The Use of ICT-Systems in Managing the Tacit Knowledge of Professionals - Laurens Waling

Appendix I: Case studies

1. Knowledge management at consulting firms

In consulting firms the primary factor of production is knowledge. Advising customers is based on the knowledge of the consultants. Knowledge management in such an organization leads directly to successes. Customers demand high quality advises and professional aid in problems. Especially managing tacit knowledge is a challenge at all types of consulting firms. Alares is an example of such a firm where different knowledge management implementations are in place.

2. Knowledge management in public health

Organizations in public health are organizations where the view on knowledge management is relatively new, but extremely important. Examples where lots of professionals work and research are hospitals and care centers. Alares advises these organizations on different themes, for instance the digitalization of dossiers. Through these contacts it might be possible to find a knowledge management project in a public health organization.

3. Knowledge management at KEGG

The Koninklijke Effatha & Guyot Groep (KEGG)6 is an organization that provides education, care and services to deaf people and people that have trouble hearing or speaking. The organization exists of schools and care departments. With over 1800 employees – most of them professionals - in 70 locations through Holland the organization needs knowledge management between professionals and locations. Professionals are working on the same subjects without informing each other. Alares is adding expertise to a knowledge management implementation. A special department is set-up to monitor and spread the knowledge through the organization. In this department a knowledge manager is responsible together with a few knowledge workers to bring professionals in contact that research the same subject.

4. Knowledge management at Siemens ShareNet

Building a Knowledge Network (2002)7 describes the development of ShareNet, an innovative knowledge management system used by a division of Siemens. ShareNet attempts to capture the knowledge and experience of Siemens’ many dispersed sales and marketing units around the globe, making it available to all. ShareNet has to date been funded as a corporate initiative, free to all who use it. But as the telecommunications market has collapsed, the groups who run it are under increasing pressure to cut costs. As a result, they are considering charging users who subscribe to the tool in the belief that these users will willingly pay for it. This relies, however, on being able to demonstrate that the tool/system has a positive return on investment--a notoriously difficult task. Teaching Purpose: To analyze the design and construction of a knowledge management system; to explore the major issues in deploying these types of systems (e.g., creating incentives for use, ensuring relevant knowledge is stored); and to examine the return on investment from these types of systems.

5. Knowledge management at NASA

For NASA this means delivering the systems and services that will help our employees and partners get the information they need to make better decisions.8 There are three priority areas where KM systems and processes can help NASA's ability to deliver its missions:

6. Knowledge management with innovative systems

Alares is closely related to the initiative of Tresparc. Initiator Victor Wenting is developing a generic communication platform for organizations. This platform is innovative because of its functionality and technology. It focuses on communication and might therefore be an innovative example of ‘tacit’ knowledge management.

7. Knowledge management with rich media

Another organization out of Alares’ network is Byton. Founder Alexander van der Laan created a content management system for rich media like video. The advanced storing of video provides solutions to for instance television station. The use of video might be an innovative solution for ‘tacit’ knowledge management. An implementation of Byton’s system provides might also be an innovative application of ‘tacit’ knowledge management.

8. Knowledge management with EPROM

EPROM9 is a consultancy firm that develops software to support managers in saving agreements and appointments with their employees in a system. Alares is considering implementing software itself to keep track of appointments with employees. All though the software of EPROM is technological relatively simple, the goal of supporting managers in making appointments with their professionals can be beneficial to this research.

9. Knowledge management with RSS feeds

An implementation of RSS feeds for internal communication in an organization is not yet achieved. In his paper ‘RSS feeds as new technology for knowledge management’ Laurens Waling explains RSS and the possible functionalities it might have for internal knowledge management. Implementing RSS can be a very innovative project.

10. Knowledge management with Document Repository Systems

Different Document Repository Systems provide organizations with a place to share and store their documents online. These types of system become highly popular, and there are high quality open source alternatives available. Hippo is such an open source platform where companies can share documents. Perhaps a little bit too much focusing on explicit knowledge, but some benefits for tacit knowledge management can be found in these systems.


11. Knowledge management at Resence

Resence is a consultancy firm that comes with software to map the available knowledge in an organization. Based on categories an organization can indicate how much knowledgeable professionals they want for a certain subject. Resence provides a way to oversee the differences in what knowledge is in house and what is missing.

12. Knowledge management in universities

At universities like Delft University of Technology the best examples of how to deal with explicit knowledge can be found in publications. References and standard formats combined with categorizing make science a good example of how to manage explicit knowledge. However, tacit knowledge is not managed that well. It’s often heard that researchers do communicate too less and do not know about the practices from the other professionals. Managing tacit knowledge in academic environments is tried hard, but hardly achieved.

13. Knowledge management in academic education

In education knowledge management is becoming highly popular as well. More efficiency through reuse of learning objects is one of the important aims of Learning Content Management Systems. In academic situations the transferring of knowledge is currently shifting from a ‘teacher to student’ perspective to a perspective where ‘the student is central’. In this last perspective the students initiate communication with teachers, experts and fellow students to become the manager of their own knowledge processes. An implementation of an LCMS like Harvest Road Hive might provide examples for ICT-use in ‘tacit’ knowledge management. During his job at the faculty of TPM Laurens Waling developed and partly implemented such a system called E-trax.

14. Knowledge management in dental care

A famous dentist in Los Angeles uses the Internet to give weekly colleges to colleagues around the world. Using a high quality webcam he shows how to implement for instance new tooth, a very secure operation. Each paying over 100 euros to watch these colleges thousands of dentists from around the world follow these ‘tacit knowledge’ lessons.

15. Knowledge management in generic projects

Project management is a popular research subject. Especially the availability of project management software provides new possibilities. Scheduling resources and overseeing costs are the main functionalities of these systems, however they might provide solutions to store project decisions and therewith stimulate project knowledge management. Through Alares and its network access can be retrieved to different kinds of projects (for instance in the public transport sector) and project information management systems.

16. ‘Nomadisch werken’ program Nederland Breedbandland

The expert group Nederland Breedbandland focuses on initiatives to stimulate fiber broadband connections in the Netherlands. The group establishes many projects under which ideas to facilitate employees in broadband Internet connections and applications. Tacit knowledge management initiatives can very well be brought under these projects.

8 http://km.nasa.gov/whatis/index.html
9 http://www.eprom.nl

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