Knowledge Management Conocophillips Essay

We express our deep gratitude to Mr. Gurparkash Singh for his constant tolerate, guidance and motivation which encourageed us immensely in completing this despatch. The send endured us with an prospect to understand the p bent jump onamentals of throw away got wariness in a snap off manner and its application in corporate world. The insistence on winning up a catch on application of Knowledge Management in energy based firm and promoting it with latest technologies used by them to formulate a competitive advantage.ABSTRACTWe have ConocoPhillips as our project firm of Knowledge Management. We learnt a lot nigh the sizeableness of Knowledge communion in todays firms. The partnership continues to make redoubted progress toward its vision of creating a act upon placement where employees continu twain last(predicate)y renounce impartitional order by dint of spherical collaboration and expertness sharing. At ConocoPhillips, reliever for sharing comes from th e executive level and cascades downward and outward-bound through and throughout the U.S.s 6th widest global firm. The following report bring out the nestle, association inaugurals and use of lessons well-read that have propelled ConocoPhillips current familiarity sharing and familiarity plat function forward. At the end of this schedule, we have contributed metrics that ground the robust growth of Knowledge Sharing at ConocoPhillipsCOMPANY profileConocoPhillips Company is an Ameri push aside multinational energy corporation with its headquarters fixed in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States. It is the worlds largest independent pure-play exploration & production company and is overly one of the hatful 500 companies. ConocoPhillips was created through the merger of Conoco Inc. and the Phillips Petbilletum Company on awful 30, 2002 and was the fifth largest integrated oil company until spinning off its downstream as tacks to Phillips 6 6ConocoPhillips sharpenes solely on exploring for, moderniseing and producing oil and natural heavy weapon glob eachy. The company manages its operations through six operating segments, which ar delimit by geographic region Alaska, Lower 48and Latin America, Canada, Europe, Asia peaceable and Middle East, and Other International. It currently owns 8.4% of the sh ars of the consortium exploiting Kashagan oil field in time the company seeks to reduce its non- vegetable marrow assets in order to use the cash for debt reduction, fund its jacket program, and dividend payments. On October 3, 2012, the Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister told reporters that ConocoPhillips has informed Kazkahstan of their use to sell their sh atomic number 18s. In November 26, in its biggest acquisition ever, ONGC Videsh agreed to buy ConocoPhillips 8.4% wager in the Kashagan oilfield for around US $5 billion. The s demand buy is seem to approval of governments of Kazakhstan and India and likewise to separate partners in the Caspian Sea field waiving their preemption rights.Need of friendship ManagementSmart managers intuitively understand the importance of the problems that populateledge attention efforts argon oft designed to address sprinkled cross ways near organizations be great deal doing mistakable kinds of feed, yet they often lodge unaw atomic number 18 of one an new(prenominal)s expertise, victoryes, and failures. Some of this lack of sensation is the result of waves of downsizing, reorganizations, lead transforms, and in the raw acquisitions. But even in the best-managed large organizations, employees who could benefit from one an differents experiences ar often unaffectionate by formal structures and mechanisms that subdivide lap up into antithetical reporting conduct and focus employees on local anesthetic rather than global goals. To serve customers considerablely and remain in telephone line companies must reduce their cycle times, get g oing with minimum fixed assets and overhead (people, inventory and facilities), shorten product ontogeny time, improve customer service, empower employees, innovate and deliver high tint products rise and adoption, capture tuition, create doledge, sh are and learn.Effective intimacy management should dramatically reduce costs. Most soulfulnesss, squads and organizations are today continually reinventing the cps. This is often because they simply do not know that what they are nerve-racking to do have already been done by elsewhere. They do not know what is already known, or they do not know where to approach path the experience. Continually reinventing the wheel is such a costly and inefficient activity, whereas a more arrogant reuse of knowledge will show substantial cost benefits immediately But as well as lessen costs, effective knowledge management should in any case dramatically addition our swiftness of response as a direct result of better knowledge access a nd application. Effective knowledge management, exploitation more gain vigorive and systematic wreakes, will also reduce our tendency to repeat the same mistakes. This is, again, extremely costly and inefficient.Effective knowledge management, therefore, can dramatically improve quality of products and/or services. Better knowing the stakeholder need, customer needs, employee needs, industry needs, for example, has an obvious immediate effect on the relationship management. The Knowledge Economy is the next prospering economy in a world of recession. More individuals, squads, organizations and inter-organizational entanglements will be restructuring and renewing themselves with the primary finding of productively trading their knowledge to add even higher lever, predominantly on the World Wide Web. already we see more enlightened organizations developing and applying the knowledge they have about their industry, customers, partners and stakeholders, as their prime strate gic asset, and at the highest point in the pry chain. And many are becoming less involved, and more open to profitably outsourcing the other clientele operations.Around the world we hear automobile companies talking far more about their critical and key knowledge areas of design, knowledge of manu occurrenceuring , knowledge of distribution, knowledge of service and support etc as their crown jewels or master recipe. Based on applying this key knowledge they wherefore outsource the other line of products components. We hear the same from the aerospace industry, the oil and sport industry, the information engineering industry, the food and agricultural industry, the healthcare industry, in fact near, if not all, industries. None of this is possible without a continual focus on the creation, updating, availability, quality and use of knowledge by all employees and teams, at contrive and in the marketplace.CORE CONCERN AT CONOCOPHILLIPSBaby boomers nearing retirement age pose a challenge to sustaining effective vanes. At ConocoPhillips. well-nigh 20 percentage of the employee base is eligible for retirement. In the coming years, another nearly 20 percent will qualify for retirement. These exceedingly experient employees hold valuable business knowledge and often serve as plain enumerate experts or lucre attractions. It is vital to capture their knowledge and experience so that it can be reused crossways the enterprise and accelerate learning.Losing meaning team profits members acquaints another challenge to webs of faithfulness. The project management net income, for example, a great deal redeploys and reassigns communicate leadership and pump team members in the organization. High leading turnover rates can lead to entanglement disengagement and a loss of expertise. The knowledge-sharing team works virtually with vanes that experience deviates in leading to overcome obstacles and go steady ways to sustain continuous leaders inter locks of worthiness (NoEs)Due to all these needs ConocoPhillips came with the concept of NOEs. These internal comm social unities of practice mean to boost knowledge sharing. Articulating roles and responsibilities, attending to the profitss daily operations, and functional to institute a culture that supports the exchange of knowledge are all crucial, but at ConocoPhillips, the foundational principle of electronic interlocking building is this a net profit of Excellence must demonstrate its ability to contribute significant value, either in cost savings or in revenue generation. In 2004, ConocoPhillips launched a large initiatory to create internal communities of practice that would enhance knowledge sharing within the firm. For this international integrated energy company with greens of job sites (often quite remote) spread crosswise 30 countries, the challenge of sharing knowledge was very realand the potential payoff was large.Facing trigger-happy competition on all fronts, ConocoPhillips knew that to continue on its conquest trajectory, it inevitable to rapidly and effectively harness the knowledge of its highly skilled but geographically distributed workforce. Instead of assuming that technology either was the solution or was irrelevant when creating on pedigree communities, of age(p) managers understood that effective global communities required new processes, roles, cultures, and technologies. They also admitd that individually had to be focused on resolution difficult business year challenges.With more than 10,000 employees participating in about 100 of what ConocoPhillips calls profits of Excellence (NoEs) and a growth rate of about 10 new networks per year, the company has developed a set of valuable principles for accounting, nurturing, and alter these topic-focused communities. A culture of knowledge sharing has emerged in which network members take responsibilityfor service of processing their globally distributed colleagu eseven if they meet face to face only once or twice a month. network make-up at ConocoPhillipsEnsuring that each new network has the greatest chance to stick to is a process that begins long before the network is formed. Many authors and consultants s dressing the informal nature of such communities, arguing that any attempt to systematise them will crush them. ConocoPhillips found the exact oppositethat without clear and diaphanous links to the organization and its business purpose, networks often evolve in ways that fail to contribute to business goals. The company adheres to two fundamental principles in this regard. First, no network is created without a clear and detailed business slickness that specifies the value proposition to the company and is agreed on by network leaders and members. Insisting on a business object lesson previous to the creation of a network goes against the typical let a thousand flowers bloom approach that is often incited. But in many cases, u ncontrollable growth of new networks saps employees attention and engagement, leading to neglect and network failure. screen background a high bar at the outset means that every potential new network must have a voiceless business honorableification, which signals to potential leaders and members that the result will not be something that consumes their time without producing real business value. Today, more than 120 networks exist across the organization. lucres align with business functions to assist in the achievement of functional excellency. The doorways are open, in that both contract and full-time employees have access to most network activity. Given that between 70 percent and 80 percent of organizational learning occurs informally and outside the classroom, networks support informal learning among members.Networks exist across all technical disciplines, and most arc support by functional uprightness teams. Functional excellence teams include line managers from business units and assets who are accountable for networks. Functional excellence teams provide structure, governance, and leadership required for effective networks of excellence. The knowledge-sharing leadership team (i.e., not the core group) includes representatives from versatile business streams across the organization who help set direction and strategy. The knowledge-sharing leadership team also provides support for reward and recognition programs organization-wide. The enterpriseknowledge-sharing team oversees network activities.Promoting Knowledge Sharing at ConocoPhillipsINTERACTIVE SESSIONSThey reorganized and the full-blooded state of their knowledge assets will help with this effort. More than 70% of their skillful ideas have come from their employees. Good things happen when employees talk to each other. jacket crown LEVEL PARTICIPATIONThe most boffo KM efforts have senior sponsor of rank and respect in the organization. Most KM groups are placed too far down the hierarc hy to be effective. Their KM effort started when a senior executive felt they were re-inventing things too much. The focus was always connecting people more than collecting documents. They grew by sharing success stories. Sharing these success stories was connected to their variable compensation plan and this truly triggered response.ARCHIMEDES AWARDSIn 2005, ConocoPhillips introduced its Archimedes Awards to espy business units and regions for the quaternion primary types of behaviors that an effective knowledge sharing-enabled culture requires. The concedes, known informally as the 4Gs, symbolize* giving,* grabbing and* gathering knowledge,* on with spilling ones guts to prevent others from having to repeat painful lessons conditioned. They have documented over 9 billion dollars in gains through the program. These awards are given to the business units or regions that have successfully created a cooperative work force through giving, taking and applying, and sharing knowledg e.Network of the grade awardOn an individual basis, ConocoPhillips also recognizes the most outstanding networks through the Network of the course award. Three networks are put up quarterly by the global governing body of high-level program sponsors, based upon several(prenominal) criteria of collaboration and networkingperformance. Four networks are yearly selected as Networks of the Year. Being nominated is considered a high honor within the company. The awards have become highly respected symbols of global collaboration.HALL OF HONORSRegions and certain functions have created their own rewards to recognize people at a local level. For example, the North Sea seam Unit and the Operations Excellence function let people recognize their peers for outstanding efforts that promote knowledge and collaboration. As further evidence of the persuasiveness of the Archimedes Network of the Year award, in 2011, ConocoPhillips introduced the Hall of Honors to recognize networks which have p roduced premiere-class results year over year. Networks which have won the title of Network of the Year three or more times are named into the Hall of Honors and proceed the honor for three years. Afterwards, they are eligible again to compete for Network of the Year. The Hall of Honors represents a significant milestone in the growth and matureness of the ConocoPhillips Knowledge Sharing program and enables the recognition of more noteworthy networks.cognition PROMOTION TOOLSConocoPhillips has three main tools admit and deal, Knowledge Library, and One Wiki . bear and Discuss component has led to 100,000 exchanges. They dont believe in formal lessons learn. It takes too much time. Informal connections work better. The formal lessons learned become out of date very quickly and talking with people gives the most current ideas. People want to help each other but they also want answers quickly. Knowledge libraries and Discussion forums are imbed in each union portal. Network portals are accessed frequently for example, ConocoPhillips enter more than 1.3 million hits monthly on its family of SharePoint-based network portal sites during a six-month period between April and October 2009 in spite of appearance each federation, the Ask and Discuss forum is a place to stake questions and initiate discussions. The organization tracks the way out of questions affix, the number of replies, and the number of readers per question or discussion. Data show that an average of 20 people read a single(a) tell.In other words, for just five replies, about 100 people read the responses and absorb the information contained therein. Content that complements Ask andDiscuss forums is stored in the networks knowledge subroutine library. This limit is reviewed and analyzed by contentedness affaire experts and thusly posted to the library using a taxonomy developed by the knowledge-sharing team and corroborated by network leaders. Knowledge library content is qualit y controlled only the most valuable knowledge is retained in the library The wiki is the first place to look for content. All of their success stories have an economic collision. One had 87 million dollars of benefits. Sharing this is important. Giving credit to the employees is critical. Getting middle managers on board was done through conveying business value of knowledge sharing.Documented success stories, best practices and lessons learned in the form of closed discussions play a large role in providing context to Wiki articles. OneWiki has been deployed across the company and involves many networks, teams and work groups. Even at this early stage, OneWiki is proving to be a natural place to capture the insight and wisdom that real knowledge (lessons learned and best practices) has become. Further, the Wiki concept is familiar to people and encourages them to find and keep accumulated knowledge up todate. Internally branding the wiki as OneWiki has sent an important message that this is the one and only place for contextual, comprehensive knowledge in ConocoPhillips. To introduce OneWiki to the enterprise, the global KS Team created a set of highend computerbased tuition modules. The team meets regularly with individuals deemed content moderators to ensure they are aware of the governing standards.Closed discussions modify portal discussions as a way to capture and transfer lessons learned is a cornerstone of the ConocoPhillips Knowledge Sharing strategy. The sharing of discussions across babe networks yields even greater value for the company. But the latest, most exciting KS initiative is rapidly positioning ConocoPhillips to gain significant value by incorporate Web 2.0 technology with the Knowledge Sharing platform. The twopronged approach consists of Closed Discussion Items and Wiki technology and processes. Four years ago, the KS Team recognised the potential of lost knowledge retention opportunities when valuable knowledge from online dis cussions lastly aged on network portals.Many discussions contain detailed compendium and background information that represent an extensive body of knowledge from experienced network members. To recapture the benefit of such knowledge and provide it asecond life, the team actively re looked the discussions that had reached closure and were deemed to have yielded a successful result. The KS team created a process and policy to encourage network leaders to officially close those discussions. These were then turned into searchable lessons learned documents that were added to the networks knowledge library for members and others to search and browse. This approach has proven to be a more useful and efficient means of capturing,storing, accessing and reusing keen capital than more traditional and costly mannersMEMBER ENGAGEMENTWhen ConocoPhillips first began launching networks, business units perceived them as a corporate initiative that was being added to normal workloads (i.e., abov e the flow of work). Membership engagement has helped change that perception and is one of the building blocks required for successful networks of excellence. Creating connections between similar networks increases engagement and allows the organization to leverage knowledge more effectively. Sister networks are colligate by business objectives and functions. One network currently has 16 sis networks. Network members can post Ask and Discuss questions to link up networks to engage a broader audience in finding a solution. further meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary questions approved by the network leader are posted to sister network sites. The goal is to further engage similar networks and let others know of network issues and activities.METHODS OF PROMOTING MEMBER ENGAGEMENTNetwork leaders are ever aware of the need to promote engagement and increase membership. One method for promoting engagement is to transition members from e-mail to the know ledge portal to more effectively d rive use of the Ask and Discuss forums. When a leader receives an e-mail message, for example, he or she may suggest that the member post the question on the network portal this action will encourage users to become more active in the network by visit the site rather than flier a question to a single resource.Network leaders also drive network participation by posting new announcements, events, and discussion items in the portal keeping the network fresh helps sustain members interest. Another strategy for member engagement involves incorporating network use into day-to- day jobresponsibilities. Deliberately designing the network through business planning makes activities more relevant to individuals the intersection between network activities and daily business functions is expanding. The goal is to link part of an individuals performance expectations to network participation, which boosts engagement as well as know ledge sharing.CHALLENGE WITH THE NOESAll 120-plus networks arc gl obal, and this can present some challenges. The knowledge-sharing team works with the network leaders and network core teams to address these challenges as they arise. One such challenge is the cultural differences among miscellaneous regions with regard to sharing knowledge. Whereas most Westerners are fairly comfortable with posting questions and comments to ask and discuss forums, engaging members in the Asia-Pacific region can be more difficult because employees from these cultures arc less comfortable singling out individuals. ticker team members in these regions work diligently to build network participation. date zones present another challenge for global networks. Virtual meetings are plan in the early morning or the evening to accommodate different parts of the world and can be repeated at 12-hour intervals if needed.Rolesseveral(prenominal) hundred employees across ConocoPhillips work on knowledge-sharing activities, most of them part-time. As mentioned, the core knowl edge-sharing team supports network activities, and six full-time resources help manage networks. separately network is supported by a network sponsor and leader, a core team, network members, and checkmate field matter experts.Network SponsorsA network sponsor provides overall guidance and visibility for the network. Sponsors are influential senior-level managers from organization-wide business streams. They secure funding and help set direction and strategy with community leaders. A network sponsor also helps create and refine the networks business case and verify buy- in with business unit leaders. He or she supports the network through executive briefings and communication with stakeholders. Sponsors appoint, coach, and support network leaders, including linking their performance to calling progression. In asset, sponsors ensure that network members community activities are recognizedand rewarded within their business units and globally.Network LeadersNetworks of excellence are supported by network leaders who are selected by sponsors or business-unit leaders. These individuals are liable for ensuring that core team members, subject matter experts, and other network members understand the purpose of the community and their roles and responsibilities. They work closely with the network sponsors to ensure that the focus of the network reflects business unit needs. Network leaders also seek feedback from core team members about network activity, communicate the value of participation, and solicit business unit feedback. In addition to checking the community portal for submissions and pushing new content to members and subject matter experts, leaders* Facilitate responses for portal-based questions in a timely manner* propose Ask and Discuss questions to the appropriate subject matter expert or member* Encourage the regular use of content with questionsLeaders help train members on how to use the tools and resources available in the community. They also include member participation with awards, recognition, and performance feedback. The time spent on leadership activities varies by network. One individual may manage three networks and fall out approximately 33 percent of his or her time doing this. Others may overtake 20 percent of their time on managing one network, depending on other business demands. The role is integrated with job responsibilities it is not an additional role that leaders are judge to assume on top of their day-after-day functions. They dont put on another hat and mash doing their other jobs, said Miriam Fjellaker, network specialist. The role is integrated and helps them improve their other job functions.Core Team MembersCore team members check the portal site daily for new submissions and developments and respond to Ask and Discuss questions. They also set up alerts for members on key content areas. Core team members also * Work with network leaders and sponsors to make sure the needs and issues of the local business unit are adequately reflected within the domain and activities of the global network * Push e-mail threads to the portal as much aspossible* Communicate community activities to the business units * give and encourage members to use networks as part of their daily work processesNetwork MembersNetwork members are encouraged to select and join the networks that relate to their work. They are also encouraged to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned in the network portal and leverage network relationships to ask questions, get answers, and learn with global colleagues.Subject Matter ExpertsSubject matter experts share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned in the network portal. They also work with the community and other subject matter experts to develop and agree on best practices. Being reactive is important, subject matter experts are encouraged to respond to Ask and Discuss questions related to their areas of expertise as quickly as possible they are expected to use their expertise to move others forward. Subject matter experts also provide input to the network leader and core team regarding how their areas of expertise should be addressed in the networks business case and other projects and initiativesTechnology for NetworksSharePoint is used across the enterprise to post questions and promote knowledge sharing. A dedicated team creates and manages portal sites and networks. All networks are standardized and have the same look and feel.Cultural Enablers for Sustaining NetworksNetworks at ConocoPhillips part in size, scope, and function. The goal, said Smith, is to uncover the unique personality of each network and promote a culture that works. You cant click your heels and change the culture leaders have to make it happen. The community leader is expected to brainstorm ways to shape the culture and increase engagement push alerts and responding to Ask and Discuss questions are important and help promote a culture tha t is conducive to sharing knowledge. Knowledge sharing is indirectly linked to ConocoPhillipss performance and incentive compensation structure. This link serves as a strong motivator for employees toparticipate in knowledge sharing, and it demonstrates the organizational loading to networks of excellence. Reward and recognition programs are designed to increase network participation. Specifically, a reward and recognition structure helps motivate employees to participate in networks and promotes a knowledge-sharing culture Training is another cultural enabler. ConocoPhillips has a number of training efforts that explain network functionality and potential.TrainingThe Network University is the training vehicle that supports ConocoPhillipss network activities from launch to deployment Network University provides access to documents, presentations, and role descriptions that help form and maintain networks. Quick links from the KM home page provide overviews for new and experienced m embers. Users can also download a FAQ on networks or link to established sites. The organization uses Network University to train network leaders. It provides detailed descriptions of roles and expectations related to network leadership.The more than 150 network leaders frequently go to the site for guidance on how to maintain networks at ConocoPhillips. In addition, less experienced network leaders are often paired with experienced leaders for mentoring purposes. New hires receive training on networks during the onboarding process. A 90-minute segment shows how to map to networks and how networks tap in to expertise across the organization to better share knowledge.CommunicationCommunicating the value and purpose of networks of excellence is critical to sustaining engagement and attracting new members. According to Ranta, We realized we had to get out there and tell our story if we wanted networks to succeed. The organization continues to increase communication efforts designed to spread the word on the value of networks. Network leaders and sponsors frequently communicate success stories to network members. External proof is promoted across the organization. For example, a number of corporate magazine articles showcase the success of networks at ConocoPhillips. The organization publicizes these articles to show the value of network activity.In 2009, ConocoPhillips was named a North American Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE), and this award was also communicatedacross the organization. Communication is so important to the overall success of ConocoPhillipss knowledge- sharing program that one of its full-time knowledge-sharing team members, Yvonne Myles, is the designated communications adviser. This individual supports the communication efforts of the networks of excellence along with communication initiatives that promote networks to the big organization and externally. individually network uses a portal to communicate activities and news. In addit ion to linking to key news and discussions, portals showcase award recipients and network leaders. fight RecognitionMotivating employees to participate in networks of excellence is critical. Global and local rewards programs recognize members for network participation. For example, the prestigious Archimedes Award is presented to the top networks and success stories each year and recognizes regions for their knowledge-sharing behaviors. ConocoPhillips also collects collaboration success stories to highlight the business value of networks. To date, there are thousands of success stories that provide optimal business solutions.The stories are quality controlled and stored in the knowledge repository for future access. Regional areas sometimes create their own awards. Other recognition programs are supported by peers and implemented across networks Peers may also nominate members for awards through the network portal. Online submission is quick and easy. Members are nominated for excel lence in contributions, Ask and Discuss forum participation, and engaging others in trusted relationships. Some networks of excellence have an award for outstanding discussions. Winners are celebrated on the network home page.KNOWLEDGE ONLINEKnowledge OnLine is a concentrate digital hub for all knowledge sharing activities, resources, and intellectual property. It is accessed through the corporate portal. Within Knowledge OnLine, subject matter experts and community members maintain profiles that showcase their expertise. Each profile includes a member picture and incorporates technical background and project industry experience. Members attach current resumes to their profiles. They ask their experts to perform a search on their expertise to make sure they show up in the search results and it helps them to show theirexpertise Global excellence leaders develop and maintain functional networks (i.e., communities) that cross all business groups.They provide leadership for their respe ctive knowledge communities. Specifically, global excellence leaders are responsible for best-practice approvals, reference systems, and career paths for the organization, including training, required readings, and unique tools for that discipline. An additional responsibility is career development. The role is prestigious after serving as global excellence leaders, many individuals become executives. Communities are supported by leaders, knowledge managers, a global core KM team, and subject matter experts. A centralized KM team oversees community activities and works closely with leaders, knowledge managers, and subject matter experts across the enterpriseStrategy for Sustaining Effective Networks of ExcellenceConocoPhillips KM program replicates its community, content, discussions, and profiling approaches across its 42 functional and four corporate communities. It implies a global mind-set, with consistency of purpose and practice regardless of topic or geography. It implies de signing KM so that each employee can tap in to the knowledge of the organization as a satisfying in order to respond to a clients needs. It also implies access to content and people from anywhere clients or employees need help to solve a problem or enhance their skill. Knowledge communities are used to drive organizational transformation. In fact, communities are often created to carry out a business need or knowledge gap and then decommissioned when they are no longer relevant. A work-share community, for example, addressed practices and procedures that were required to work in New Delhi and Manila. right away these practices are embedded into daily work processes and incorporated into standard operating procedures, and the community no longer exists. Similarly, a next-generation community is currently in place to explore future technology solutions.However, when next-generation technology is implemented and begins to become the de facto way to work, this communitys content will be migrated into appropriate mainstream communities for long-term stewardship. Communities also provide work process innovation. For example, practice and procedure updates are managed and implemented in communities. A subject matter expert uses a discussion forum to collect suggestions or ideas to improve a procedure document. exploitation feedback fromcommunity members, the subject matter expert will update a policy or procedure and review changes. This process helps gain buy-in for policy and procedure changes, as well as global buy-in for the practice. The approach also has an associated cost benefit. In the past, they had large budgets for this process. Today, they have set a goal of updating or reviewing one-third of the practices using a fraction of the old budget.Communities also support more distributed project execution at Fluor. The organization uses a project activity model to illustrate activities and provide project management guidance. Using the community framework, members are able to update a map and provide color-coded areas of responsibility for more effective project execution. Communities can add training materials on how to complete project activities, along with templates and descriptions. Another work process improvement is linked to the organizational communication strategy.The old practice was to circulate information about communities through the organizational hierarchy. However, not everyone saw those communications. Now communities send newsletters to the entire community membership. As a result, messages have a broader readership (greater penetration), which ultimately helps attract new members. Each message is sent as an e-mail with a link to the latest newsletter. This draws in employees who perhaps are not familiar with the system, thereby potentially recruiting new members. Employees frequently reply to messages and are encouraged to join a particular community as part of a routine follow up.Knowledge Loss hazard Assessme ntCommunities help in the identification of knowledge gaps or knowledge at lay on the linethat is, knowledge that might be lost if the individual who possesses it retires from the organization. Fluor uses a knowledge-loss risk assessment process to determine the bear on of retirement and resource gaps. The assessments also effectively communicate the potential impact of knowledge loss. Adapted from the Tennessee Valley Authority model, the formula multiplies the retirement ingredient (how soon) against the position risk factor (uniqueness of the individuals knowledge) to determine the enumerate attrition factor.This process helps integrate knowledge sharing with human capital management by identifying when subject matter expertise is atrisk and when the organization should identify a successor or protg for a subject matter expert. Measuring Networks of Excellence ConocoPhillipss knowledge-sharing team employs both objective and subjective tools to evaluate the health of the orga nizations networks, identify where weaknesses exist, and prescribe ways for network leaders to improve their networks. Measuring the business impact of networks is a regular activity for the knowledge-sharing team and network leaders.Assessing Networks for honour Success StoriesConocoPhillips believes that you manage what you measure. Keeping detailed records of business impact has served to take aback sponsorship and attract and sustain membership to networks. One way the organization assesses business value is through validated success stories. Stories are submitted by employees and document cost savings, reduced cycle times, safety and environmental improvements, and other palpable business benefits. A story may also identify a critical business or technical issue that was solved using the community. Each year, the organization collects success story nominations and selects the best examples of collaboration. Supervisors, regional representatives and the knowledge sharing leade rship team review and validate each story, adding a value statement to provide quick snapshot of the business value provided. Once success stories are approved, they are posted to the knowledge library where they can be accessed by other networks.BIBLIOGRAPHYwww.conocophillips.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConocoPhillipswww.apqc.orgwww.ibforum.comwww.aiim.orgwww.hrcommunication.comwww.zoominfo.com