Dove Lane

I’m intrigued with the human dynamics of knowledge management. One of the fuzzy areas to me, and I think to many people in the field, is how learning and knowledge are related. Everyone has a subjective view based upon their own personal experiences, and thinks they know the answer, until asked to define them. To move KM forward, we need to be able to build upon a base of…knowledge…we all share. That base needs some definitions, and I’m offering some here.

Why, after nearly 15 years of more or less organized thinking, debate and studying of KM, haven’t we collectively been able to define what knowledge management is, create an unassailable model of how it works, and perhaps more importantly, sell the KM value proposition to organizations that clearly need it? Here are some penetrating insights into the state of the profession.

Following up on my previous post about Fahey and Prusak’s 11 Deadliest Sins of KM, I decided to offer two more views. First, an example of the 11 Deadliest Sins being cited in a research paper. Secondly, my own suggested Axioms and Corollaries of KM.

This list by L. Fahey and Larry Prusak from 1998 gets a lot of replay in KM circles, but I find it confusing. I believe it was a straw man, and not a rosetta stone for KM eight years later. Here is my suggested revision.

Does everyone who blogs struggle to meet their publication schedule? I’d love to know!

If you are an educator just starting to look at learning simulations and games, this article may save you some time. Most educators don’t have much personal experience with games or gaming technologies, and it’s important to understand the basics in order to develop or license simulations appropriate for your specific needs. This article (by a gamer) covers genres, gaming engines, and other resources you may find useful in your quest. It only scratches the surface!

Not all teaching games are simulations, but many popular and readily available titles can teach valuable life lessons and provide solid educational experiences. Some of the newer mainstream games also have complex learning scenarios integrated into them, however educators unused to playing games themselves can fail to see it. Here are some examples of off-the-shelf games and what I think they have to teach.

While learning in virtual or game environments can’t fully replace traditional learning, there are strong indicators that games, especially multiplayer games, are rich environments for the disabled, and may aid both their development and integration into society. Virtual reality-like games may be the ultimate rehabilitative learning device.

Before you begin a KM program, it’s helpful first to understand the context of the KM challenge you are attempting to master. Is it content, collaboration or process? Your own organization will have its specific barriers and challenges; however, some barriers are universal. Here’s a list of some.

I believe the concept of knowledge hoarding is largely a myth. We’ve all heard stories about how some go-to people in organizations refuse (overtly or covertly) to write down what they know in order to make themselves indispensible to the organization. So-called knowledge hoarders are strong indicators of other organizational issues that need to be resolved for KM to be successful. We need to understand the root cause of any hoarding behaviors and how widespread they really are in order to elevate the problem to the organizational level where it can be addressed.