Knowledge Management (KM) is a business management methodology, which has it’s origin in the IT (Information Technology) arena. Large businesses have struggled with providing the right resources to the right people at the right time, every time. This is the foundation of Knowledge Management processes. While KM has it’s beginnings in the business field, universities and other higher educational organizations are joining in, finding the processes significantly enhancing their professional development training, communications and management processes. KM is a very new concept for K-12 educators, with implementation being very limited and disjointed.
I can help your organization implement KM processes that will improve communication processes, resource storage/retrieval, professional development and enhance shared decision-making.
Key Benefits
- Offers professional development opportunities that can be accessed by stakeholders when THEY need it without having to loose a great deal of critical work time or personal/family time.
- Establishes a communication pipeline that offers information and resources to stakeholders more efficiently and effectively.
- Creates the possibility of timely, effective, efficient and documented shared decision-making.
Capabilities
Knowledge Management as a leadership tool is an effective leadership tools that allows for infinite possibilities. Below are the beginning possibilities that are available, but feel free to inquire about other possibilities. Learn more about knowledge management processes.
- Professional Development (Professional Learning Communities/Communities of Practice)
- Utilizes online discussion boards, online resource-sharing to enhance face-to-face professional learning communities as well as developing effective online communities of practice (CoPs). I can assist technology personnel with the installation of the needed software and then provide online, and if possible, face-to-face implementation training for all stakeholders. I can also facilitate discussion forums.
- Communications Development
- In a recent study, five out of six employees said that they primarily go to the secretary for information about what is happening in the company, policies/procedures, and forms of every type. In the same study, it was found that four out of six organizations filter information from the district level solely through the organizational chain of command, depending on leaders at each level to authentically pass on messages to employees and other stakeholders. This single-source conduit for information and knowledge had the tendency to create translation problems (the message was not passed on with the same emphasis, the same tone, or the same basic information).
- Organizations wishing to be able to pass information from one level to another had to conduct multiple face-to-face (f2f) meetings, giving exactly the same message to multiple people from each site.
- With online resource development, your organization can communicate with individuals, small groups, large groups and entire stakeholder communities so your message gets to the right people at the right time…when THEY need it.
- Shared Decision-Making
- We have all been in those end-of-the-day meetings when everyone is tired and frazzled. There is always one person checking their phone messages and texts, someone is jangling his keys, hoping (against all hope) that the “Talker” will not be as verbose as he usually is so they can get out of there. One or two people (usually the chair person and the “Talker” who has an opinion about everything) end up running the meeting and making decisions, while the rest of the group sits passively by.
- I can help your organization create virtual committee forums where committee members can participate at times that are convenient for their schedule. With an expectation of involvement from all members, committee discussions become more rich and meaningful, decision-making is more formalized and all committee agendas and discussions are fully documented for the purpose of measurement and assessment.
To learn more about Knowledge Management you can read the following:
- What is Knowledge Management (from KM World)
- Knowledge Management Definitions & Solutions
- Why Knowledge Management is Important to the Success of Your Company