• Structural
  • Channels of communication
  • Information systems
  • Physical environment
  • Procedures and routines
  • Systems of incentives
• Behavioral
  • The qualities, meanings and feelings that habitually condition patterns of interaction within an organization

• Replication
  • Sharing “best practices”, process improvement ideas between entities – plants, shifts, departments, locations
  • Overcoming
    • Not Invented Here
    • We’re special
    • We’ve already tried that
    • Fear of appearing that you can’t solve your own problems

• Documentation
  • The identification, documentation and dissemination of a better way
    • When should a better way be standardized
    • How do we update our documents
    • How do we quickly and completely disseminate the new documentation so that it is implemented

• Three layers whose interaction allows the creation and accumulation of knowledge
  • Business layer – the traditional hierarchy
    • Acquires, accumulates and exploits explicit knowledge
  • Project teams – Task force
    • Creates new knowledge
  • Knowledge base – Not an organizational entity
    • Recategorizes and reconceptualizes knowledge generated from the other layers
    • Corporate vision and culture
    • Technology

Basic Premises

• Knowledge
  • A change in the range of potential behaviors
• Organizational learning systems and knowledge management systems
  • All organizations have organizational learning / knowledge management systems
  • Quality management provides the context for an organization’s organizational learning / knowledge management system