4. Discussion Of The KM Spectrum
This "knowledge management spectrum" has a number of implications for the way that knowledge management is done, and even for the definition of what knowledge management is. Binney makes a number of observations about the spectrum, which are used in this article as starting points for discussion.
4.1. Features Of The Spectrum
Several features that differentiate knowledge management approaches can be observed from this spectrum. We can see how the different approaches have different specialisations; for example, there is a left-to-right transition from techniques that are good for managing explicit knowledge to techniques that are good for managing tacit knowledge, with techniques for managing Beckman's category of implicit knowledge falling in the middle of the spectrum. There are several other transitions, too: the degree of individual choice (for the user of the managed knowledge) increases from left to right; the choice of tools or approaches for carrying out a knowledge based task increases from left to right; and the emphasis on the need for organisational change also increases from left to right.
It's clear that what is referred to as "Knowledge management" actually consists of a range of techniques that address different organisational issues and needs. Indeed, Binney notes that "there appears to be an author affinity to parts of the spectrum depending on each author's discipline and background. Management theorists tend to be primarily focused on the process, innovation/creation and developmental elements of the spectrum, with technologists focusing more on the transactional, analytical and asset management elements". The implications of this observation reach to the foundations of knowledge management, for it helps explain disagreements over the definition of knowledge management: technologists tend to explain knowledge management in terms of externalisation or combination of knowledge, while management theorists generally focus on knowledge management as a process of socialisation and internalisation. This in turn leads to different opinions of approaches and techniques for knowledge management, notably the use of technology; management theorists tend to think of technology as being merely an enabling factor to socialisation and communication, while technologists see it as the central focus. For example, Scarbrough and Swan (Scarbrough & Swan, 1999) collect some case studies which seem to suggest that many KM initiatives over-emphasise the role of IT systems with a resulting failure to address human factors adequately.
These two views of knowledge management can be characterised as the "cognitive" view and the "community" view. The community view emphasises knowledge as socially constructed and is managed primarily by encouraging groups and individuals to communicate and share experiences and ideas. The cognitive view regards knowledge in objective terms which can be expressed and codified, and is often expressed by the capture and codification of knowledge in computer systems.
However as Binney points out, if Nonaka & Takeuchi's knowledge spiral is accepted, then the organisation must be managing both explicit and tacit knowledge at all times in some way, in order for the knowledge spiral to keep flowing. This view is supported by Hansen and colleagues (Hansen et al,1999), who suggest that most organisations should operate with a mixture of an explicit codified knowledge strategy and a highly creative and customised strategy, but not in equal proportions. So it would seem that Binney's spectrum does identify different techniques that are applicable for different types of knowledge management, but that most organisations will be using two or more of these techniques, incorporating both a "cognitive" and a "community" approach, if their knowledge is continuing to grow or improve.
4.2. Completeness Of The KM Spectrum
It's worth considering whether the KM spectrum deals with all known approaches to knowledge management, and if not, to consider why. Two approaches that are not covered have been identified, and these are discussed in turn.
4.2.1. Knowledge Management As A Corporate Strategy
One of the knowledge management approaches identified by Day & Wendler was "Shaping corporate strategy around knowledge"; Wiig has a similar category of "Knowledge Strategy as Business Strategy". Day & Wendler's example was of Monsanto, who found that its two divisions used such different approaches to knowledge management that they decided to sell off one of the divisions. This approach would not be expected to be incorporated into Binney's KM spectrum, for it does not map to a single approach in the spectrum; rather, it is a decision made as a result of the type of analysis that the KM spectrum provides.
4.2.2. Asset Improvement
From a technologist's point of view, there is one area of knowledge-related technology that does not appear in the spectrum: the area of improvement of existing knowledge assets through optimisation techniques. This does appear to be an omission from the spectrum, for the optimisation of knowledge assets is aimed at increasing their utility, and so should qualify as "knowledge management". Since asset improvement is normally done using computer-based statistical techniques, but does not transform the asset into a different form, it belongs to the left of Asset Management but to the right of Analytical KM in the spectrum.
On the basis of this, we suggest a revised version of the KM spectrum (Table 4). We also suggest revisions to Table 2 and Table 3, which are presented below.