Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58912
Research Examining the 'Learning Mix' The Information Age has done many things for business, but there's one thing it has done to business: deluged it with an unending stream of data. Execu- tives in all industries are feeling the weight of the vast amounts of infor- mation their companies generate. They are struggling with the same questions: How can we manage our information effectively? How can we convert that information into knowl- edge we can use? In their paper, "Knowledge Management: A Learning Mix Perspective," Bertrand Moingeon and Alexandre Perrin developed a model that companies can use to become true "learning organiza- tions" that take the greatest advantage of their own internal knowledge stores. Moingeon is a profes- sor of strategic man- agement and associate dean for executive education at HEC Paris. Perrin is a doc- toral student at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. Perrin is also an affiliated member of GRACO, a research group that is focused on organizational learning and based at the ESADE Business School in Bar- celona, Spain. The idea of the "learning orga- nization" emerged in the early 1990s, they explain, as analysts began to realize that the way a company manages its knowledge can influence how well it develops its strengths. "In the mid-1990s, many companies decided to implement knowledge management initiatives," Moingeon says. "Most of them Bertrand Moingeon Moingeon and Perrin argue that few analysts have created a working model that shows how companies can clear up that confusion and create effective knowledge man- agement strategies. "Knowledge management is more than a decade old," says Perrin. "However, there has been little rigorous empirical research in the field." The pair wanted to provide a working model that companies can use to manage knowledge comprehensively and effectively. The researchers first reviewed research on organizational learning conducted over the last 30 years, studying the work of a variety of theorists. They then conducted ten interviews with knowledge management experts; from 2002 to 2005, they also conducted field- work at a variety of companies. From that work, the pair devel- oped a model they call the "Learn- ing Mix," which comprises four primary components of a company: n Information technology, which refers to the tools a company uses to organize information. n Learning structure, which refers to its ability to convert this information to knowledge. n Knowledge portfolio, which describes the knowledge a company already possesses and the knowledge it can acquire. n Learning identity, which shows Alexandre Perrin 48 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 adopted what we identify as an IT- driven strategy, in which they cre- ated databases of best practices. But the IT solutions didn't fulfill expec- tations. The technology enabled the exchange of information, but also created confusion between 'infor- mation' and 'knowledge.'" how the entirety of a company's knowledge makes it different from other companies. Too many companies do not take into account all four areas of the mix, says Moingeon. For instance, a company may depend heavily on technology to manage information, but fail to designate processes or personnel to update, manage, and