Dynamics of Knowledge Café

5.1 Overview of Knowledge Café

Knowledge Café is an informal grouping of professionals to discuss in an open environment on a topic of mutual interest and concerned. Therefore the café would enable the participants to form a creative and innovative approach towards solving or managing an issue or problem.

Graphical Representation of Knowledge Cafe

In Knowledge Cafés small group are formed with 5-6 people addressing from a table to discuss on a very specific topic of common interest with a predetermined time constraint of 10-20 minutes. A representative is selected from each table and would interchange with other representatives of other tables. By repeating this process of interchanging table representatives, will enable participants within café to share knowledge.

The main objective of Knowledge Café is to impart participants in developing an innovative and creative approach towards resolving the issue or problem.

5.2 How Knowledge Café is useful to me?

Knowledge Café helped me in consideration of information requirements, which in-turn include knowledge management concepts. The Knowledge Management organized laid a potential and positive impact in identifying the key elements of Knowledge Management Strategies within and organization of choice.

The key elements identified at the initial stages were modified as the Knowledge Café went on and finally concluded with the most important key elements need to ensure Knowledge Management within the organization.

Problem: Identifying the factors to stop existence of KM with in Organization

As a group of 5 members, we have identified the required 40 factors to avoid the existence of Knowledge Management within the organisation. After going through the Knowledge Café processing and discussions between the group members, other groups and facilitators (Prof. Mark and Mr. Aboubakr) the identified factors are drilled down to 3 critical factors.

Here are the listed 40 factors taken into consideration according to our group and even the 3 critical factors are posted here in the form of photos below……

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

3 Critical Factors by Groups

Finally, I have adapted a reverse strategy and identified the most important or required factors to ensure Knowledge Management within the organization.

5.3 The “Three Most Important To Do” as a Knowledge Manager for an Organization

- Develop Training and Development Strategy
- Develop Social Communication Channels for employees
- Develop Knowledge Documentation Process (Physical or Digital)


5.4 Why these factors are important to me?

As a Knowledge Manager, I would like to make my organization as a Knowledge Resource along with the business operation. The business operation is prevalent since the existence of the organization. Looking at the potential needs of the organization a strategy is planned to ensure existence of Knowledge Management.

To enhance of knowledge within the organization, there is a necessity of providing or adapting Training and Development Strategies. This strategy will change the mindset of employees by imposing innovate and creative thinking towards establishment of Knowledge Management.

Secondly, by establishing the Social Communication Channels the employee are given an opportunity to express their ideas to other employees. This will help tacit knowledge to be transformed into partially explicit knowledge. The transformed explicit knowledge is combined with innovation and creative approach will become more absolute. The above mentioned approaches are gained as a result of training and development strategy.

The developed innovative & creative approaches of transforming the knowledge are to be stored either on a physical media or digital media. Here the physical media are referred to paper based documentation and digital media are referred to electronic devices.

5.5 Implementation of Knowledge Management in my assumed IT Company

As mentioned in my earlier postings, I work as an IT Consultant focusing on ERP Systems and Network System. Before started pursuing the Knowledge Management Module with Middlesex University, as group of EPR Consultants we started using an available platform like Google Groups. One of our Senior Consultant took an initiative to lunch a group to post the problems escalated in various phases of ERP. The phases include Learning of ERP applications, Implementations, upgrading and maintenance. As on today there are 200 members interacting through posting the error encountered on a daily bases and providing solutions on a daily basis. We are planning to bring some technical experts i.e. Senior Consultant and form an ERP Consultancy at the earliest.

Now as Knowledge Manger for an assumed ERP Consultancy with academic learning in Knowledge Management module and past functional experience it’s easy to establish Knowledge Management in the chosen company by concluding the key requirement like

- Develop Training and Development Strategy
- Develop Social Communication Channels for employees
- Develop Knowledge Documentation Process (Physical or Digital)

Firstly, I would like to emphasize on implementing training and development strategies within the company to enhance the skill sets of the employees. This is achieved by allocating a fixed annual budget on conducting Training Development Programmes. As a process of implementing Knowledge Management, I would categorize all the employees based on their functional experience and subject expertise. The short-listed expertises are given an opportunity to share their knowledge with the other members of the organization and they are appreciated with an addition financial package for sharing their tacit knowledge and making it explicit. A similar practice was implemented in my organization in India.

Secondly, I would like to extent my focus on incorporating Social Communication Channels within the office premises. These Social Communication Channels includes setting of Cafeteria’s, Weekend Recreation for Employees and Monthly gatherings. This would definitely make the employees to communicate and share ideas in an open environment rather than closed office environment. This is something similar to Socialization mentioned by Nonaka (1995).

Lastly, I would like to further extend my focus on storing the triggered ideas for the benefit of the company and individuals. This is possible on saving the triggered ideas on some or the other storage media either physical or digital media. In order to enable the employees to store the triggered ideas, I would launch an internal employee forum and make it mandatory for employees to post their ideas in the internal forums. The ideas can trigger in one’s mind anytime in 24 hrs. Therefore, I would extend the accessibility of the forum from any corner of the world using internet to login.

Therefore, I believe the above listed key factors would enable me to implement Knowledge Management in the assumed company more effectively.

5.6 REFLECTION FROM GROUP LEARNING

Depending upon the discussion in knowledge café, the important or key steps for implementing knowledge management in an organization were communication, trainings, and documentation of knowledge. However, all these key steps pertained only within an organisation which was commented by Hinds F (2008). Thinking these steps in a broader view, I came to a conclusion that key steps can also be applied to various organizations as well. Thus, expanding the prospective of knowledge in a progressive approach.

5.7 Photos from Knowledge Cafe held on 15th Feb 2008 at Middlesex University

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