The Orange Peel Path: Planning Organizational Knowledge Management Strategy
- Dr. Moria Levy
- Feb 1, 2005
- 5 min read
Why do certain companies succeed where their competitors in the same field fail?
Many factors influence a company's success, but without a doubt, one of the most prominent is the business strategy guiding the company's activities. What is strategy? What is this concept that so many discuss and carry such high expectations? Strategy is the operational framework and pattern of managers' decisions to achieve organizational goals. In simpler terms, it is the guidelines and work methods for organizational operation.
Where and when is it advisable to manage strategy?
Some would argue in every area. However, there are places where the cost outweighs the benefit, for example, in simple trivial actions where success is guaranteed or where the risk of error is not great. This is not the case with a knowledge management project in an organization. Knowledge management is a complex project full of challenges. It deals not only with new management methods that maximize and develop organizational knowledge but also with managing organizational change to lead the organization to that target point where these methods are implemented. The project is risky in two ways: because the concept of knowledge management is intangible and perceived incorrectly, improper activity can cause missed opportunities, and it is risky because we are dealing with people. And with people - there are no guaranteed successes. There is no doubt, therefore, that strategy is an important component in planning and implementing knowledge management activities in an organization.
When should the strategy be formulated? And how should it be formulated to bring optimal results?
Let's start with what not to do: formulating strategy as the first activity in a knowledge management project is not advisable. Why?
A good strategy is based on the organizational culture. This is relevant to its knowledge management. Such a strategy is based on values and behavioral patterns in areas that affect sharing and management (of knowledge, of course). Since the organization has not yet experienced knowledge management, any attempt to define a strategy at such an early stage will not be tailored to the organization. The strategy will be the consultant's strategy, a strategy from colleagues who described what happens in their organization, and/or a strategy read in a book. In any case, it is not the right strategy.
Suppose a strategic plan is required initially (because management demands it). In that case, we reluctantly try to formulate one, understand its limitations, and return to renovate and improve it later when it would have been right to carry out the activity in the first place.
When is the right time? After six months to a year of experience with knowledge management activities in the organization. At this stage, we have already experienced constraints, beliefs, work habits, and the attitudes of employees and managers. We have learned how quickly (or slowly) the organization can be moved toward the desired change and how easily it can accept and implement change toward a practical and conceptual direction of knowledge sharing and management. At this stage, the strategy will be a significantly more effective tool that helps lead to success.
How do we plan the strategy?
Three stages:
Map existing knowledge-sharing activities, see what can be learned from them, and how to leverage them. Existing activities always form the beginning of the path. Ignoring them is inappropriate ("Now we're working in an organized way, starting a new page"). There is much to learn from any activity that indicates both a need born in the field, a yearning for knowledge management among those involved, and the challenges that will likely accompany many additional activities.
Define the vision: where we want to reach. Outline a scenario of "knowledge management at the end of days." This is the end of the path, and as the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland already said: "If you don't know where you want to go, any road will take you there." Examples of components included in the vision: how knowledge management thinking integrates into future work and computing processes; what is the comprehensive framework (portal?), how and when it is used; who are the role holders and what they are required to perform, and more. In a good strategy, defining the end of the path is mandatory.
Plan the path itself: this is the outline of activities, working assumptions, and emphases that will help us implement a work plan that will lead us from the beginning of the path (mapping) to its end (to the vision) and on time.
To plan the path, it is recommended to examine organizational behaviors that will teach us about the challenges/strengths that characterize our organization:
Existing documentation habits.
Computer usage culture: (level, comfort).
Existing sharing habits.
Communication patterns.
Responses to change processes.
Organizational politics and power patterns.
Existing and declared values in the organization.
Decision-making patterns.
Patience and tolerance for long processes.
Focus on the current, "urgent" (firefighting) versus thinking and planning for the future.
The strategy will ultimately contain the master plan (at the implementation stages level) and the guidelines/emphases for its implementation. Examples of aspects of guidelines/emphases that may be included:
Decentralization/centralization: Whether to work Top Down, Bottom Up, or combined. How to combine the two.
Center of gravity and balance between long-term knowledge management (for organizational leverage and growth) versus medium-term knowledge management (to improve achieving organizational goals).
Center of gravity and balance (in the medium term) between plus and minus: to what extent to focus on the minus: streamlining work processes, shortening them and saving (cost reduction); to what extent to invest in the plus: creating new outputs, increasing costs, and so on.
Orientation toward specific work groups (core or others).
Orientation toward organizational leads/business goals.
Level of practicality. According to organizational culture and expectations, define a period (year?) after which there will be practical results. If the issues being handled are larger, break them down into subtasks and/or prioritize other issues that arise from the required practicality.
Importance of project management. According to the size of the organization and complexity of the activity. (All knowledge management activities will be managed in a project manner: timelines for implementation will be defined, metrics will be defined, and if necessary (according to the size of the activity), related risks will be managed).
Unified activity strategy: Although many planned activities will be performed partially in parallel, with the assistance of various external factors that assist in implementation, the strategic lines for knowledge management will be preserved as determined in the song.
Budget gradation and solution gradation. Gradual introduction of the organization to the subject.
Reference to the cultural element (the conceptual change). Whether it is invested in as an independent activity or only breaking down inhibiting factors while progressing, what is the level of investment (central axis/bit by bit during the work), and more?
These are representative examples, but as mentioned, the strategy must be tailored to each individual's organization. There are no right answers and no unsuitable answers.
Why do certain companies succeed where their competitors in the same field fail?
They probably formulated the right strategy and sketched the orange peel path with infinite thought and sensitivity while listening to their organization. Such paths ultimately led their organization forward, leveraging the peels into trees, growth, and renewal.
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