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Intellectual Capital
2003-05-01
In the last column, I reported that the management of knowledge is the process of creating, capturing and using knowledge to enhance organizational performance. In other words organizations have to create an environment where knowledge is shared, integrated and generated.
In this column, the management of knowledge from the perspective of "Intellectual Capital" is examined. An easy way to think of Intellectual Capital is to think of a three-legged stool. One leg is Structural Capital another leg is Human Capital and the third leg is Customer Capital. For organizations to be successful over the long term they must keep all legs of the stool firmly planted on the ground.
| | | | Human Capital | | Human Capital is really the knowledge contained in employees' heads about the organization's: customers or clients, its product or service line, its competitors, internal processes - administrative, technological, manufacturing, etc. Employees deploy Human Capital through the judgments they make, the analysis they carry out, the synthesizing of information and data and the innovative attributes they bring to their jobs. The challenge therefore for organizations is to encourage new knowledge to come forward, the tapping into everyone's knowledge, managing knowledge you possibly don't understand and encouraging people to learn. Remember that this collective Human Capital element vital to the organization's success and contained in your employee's heads walks off your premises at the end of every business day. Worse yet this knowledge could leave and start working for your competitor(s). | | | | Structural Capital | | Structural Capital is really the pathway along which knowledge moves. It is the body of knowledge that surrounds a task, a person or an organization. Structural Capital represents the systems and tools, which bring the body of knowledge to those that need it when they need it. Therefore, the challenges associated with Structural Capital is the bringing together of knowledge that can be transferred and deposited into corporate repositories, which otherwise might be lost. It is the connecting of people to data, experts and expertise, including bodies of knowledge - on a just-in-time basis. Valuable attributes in this regard are a willingness to share and learn and a willingness to change. | | | | Customer Capital | Customer Capital is really about customer relationships where knowledge is the chief ingredient. Therefore, every company or public service provider with customers/clients has Customer Capital as represented by its ongoing relationships with the people and/or organizations to which it sells or serves. The Customer Capital challenge is creating and maintaining loyalty among employees who in turn determine whether customers or clients are loyal.
In Fortune 500 companies, 80% have Knowledge Management initiatives in place, 53% have Knowledge Management staff and 25% have Chief Knowledge Officers. Who is managing the knowledge in your organization to ensure the "Three Legged Stool" is firmly planted on the ground? |
Contact:
 | Paul R. Hawn, President, Hawn & Associates Inc. | | Suite 507, 421 Bay Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1X3 | | info@Hawn.ca | | http://www.Hawn.ca |
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