Knowledge Management Case Book: Siemens Best Practises

This knowledge management casebook is one of the best documented case studies of knowledge transformation at work in a global business powerhouse. Siemens has been rated as one of the top ten KM-driven companies worldwide according to an international benchmarking exercise (MAKE ? most admired knowledge enterprise), thanks to its comprehensive efforts at fostering, promoting and optimizing knowledge utilization. The 19 chapters covering Siemen?s KM journey have been compiled by a team of 44 writers, including business executives, managers, interns, professors and graduate students. The material is divided into 7 sections, covering overall KM strategy, transfer techniques, communities of practice, e-learning, and organisational change.With a diverse group of companies and almost half a million employees globally, Siemens is one of the world?s oldest and most successful corporations ? which successfully adapted to the chaotic world of the Information Age to re-structure itself around its most valuable assets: its knowledge base and people.?Companies today live in knowledge ecologies where one company feeds knowledge into another. What counts is a networked approach to KM, involving internal as well as external parties. The logic behind this is as simple as it is compelling: if you cut off the outflow of knowledge, you will also cut off the inflow. We believe, therefore, that the firm?s openness to external experts and the sharing of ideas within a broad network will be a key driver for maintaining competitive success at Siemens,? begin the editors Thomas Davenport (KM expert) and Gilbert Probst (professor at the University of Geneva).?Increasingly, information is either a part of, or an important facilitator of, Siemens? diverse businesses. Since KM is greatly enhanced by the effective use of IT, it?s not surprising that Siemens was a relatively early and enthusiastic adopter of KM. The IT-driven nature of the company?s businesses also provides a strong motivation to manage knowledge effectively. One attribute of these technologies is that they change very rapidly; keeping up with various computing and communications technologies is much easier when a company has a system for rapidly circulating new knowledge,? according to the editors.But KM is more than technology, and Siemens has also focused on a culture of sharing, synergy, and customer focus, especially in markets and fast-moving technology areas where the customer needs are more for total business solutions and sector intelligence than mere technology components. KM at Siemens began in a bottom-up manner via various mid-level initiatives in communities of practice and bodies of knowledge. Managers of these initiatives themselves formed a semi-official community of practice. This was then followed by a corporate knowledge function which officially supported and coordinated these various initiatives, via the creation of the Corporate KM (CKM) office in 1999.The Corporate KM (CKM) office held a

The Knowledge Management Case Book clearly illustrates how knowledge sharing can begin either as a bottom-up or as a top down activity. This book was developed through collective efforts of Siemens employees working together with external "case coaches" who acted as 'devil's advocates' in conceptualizing and writing cases. This book offers concrete case-based ideas on how Siemens is promoting and optimizing knowledge utilization on a worldwide basis. It is written in a very understandable, narrative style, and organized into five sections that flow well together. These sections offer case studies of knowledge transfer, communities of practice, added-value of knowledge management, measuring KM, and an epilogue written by Gilbert Probst. As Gilbert Probst states in his epilogue, this book is a kind of knowledge tool itself and has offers the reader many practical examples of KM in practice. Part I of the book offers the reader cases addressing the fundamental issues of knowledge transfer, critical success factors, underlying principles, descriptions of know-how exchange, lowering knowledge-sharing barriers, KM strategies, and it addresses the need to weave best practices into the day-to-day work that everyone does. Part II is focused on communities of practice -- one of the major driving forces of KM. Its cases explain the challenges of set-up, implementation, coordination and the support required for managers and teams to systematize KM practices. Part III illustrates the added value of KM in innovative arenas such as neurological-disease centers, knowledge intensive medical solutions and services, mergers and acquisitions, or corporate learning programs. Part IV examines quantifiable measures of KM as a critical basis for developing incentives for stimulating knowledge sharing and networking. It suggests ways in which results can be promoted, and discusses the intersection of KM and e-business, incorporating knowledge from outside corporate boundaries with organizational knowledge. Gilbert Probst proposes that the very process of case writing is instrumental in managing knowledge and reflecting on the process. Thus, according to Probst, the case method used in this book offers an excellent example of a knowledge-sharing tool. Each case is presented as an independent study. They can be read in any order. The consistent emphasis throughout the book is placed on an ongoing balance of identifying what knowledge is most relevant to the interests of managers, and illustrating how to transfer it. I really enjoyed reading this this book. I consider it a treasure trove of ideas on how to use an organization's best knowledge practices.

This is a premier book on knowledge management--a definite must read. Although it's a bit pricey and not in main stream distribution, please note that Tom Davenport is the co-editor. The book provides an inside perspective on how Siemens, a 400,000 person global company has scaled KM to be both part of their business practices and their business model. Since they operate in over 190 countries, it's easy to see why the communities of practice concept would be so appealing to them. Given the limited amount of available literature related to communities of practice, the how-to chapter about communities in this book by itself makes the book a must read. As you read about the KM work at Siemens you can get a good sense of how KM will eventually reside permanently in the main stream of management practice. I have collected quite a bit of the KM literature and would place this in a top ten read list.

This is a premier book on knowledge management--a definite must read. Although it's a bit pricey and not in main stream distribution, please note that Tom Davenport is the co-editor. The book provides an inside perspective on how Siemens, a 400,000 person global company has scaled KM to be both part of their business practices and their business model. Since they operate in over 190 countries, it's easy to see why the communities of practice concept would be so appealing to them. Given the limited amount of available literature related to communities of practice, the how-to chapter about communities in this book makes it worth buying the book. As you read about the KM work at Siemens you can get a good sense of how KM will eventually reside permanently in the main stream of management practice. I have collected quite a bit of the KM literature and would place this in a top ten read list.