To create a knowledge management system, and an associated
knowledge environment, that delivers on its promise, we must
ensure that those who will use and are affected by KM willingly
accept it and the changes it represents.
However, what if users reject the new knowledge management
approach? What if they see the initiative as too disruptive or bur-
densome? What if they feel they are not adequately prepared or
that they haven’t been told enough about it? If this happens, they
could treat it as just another gimmick and quite possibly reject it,
making the next KM effort much tougher.
This can easily happen. Over time, workers build their own
personal, comfortable, and possibly inefficient knowledge systems.
They rely on their personal system whether it is accurate or not.
When they need to know something, they ask their buddies or
their boss. Over the years, they’ve built unique personal directories,
e-mail files, or collections of information on scraps of paper, “just in
case.”
Change Management StrategyChanging the way people work, especially if the change has the
potential for disrupting personal comfort levels or an existing orga-
nizational culture, is tough work that is not to be taken lightly.
When the change appears to add more structure or process to how
people do their jobs or when it appears to conflict with individual
work styles, even if these perceptions are incorrect, the challenge
is even greater. Research in organizational dynamics, diffusion of
innovation, and change suggest that failure to pay attention to
prevailing attitudes, beliefs, and practices, even when the benefits
of a new way of doing things are totally obvious to all, invites
disappointment if not disaster.
To avoid the cynicism and disappointment (not to mention the
business setback) that could come with a failed knowledge man-
agement initiative, a comprehensive change management strategy
is critical. What does this mean? What should be done? Here are
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