Why KM?
- Most, if not all, work in organizations are knowledge-abled.
- People bring in, share, use, and leave with knowledge.
- Learning happens all the time in organizations.

SECI Model of Knowledge Conversion (Ikujiro Nonaka, 1990)

- Socialization – tacit to tacit (undocumented conversations)
- Externalization – tacit to explicit (reports, documentations)
- Combination – explicit to explicit (operations manual to schedule work)
- Internationalization – explicit to tacit (report to learning/ application)
Domains of Practice
1. Context Management and KM Audit – What is the correct knowledge needed by the
organization?
2. Strategic KM – What knowledge are connected to the strategic thrusts of the
organization?
3. Operational KM – How is knowledge integrated in the operations of the organization?
4. KM Technology – What are the tools used to make KM easier, faster and reliable?
5. Performance Management – Connected to the performance, evaluation, merit system
6. Organizational Learning – Knowledge continuously grows thru learning.
7. Innovation Management
8. KM Project Management – Will it work for the organization or not? It should be tested.
9. KM Change Management – KM produces changes. KM culture affects change culture in
the organization.
10. Intellectual Capital Management – Investment and how to valuate knowledge; what will
it cost the organization
11. Research and Development – Create knowledge
12. Intellectual Property Management – ideas/ products patent
13. Information Management – How knowledge is stored
14. Organizational Communication – How knowledge is shared
15. Competency and Capability Development and Management – Knowledge should fuel/
drive competencies of people and the organization; what knowledge is needed to upskill
or build capacities of people
16. KM Evidence-based management, metrics and analytics – Knowledge is a tool that
shows evidence of results
17. ISO 30401: 2018 – Knowledge Management System -