Knowledge Management The WritePass Journal

Knowledge Management Abstract Knowledge Management ). One aspect of the NHS that is particularly admirable is the commitment that they demonstrate to strategic development. One can see that there is a strong commitment to being a learning organization in the flexible approach that they take to strategy. The increasingly demanding challenges of people in general having to make time to visit healthcare professional has been noted by the NHS and therefore they are adapting new strategies on how to provide healthcare to people without having to physically engage with the patient/customer. These can be seen on the strong online presence that NHS has providing symptom checkers, interactive quizzes and health articles. By doing this, the NHS are promoting a kind of public awareness towards health care issues and in doing so, strongly engaging in CKM by creating this shared value system, being one that is committed to good quality healthcare. Furthermore, because the NHS is a kind of public entity there is a large spectrum for public participat ion. Looking In Once a strategy has been realized, one can look to internal methods of promoting these strategic objectives. As noted above, the NHS has a strong online presence involving technological innovation which allows for widespread and effective information dissemination. A very useful byproduct of these strategic initiatives is that it promotes a system of accounting whereby stakeholders are responsible for themselves. In doing so, one promotes the idea that individuals are responsible for their own wellbeing. There is a clear link here between the aims of CKM and those of the NHS. By providing information and self diagnostic criteria, there is an empowerment that is revolving around customer participation. In doing so, the NHS is also receiving critical data which in turn will assist the institutional KM objectives. By assessing the information provided by the symptoms test, crucial information relating to current ‘trends’ in the market can be used to assess things like produ ct demand, service delivery and service demand to ensure that there are the correct available services in relation to those demands. With this there becomes a need for internal exchange between the partners in the NHS to allow the dissemination of the information gained through CKM, transforming it into KM procedures. Due to the nature of the NHS, one can see that knowledge sharing in this way would be highly beneficial. Due to the nature of medicine, most of what is learnt is based on prior experience of professionals in the industry, therefore it can be called an industry practice and fostering of a learning organization through KM in this way seems like an almost natural byproduct. There is some room for reward in this case as industry professionals may receive much notoriety based on their scientific contributions to the industry, particularly in the avenue of medical breakthrough of treatment courses. There is a potential for relatively serious repercussions in the case of a failed treatment and this in itself often serves as a kind of ‘human incentive’ to facilitate information dissemination. Structures One needs to have a functional structure in order to enable the departments and stakeholders to work together and interact within one another. With regards to CKM, it is clear that there is a high level of structural support facilitating working together of the various stakeholders of the organization. The allowance for virtual interaction that exists on the NHS website as well as pharmacy ‘hotlines’ where information can be given or gathered for the benefit of the customer and the business. This becomes slightly more problematic when moving into the sphere of KM, however due to the public nature of the NHS, the involvement or interference by the various stakeholders with one another is fairly pronounced. There is a customer feedback report that is available to all persons to complain about the individual practices and this therefore ensures a certain quality of service. There are further annual, bi-annual and quarterly conferences held where healthcare professionals are encouraged to share knowledge based on their experiences. In this way, tacit knowledge can be seen to transgress into explicit knowledge through sharing for mutual benefit. This relates back to the idea of incentive as notoriety in this way is often sought after by many professionals. It is arguable that this in itself promotes the product-based structure of knowledge management as it accounts of socio-cultural indicators simply by the nature of the subjects involved. There is however despite this an ele ment of explicit knowledge emphasis as the practice of medicine itself is an objective account of symptoms and applying those universally according to those characteristics. Looking Out Obviously it goes without saying that the success of any organization is highly dependant on the input of what Pedler refers to as boundary workers. These are the people on the fringes of the organization that are by and large responsible for the gathering of information from various sources. This has particular relevance to both KM and CKM in that the information gathered has equal importance to both. In the case of the NHS, as with any organization that is service based, there are a large number of these boundary workers to gather this information. This is evident in both patient records and the information gathered through the NHS website and questionnaires that are used. By doing so, this data can be analyzed into knowledge that can be shared through objective output sources. One can go so far as to see how the symptom checker on the NHS website is a culmination of these processes as it is using a database of obtained knowledge to assist and share with the customer. Through gatherings of industry professionals through conferences and publication of medical journals and articles, it is clear to see that there is a commitment by the NHS to intercompany learning. Sharing of information in the way that the organization does promotes the sharing of knowledge through databases and external communication sources. One must bear in mind that the NHS comprises of the majority of the healthcare sector and therefore communication between professional in the industry has a broad reach and high value. Learning Climate The very nature of the healthcare industry promotes it as a learning climate. The consequence of the ever evolving field of human care requires constant evolution and a very flexible attitude towards learning. One can see that this is present in the NHS with the process of continuous evolution of policies and commitments towards various illnesses. The policies are changing and growing constantly in response to relevant societal needs. This can be seen in the emphasis placed on pre-natal healthcare and family planning, as this has become a relevant social issue in the last decade. This can further be seen in the new Cancer Policy of the NHS which is aiming to strategize towards a new and more aggressive approach to cancer research and disease control. The nature of the profession also encourages sharing of information in a network of professionals. Therefore these strategic initiatives are generally a combination of both KM and CKM as the need is coming from both sides, professionally and from the public. There is a strong commitment by the NHS to career development and betterment of their staff. This can be seen more in the lower academic fields of carers and case workers particularly, where there is large training incentive to learning opportunities. The NHS provides a working and learning scheme whereby an employee’s skills can be enhanced. From the perspective of CKM there is encouraged learning through website publication as well as a vast array of information that is available from healthcare facilities. There is generally a broad commitment to all facets of healthcare, including mental and reproductive health care systems. Moving Forward Analysis of the practical and theoretical aspects of the NHS and how it relates of KM and CKM in a learning environment is crucial for any organization to move forward. As a result a number of factors become relevant. It is clear that in the practice of the NHS there is a clear transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. At the level of KM, this takes the form of documentation of subjective considerations. In other words, this will be case studies and patient notes. By examining these, the professionals create explicit knowledge that is objectively transferable to other professionals in the industry. By doing so, one could argue that the practice based approach to KM is being supported, as there are socio-cultural factors at play. Furthermore, by providing information to other stakeholders through articles and training, one is taking account of various education levels for example, carers and case workers. This is done by providing a simpler version of a complex set of facts. In the realm of CKM, there is also transference of knowledge from professionals to the clients using information relayed by the clients themselves. In doing so there is a mutual value creation done by the professionals to the customers taking account of relevant socio-cultural indicators. By creating this database for public assess they are allowing the expropriation of a certain level of customer by allowing them to do it themselves. It is clear that this has great benefit for the professional in the industry as it may relieve resource and staffing constraint. In doing so, there is a clear creation of a learning environment. Whilst it has been argued that this learning organization is an inherent characteristic of the professional environment of the healthcare industry, it can also be seen in the CKM objectives. It is clear that by empowering the customer with knowledge, there is a certain responsibility that is transferred to the customer. This in turn will have a knock-on effect for those customers as they will be able to self-diagnose in the future and this will pass to their network of people and so on. An example of this can be seen in a simple common cold. Through experience, individuals know the symptoms and treatment plan of the common cold, therefore they do not generally seek out professional assistance as they are able to manage it themselves. If this were the case with other ailments, the best course of action will be decided upon by the customer which has a mutually beneficial effect. Knowledge sharing in this way generally ha s a similar effect for healthcare professionals as it will also lead to experience based beneficial outcomes. An example would be through cancer treatment, experience has proven that a certain course of action is most beneficial, therefore this is the proven solution that will be used. The publication of this information in journals and circulars helps to manage the knowledge sharing ensuring the maintenance of a learning organization within the NHS. Conclusion Through analysis, the NHS clearly presents itself as a learning organization. There is a strong interaction between CKM and KM in the NHS because of the public nature of the organization. It is clear that it is committed to knowledge sharing for mutual benefit and therefore presents a strong case for the e-flow model of the learning company. There is a strong presence of internal and external influence in the learning and knowledge strategies and this is clear through the flexible nature that is shown by the policy initiatives of the NHS. The research initiatives of the NHS demonstrate a clear transference of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge in a way that it is capable of being shared and transferred between the various stakeholders. In doing so, the NHS have in some ways combined KM and CKM aspects and goals of the organization therefore empowering the professional and the customers. The nature of the organization arguably makes this a relatively simple activity as there is an inherent need for reformation and a commitment to learning and sharing knowledge. At the lower levels however this becomes more important, however one could argue that this is mitigated through the strong involvement by the public and accountability methods that the NHS provides for the customer. The NHS is a very good example of effective implementation of KM and CKM concepts in a learning organization. It has been shown that through commitment by the NHS, appropriate levels of customer involvement and empowerment, and the correct approach by the industry professionals, it is possible to have a good relay of knowledge sharing and that there is a possibility of strong interaction between customer knowledge management and knowledge management at a professional or higher level. It seems that it is essential to have accountability methods in order to ensure efficacy, however one could argue that this is simply an essential of the new, modern, learning organization. On the other hand, o ne could also discuss whether the success of the NHS in implementation of these strategies leading to their existence as a learning organization is highly dependent on the nature of the work involved and the type of professionals, subsequently meaning that perhaps there is an argument to be made which will mean that the success of KM and CKM strategies in a learning organization is more dependent on the type of organization and not necessarily the strategies thereof. Bibliography: Addicott, McGivern, Ferlie, 2006. ‘Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: NHS Cancer Networks’ Public Money Management, 26( 2), pp. 87-94 Chris Argyris, 2008. 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