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Chapter 11 Managing Knowledge 453

programs, informal networks, and shared management experience communi-
cated through a supportive culture help managers focus their attention on the
important knowledge and information.

Knowledge Application
Regardless of what type of knowledge management system is involved,
knowledge that is not shared and applied to the practical problems facing firms
and managers does not add business value. To provide a return on investment,
organizational knowledge must become a systematic part of management
decision making and become situated in systems for decision support (described
in Chapter 12). Ultimately, new knowledge must be built into a firm’s business
processes and key application systems, including enterprise applications for
managing key internal business processes and relationships with customers
and suppliers. Management supports this process by creating—based on new
knowledge—new business practices, new products and services, and new
markets for the firm.

Building Organizational and Management Capital:
Collaboration, Communities of Practice, and Office
Environments
In addition to the activities we have just described, managers can help by
developing new organizational roles and responsibilities for the acquisition
of knowledge, including the creation of chief knowledge officer executive
positions, dedicated staff positions (knowledge managers), and communities
of practice. Communities of practice (COPs) are informal social networks
of professionals and employees within and outside the firm who have similar
work-related activities and interests. The activities of these communities include
self- education and group education, conferences, online newsletters, and day-
to-day sharing of experiences and techniques to solve specific work problems.
Many organizations, such as IBM, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration,
and the World Bank have encouraged the development of thousands of online
communities of practice. These communities of practice depend greatly on
software environments that enable collaboration and communication.
COPs can make it easier for people to reuse knowledge by pointing com-
munity members to useful documents, creating document repositories,
and filtering information for newcomers. COPs members act as facilitators,
encouraging contributions and discussion. COPs can also reduce the learning
curve for new employees by providing contacts with subject matter experts
and access to a community’s established methods and tools. Finally, COPs
can act as a spawning ground for new ideas, techniques, and decision- making
behavior.

TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

There are essentially three major types of knowledge management systems:
enterprise-wide knowledge management systems, knowledge work systems,
and intelligent techniques. Figure 11.2 shows the knowledge management
system applications for each of these major categories.
Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems are general-purpose
firmwide efforts to collect, store, distribute, and apply digital content and
knowledge. These systems include capabilities for searching for information,
storing both structured and unstructured data, and locating employee exper-
tise within the firm. They also include supporting technologies such as portals,

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