Knowledge Management practices at Microsoft

Knowledge Management practices at Microsoft

• 1.
  Vanishree Sharma
• 2.
  Knowledge is processedinformation. It is fluid mix of framed experiences, values, information, insight and intuition. Knowledge Management is a discipline of identifying, capturing, retrieving, sharing and evaluating an enterprise’s information assets.
• 3.
   Microsoft wasestablished in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.  As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets.  The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS).
• 4.
   In 1995,a project called SPUD (Skills Planning under Development) has started and was developed by a unit within Microsoft’s internal Information Technology (IT) group.  The project involved building an online system that contained job rating systems and ratings database, and competency levels for employees.  The goal for the project was to create an online competency profile for jobs and employees within Microsoft IS.
• 5.
  “Knowledge management isa fancy term for a simple idea. You're managing data, documents, and people efforts.“- Bill Gates The high individual knowledge is not enough in today's dynamic markets. A company also needs a high corporate IQ – intelligence, knowledge, and expertise of the company – which provides the facility to share information widely and enable staff members "to build on each other's ideas".
• 7.
   Live videomeeting/conferences  All employees have the opportunity to attend one conference a year.  Breakfast meeting :The occasion is used for knowledge sharing and learning that concerns the whole organization.  Biz-talk: a knowledge library with questions and discussions that are related to its products. These info are open to everyone in Microsoft.  There are different resources of knowledge in Microsoft viz. Internal web sites and Resource One.  Employee communication about updates and products.
• 8.
  Learning/training initiatives foremployees in Microsoft can be divided into three dimensions:  Courses and training specialized for the work- role. These are mainly online courses/e- learning, but also can be external courses and conferences.  Face-to-face learning on the job. Learning by experience, interaction with colleagues, Friday lunch presentations.  Learning by seeking information when needed. SharePoint libraries and blogs.
• 9.
   My web Microsoft SharePoint: First launched in 2001, It has historically been associated with intranet content management and document management, but recent versions have significantly broader capabilities. SharePoint is used by 78% of Fortune 500 companies. Between 2006 to 2011, Microsoft sold over 36.5 million user licenses.
• 10.
  Two things makeMicrosoft diff from other companies. One is the amount of information, the second is open landscaped office. Not only physical, but also when it comes to sharing. Employees try to sit by each other’s work-desks and they try to have lunch with different people each day. They have a sharing culture. Even the top manager sits in an open landscape.
• 11.
   Duplication ofeffort and increased costs  Information leak out  Irrelevance of information
• 12.
  Software products areknowledge-based, and it often requires specific knowledge to know how to use the products most efficiently. Microsoft knows that this kind of knowledge is essential for the company and makes a lot of effort to develop and maintain the knowledge level in the organization. KM strategies at Microsoft have become integrated in the organizational culture, and have become a part of normal work practice.