Knowledge Mapping Based on EFQM Excellence Model: A Practical Tool to Make Visible Organizational Knowledge

As organizations strive to improve their business performance and capacity for innovation, their attention is increasingly focused on how they manage knowledge. This is a reason why Utilizing organizational knowledge is a strategic weapon to acquire a competitive advantage. In knowledge management (KM) processes, Representing and capturing Knowledge is an important constituent. One tool to represent and make knowledge visible throughout the organizations is knowledge mapping. Knowledge mapping plays an important role in the construction, learning, and dissemination of knowledge. KM is most effective when it is approached holistically. This is achieved through a series of integrated initiatives aligning human resource issues, ICT infrastructures and informal learning interventions that enable the organization to improve the quality of the knowledge it holds, enhance access to and the retrieval of the knowledge. European Foundation for Quality Management excellence (EFQM) model could be considered as an interface to integrate KM. EFQM excellence model is an appropriate assessment tool for organization to identify which sectors have strengths and which has weaknesses. To do so, model provides some criteria and sub criteria in two main sections: enablers and results. In order to achieve bullet points in EFQM model, organization require a set of skills and knowledge in the organization. Exploitation of proper knowledge maps supports the organization to classify these knowledge and skills. This paper proposes a practical framework to capture and represent organizational knowledge in a holistic approach based on EFQM enablers. In order to achieve this aim, paper focus on enablers components. Subsequently by exploring these enablers in a systematic view, knowledge maps were developed for enablers. Proposed framework is subject to implement in a real case in shipyard industries to provide practical evidences. Following the illustration of knowledge maps role in KM process, paper proceeds by analyzing different knowledge maps. After a brief review of EFQM model and the role on knowledge maps in this model, the appropriate map will be selected to map organizational knowledge based on bullet points in EFQM model. Finally lessons learned from industrial case study will discuss.