Knowledge as Inventory: Near-Optimizing Knowledge and Power Flows in Edge Organizations (Phase One)

摘要

This paper reports on Phase I of a two-phase research project to model, simulate and ultimately optimize knowledge flows in Edge organizations. We begin by describing knowledge as a set of discrete yet perishable skills, and consider how these perishable skills flow through organizations in response to demand triggered by environmental changes. We hypothesize that analyzing the stocks and flows of perishable knowledge inventory in organizations, analogous to analyzing those of perishable physical goods inventory in a supply chain, uncovers useful insights to clarify current understanding and permits initial quantification of knowledge management impacts on organizational performance. We examine differences between knowledge and physical goods, and explore how we can adapt methods for costs of knowledge inventory additions, subtractions, reordering as well as EOQ, holding times, inventory doctrines of Just-In-Case, Just-In-Time, and make vs. buy decisions. The discussion leads to the concept of Knowledge Chain Management (KCM). KCM can provide military and business practitioners with a useful framework for maintaining knowledge (and therefore power) levels; and KCM provides a new theoretical lens to frame future research (including our Phase II research) in terms of knowledge and power flows.