KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Knowledge management principles

Executive Summary

Traditional organizations with heavy internal competition, rigid functional silos and undue compartmentalization exhibit sub-optimal performance by inhibiting critical knowledge flows. Cross-functional teaming attempts to solve this problem by building organizational connections across functional silos. However, merely bringing members of formerly isolated departments together produces only marginal increases in performance. Any synergistic collaboration is likely to arise serendipitously and unpredictably. We propose a systematic approach for combining the principles of knowledge management and cross-functional teaming in ways that purposefully enhance knowledge flows and result in significant improvements in organizational performance as measured by cost, time and quality.

KM managers needs to communicate in all directions and to avoid egocentric manner that precludes empathetic communications. The CFT provides face-to-face platform to transfer tacit knowledge, which is most desirable method of sharing this kind of knowledge. But, the team can implement technology to share explicit knowledge and may be part of the tacit knowledge. Synchronous and asynchronous technology can be used across time and space for sharing knowledge, but it also helps in transcending departmental boundaries and jumping over the stumbling blocks of internal office politics.

The KM manager does not have to inject KM principles in the CFT intellectual paradigm. Following a learning model that fits the various arenas in the team environment might work better than a validated model that is a product of another KM initiative with completely different settings, dynamics and momentum. This is because the generalizable learning model should be a delicate balance between the CFT team members learning model. This will make it easier for members to learn and to assist others to learn and to leverage the team knowledge for the benefit of the organization.

Knowledge management principles

Introduction

While there is an abundance of literature on the individual subjects of cross-functionality and knowledge management (KM), there is a notable lack of discussion regarding how the two can be effectively combined. Each concept embraces different yet complementary solutions for the same set of organizational problems. The potential for synergy is obvious. The successful application of KM necessitates interaction among multi-disciplinary groups of people as a basic requirement. Cross-functionality cannot be effective without sharing knowledge among team members.

In many organizations cross-functionality plays a significant role in binding organization units together and providing a superlative medium for competence gains and productivity enhancement. Nikolenko and Kleiner (1996) argue that in a functional hierarchy of a vertically built company, individual jobs and information flow are geared towards control. The cross-functional teams of the horizontal company do not require the same level of formal managerial control because their work is aligned with customers' needs, and “controlled” by a judgment of the final result. Webber (2002) concluded that as organizations move into the twenty-first century work challenges will continue to increase and the need for cross-functional teams (CFTs) will be great. Therefore, it is important for organizations to understand how to achieve maximum benefit from cross-functional teaming.

Stebbins and Shani (1995) stated that collaborative knowledge teams give corporations an edge on creativity and ...