4.11.05
You Say Knowledge Management, They Say Convergence
Managing Information News: "You and I may call it 'knowledge management.' DuPont called it 'convergence' when, in the early 1990's, its legal department launched an initiatve to reduce the number of external law firms, streamline the management of more than 4,000 legal cases, and meet global litigation challenges.
The formalization of the process, called the DuPont Legal Model, has all the classic earmarks of KM: electronic document retrieval, knowledge stewards, collaboration, culture change, learning, and leveraging expert know-how. But it also has four attributes we don't automatically associate with KM: significant cost savings, selectivity, promotion, and revenue generation.
The DuPont Legal Model has been imitated by other companies, but it
doesn't always work as planned. The DuPont experience has much to teach us, not only about how to manage complex litigation in a global environment but also how to make knowledge management programs succeed in any professional services company or corporate function.
Dupont still has room in its November 17 virtual roundtable (see
http://www.montague.com/roundtable25.htm)." ¶ 22:56
The formalization of the process, called the DuPont Legal Model, has all the classic earmarks of KM: electronic document retrieval, knowledge stewards, collaboration, culture change, learning, and leveraging expert know-how. But it also has four attributes we don't automatically associate with KM: significant cost savings, selectivity, promotion, and revenue generation.
The DuPont Legal Model has been imitated by other companies, but it
doesn't always work as planned. The DuPont experience has much to teach us, not only about how to manage complex litigation in a global environment but also how to make knowledge management programs succeed in any professional services company or corporate function.
Dupont still has room in its November 17 virtual roundtable (see
http://www.montague.com/roundtable25.htm)." ¶ 22:56
