Digging Potentials Knowledge Within the Organization

“Ngelmu iku kalakone kanthi laku”

Mbah Maridjan

Introduction

Most of organizations have not or even do not know if there is potential knowledge (knowledge + experiences) hiding in its staff. Why is it?, as the matter of fact it is true that most of knowledge asset is storing in our mind, this is what we commonly call “tacit knowledge”. According to Stone (2002), Tacit knowledge is something what we naturally know, but it is hard to be transferred clearly and completely. This is because it stores in each individual mind within the organization. Knowledge Management exists to answer this matter, which is the process of changing tacit knowledge to become knowledge that easy to be communicated and documented, that is what we call “explicit knowledge. Documentation is the most important thing in knowledge management, because without it, everything will always still be tacit knowledge and that knowledge becomes hard to be accessed by anyone else and whenever else in the organization.

The map of Knowledge within organizations

In order to utilize and develop each staff’ potential knowledge, absolutely the organization needs the information in a complete form regarding to this valuable asset. As a step to detect the existence of tacit knowledge, it is necessary to conduct information seeking through spreading the questionnaires to everyone within the organization. As an example, the questionnaires can contain: 1) to what extent do you recognize that you have potential knowledge your company have not utilized it maximally? 2) to what extent you recognize that your partners ( from other departments Internally and externally) have potential knowledge and skills that have not been utilized maximally by the organization? 3) What are the barriers of the first and second question? Other questions can be developed by the organization. All the answers are next compared to staff database that surely already had previously. By this kind of step the organization will possess the map of its potential knowledge. Strategically, all these maps and knowledge categories can also be the base of consideration for rotation, promotion, mutation, to all staff trainings policy. So, at its shift, the organization is becoming able to empower each job that fits to possessed competency by its staff.

“Wong bodho dadi pangane wong pinter”

Sunan Kalijaga

The maps and categories of knowledge is used to be more competitive

From the existing of the maps of knowledge, then the company can conduct categorization of knowledge. Michael Zack (1999) has categorized knowledge into three forms, include: 1) Core knowledge, as the simple example to explain this term is, if you want to open repair shop, the first thing you must have is the mechanists who have good quality, also complete tools, spare parts, etc. 2) Advanced knowledge, is the knowledge that creates competitive advantages, so the organization can face directly with its competitors, for instance, besides can fix the common vehicles, the repair shop should improve and advance the new technology in automotive. With both knowledge core and advance, the competitors will not easily align with your company. 3) Innovative knowledge is the knowledge that can make your organization can change “the play rules” of business world that is playing to be the leader. However, those three categories are dynamic, so the organization needs to be aware. An organization with high level of innovative knowledge can be drop to be core knowledge because of new technology and methods. Therefore, it looses its competitive advantages. The actual example is the existence of CDMA technology that has changed the map of cellular operator’s business competition.

Finally, if we have known our knowledge categories, then we can determine the map of knowledge needs that are needed to win the battle with the competitors.

Wassalam.