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Box 7.3
An example: Nokia

Nokia views KM as a combination of people, processes, technologies, and culture. It is
through learning that organizations are able to improve what they do. Appropriate knowl-
edge sharing facilitates effective learning. Various management approaches can be used in
combination to produce a learning organization, which can in turn provide improved
service — these include competence management and performance management. Organi-
zational values must be refl ected in the day-to-day running of an organization in order to
impact on its knowledge strategy. The Nokia Way promotes a culture of learning that is
premised on four pillars: customer satisfaction, respect for the individual, achievement,
and continuous learning. The Nokia Way is facilitated through a series of mechanisms,
mainly interactions between managers, colleagues, and employees placing power in the
hands of the individual to develop in the organization. A jazz band analogy best captures
Nokia ’ s approach to KM: the company shares a common vision and creates the space for
an ensemble to perform in unison without controlling the music or constraining the
performance.
Change and people management are commonly believed to make up 80 percent of KM
while IT comprises only 20 percent. At Nokia, no one person owns the KM process —
everyone owns it. HR has a crucial role to play in implementing KM, as do IT, quality,
and corporate planning departments. Organizational learning overlaps performance man-
agement (individual focus), competency management (organizational focus), and KM
(thematic or team focus). Nokia is integrating these three approaches in order to identify
best practices and lessons learned.
Nokia uses a book, the Nokia Saga, which is a novel about Nokia ’ s history. It contains
about one hundred stories which many employees read in order to better understand the
company ’ s values. The storytelling provides examples of what managers do and how they
apply Nokia values. Nokia ’ s annual report is called “ No Limits, ” and it gives progress
reports on how the company culture is moving toward a knowledge-sharing culture — with
no limits on learning, participating, and building better futures.
Nokia does not have a CKO. They have a steering group of about ten persons from
different functional areas coordinating KM activities. The head of the steering committee
is also the head of the quality department. In many organizations, there is still a concern
that sharing all its knowledge means giving all its power away. Nokia was able to change
its culture to one of knowledge sharing by designing a fl at, networked, global, and mul-
ticultural organization. Speed, fl exibility, opportunity, and openness are the key features.
Nokia ’ s management evaluates how well employees do with respect to supporting KM in
terms of creating, sharing, and reusing knowledge. They do not have incentive systems,
as they believe knowledge sharing should be part of the company culture and not some-
thing that is rewarded with money. The intention is to try to capture as much organiza-
tional knowledge as possible. As in a good jazz band, the players share a common vision,
and are interested in producing good products through innovation and improvisation. It
is not always clear what the end result will be, but because there is a common vision
guiding their performance, these professionals allow their services to be shaped by the
feelings and interactions of the various players who are part of the company.