Chapter 2: The Knowledge Management Cycle

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following are components of the Zack KM cycle?

a. Information products.
b. Refinement.
c. Translation.
d. Both a and b.
e. Both b and c.

2. Which of the following are characteristics of a knowledge asset?

a. Using knowledge does not consume it;
b. Transferring knowledge does not result in losing it;
c. Knowledge is abundant, but the ability to use it is scarce;
d. Much of an organization’s valuable knowledge walks out the door at the end of the day.
e. All of the above.

3. What distinguishes KM from document or content management systems?

a. KM deals with tacit knowledge while documents deal with explicit knowledge.
b. KM systems are customized tools whereas document management systems can be bought
off the shelf.
c. A document management system stores, manipulates and retrieves documents as integral
wholes, while KM identifies, extracts, and manages a number of different knowledge
items or knowledge objects within the same document.
d. The unit that is manipulated quite different – both in nature and scale.
e. Both c and d.

4. Which of the following form the core of an organizational memory?

a. Record management system.
b. Corporate databases.
c. Knowledge repositories.
d. Content management systems.
e. None of the above.

5. Which of the following represent phases in the Bukowitz and Williams KM cycle?
a. Get and use.
b. Learn and contribute.
c. Assess and divest.
d. Build and sustain.
e. All of the above.

6. How do the tactical and strategic phases of the Bukowitz and Williams KM cycle differ?
a. The tactical phases are represented by the build, sustain and divest phases.
b. The assess, build/sustain or divest stages are more strategic in nature, triggered by shifts in
the macro environment.
c. The assess, build/sustain or divest stages are triggered by market-driven opportunities or
demands and typically result in day-to-day use of knowledge to respond to these demands.
d. Both a and c.
e. Both b and c.
7. Which of the following statements are true?
a. McElroy emphasizes that organizational knowledge is held both subjectively in the minds
of individuals and groups and objectively in explicit forms.
b. Bukowitz & Williams outline how organizations generate, maintain and deploy a
strategically correct stock of knowledge to create value.
c. Zack proposes that research and knowledge about the design of physical products can be
extended into the intellectual realm to serve as the basis for a KM cycle.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.

8. What is the key element of the McElroy KM cycle?

a. Only explicit knowledge can be managed throughout the KM cycle.
b. Knowledge is information until it is validated.
c. Information acquisition is the process by which an organization introduces new knowledge
claims to its operating environment and retires old ones.
d. Both a and b.
e. Both b and c.

9. In the Wiig KM cycle, the following represent activities in the knowledge analysis phase:
a. Extracting what appears to be knowledge from obtained material and abstracting extracted
materials.
b. Identifying patterns extracted and explaining relations between knowledge fragments.
c. Generalizing analyzed material to obtain broader principles and generating hypotheses to
explain observations.
d. Both a and b.
e. Both c and d.

10. The two perspectives in interorganizational KM cycles, internal and external, can be characterized
by:
a. An internal perspective views knowledge as an important strategic resource, core
competence or source for innovation; the external perspective focuses on the relationship
between the enterprise and knowledge stakeholders outside of the organization.
b. The internal perspective is concerned with inter-organizational knowledge flow and a
common usage of knowledge whereas the internal perspective focuses on initiating and
managing the processes of knowledge generation.
c. The internal perspective deals with tacit knowledge whereas the external perspective deals
with explicit knowledge.
d. None of the above.
e. All of the above.

Essay Questions

1 Compare and contrast the major KM cycle frameworks and produce a synthesis, taking the best
elements of each. Explain how knowledge would be managed in such a cycle.

(no more than 2 A4 Page; due next week before lecture; penalty for direct copy from Internet and
other sources)
Answer Key Multiple Choice
1d
2e
3e
4c
5e
6b
7d
8b
9d
10 a