Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (1992) 8,131-135

Knowledge as an asset - a view from industry Grant Thomas, NmTLab

Abstract Corporations around the world are re-thinking their learning and training approaches in response to the enormous pressures they face because of rapid technological change, increased competition and global complexity. They are coming to understand that the knowledge held within the organization, individually and collectively, is perhaps their most important competitive asset. They are seeking new ways of formalizing and transacting knowledge - becoming learning organizations. New forms of usercentred, open learning environments are being tried, and new relationships with the learning industry are being sought. This paper attempts to present a view from industry and suggests a framework to guide corporate knowledge planning.

Keywords: Corporate learning; Just-in time knowledge; Knowledge planning; Learning organization; Strategic planning.

Introduction

Never before has the learning industry been such a welcome member at the corporate table. However, is it being summoned as a partner or is it being taken to task?

Increasingly, modem organizations are realizing that their most critical competitive asset may well be the knowledge held within the company and by its employees; that corporate survival and prosperity may depend upon the organization's ability to protect, transfer and mobilize that knowledge; and that corporate futures may depend upon the ability to marshal new knowledge, that is the very ability to team.

While organizations have always distinguished themselves by their 'know how' - from construction companies to manufacturers to consultancies - new pressures make the management of that 'knaw haw' ever more important.

Global pressures

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that product cycles have collapsed. Global competition has forced a dramatic reduction in the

Invited paper

Comes ndence: Grant Thomas, Neurope Lab, Le Forum, International Business Park, 74166 gchamps, France

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innovation-to-market elapsed times, eliminating the opportunity to understand and learn new technologies in conventional ways. Technology itself has become so complex that no one individual can master it in the way we used to master fields of knowledge and specific tasks. Indeed, the fusion of technologies imbedded in the average product overwhelms the ability of the modem company to manage all of the components. Juan Rada, the former head of the Lausanne-based business school, IMD, theorizes that the average car comprises 21 core technologies and that no company can itself master more than seven technologies.

Add to this the increasing globalization of markets and we are faced with a world in which joint ventures are the norm; in which research is becoming so expensive that collaboration is the only solution; in which time pressures no longer permit the luxury of meetings and travel, thereby requiring cooperative work methods, supported by computing and communications technology; in which workers are no longer prescribed specific tasks, they now must cooperate, communicate and compute.

Knowledge assets

The emerging collaborative paradigm requires that organizations under- stand fully their knowledge assets and, more importantly, understand the knowledge that they may not have but require in a given situation, in order to acquire it either through pint venture or the hiring process. Organizations must also find ways to mobilize the knowledge possessed by employees, to network this knowledge in dynamic work groups and to encourage and support an inquisitive, learning culture.

Fortune Magazine has also observed in its June 3, 1991 issue that 'Intellectual capital is becoming a corporation's most valuable asset and can be its sharp competitive weapon'. Such assets need management, formaliz- ation and protection. Against this complexity, how are organizations reacting and what new pressures are being placed on the learning industry?

Flexible learning

In seeking to become learning organizations, many corporations are re- thinking their education and training programs. The movement is strongly towards learner-centred, open methods through which corporate goals, objectives and requirements are increasingly made visible and facilities are put in place to encourage continuous, learnerdriven education.

Flexible resources are put at the employee's disposal and inquisitive networking amongst employees is encouraged. Resources may include computer based courseware, indexes to libraries, access to internal and external databases and directories of fellow employees or external consultants who may be proficient in the fields sought by a learner. These resources may be available in open learning centres - drop in resource centres - although the trend is to the establishment of communications networks to eliminate time and space constraints. Significant research is

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being applied to the understanding and the establishment of open learning networks and the design of evolving knowledge bases to support flexible learning. The objective is to make available just-in-the knuwledge.

In one progressive case, a multinational corporation has embarked on an innovative long term program to achieve complete employee learning enablement. The program is comprehensive and is planned to include:

the availability of a corporate long range prediction identifying desired markets and business areas, potential organization structures to meet these needs, key positions and the core competencies required; definition of learning programs to achieve the competencies required of future positions; self-assessment software to permit employees to evaluate their current competencies and their suitability for other roles; open-learning networks enriched with resources to support the complex of learning programs; directories of peers, experts and tutors who will participate in the achievement of the learner's goals.

Organizations are increasingly realizing that, while they can no longer offer lifelong employment, they can offer lifelong learning. They recognize that a lifelong learning culture will not only serve corporate knowledge needs, but also better equip the employee to direct his or her career.

Consortia approaches

Companies are also aware that the re-engineering of corporate knowledge and learning is a very complex undertaking and that the methodologies, processes, lessons and experience have not yet been developed. This has resulted in the formation of research consortia to investigate and experiment in new areas of learning. Neurope Lab is a notable example in which industry, academia and government research institutes are collaborating in a comprehensive agenda of research and practical experimentation in new forms of learning and knowledge management. ELEDA, a collaboration of industry and major European business schools, is looking at ways of applying technology to issues of reach, productivity and quality of management education. Yet another example is ERIKA, the European Initiative for the Management of Knowledge Assets.

Knowledge planning

While formal programs to govern learning transformation are still in development, a framework to govern Long Range Knowledge Planning can be suggested. In fact, one could draw similarities from the evolution of Long Range Systems' Planning.

The history of corporate information systems has seen the shift from centrally controlled mainframe computers to networked personal computers which empower the individual to meet his or her own information needs. We have seen the movement from raw data to information being respected

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as an asset. We have seen the data processing supervisor become the information resource executive and the Long Range Systems' Plan is a key strategic document in the corporate planning process.

Similarly, within the world of corporate education programming, we are seeing centrally administered training programs give way to user-centred learning. We see knowledge emerging as an acknowledged asset and we are seeing the emergence of intellectual asset executives in some companies. Can knowledge planning be far behind?

The Strategic Knowledge Plan prepared for an organization would have four principle fields of activity as discussed below.

Corporate knowledge engineering the identification of current and future key knowledge requirements and critical technologies; the key competencies required over 5, 10-, 15-year horizons - of management, of professional/ technical, of all staff; development of an inventory of knowledge assets, key corporate strengths; analysis of knowledge gaps and the development of a knowledge acquisition plan - internal development, acquisition, pint venture; development of a knowledge institutionalization approach - devel- opment of knowledge bases, formalization of knowledge, security plan (duplicate key resources, document, capture in knowledge bases, etc.).

Corporate open learning

development of user-centred resources;

integration of external resources - business schools, research

shift to a concept of learning by design, not by decree;

development of critical path, learning road maps; identification and encouragement of tutors, mentors and experts to participate; implementation of open learning facilities - networks;

community -extend corporate knowledge network.

Knowledge technologies

9

supercomputing, visualization; 9 human-machine interfaces, graphical languages.

develop knowledge of critical technologies to support knowledge transfer and collaboration, corporate open knowledge architecture; networks, messaging, computer conferencing, broadband voice/video; multimedia, knowledge bases, hyperdocument architectures;

Corporate knowledge economy

9 develop knowledge auditing discipline; 9 develop protection policies;

develop concepts of knowledge value, depreciation, shadow balance sheet;

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develop return-on-investment measures; productivity and performance relationships; develop acquisition strategies - make or buy, joint ventures, mergers..

It can be argued that in the present world of chaos, ambiguity and dramatic change, long range planning becomes a futile exercise. However, the approach described represents a basic framework within which a corporate knowledge and learning strategy can emerge and a pro-active plan of investment priorities can be established. The Strategic Knowledge Plan will become a key document within the corporate planning process.

Pressures of the learning industry

The increasing emphasis on knowledge and learning within organizations is putting pressure on the learning industry to adapt. Corporations are no longer satisfied with the residency programmes offered by the business schools and, at the entry level, corporations are seeking young performers who are knuwledge adept and not necessarily knuwledge deep as the half-life of knowledge grows ever shorter.

The business schools and vocational institutes will have to adopt similar open knowledge architectures and open learning approaches. As we move to a just-in-time knowledge environment, business wants their educational partners to serve as nodes on their learning networks, as key incremental resources available to serve both learning and operational knowledge needs. Business will be prepared to enter into long term partnerships to personalize this technology based relationship.

Similarly, the institutes themselves must seek ways of increasing their productivity and reach while maintaining or enhancing quality. They must recognize the knowledge assets that they hold and they must implement ways to integrate them just-in-time to meet corporate and community needs.

Perspective

Tomorrow's knowledge adept will be required to be knowledge navigators, competent in the mobilization of resources to meet changing situations and comfortable operating in dynamic collaborative networked teams. This constitutes an enormous change in traditional educational emphasis.

The transition to the knowledge age is underway in Europe. It will be realized over communications networks and will be supported by user centred open learning platforms and just-in-time knowledge architectures. It will herald a world of shifting collaborations of organizations who one day compete and are partners the next. It will reward the knowledge navigator, tomorrow's entrepreneur.

The collaboration must start now. Industry and the learning community must forge early implementations of the knowledge based cooperative model as they face their respective challenges.