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Knowledge Application 211

Other tools help structure and navigate the content. They provide a classifi cation
scheme for the organization ’ s knowledge assets. We saw examples of these knowledge
taxonomies in the previous chapter. The user interface layer is where such navigation
guides are to be found. Once the content has been properly indexed and organized,
multiple views can be made available for the same underlying content in order to
accommodate user and task needs. Electronic linkages can be used to cross-reference
this content and a thesaurus can encapsulate these cross linkages. Similarly, expertise
location systems should be available from the user interface layer of the KM architec-
ture. In this way, links are made from the user interface topics to the relevant KM
content, people, and processes.

Knowledge Reuse
Reusing knowledge involves recall and recognition, as well as actually applying the
knowledge, if we use Bloom ’ s taxonomy. Reusing knowledge typically begins with the
formulation of a search question. It is here that expert-novice differences quickly
become apparent, as experts know the right questions to ask. Next, experts are searched
for and located, using expertise location systems or yellow pages as we saw in chapter
5. The appropriate expert and/or advice are then chosen and the knowledge nugget
is applied. Knowledge application may involve taking a general guide and making it
specifi c to the situation at hand which is sometimes referred to as “ recontextualiza-
tion ” of knowledge (where decontextualization to some degree occurred during knowl-
edge capture and codifi cation). An example of knowledge reuse is described here
concerning the J. P. Morgan Chase company (box 6.5).
There are three major roles required for knowledge reuse: the knowledge producer,
the person who produced or documented the knowledge object; the knowledge inter-
mediary, who prepares knowledge for reuse by indexing, sanitizing, packaging, and
even marketing the knowledge object; and the knowledge reuser, who retrieves, under-
stands, and applies it. Of course, these roles are neither permanent nor dedicated
roles — individuals will perform all three at some time during their knowledge work.
Knowledge repackaging is an important value-added step that may involve people,
information technology, or, as is often the case, a mixture of the two. For example,
there are automatic classifi cation systems that can index content, but a human is
almost always needed in the loop to validate and to add context, caveats, and other
useful indicators for the most effective use of that knowledge object.
Markus (2001) suggests there are four distinct types of knowledge reuse
situations according to the individual who is doing the reusing and the purpose
of knowledge reuse, which is quite compatible with the user- and task-adapted