Broker Networks: says who?

broker /'brəʊkə(r)/ n. 1 an agent who buys and sells for others; a middleman. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1990).

I think that the term “broker” is misleading, in that it connotes an independence which is not necessarily present in the literature, and which in turn enables stereotyping of the social identity of the broker (compare a money-sucking sycophant and a legitimate and beneficial part of the organisational process).

Cranefield and Yoong (2007) use the term “gatekeeper”: identified as a key person, typically a boundary spanner, who establishes information and communication networks, and filters and facilitates information transfer between an organisation and its environment. The gatekeepers in this study were managers or senior policy analysts from within the organisation, with domain knowledge and with the sanction and sanctioning force and mana of the government. MfO is regarded as a successful project, and much of the success can be attributed to domain knowledge, prior relationships and their ability to synthesise the different paradigms. These are skills and expertise that are not typically associated with external consultants.

Leow, Bleimann and Murphy (2004) attempt to introduce a “new paradigm” to resolve many IT problems involving communication: “communication between people”. A KB (knowledge broker) will identify experts, be available, have connections, will respond to information requests. In reality this is not a new paradigm, and the KB would previously have been called a librarian, also now known as an information professional. For example, the PWC's knowledge portal is presented as a KMS, yet it was developed by an information professional / librarian: Michelle Dollinger.

I am also not sure that Leow et al's knowledge broker network is a network in terms of Social Network Theory because it is the attributes of the individual that matters: the individual is identified as an expert, and the predisposition or ability to share knowledge affects the relationship – a well known problem in KM.

Cranefield, J. & Yoong, P. (2007). The role of the translator/interpreter in knowledge transfer environments. Knowledge and Process Management, 14(2), 95-103.

Loew, R., Bleimann, U. & Murphy, B. (2004). Knowledge broker network based on communication between humans.

Summary on : "A Research Agenda for the relationships between culture and knowledge management"

Full Title of article:

A Research Agenda for the Relationships between Culture and Knowledge Management.

Author: William R. King

Type of paper: A research agenda for analyzing the impact of culture to KM practices.

Audience: academic

This paper address the various concepts and levels of culture that are useful to research and practice in KM. The paper shows how national culture and organization culture affect the way people practice KM. The paper also discuss how KM impacts culture.

The main component of culture that this paper discuss is about national culture and organizational culture.

a. National Culture (NC)

What is NC?

This paper refers NC as 'The patters of enduring personality characteristics found among the population of nations'. Some of the themes of NC that the paper discuss are:

1. Uncertainty Avoidance : The degree to which individuals feels threatened by ambiguous situations by establishing formal rules and rejecting deviant ideas and behaviours.

2. Power of Distance: the power of influence that a subordinate perceives from a superior.

3. Masculinity/Femininity: Culture with high score in masculinity emphasize achievement, earnings, and assertiveness. Culture with high score in femininity favour personal goals, quality of life, and nurturance.

4. Individualism/Collectivism: It assess the the extend to which individuals' self-interest take priority over the concerns of the group.

How NC affect people do KM ?

National culture dominates the way people conduct knowledge management. The author thinks that if the organization culture is different that the national culture, eventually in the long run national culture will dominate they way the employee do KM.

b. Organizational Culture (OC)

What is OC ?

A single unified culture that exist in an organization.

How OC affect people do KM ?

1. Culture shapes assumptions about which knowledge is important.

2. Culture mediates the relationship between organizational and individual knowledge

3. Culture creates a context for social interaction.

4. Culture shapes processes for the creation and adoption of new knowledge.

5. Who owns the knowledge.

6. Culture create context for social interaction.

7. Culture shapes the processes for creation and adoption of new knowledge.