Practical Guidelines for the Practice of Knowledge Management in Higher Education

The paper would propose, define and support, five guidelines for the practice of knowledge management in Higher Education drawn from the history of epistemological thought. The guidelines for the practice of knowledge management include to develop of Organizational Knowledge, to develop a Knowledge Management Culture, to development of a Knowledge Gap Analysis, to develop Knowledge Management Leadership and too develop of a Knowledge Management Model KeywordsKnowledge Management, KM Model, Education DEVELOP OF ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE Knowledge Management is primarily focused on knowledge possessed by people, also includes the systems that store and process information, such as databases, knowledge bases and distributed information systems (Gordon, & Smith, 1998). Knowledge should be thought of as a strategic asset which is an essential organizational component. To define the nature of the developing of Organizational Knowledge it is important to understand the distinction between the concept tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge (Nonaka, 1995). This distinction represents what could be described as the epistemological dimension to organizational knowledge creation. In summary, the term tacit knowledge has come to refer quite broadly to the know-how that is hidden or implicit in organizations. Formal knowledge in official documents and databases represents a small fraction of what an organization knows. To extract more business value from their knowledge, organizations must find ways to penetrate the sticky, opaque character of knowledge, its tacit knowledge (Horvart, n.d.). Vol. 05 No. 02 2015 p-ISSN 2202-2821 e-ISSN 1839-6518 (Australian ISSN Agency) 82800502201504 www.irj.iars.info Page 3 The tacit knowledge approach typically holds that the dissemination of knowledge within the organization can best be accomplished by the transfer of people as knowledge carriers from one part of an organization to another which is that learning in an organization occurs when individuals come together under circumstances that encourage them to share their ideas to develop new insights together that will lead to the creation of new knowledge (Sanchez, 2004). Explicit knowledge is, on the other hand, knowledge that can be quantified. It can be written down and clearly communicated to another human being. It's tangible. Explicit knowledge is the type of knowledge conveyed through articles, books, seminars, and video presentations (Bogue, 2009). In order to understand how individuals, as an essential component of a knowledge organization understand knowledge, it is important to recognize that, even if work doing the same process, working in the same area or even working with people with the same profile or even by using the same technological platform, they should have different experiences with knowing (Cole, 2008). As a practical example I will use the student support service area of a higher education institution. Processes in the student service area are ruled by a normative, some institutional, some other by requirement of state and/or federal government. Those normative are standard in which student service associates have to follow in their day to day operation. The routine that the service associates follows in the day to day basis is, as Heidegger famously observes, “our most frequent mode of dealing with things consists not in having them in consciousness, but in taking them for granted as items of everyday use” (Harman, G. 2009). Service associates from the student service area works. The experience and know-how of the associates who have accumulated by experience working on a daily basis the student processes in the IT platform have informal personal skills or light technical expertise that can be shared and even be useful to train their peers providing context about the way to run the processes as well can be defined as the tacit knowledge I mentioned before. Also the knowledge that an associate have regarding about the right way to run the processes by their experiences following certain regulations or giving for granted that the proper way to deliver service is that one accepted as the standard or things that still taken for granted. Despite of those standards, each individual within the organization has a different experience with knowing and experiencing. As the first guideline to develop knowledge within the organization I propose the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. In the field of knowledge management, the concept of tacit knowledge refers to a knowledge which is only known by an individual and that is difficult to communicate to the rest of an organization. These Vol. 05 No. 02 2015 p-ISSN 2202-2821 e-ISSN 1839-6518 (Australian ISSN Agency) 82800502201504 www.irj.iars.info Page 4 knowledge from the day to day operation if transferred and shared to these who needs that information in order to perform better will be translated in corporate training programs, performance metrics and the implementation of quality principles to the organization. Organizational Knowledge will enable the understanding of operational process which means at large, operational efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, to promote Organizational Knowledge it is important to promote a holistic transformation in the creation, sharing, storing, using knowledge, key activities and tools, packaging and communication of messages in the organization. DEVELOP A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT GAP ANALYSIS A Gap analysis is a very useful tool for helping knowledge managers to decide upon organization strategies and tactics. Again, the simple tools are the most effective. There's a straightforward structure to follow. Basically there are two simple steps to conduct a Gap analysis. The first step is to decide upon how you are going to judge the gap over time. The next step is to develop a plan about how to close the gap. The goal of gap analysis is to identify the gap between the optimized allocation and integration of the inputs, and the current level of allocation. This helps provide the company with insight into areas which could be improved. The gap analysis process involves determining, documenting and approving the variance between business requirements and current capabilities. Gap analysis naturally flows from benchmarking and other assessments. Once the general expectation of performance in the industry is understood, it is possible to compare that expectation with the company's current level of performance (Nickolaisen, 2009). This comparison becomes the gap analysis. Such analysis can be performed at the strategic or operational level of an organization. Gap analysis is a formal study of what an organization is doing currently and where it wants to go in the future (Richards, n.d.). It can be conducted, in different perspectives, such as; (a) organization (e.g., human resources), (b) organizational direction, (c) business processes and (4) Information technology. Gap analysis provides a foundation for measuring investment of time, money and human resources required to achieve a particular outcome. Donald Schön (1987) philosophical approach takes place when there is a gap between the perceived performance and the desired performance. By the implementation of this guidance organization will be able to identify those gaps that affect the efficient and operational effectiveness of the organization as a business. Vol. 05 No. 02 2015 p-ISSN 2202-2821 e-ISSN 1839-6518 (Australian ISSN Agency) 82800502201504 www.irj.iars.info Page 5 DEVELOP A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CULTURE The type of culture existing in an organization is crucial to the success of knowledge management. Davenport and Prusak (2000), highlight that, as organizations interacts with their environments, they absorb information, turn it into knowledge and take action based on it in combination with their experiences, values and internal rules. Each organization's specific beliefs, values and norms create a unique culture with identifiable manifestations. This emphasizes the embedded importance of the corporate culture in the success of knowledge management within an organization. Effective knowledge management requires creating a supportive, collaborative culture and eliminating traditional approaches. Propagating a holistic and integrated approach to establishing a knowledge management program entails understanding the importance and benefits of managing knowledge for the organization as well as the role of corporate culture in the success of knowledge management (Ndlela, 2000). This has a number of implications for the knowledge manager trying to establish a knowledge management program or ensuring that knowledge is managed properly for the sustainability of the business. Knowledge Management must be established as a culture in which knowledge sharing is rewarded rather than knowledge retention. Management will need substantial knowledge of communication processes, and develop high skills in communication and in motivation. They will also need substantial knowledge of the culture and values of their organization and how to work within them and use them to advantage (Gordon, & Smith, 1998). Peter Drucker argued that the major changes in society would be brought about by information culture. He also argues that knowledge has become the central, key resource that knows no geography. According to him, the largest working group will become what he calls knowledge workers. The defining characteristic of these knowledge workers is the level of their formal education. Thus education and development, and to some degree training, will be the central concern of a knowledge culture within the organization (Drucker, 1993). This guideline promotes a holistic change by promoting a cultural chance based in Knowledge Management. In addition, this guideline is intended to help higher education associates to look forward to appreciate and understand the aims and potential of knowledge ma