Knowledge Management
(Collison Parcell)

Knowledge Center

What is the Knowledge Management approach of Collison and Parcell? Description

The Knowledge Management method from Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell is a framework that can be used for learning, capturing, sharing and exploiting knowledge, experience and good practices.

Knowledge Management is an oxymoron – nobody can really manage an asset which resides in the heads of employees, and is shared primarily through conversation.

What you can do, though, is: to manage the environment in which knowledge can be created, discovered, captured, shared, distilled, validated, transferred, adopted, adapted and applied. To create business value.

For creating an environment within which knowledge rapidly flourishes we need:

• The right conditions. A common reliable infrastructure and an organization that is willing to be entrepreneurial.
• The right means. A common model, tools and processes for learning.
• The right actions. Where people instinctively seek, share and use knowledge.
• The right leadership. Where learning and sharing is expected and role-modeled.

The methodology provides a number of tools, interventions and facilitation techniques to help organizations to learn before, during and after activities.
The benefits from these learning interventions can be multiplied if they are shared more widely as good practices – either through people-networks (communities), or through the capture and codification into regularly updated “knowledge products”.

Origin of the Knowledge Management method by Collison and Parcell. History

Originally derived by the knowledge management team of BP in 1998 from good practices in the US Army and other learning organizations, the methodology was published in 2001 in the book “Learning to Fly, lessons from one of the world’s leading knowledge companies”, Collison & Parcell. Once published, the methodology produced a community of practice – now in excess of 700 people from a wide variety of public and private sector organizations. In 2005 a new version of “Learning to Fly” was published to demonstrate the transferability of the approach, carrying stories of application from ten other organizations. Applications range from the United Nations to De Beers, from the BBC to primary schools in New South Wales. Elements of this knowledge management approach can be found today in a large number of organizations and business schools. Including Henley and Cranfield Management Schools.

Usage of the Knowledge Management framework by Collison and Parcell. Applications

• Preventing wheel reinvention, particularly in large, international organizations.
• Accelerating the integration process following an acquisition or merger.
• Identifying, capturing and sharing good practice in organizations.
• Dealing with cultural barriers that hold back organizations – e.g. “Not invented here”
• To build, nurture and support networks and communities of practice.
• Creating a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
• Involving leadership in the right behaviors to reinforce knowledge-sharing.

Steps in this Knowledge Management method. Process

See the diagram on the right.

• People and teams agree on a set of goals. Then they use knowledge to deliver against their targets, ultimately creating value. Where do you begin to intervene with knowledge management?
• Focus on the "Using Knowledge circle". What if you could inspire your organization to learn before, during and after any significant activity. Simple learning processes like assisting a colleague, retrospects (post project reviews) and after action reviews make their contribution here, and help to elicit new knowledge - knowledge which would have remained in the heads of the individuals concerned.
• All this learning activity needs to be connected to some kind of "knowledge bank". If you want to learn before doing, you will want to make a withdrawal. And when you have learned lessons which you want to contribute, you'll need to make a deposit.
• That's where the ability to capture and distil knowledge becomes important. But that's not the whole story. It is impossible to capture everything, so it's important to link the people and network who hold key knowledge and insights, and to encourage them to own and update any knowledge which is made explicit - captured as information.
• The environment or culture within your organization surrounds the model, which is critical to get started and sustain knowledge-sharing. This will be reflected in the right leadership behaviors, and the way in which Knowledge Management becomes embedded into core processes so that ultimately it becomes an "unconscious competence".

Strengths of this Knowledge Management framework. Benefits

• Delivering more, from less! Isn’t that what is being asked of all of us?
• Improve identification and transfer of good practices.
• Learning and improving leading to faster cycle times in product development and continuous improvement.
• Preventing the repetition of mistakes, and wheel-reinvention.
• To identify and overcome a not invented here culture.
• To improve the level of sharing and take-up of new ways of working.
• Credible approach. Proven in BP and a wide range of organizations, ranging from primary schools to corporate giants, from the UN to agile, networked non-government organizations.

Limitations of the Knowledge Management philosophy by Collison and Parcell. Disadvantages

• Requires a willingness to deal with the underlying culture and process issues – it's not just a technology quick fix – it's a holistic approach.
• Easier to demonstrate the immediate benefits in larger, distributed organizations. Although benefits are there for SMEs too.
• Deceptively simple.
• Knowledge management is often misunderstood by technology vendors peddling information management technology. There may be some management preconceptions to overcome.

Assumptions of Knowledge Management. Conditions

• Organizations achieve benefits if they work more effectively and efficiently.
• Companies that provide time-based services to clients may have to look more closely at where value is created to derive benefits from better management of knowledge.

Book: Collison & Parcell - Learning to Fly

See also: Chris Collison's website

Forum Forum discussions about Knowledge Management. Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something. Start a new topic about Knowledge Management Share your knowledge here (or ask a question)   The Value of Knowledge in a New Job Knowledge is an interesting thing: in one respect, once we have it, we never lose it. In another respect, when a change occurs our previous knowledge typically has limited application to a new situati... 15   16 comments Components of Knowledge Sharing Systems What are the essential components of knowledge sharing systems in an organization?... 8   2 comments Getting Traction in KM through Weekly Updates... I made a very interesting observation over the past few weeks as I have been sending weekly updates to my stakeholders. Though I am still working on my governance model, and ways to build engagement I... 5   1 comments Knowledge Management Activity: The Share / Learn Board This morning I facilitated a workshop around with the aim of getting people to connect and talk to fill knowledge gaps. There was no technology, and it was a stand up event. I had them do two rounds o... 5   2 comments 🔥 NEW Setting Up a Knowledge Management/Development Office Major, complex organizations can create a specific office for knowledge development to attract, pull, organize, stimulate and share knowledge and knowhow. All stakeholders will be better equipped to ... 4   2 comments Let's SYSTEMATICALLY Develop the Process of Knowledge Management Knowledge Management is increasingly considered as a key asset and a critical resource to maintain, valorize and develop, in every type of organization, be it large or small, and within all sectors, f... 3   1 comments

Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about Knowledge Management. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. Social Networking for Knowledge Sharing All of you know the value of Facebook and Twitter these days. Have you ever thought of such social network within the organization where all can share their work related knowledge and also share perso... 130   5 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about Knowledge Management. Here you will find professional advices by experts. Barriers that Hinder Effective Knowledge Sharing Effective Knowledge Sharing, Pitfalls to Avoid, Knowledge Management Implementation According to Chris Collison, there are seven common barriers or syndromes that hinder effective knowledge sharing and se... How to Identify and Map Knowledge Knowledge Identification, Knowledge Capturing, Knowledge Storage In his article “Knowledge Mapping: The Essentials for Success”, Wesley Vestal provides following six tips to identify an... Positive Effects of Age Diversity on Company Productivity and (Tacit) Knowledge Sharing Tacit Knowledge Transfer, Workforce Productivity, Incentive Management Backes-Gellner and Veen (2013) outlined the main advantages of having a diverse workforce within a company. The followin... Critical Activities to Build a Learning Organization Implementing Organizational Learning, Best Practices Learning organizations are distinguished because they are undertaking certain activities to foster the internal learning... Capturing Learned Lessons How to Capture Organizational Learning? Best Practices Knowledge from bad and good experiences will lead you and your organization to better future performance. You can improv... How Culture Levels Explain Failures in Organizational Learning and Innovation Improving Organizational Learning, Organizational Innovation, Changing Organization Cultures Schein (as cited by Bertagni et al., 2010) tries to elaborate on the question why organizational innovations often fail ... What are Smart Creatives? Traits R&D, Product Development, Service Development, Strategy, Innovation, HR, Career Management To accommodate the strategic demands of the internet age, clever, creative knowledge workers are needed in product/servi... People Development Approach for Successful Knowledge Management Knowledge Management, Career Management, Talent Management, Employee Induction, Human Resource Development People play an important role in Knowledge Management (KM). We all know that. Indeed, the success of KM basically depend... Organizational Problems with Knowledge Workers Knowledge Intensive Organizations, Knowledge Management Nowadays, many companies engage in a destructive circle of hiring expensive knowledge workers, then laying them off beca... Knowledge Management Scope Knowledge Management, Level of Know-how Research by Deishin Lee (HBS) and Eric Van den Steen (MIT) shows that recording mediocre know-how can actually be counte... Components of Learning Agility Organizational Agility, Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management One of the critical factors for achieving organizational agility is learning agility, which refers to the ability and ea... Knowledge Management Focal Point Knowledge Management Focus Research by Deishin Lee (HBS) and Eric Van den Steen (MIT) shows that information about successes is typically more usef...

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding Knowledge Management. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Management of Knowledge Workers Innovation, IPP, Litigation Hans K, Hvide and Eirik G. Kristiansen study how complementarities and intellectual property rights affect the managemen... Innovation and Knowledge Management The Importance of Innovation and Knowledge Management Authors: Dr. Siddhan and Dr. Abdul Halam A presentation in which the importance of Knowledge Management and Innovation ... Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Models, Implementation, Overview, Examples An extensive presentation explaining both the concept of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning by H. Gundogan... Knowledge Transfer and Knowledge Sharing Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Transfer Preentation that is an introduction into the concept of Knowledge Transfer, including its fundamentals, strategies, guid... How to Improve Knowledge Sharing in Knowledge-intensive Organizations Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing Motivation, Knowledge Sharing Platform. Tacit Knowledge This presentation elaborates on the concept of knowledge sharing, thereby focusin on a knowledge-intensive organization ... Knowledge Management Systems Architecture Knowledge Management, Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Systems, Knowledge Architecture This presentation is about knowledge development and management, including the following sections: 1. Overview 2. Know... Overview of Existing Types of Knowledge Knowledge Management, Knowledge Types, Tacit, Implicit, Explicit, Declarative, Procedural Knowledge This presentation provides an overview of the different types of knowledge that exist. The presentation includes the fol... Why Continuous Learning is Key to Your Life and Career Your Personal Growth and Development, Career Management 2015: FACEBOOK OR 12MANAGE? At the end of the year, we at 12manage were discussing the massive amount of meaningless ... Introduction to Knowledge Management: Foundation Principles and Building Concepts Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing, Learning Organization 1. What is Knowledge? 1. What is Knowledge Management? Definition 2. Knowledge Foundation Principles and Building Conc... Introduction and Summary of SECI Initial Understanding of SECI. Start of workshop/training Knowledge Management Is utilizing tacit (the unseen huge part of the iceberg), as well as explicit (the tip of the iceb... E-knowledge networks Knowledge Management The emergence of new technologies has increased the ability of organisations to share knowledge, not just internally, bu... Professor Evans Explains Why Fast Change Requires New Ways of Learning and Thinking Action Learning, Coping with Change, The Need of Change, The Need for New Ways of Learning In this historic video Action Learning Professor Reg Evans shows that it is very important to understand that today's ra... How to Integrate Internal Organizational Knowledge with External Online Communities Knowledge Management, Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Sharing, Interaction, Knowledge in Organizations Due to many online and web-based technological developments in today´s digital economy, sharing knowledge in online comm... Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning and Intellectual Capital Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning Presentation about organizational knowledge, learning and intellectual capital. The presentation includes the following ... Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Learning through Communities of Practices Knowledge Sharing, Organizational Learning, Communities of Practices, Special Interest Groups Knowledge management in Communities of Practice (CoPs) This presentation is about organizational learning and knowledge... Three Levels of Knowledge Management Initial Understanding Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning According to Jury (2007), knowledge management can be categorized into three different levels, and organized in a pyrami... The Difference Between Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management Initial Understanding of the Difference Between OL en KM Dr. Edward Rogers puts forth that organizational learning and knowledge management are often considered to be synonyms a... Knowledge Management Diagram Knowledge Management Download and edit this 12manage PowerPoint graphic for limited personal, educational and business use. Republishing in ... Knowledge Transfer in the E-world Knowledge Management, Knowledge Transfer, Internet, Intranet, E-Business, CRM This is a presentation about Knowledge Transfer (KT), specifically focused on KT in the e-world. The presentation consis...

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