See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/290219024

Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources And Efficiency Areas

Of Knowledge Management (part II)

Article  in  Foundations of Management · June 2015

DOI: 10.1515/fman-2015-0042

CITATIONS READS

2 84

1 author:

Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki
Warsaw University of Technology
53 PUBLICATIONS   91 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Ustawa 2.0. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki on 22 January 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Foundations of Management, Vol. 7 (2015), ISSN 2080-7279
DOI: 10.1515/fman-2015-0042 267

STRUCTURING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT – LEVELS, RESOURCES

AND EFFICIENCY AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (part II)
Janusz ZAWIŁA-NIEDŹWIECKI
Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Management, Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Part 1 of this article has been published in the article Structuring Knowledge Management –
Classical Theory, Strategic Initiation and Operational Knowledge Management (DOI: 10.1515/fman-
2015-0041). The previous article presented process cycles of knowledge management. This article pro-
poses a layered model of knowledge management, and then shows how to organize knowledge man-
agement, both in terms of organizational structure management, and structuring knowledge resources.
Keywords: knowledge management, organization of knowledge management, resources of knowledge.
“The irony of life lies in the fact that one lives it going
forward and understands it looking back”
Soren Kierkegaard: On the concept of irony with continuous
reference to Socrates

1 The organization of knowledge manage- of such knowledge management to a separate organ-

ment1 izational structure. However, a mechanism is needed
which will ensure that individual organizational cells
(The framework of the concept introduced follows will effectively act on behalf of:
organizational roles: coordinator of knowledge man-  obtaining knowledge not only for one’s own use,
agement, manager of an area of knowledge, leader but for the needs of the rest of the organization,
of an area of knowledge.) if that procurement naturally lies in the range
The process of knowledge management accompanies of their abilities,
all other processes. It is realized in all organizational  searching for tacit knowledge,
cells. It is intertwined with the substantive activity  formulating knowledge in keeping with estab-
of those cells, is part of their activity and conditions lished rules, and
their activity since knowledge constitutes the most  introducing tools to collect and provide access
sophisticated part of its information resources. It is to knowledge.
not, thus, sensible to prepare actions that constitute
This mechanism must function on a current basis
knowledge management from the activity of individ-
along with other substantive tasks of each organiza-
ual organizational cells and grant the conducting
tional cell, which superficially can remain in conflict
                                                            
1
Part I of this paper is article Structuring Knowledge Manage-
with the operational priorities of these cells. That is
ment – Classical Theory, Strategic Initiation and Operational why supervision is needed to fulfil the obligations
Knowledge Management (DOI: 10.1515/fman-2015-0041). of knowledge management as well as an audit of the
The article is a generalization of a project executed for a munici-
pal heating company in a large city that was organizing, for the effectiveness of this management.
first time, systematic corporate knowledge management. In the
framework of this project a dedicated solution of knowledge
One should aim for the indication of a position as
management was developed in a network organization with high up as possible in the hierarchy of the organiza-
a large range of functionality. The project was implemented tion of a person that will supervise the entire process
solution that enabled by knowledge management, the challenge
of ordering experience and potential competences: R&D center, of knowledge management – its owner as a coordina-
factories of heat, municipal distribution networks, service cen- tor of knowledge management. The placing of this
ters, customer billing center, specialized organizational units
of business analytics. The specific aim of the project was position in the organizational structure is of course
to increase the value of the company in connection with the possible in different variants – it is worthwhile con-
privatization prepared. This was treated as a starting point for sidering the eventual joining of this role with tasks
consideration of the operationalization of the approach to build-
ing a knowledge management system. such as the coordination of systems of quality man-

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
268 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

agement. The coordinator of knowledge management bilities related to actions on behalf of the procure-
is to concentrate all actions that make up or consti- ment and formalization of knowledge in selected
tute knowledge management and its particular role is organizational cells. These will be the leaders
the designation of the principles and forms of audit- of individual knowledge areas.
ing knowledge management in individual cells. Advanced knowledge management requires infor-
A deep knowledge of the essence of the needs and mation and communication technology (ICT) tools
mechanisms of acting in knowledge management is while a special role needs to be assigned to IT ser-
not needed for this. Specialist actions in the process vice cells before which are the tasks of procurement,
of coordinating as well as an audit can be performed introduction and exploitation of special IT systems,
by the coordinator of knowledge management specialized databases and the IT management
through employees of the organization – specialists of their access.
from various areas (appropriately selected for indi- Since there are no reasons to create new organiza-
vidual areas of expertise and trained in the field tional cells specially dedicated to conducting
of knowledge management). This is analogous to the the process of knowledge management, this means
role of internal auditors of the ISO 9001 quality as- that upon all organizational cells and their managers
surance system. should be lain tasks in the area of planning the de-
And in particular areas of knowledge, one should velopment of knowledge, revealing tacit knowledge,
aim at indicating the position responsible for the codification of explicit knowledge, implementation
administration of the process of knowledge man- of procurement solutions, formulation and provision
agement in a given area. In doing so, one should of access to knowledge and establishing local (in the
rather not aim at creating a special organizational framework of a given organizational cell) principles
structure dedicated to the issue of knowledge man- of management.
agement. There are two basic reasons for this:
 knowledge management is a process that natural- 2 The structure of the levels of knowledge
ly exists (perhaps only tacit knowledge) in the and its management
conducting of business processes in organizations
thus it is spread throughout the entire organiza- There exist a number of approaches to knowledge
tion and concerns all organizational cells, management (see Table 1, column 2), which have
 the mechanisms of managing such a process are significantly separate goals and principles [2; 3,
in keeping with the general principles of a pro- p. 74]. The original proposition described further on
quality approach, which work in many organiza- is based on the concept of sustainable management
tions and is a form of progressing to matrix man- and joins elements of several approaches on the basis
agement, characteristic for a process-based of perceived levels by means of an analogy to net-
approach. work services in telecommunication (what is known
as Open Systems Interconnection OSI). This is illus-
In conjunction with this one should rather aim for
trated by Table 1.
a broadening of tasks of selected organizational cells
on knowledge management in areas that are the sub- Such a construction of an integrated knowledge
ject of their specialization. It is necessary to assign management system enables, or relatively disengages
the persons managing these cells to be the managers – that is in a coordinated manner, but still in various
of knowledge areas responsible for administering the orders, in other times and by separate groups of peo-
process of knowledge management in a given ple – the solution of organizational matters or those
knowledge area. These roles become part of the task related to processes, resources or personnel policy.
structure set upon the formal structure. In the extent The building of an integrated approach with levels
of the process of knowledge management a depend- occurs from the organizational level to the level
ency arises in relation to the coordinator of the intellect, that is, an agreed upon order of levels
of knowledge management. It might also be neces- interpreted from the bottom to the top of the table.
sary to select more persons with broader responsi-

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources and Efficiency Areas of Knowledge Management 269

Table 1. Layers and formal approaches to the sustainable management of knowledge

(source: [6, inspired 1 and 5])
Agreed level Dominant approach
level of the intellect (relations of persons as well as the interpretation of
behavioral approach
content)
level of content (area of knowledge) resource-based approach

operational level (revealing knowledge and managing it) process-based approach

organizational level (strategy, structure, audit) systems approach

At the organizational level the matters of the organi- to the user and appropriate from the point of view
zational structure dedicated to knowledge manage- of the organizational and operational utilization
ment are defined – both formally separated of knowledge resources already collected. The con-
(dedicated organizational cells) and for task taking vention of the spirals of perfection ensures an on-
(work, task, ad hoc, temporary and implementation going compromise of needs and possibilities. (In the
groups, etc.) as well as the role (dependency), rights research project this matter was taken into considera-
and responsibilities in the area of goals of knowledge tion in such a manner, that the process of knowledge
management designated in this level. management was designed and the basic procedure
Utilization is made here, first and foremost, of char- and instructions of the realization of this process was
acteristics of a systemic approach, particularly the proposed at an organization-wide level as well as in
definition of the principles of the creating, codifying regards to individual analyzed areas of knowledge).
and transfer of knowledge, which serve to designate At the content level the resources of explicit
the goals of knowledge management. (In the research knowledge are designated as are something like
project this matter was taken into consideration clues leading to tacit knowledge. Utilized here are
in such a manner that changes were proposed in the primarily characteristics of a resource-based ap-
organizational structure and in the formal docu- proach, which is regarded as the most traditional
ments, which such a structure describe. As a conse- approach in the theory of management; its main val-
quence the extent of tasks was proposed for the role ue is related to the fact that is directly responsible for
of coordinator of knowledge management (as the tasks designated at the level of strategic marketing.
owner of the process of knowledge management) In a resource-based approach knowledge is regarded
and for the managers of areas in individual areas as the most important resource of the firm. It is seen
analyzed in the project). as constituting key competencies, key capabilities,
At the operational level the structure and principles ability to resolve problems through teamwork, ca-
of the realization of the process of knowledge man- pacity to procure knowledge from the surroundings,
agement is described. Utilization here is primarily implement new tools, experiment etc. (In the re-
made of characteristics of the process approach since search project this matter was taken into considera-
that is the way to introduce the principle of continu- tion in such a manner, that the basic character of the
ous improvement and to grasp the element of the contents of knowledge in each analyzed area as well
dynamic of phenomena that is characteristic to mod- as the manner of its provision of access appropriate
ern management. In addition, this approach assumes for each area were the subject of an evaluation.
that knowledge management is measurable. In keeping with the results of such an analysis the
principles of procurement, codification and provision
The decomposition of this process of management
of access of knowledge were indicated in the proce-
into three related spirals of perfection – each uniform
dures and instructions for each area).
in its character of action - serves this purpose.
Their task is to collect knowledge in keeping with At the level of the intellect a behavioral approach,
needs, formulating knowledge in a form friendly which serves to socialize knowledge, that is, its start-

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
270 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

up, provoking, stimulation and support of the trans- attempts in the direction of its automation (the com-
fer of knowledge, is primarily applied, since pure puterization of knowledge management).
knowledge arises in the minds of people and devel-
ops through relations between people. (In the re-
3 Knowledge resources
search project this matter was taken into
consideration in such a manner, that an evaluation
was made of the need of making use of such a level (In the frame of concept are introduced follows con-
of knowledge management in each of the analyzed structs: construction of knowledge - technology
areas. For selected areas an evaluation was made of the processing of knowledge - organization
of the degree of advancement of the usage of intel- of knowledge management)
lectual knowledge and of indications concerning the (In the frame of concept are introduced following
preparation of this area to implement IT solutions categories: area of knowledge - knowledge resource
which enable the intensifying of intellectual actions). - portion of knowledge – problem - question)
The practical differences in knowledge management The general resources of knowledge subject to man-
between the various areas of knowledge become agement can generally be presented as in Table 2,
apparent with growing intensification together with while the practical examples of knowledge and re-
the order of levels, primarily on the level of the intel- sources are shown in Table 3.
lect, which moreover, in certain areas of knowledge, Knowledge resources that exist in an organization
does not have to occur. At the organizational level have a designated form and are dealt with by desig-
a mutual task organizational structure of knowledge nated cells and persons. If the organization hitherto
management is built in the entire realization along did not consciously manage knowledge then usually
with the relations in force within it. the knowledge is dispersed, part of the knowledge
At the process level a mechanism of the three spirals is in the dispositions of “accidental” people and there
of perfection is built. The level of content in the case is a lack of systematic information on the localiza-
of certain areas of knowledge can be the last level. tion of knowledge.
This is in regards to areas of professional knowledge For the purpose of a balanced control of the
having a very specified form. The level of the intel- knowledge resources as a starting point in the re-
lect takes on significance there where operational search project an outline of the construction
activity is naturally volatile, difficult to standardize, of knowledge resources was assumed that was based
based upon mechanisms of accumulation of individ- upon the fundamental model of management
ual experiences/capabilities requiring a difficult syn- as a realization of strategic goals by manipulating
theses that is also difficult to generally describe and resources of the organization during the realization
still more difficult to codify. This is accompanied by of an organizational PDCA [Plan-Do-Check-Act]
the need of designating a model of the organization type cycle.
of knowledge management. This is made up of:
Knowledge and management of knowledge do not
 defining the goals of knowledge management-
have to have a fully formalized form. In many organ-
strategic and operational,
izations they function as a certain good operational
 designating the organizational structure dedicated practice and are part of the culture of these organiza-
to knowledge management, tions. Let us remember that the formalization of ele-
 assigning resources essential to conduct ments of management is often a function of the size
knowledge management (personal, financial, of the organization.
property and informational), and
 designating the principles of action in the classic
cycle of management.
Only after starting up the functioning of such a mod-
el (organization, process) is it worthwhile beginning

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources and Efficiency Areas of Knowledge Management 271

Table 2. Model structure of knowledge resources in an organization

(source: [7, p. 97])
Generational approach Technology of knowledge
Organization of knowledge
(knowledge Construction of knowledge processing
management
about this….) (how data resources are (how data resources are
(how information re-
Organizational built) used at the information
sources are steered)
-resource approach level)
Information concerning e.g., client register, register
e.g., strategic plans e.g., CRM
goals (strategy) of products/services
Information concerning e.g., financial analysis and
e.g., account chart e.g., financial records
financial resources controlling
Information concerning e.g., infrastructure con- e.g., infrastructure exploi- e.g., designing infrastruc-
material resources struction documentation tation documentation ture
Information concerning e.g., records of compe-
e.g., personnel registry e.g., career path techniques
personnel resources tencies
e.g., system for informing
Information resources e.g., databases e.g., data wholesalers
management
Information concerning e.g., formal and organiza- e.g., describing business e.g., improving the organi-
organizational management tional regulations processes zation

Table 3. Examples of knowledge resources in an organization

(source: preparation by author)
Area of knowledge Knowledge resource Source
composition of the company’s employees,
Personal information human resources
formal competencies
internal legal acts enforcing the company office of the management board
Formal and organiza- list of Polish norms research department
tional regulations
collection of patent descriptions and utility
research department
models
Organizational im-
making processes more efficient development division
provement
technical requirements concerning materials
materials management department
and purchased equipment
collection of the terms of reference of pur-
department of public procurement
Infrastructure design chase orders
model contracts and contents of contracts legal department
department of capital investment / depart-
design and operational guidelines
ment of production
Building and maintain- technical-motor parameters of technical
ing infrastructure systems
resulting aggregated operating parameters
of the heating system
System for informing
the management investment costs of pipelines and connectors many sources
repair costs of pipelines and connectors
data in a financial-accounting system
Finances (controlling)
information a system of controlling
Clients client records sales department
decision-makers company management board
Interested parties collaborators, suppliers, service providers purchasing department
employees, unions personnel department

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
272 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

Smaller organizations practice this in a limited de- At this time it is necessary to also clearly designate
gree and they are not less efficient for doing so and what does not constitute a subject of the system
their organizational culture cannot be questioned. of knowledge management, for example decision-
The introduction of mechanisms of knowledge man- makers may decide that elements of data that fall
agement serves a large organization by making its under the regulation of the law on the protection
actions more efficient which is only possible if there of personal data can be excluded.
exists a foundation of achievements in this sphere
of organizational culture and its level is high enough 4 Activities in knowledge management
to support changes for improvement [4, pp. 223-
230].
The model presented above, which is based on the
It is necessary to carefully define the areas, and in spirals of perfecting the process of knowledge man-
their framework, knowledge resources in order agement were, in the research project, subject
for the complete record taking of explicit knowledge to what is known as mapping, which serves to pre-
to take place before actions occur in the direction pare the scope of the procedures and instructions
of revealing tacit knowledge. At the same time one describing the principles of proceeding in knowledge
has to be aware that this type of classification should management both in the entire organization and in
be open to the change of the scope of a given area or individual areas of knowledge. Activities in the
the addition of new areas. knowledge management process shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Types of activities in the process of knowledge management

(source: preparation by author)
Action Concerns Additional description
need of knowledge
inflows (not necessarily located
in an obvious place, its ac-
ceptance is required)
source of knowledge / types
Procurement ordered or sought (requires
of knowledge
the use of methods of search
and then acquisition)
produced on request or demand
methods of obtaining / generating
segmentation
classification
standardization
establishing relationships
Processing
actualization
simple forms
complicated forms (e.g., requir-
formulating answers to posed questions
ing expanding on information
from outside or that is created)
spaces of storing knowledge
forms of storage
principles of access (mainly questions
of quickness and efficiency, particularly
Storage important during complicated opera-
tions,)
principles of archiving
principles of securing information
 

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources and Efficiency Areas of Knowledge Management 273

Table 4. Types of activities in the process of knowledge management, cont.

Action Concerns Additional description
promote technology diffusion, including
dedicated dissemination
response to an order
Distribution
principles of distribution
principles of protection and segmenta-
tion of access
Administering the process
(performing actions related to the
management of tools and docu-
ments)

It should be emphasized that the terminology The area of knowledge should allow itself to be logi-
of management of this process and the regulations cally made distinct which means that it has a connec-
resulting from it primarily refer to such information, tion either with a designated range of action in the
which constitute an actual transmitter of knowledge. organization, for example, production, or it has
The process of knowledge management encompasses a connection with the functionality of a designated
four types of substantive activity of processing organizational cell, for example, with personnel.
knowledge and its administration. In characterizing areas, it is most advantageous
to establish ahead of time a certain collection of cat-
egories of characteristics or just characteristics them-
5 Identification of areas of knowledge
selves and then to undertake the assignment
management
of appropriate characteristics to each of the areas,
which is illustrated by Table 5.

Table 5. The principles of characterizing areas of knowledge management

(source: [7, p. 98])
Name of the knowledge management area, for example, designing infrastructure.
Characterization (characteristics, in bold, assigned to a sample area of knowledge)
In a process-based

In a market-based

In an information
In the context of

based approach

based approach
In a systematic

In a functional

In a research-
approach

approach

approach

approach
strategy

In total
Fundamental, condi-

Production, services,
Financial. Material,
personnel, informa-

portant, significant,
Fundamental, im-
Data, information,
tional, accessory

production,

intelligence
back office

secondary
managing

research
support,
Mission,

Basic,

trade,
goals,

Sales,

tional
audit

Descriptive detailed characterization, including the selection of the above characteristics

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
274 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

Table 6. Structure of the description of knowledge resources

(source: prepared by author)
Internal knowledge External knowledge
Tacit Tacit
Explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge
knowledge knowledge
Reports, Reports,
Codified Processed Codified Processed
analyses analyses
Description of Knowledge area A
Description of Knowledge area B, etc.

This enables the analysis of the importance of partic- Primary mapping should be cyclically repeated
ular areas in relations to various ranges of managing and verified by a process of analytical actions based
the organization. on the idea represented by Tables 7 and 8. They also
illustrate the differentiation of the level of detail
of such analysis, which should be in accordance with
6 Description of knowledge resources
current tasks set forth before the system
of knowledge management.
The description of knowledge resources classified
preliminarily in Table 2 should be gradually charac- Mapping is to provide a full picture of expectations
terized in an increasingly detailed manner. The de- from the system of knowledge management conven-
gree of detail should result from the gradation of the tionally answering questions such as these:
needs of obtaining particular knowledge resources.  What kind of knowledge is needed?
The basic extent of the description is presented  Who needs such knowledge?
by Table 6.  What knowledge is already possessed? (and in
The mapping of knowledge should hearken to the light of this what is the gap of knowledge in the
process of knowledge management as well as to context of the answer to the earlier question),
basic mechanisms of obtaining and providing access  Where is this knowledge located ?
to knowledge. In such an approach mapping occurs
 To what degree is this tacit knowledge?
into aspects:
 Who possesses such knowledge? (and in relation
 Primary mapping which classifies and places
to this what should relationship be between
knowledge and arrangements:
the source of knowledge and its beneficiary).
- organizational cells / persons / systems –
The introduction of knowledge resources to the
types of knowledge (map of the source
operational functioning of an organization can be
of knowledge),
undertaken in the context of a process-based ap-
- business processes / organizational cells –
proach in the managing of this activity. In the
the naming of portions of knowledge (map
case of production activity and such service activ-
of knowledge needs).
ity for which are defined processes one should
 Secondary mapping in the framework of a de- undertake this in the following manner.
scription of business processes in which know- Each of the processes is described like a series
ledge is utilized, that is, what is known as the in- of operations and the majority of operations based
troduction of knowledge resources into the opera- upon work positions are tasks associated with work
tional functioning of an organization. positions is described in the form of a special opera-
Mapping is also referred to, this time more literally, tion work position card or position work card.
in the context of systems that search for the sources
of knowledge and the search for named portions
of knowledge.

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources and Efficiency Areas of Knowledge Management 275

Table 7. Map of knowledge sources

(source: preparation by author)

Area of Range of Portion of

Problem Question
knowledge knowledge knowledge

Organizational Is there a cover

cell, e.g., produc- production material change
production limits material availability of materials
tion planning planning to the current
department production?
current How to acquire
Person, e.g., dis- cover material
production production availability of materials the missing
patcher limits
planning material?
Records system, current availability of materials, How to order
cover material
e.g., production production production sources of supply, pro- an ad hoc miss-
limits
orders system planning curement mode ing material?
Information sys-
availability of materials, How to order
tem, e.g., planning production cover material
production sources of supply, pro- an ad hoc miss-
and production planning limits
curement mode ing material?
accounting system
current current balance
Other source, e.g., acquisition of missing Is it enough
production production of material
production worker material material?
planning requirements

Table 8. Map of knowledge needs

(source: preparation by author)

Area of Range Portion

Problem Question
knowledge of knowledge of knowledge
features for- about the cred-
Process, assessment certificates
HR mal of certifi- ibility of cre-
e.g., HR of competence of competence
cates dentials
Operation in the process,
e.g., the assessment assessment completing checking about a set
HR
of competence employed of competence certificates credentials of credentials
manager
Organizational cell, assessment completing checking about a set
HR
e.g., HR Department of competence certificates credentials of credentials

Work position, assessment completing checking about a set

HR
e.g., HR specialist of competence certificates credentials of credentials
credential eval-
uation by Busi-
Information system, assessment search certifi- statement
HR ness
e.g., HR IT system of competence cates of credentials
Intelligence
tools
preliminary
Person, assessment
assessment verification examination
e.g., HR specialist for HR of the hiring
of competence of certificates of credentials
executives process for the
decision maker
if the certificate
Other beneficiary, assessment set certifica- credential
HR is proof of the
e.g., Board Member of competence tions evaluation
skills?

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
276 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

Such a description in its most general approach is In the case of knowledge management two hindranc-
made up of the following descriptions: es appear. Firstly, knowledge itself is not fully meas-
 entry of the subject of the operation, that is, of the urable since rather the amount of data is measured
product or service being created or provided and not the value of the information (interpreted as
which is a result of this work position, something subjective on account of the individual
lessening of uncertainty, lack of information and lack
 function of the work position of this operation,
of knowledge of the recipient) which only then is the
that is, the extent of the activity that makes
basis to build knowledge as a product of the sublima-
up this process,
tion of information and the conclusions drawn from
 exit of the subject of operation, that is, the param-
it. That is why the quality of the ‘husbandry’
eters of the product or service being created
of knowledge is evaluated. Secondly, the general
or provided which as a result of the operation ob-
task of the process of knowledge management is
tained a designated added value,
a codification of knowledge already possessed and
 essential resources at the work position to realize the revealing of tacit knowledge. In particular tacit
the function of the position in this operation. knowledge is not known (not yet measured) and thus
One should aim for the goal that in the descriptions at the moment of being revealed the amount and
of the operation, the parts designating essential re- extent of possessed knowledge changes and at the
sources, there will be information about knowledge same time changes the overall picture of knowledge
resources and the manner of their procurement resources. This causes the indicators of knowledge
and application. resources as well as the indicators of the evaluation
In relation to accessory cells for which a detailed of the process of knowledge management to be sub-
description of processes with their division into work ject to volatile changes and thus cannot be used
positions is not practiced, as well as in relations for simple comparisons, for example between suc-
to research and development, design, repair and oth- cessive periods of analysis and reporting.
er cells where work cannot be standardized, one For these reasons it is necessary to be careful in ap-
should utilize database techniques characterized by proaching attempts of the very formal building
lists, files, registries or guidebooks and, in further of a set of evaluations of the system of knowledge
order, IT systems that fulfil that role. management and one should not refrain from more
And a reservation should also be made that the sys- intuitive evaluations of the effectiveness and effi-
tem of knowledge management, including that in the ciency of the process of knowledge management.
process of mapping, should be made applicable The matter of benefits from the introducing of the
to the limitations related to company secrets as well process of knowledge management is similar since
as to the requirements of regulations such as the law such benefits are very difficult to measure and yet
protection of personal data. they are usually, particularly in periodic comparisons
(for example, every few months) easily noticeable.
That is why a good solution is a cyclical repetition
7 Measurements of the effectiveness of undertaking questionnaires of the beneficiaries
and efficiency of the process of the system of knowledge management.
of knowledge management
For example it is worthwhile researching the degree
of satisfaction of the users of the systems providing
The process of knowledge management, as with each
access to knowledge and to descriptively comment
management process, should be observed, audited
on the KPI (key performance indicators) indicators
and evaluated from the point of view of the effec-
as well as to rectify its indicators in the past so as
tiveness (realization of goals) and efficiency (costs,
to ensure comparability by taking into consideration
quality of actions). Additional evaluations concern
changes that occurred between the compared peri-
changes in time since the goal of the organization
ods. Examples of measurement are shown in Table 9.
should be a continuous trend of improving manage-
ment processes.

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 Structuring Knowledge Management – Levels, Resources and Efficiency Areas of Knowledge Management 277

Table 9. Examples of KPI indicators

(source: prepared by the author)

General indicators
Amount of persons
involved in the process
The amount of intro-
Indicator of use cate- of knowledge man- Indicator of the areas in
duced IT systems
gories classification agement (manager and which the system of
Indicator (KPI) that utilize automa-
of knowledge re- leaders of knowledge knowledge manage-
tion in the usage
source areas) in reference to ment was introduced
of knowledge
the amount of distinct
knowledge areas
Percent of used cate- Percent of areas in
The amount of sys-
gories of classifica- which a system
The average amount tems, and perhaps
tion in relation to all of knowledge manage-
Formula of persons administer- the amount of those
the categories ment has been intro-
ing the knowledge area that have the right
of knowledge man- duced in relation to the
to utilize them
agement amount all the areas
Unit
% amount % amount
of measurement
Frequency
annual annual annual annual
of measurement
Information from the Information from the Information from the
Information from
Source of data Managers Proxy for Knowledge Proxy for Knowledge
the IT Department
of knowledge areas Management Matters Management Matters
Expected direction
Desired direction Expected direction of
Maximize the amount of change should
of change of KPI change should be indi- Maximize
of uses be indicated in the
value cated in the annual plan
annual plan
Indicators for areas

Technical exploita- Employee competen- Process improve-

Area Analytical reports
tion parameters cies ment
Number of formally
Number of person days
The amount of types Proportion in relation approved changes
Indicator (KPI) of training received by
of reports to the possessed reports to the description
employees
of the processes
The total amount of
The amount of codified
The amount of re- The total number changes which were
reports in reference to
Formula: ports available to of person days formerly introduced
the amount of all cur-
management of training into the description
rent reports
of the processes
Unit
amount % amount amount
of measurement
Frequency
annual annual annual annual
of measurement
Information/ reports Information/ report Information/ report Information/ report
Source of data from the Controlling from the Department from the Personnel from the Develop-
Department of Analysis Department ment Department
Descriptive evalua-
Descriptive evalua- Descriptive evaluation
Desired direction tion referring to the
tion referring to the referring to the change
of change of KPI Maximization change in relations
change in relations in relations to
value to the previous
to the previous period the previous period
period

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
 278 Janusz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki

KPI indicators, the general ones and those related 9 References

to individual areas of knowledge, will be an effective
tool to evaluate the process of knowledge manage- [1] Beliczyński J., Mesjasz C., Stabryła A. - Pod-
ment if the obligation of preparing data to be drawn stawy teoretyczne gospodarki opartej na wiedzy
up be formally placed upon on individual organiza- (The theoretical basis of the knowledge econo-
tional cells. The design of indicators have first my) [in] Stabryła A., (ed.) Doskonalenie struktur
and foremost to serve the bringing forth the qualita- organizacyjnych przedsiębiorstw w gospodarce
tive and quantitative elements of this process in the opartej na wiedzy (Improving organizational
beginning of its functioning. structures of enterprises in the knowledge econ-
omy). C.H.Beck, Warsaw 2009.
After its consolidation, and particularly after the
introduction of IT solutions that automate the pro- [2] Klonowski Z.J. - Systemy informatyczne gospo-
curement, storage and provision of access of know- darowania wiedzą (Knowledge management
systems). Studia i Materiały 2004, 2, Polskie
ledge in its individual areas one should verify the
Stowarzyszenie Zarządzania Wiedzą.
need of such form of indicators. It is possible that at
the moment of application of IT techniques there will [3] Morawski M. - Ilościowe zarządzanie wiedzą –
appear the possibility of introducing other more de- podejście zachodnie (Quantitative knowledge
management - Western approach) [in] Perechuda
tailed but however easier to count indicators such as:
K. (ed.), Zarządzanie wiedzą w przedsiębiorst-
the time of answers for questions posed to the IT
wie (Knowledge management in the company),
system, the number of inputs to the portal
PWN, Warsaw 2005.
of knowledge, the volume of data of knowledge re-
sources, the amount of beneficiaries, etc. [4] Szczepańska K. - Zarządzanie jakością. W dąże-
niu do doskonałości (Quality management. Aim-
ing for perfection), C.H.Beck, Warsaw 2011.
8 Summation
[5] Tabaszewska E. - Wprowadzanie i funkc-
jonowanie systemów zarządzania wiedzą w
In the presented model of knowledge management przedsiębiorstwach (Implementation and func-
the contribution to science are: a four level model tioning of knowledge management systems in
of knowledge management which integrates various enterprises) Wydawnictwo UE we Wrocławiu
approaches to this management that were hitherto (Wydawnictwo UE in Wroclaw), 2012.
treated as competitive to each other, as well as three
[6] Zawiła-Niedźwiecki J. - Propozycja warst-
spiral processes for perfecting knowledge manage- wowego modelu zarządzania wiedzą (Proposal
ment. This model was equipped with supportive of a level model of knowledge management).
proposals of actions, having the character of the op- Marketing i Rynek 2014, 5.
erationalization of the theory, leading to a pragmatic
[7] Zawiła-Niedźwiecki J. - Operacjonalizacja
system of knowledge management of which an im- zarządzania wiedzą w świetle badań Wydziału
portant element is the introduction of the principle Zarządzania Politechniki Warszawskiej (Opera-
of the gradual perfection of such a system. The tem- tionalization of knowledge management in light
po of perfection is an individual question of the or- of research by the Department of Management
ganization, its needs, possibilities and culture. of the Warsaw University of Technology), In-
formatyka ekonomiczna 2014, 1(31).

Unauthenticated
Download Date | 1/16/16 7:40 AM
View publication stats