Knowing knowledge
knowledge management
Healthy exercise
The concept of research as a support activity rather than a profit centre has
been losing ground with increasing rapidity in recent years. More and more,
organizations are looking to their research people to generate not only ideas for
new products, but also as the key contributor to the kind of knowledge-enabling
systems seen today as crucial to success. We asked three 'researchers' - FAR's
Frans van Bijsterveld, global research manager Hung Tran, and Bernard
Walschots of financial markets research - what they know about knowledge.
What sNewS Issue 12-December 1998
WNS: What is knowledge management?
Hung Tran: In my view, it
F has everything to do with
reengineering, retooling
and reorganizing the
workload. It is the organization of
business so that there is a more efficiënt
way to get the information people need -
internally sourced, external data,
marketing info, product knowhow - in a
very clear and easily accessible way so
that they have everything at their finger
tips when talking to customers. Basically,
that means using information technology.
WNS: So it is a reorganization of information
flows
Hung Tran:Yes. But it is also the
organization of information flows
between departments. We have to put in
place a platform which is easy to access,
easy for people to find and read, so that
vhen a relationship manager goes to see
a cliënt, he or she can say: I have so
much information about you that I
know what your problems are and we
can do this, that and this to help you
solve them.
WNS: And that already exists in Ri?
Frans van Bijsterveld: We\\, we already
have that to some extent through the
public folder system - the new Insight
system that will be rolled out in the new
year will make this a whole lot easier.
But basically, yes, you can tap into
expertise on F&A sectors - and I know
that the health care people are putting
something similar in place with
RaboCare.
Bernard Walschots: It is marshalling all
your information and
V knowledge resources and
making it available to our
customers. That is
knowledge management. I agree with
Hung Tran, it is managing the process,
the flow of expertise and knowledge and
that includes a degree of absorption of
outside knowledge.
WNS: What you are saying is that it is the
whole process, from the origination of
information, data right through to the end, to
what the gurus call 'wisdom'?
Hung Tran: That's right. Before you get to
the 'wisdom', you first have a whole
process which precedes it. I also think
you have to go as far back as first
defining exactly what knowledge is and
then building systems which keep its
access as sintple as possible.
Frans van Bijsterveld: What 1 find very
surprising is that in a bank
like ours, a self-proclaimed
H F&A specialist, there is a
tremendous amount of
knowledge, tacit knowledge, locked
between people's ears. It cannot be
tapped. You have to find ways to take
that knowledge out of people's heads.
Knowledge management then has to
become self-created, it must be input into
a system so that it is accessible to others.
But first and foremost, sharing
knowledge and transferring it has to
become a way of thinking, a way of
participating. That will motivate people
to download their knowledge in what
must be a very easy and user friendly
way. It then will be integrated into a
data base accessible to everyone else.
That will give them the edge when
talking to customers.
WNS:How do you introducé that?
Hung Tran: The issue is not introducing it
because all organizations through time
have always done some degree of
knowledge management - they had to in
order to function. In RI, it was also
done, but on an ad hoe, personal
network basis. You develop a personal
relationship with someone, based on
mutual trust, and if you run into
something a cliënt may need, you think:
Ah, Frans may be able to help me on
this one. So you piek up the phone and
you help your customer. That happens
all the time.
WNS:What you're describing is fairly normal
human behaviour?
Hung Tran: Yes, and that's fine in some
environments. But we are looking at a
scenario where financial markets
themselves are becoming increasingly
knowledge-driven. To match that, our
own knowledge flows have to become
more formalized and more efficiënt.
continued on following page...
In our research issue (WNS 11/98)
we covered the first biotech
conference for customers organized
by Andrew Tivenan and his team. A
unique event - but in fact the
teamwork went even further. Along
with our equity study on the
pharmaceutica! industry, the first of a
range of FAR-style reports was also
published. Shawn Leiand was
responsible for the industry study that
provided the macro information to
complement the detailed corporate
reviews included in the equity
product research. The introduction of
such dual studies shows, we believe,
the gradual integration of RI's
approach to this complex industry.
'The study shows that pharmaceutical
companies operate in a knowledge-
based environment where innovation,
research, efficiency, time to market,
and marketing power are all key
drivers of profitability. It is also a
highly regulated industry,' comments
Leiand. If the quality of our own
knowledge can be further expanded
through the use of systems, such as
RaboCare, our recent knowledge
management initiative, then the
future looks healthy for everyone.
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