Reserve Bank of New Zealand 229Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without writtenCommitting to a framework that will evolve in a more organic way
In keeping with the view of knowledge management as a continuum, commitment
to an organically evolving framework retains a close alignment to the individual nature
and requirements of the particular business environment. This avoids the need to put a
tight structure around things, which is likely to constrain thinking and result in a less-
than-optimum result. While best practice can work well, essentially it is transferring
someone else’s idea to your individual business circumstance, and can stifle innovation
because you are constraining yourself to what others have done. Rather than applying
scope and boundaries from others, the challenge is to say, “let us just throw everything
up in the air and see where it lands.”
It is not exclusively about technology or business process or culture; it is a
combination of culture-change initiatives with technology as an enabler.
The combination of technology and business process were important components
of the Bank’s knowledge management initiative, but neither was considered in isolation.
The Bank’s knowledge management program necessitated changes to the way things had
previously been done. Change is often easier to enact when it has a hook. Often,
technology is used as the hook for facilitating change.
High level of commitment from within the organisation
The Bank’s knowledge management program was sponsored from the highest level,
the governor. If this top-level support had not been apparent, it is believed that the Bank
would not have made as much progress as it did. Although it could have been pushed,
to a certain extent, by the CIO, there were a number of business cases where the projected
benefits were intangible and not able to quantified. Without high-level support, it would
have been difficult to secure funding for these business cases in the absence of a tangible
return on investment.
The intangible nature of benefits
The benefits derived from knowledge management initiatives are often intangible
and hard to quantify. Most organisations require a strong business case to be in place
before committing funds to an initiative or project. The Bank found it difficult to identify
and measure benefits in terms of financial return and was therefore unable to present
these as part of its business cases. The Bank took the approach that by addressing the
problems that existed, this would result in intangible benefits, such as a happier
workforce, thus leading to increased productivity. The investment was, therefore, more
a strategic investment in the business in the long term. Success of earlier business cases
has also added support for future business cases.
REFERENCES
Anand, Y. (2003). Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Knowledge management. Presentation.
Wellington, New Zealand.
Anand, Y. (2004). Personal interview with Reserve Bank CIO, Yogesh Anand.
Bank of Canada. (2002). Annual report. Retrieved July 2004, from http://www.bankofcanada.ca/
en/annual/2002/bank.pdf