Much helpful knowledge about IAS exam and about civil services

Despite its growing adoption, there are still a large number of organizations that have not systematically developed their knowledge agenda. Even those organizations that are recognized as leaders in knowledge management believe they have much to do before knowledge management is organization-wide and an integral part of about IAS exam daily business activities. KPMG's analysis for its 1999 knowledge management survey indicated that 43 per cent of the 423 organizations polled were only at the first stage (knowledge chaotic) of its five-stage model of knowledge maturity, with only 10 per cent at the two most advanced stages (knowledge managed and knowledge-centric). What knowledge strategies are organizations using to maximize the organizational benefits? In my book Knowledge Networking I identified two main thrusts and seven strategic levers. The first thrust is that of making better use of the knowledge that already exists within the firm. Ways of doing this include the sharing of best practices, developing databases of solutions to problems, drawing out lessons learned from completed projects, and systematically recording details of customer engagements. This thrust is often paraphrased as: 'if only we knew what we know'.

Too frequently people in one part of an organization 'reinvent the wheel' or fail to solve customers' problems because the knowledge they need about civil services is elsewhere in the company but not known or accessible to them. The second thrust is that of innovation - the creation of new knowledge and its conversion into new processes, products or services. Here the focus is on more effective ways of nurturing creativity, better matching of unmet customer needs with potential solutions, and improving knowledge flows in the innovation process. The blueprints for the Saturn rocket have been lost and much of the knowledge of the 400000 engineers that made the first moon landing possible lies in documents that are devoid of meaning without the contextual and personal knowledge of those who generated them. NASA now has a programme of 'knowledge archaeology' to excavate and add meaning to the repositories of information, in order to prepare for a future manned landing on Mars. Analysis of successful knowledge initiatives indicates seven commonly used strategic levers: Customer knowledge - developing deep knowledge through customer relationships, and using it to enhance customer success through improved products and services. Knowledge in products and services - embedding knowledge in products and surrounding them with knowledge-intensive services. Knowledge in people - developing human competencies and nurturing an innovative culture where learning is valued and knowledge is shared. Knowledge in processes - embedding knowledge into business processes, and giving access to expertise at critical points. Organizational memory - recording existing experience for future use, both in the form of explicit knowledge repositories and developing pointers to expertise. Knowledge in relationships - improving knowledge flows across boundaries: with suppliers, customers, employees etc. Knowledge assets - measuring intellectual capital and managing its development and exploitation.