Knowledge Managmnt

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Introduction

Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an

organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption

ofinsights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either

embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational processesor practice.

An established discipline since 1991 (see Nonaka 1991), KM includes courses taught in

the fields ofbusiness administration, information systems, management, and library

and information sciences (Alavi & Leidner 1999). More recently, other fields have started

contributing to KM research; these include information and media, computer

science, public health, and public policy.

Many large companies and non-profit organizations have resources dedicated to internal

KM efforts, often as a part of their 'business strategy', 'information technology', or 'human

resource management' departments (Addicott, McGivern & Ferlie 2006). Several

consulting companies also exist that provide strategy and advice regarding KM to these

organizations.

Knowledge Management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives such as

improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons

learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization. KM efforts overlap

with organizational learning, and may be distinguished from that by a greater focus on

the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and a focus on encouraging the sharing

of knowledge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_disciplineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonaka1991http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_administrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAlaviLeidner1999http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_healthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organizationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAddicottMcGivernFerlie2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_advantagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_improvementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_improvementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_advantagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAddicottMcGivernFerlie2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organizationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_healthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAlaviLeidner1999http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_administrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonaka1991http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_disciplineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight


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History

KM efforts have a long history, to include on-the-job discussions, formal apprenticeship,

discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoringprograms.

More recently, with increased use of computers in the second half of the 20th century,

specific adaptations of technologies such as knowledge bases,expert systems, knowledge

repositories, group decision support systems, intranets, and computer supported

cooperative workhave been introduced to further enhance such efforts.

In 1999, the term personal knowledge management was introduced which refers to the

management of knowledge at the individual level (Wright 2005).

In terms of the enterprise, early collections of case studies recognized the importance of

knowledge management dimensions of strategy, process, and measurement (Morey,

Maybury & Thuraisingham 2002). Key lessons learned included: people, and the cultures

that influence their behaviors, are the single most critical resource for successful

knowledge creation, dissemination, and application; cognitive, social, and organizational

learning processes are essential to the success of a knowledge management strategy; and

measurement, benchmarking, and incentives are essential to accelerate the learning

process and to drive cultural change. In short, knowledge management programs can

yield impressive benefits to individuals and organizations if they are purposeful,

concrete, and action-oriented.

More recently with the advent of the Web 2.0, the concept of Knowledge Management

has evolved towards a vision more based on people participation andemergence. This line

of evolution is termed Enterprise 2.0 (McAfee 2006). However, there is an ongoing

debate and discussions (Lakhani & McAfee 2007) as to whether Enterprise 2.0 is just a

fad that does not bring anything new or useful or whether it is, indeed, the future of

knowledge management (Davenport 2008).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprenticeshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Librarieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentoringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_basehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_repositoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_repositoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_supported_cooperative_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_supported_cooperative_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_knowledge_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWright2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMoreyMayburyThuraisingham2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMoreyMayburyThuraisingham2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMcAfee2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFLakhaniMcAfee2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFDavenport2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFDavenport2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFLakhaniMcAfee2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMcAfee2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMoreyMayburyThuraisingham2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMoreyMayburyThuraisingham2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWright2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_knowledge_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_supported_cooperative_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_supported_cooperative_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_repositoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_repositoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_basehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentoringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Librarieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprenticeshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussions


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What is knowledge management?

Knowledge Management is the collection of processes that govern the creation,

dissemination, and utilization of knowledge. In one form or another, knowledge

management has been around for a very long time. Practitioners have included

philosophers, priests, teachers, politicians, scribes, Liberians, etc.

So if Knowledge Management is such an ageless and broad topic what role does it serve

in today's Information Age? These processes exist whether we acknowledge them or not

and they have a profound effect on the decisions we make and the actions we take, both

of which are enabled by knowledge of some type. If this is the case, and we agree that

many of our decisions and actions have profound and long lasting effects, it makes sense

to recognize and understand the processes that effect or actions and decision and, where

possible, take steps to improve the quality these processes and in turn improve the quality

of those actions and decisions for which we are responsible?

Knowledge management is not a, "a technology thing" or a, "computer thing" If we

accept the premise that knowledge management is concerned with the entire process of

discovery and creation of knowledge, dissemination of knowledge, and the utilization of

knowledge then we are strongly driven to accept that knowledge management is muchmore than a "technology thing" and that elements of it exist in each of our jobs.


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Research

KM emerged as a scientific discipline in the earlier 1990s. It was initially supported

solely by practitioners, when Scandia hired Leif Edvinsson ofSweden as the worlds

first Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). Hubert Saint-Onge (formerly ofCIBC, Canada),

started investigating various sides of KM long before that. The objective of CKOs is to

manage and maximize the intangible assets of their organizations. Gradually, CKOs

became interested in not only practical but also theoretical aspects of KM, and the new

research field was formed. The KM ideas taken up by academics, such as Ikujiro

Nonaka (Hitotsubashi University), Hirotaka Takeuchi(Hitotsubashi University), Thomas

H. Davenport (Babson College) and Baruch Lev (New York University). In

2001, Thomas A. Stewart, former editor at FORTUNE Magazine and subsequently theeditor ofHarvard Business Review, published a cover story highlighting the importance

of intellectual capital of organizations. Since its establishment, the KM discipline has

been gradually moving towards academic maturity. First, there is a trend towards higher

cooperation among academics; particularly, there has been a drop in single-authored

publications. Second, the role of practitioners has changed. Their contribution to

academic research has been dramatically declining from 30% of overall contributions up

to 2002, to only 10% by 2009 (Serenko et al. 2010).

A broad range of thoughts on the KM discipline exists with no unanimous agreement;

approaches vary by author and school. As the discipline matures, academic debates have

increased regarding both the theory and practice of KM, to include the following

perspectives:

Techno-centric with a focus on technology, ideally those that enhance knowledgesharing and creation.

Organizational with a focus on how an organization can be designed to facilitateknowledge processes best.

Ecological with a focus on the interaction of people, identity, knowledge, andenvironmental factors as a complex adaptive system akin to a natural ecosystem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Knowledge_Officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIBChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikujiro_Nonakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikujiro_Nonakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitotsubashi_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirotaka_Takeuchihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Davenporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Davenporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babson_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_A._Stewarthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_(magazine)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSerenkoBontisBookerSadeddin2010http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_sharinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_sharinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_sharinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_sharinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSerenkoBontisBookerSadeddin2010http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_(magazine)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_A._Stewarthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babson_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Davenporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Davenporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirotaka_Takeuchihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitotsubashi_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikujiro_Nonakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikujiro_Nonakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIBChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Knowledge_Officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden


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Regardless of the school of thought, core components of KM include People,

Processes, Technology (or) Culture, Structure, Technology, depending on the

specificperspective (Spender & Scherer 2007). Different KM schools of thought include

various lenses through which KM can be viewed and explained, to include:

community of practice (Wenger, McDermott & Synder 2001)[2] social network analysis[3] intellectual capital (Bontis & Choo 2002)[4] information theory[5](McInerney 2002) complexity science[6][7] constructivism[8](Nanjappa & Grant 2003)

The practical relevance of academic research in KM has been questioned (Ferguson

2005) with action research suggested as having more relevance (Andriessen 2004) and

the need to translate the findings presented in academic journals to a practice (Booker,

Bontis & Serenko 2008).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_thoughthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(cognitive)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSpenderScherer2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(cognitive)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWengerMcDermottSynder2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBontisChoo2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMcInerney2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNanjappaGrant2003http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFFerguson2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFFerguson2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAndriessen2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBookerBontisSerenko2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBookerBontisSerenko2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBookerBontisSerenko2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBookerBontisSerenko2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAndriessen2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_researchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFFerguson2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFFerguson2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNanjappaGrant2003http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFMcInerney2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFBontisChoo2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWengerMcDermottSynder2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(cognitive)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSpenderScherer2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(cognitive)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_thought


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Dimensions

Different frameworks for distinguishing between different 'types of' knowledge exist.

One proposed framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes

between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge represents internalized

knowledge that an individual may not be consciously aware of, such as how he or she

accomplishes particular tasks. At the opposite end of the spectrum, explicit knowledge

represents knowledge that the individual holds consciously in mental focus, in a form that

can easily be communicated to others.[9](Alavi & Leidner 2001). Similarly, Hayes and

Walsham (2003) describe content and relational perspectives of knowledge and

knowledge management as two fundamentally different epistemological perspectives.

The content perspective suggest that knowledge is easily stored because it may becodified, while the relational perspective recognizes the contextual and relational aspects

of knowledge which can make knowledge difficult to share outside of the specific

location where the knowledge is developed.[10]

The Knowledge Spiral as described by Nonaka & Takeuchi.

Early research suggested that a successful KM effort needs to convert internalized tacit

knowledge into explicit knowledge in order to share it, but the same effort must also

permit individuals to internalize and make personally meaningful any codified knowledge

retrieved from the KM effort. Subsequent research into KM suggested that a distinction

between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge represented an oversimplification and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_frameworkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimensionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAlaviLeidner2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knowledge_spiral.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAlaviLeidner2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimensionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_framework


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that the notion of explicit knowledge is self-contradictory. Specifically, for knowledge to

be made explicit, it must be translated intoinformation (i.e., symbols outside of our

heads) (Serenko & Bontis 2004). Later on, Ikujiro Nonaka proposed a model (SECI for

Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) which considers a spiraling

knowledge process interaction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge (Nonaka

& Takeuchi 1995). In this model, knowledge follows a cycle in which implicit

knowledge is 'extracted' to become explicit knowledge, and explicit knowledge is 're-

internalized' into implicit knowledge. More recently, together with Georg von Krogh,

Nonaka returned to his earlier work in an attempt to move the debate about knowledge

conversion forwards (Nonaka & von Krogh 2009).

A second proposed framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge

distinguishes between embedded knowledge of a system outside of a human individual

(e.g., an information system may have knowledge embedded into its design) and

embodied knowledge representing a learned capability of a human

bodys nervousand endocrine systems (Sensky 2002).

A third proposed framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge distinguishesbetween the exploratory creation of "new knowledge" (i.e., innovation) vs. the transfer or

exploitation of "established knowledge" within a group, organization, or community.

Collaborative environments such as communities of practice or the use ofsocial

computing tools can be used for both knowledge creation and transfer.[11]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSerenkoBontis2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakaTakeuchi1995http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakaTakeuchi1995http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakavon_Krogh2009http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSensky2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_transferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_transferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSensky2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakavon_Krogh2009http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakaTakeuchi1995http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFNonakaTakeuchi1995http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSerenkoBontis2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information


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Knowledge ManagementEmerging Perspectives

Yes, knowledge management is the hottest subject of the day. The question is: what is

this activity called knowledge management, and why is it so important to each and every

one of us? The following writings, articles, and links offer some emerging perspectives in

response to these questions. As you read on, you can determine whether it all makes any

sense or not.

Developing a Context

Like water, this rising tide of data can be viewed as an abundant, vital and necessary

resource. With enough preparation, we should be able to tap into that reservoir -- and ride

the wave -- by utilizing new ways to channel raw data into meaningful information. That

information, in turn, can then become the knowledge that leads to wisdom. Les Alberthal.

Before attempting to address the question of knowledge management, it's probably

appropriate to develop some perspective regarding this stuff called knowledge, which

there seems to be such a desire to manage, really is. Consider this observation made by

Neil Fleming as a basis for thought relating to the following diagram.

o A collection of data is not information.o A collection of information is not knowledge.o A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.o A collection of wisdom is

not truth.

The idea is that information, knowledge,

and wisdom are more than simply

collections. Rather, the whole represents


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more than the sum of its parts and has a synergy of its own.

We begin with data, which is just a meaningless point in space and time, without

reference to either space or time. It is like an event out of context, a letter out of context,

a word out of context. The key concept here being "out of context." And, since it is out of

context, it is without a meaningful relation to anything else. When we encounter a piece

of data, if it gets our attention at all, our first action is usually to attempt to find a way to

attribute meaning to it. We do this by associating it with other things. If I see the number

5, I can immediately associate it with cardinal numbers and relate it to being greater than

4 and less than 6, whether this was implied by this particular instance or not. If I see a

single word, such as "time," there is a tendency to immediately form associations with

previous contexts within which I have found "time" to be meaningful. This might be,"being on time," "a stitch in time saves nine," "time never stops," etc. The implication

here is that when there is no context, there is little or no meaning. So, we create context

but, more often than not, that context is somewhat akin to conjecture, yet it fabricates

meaning.

That a collection of data is not information, as Neil indicated, implies that a collection of

data for which there is no relation between the pieces of data is not information. The

pieces of data may represent information, yet whether or not it is information depends on

the understanding of the one perceiving the data. I would also tend to say that it depends

on the knowledge of the interpreter, but I'm probably getting ahead of myself, since I

haven't defined knowledge. What I will say at this point is that the extent of my

understanding of the collection of data is dependent on the associations I am able to

discern within the collection. And, the associations I am able to discern are dependent on

all the associations I have ever been able to realize in the past. Information is quite

simply an understanding of the relationships between pieces of data, or between pieces of

data and other information.

While information entails an understanding of the relations between data, it generally

does not provide a foundation for why the data is what it is, nor an indication as to how

the data is likely to change over time. Information has a tendency to be relatively static in


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time and linear in nature. Information is a relationship between data and, quite simply, is

what it is, with great dependence on context for its meaning and with little implication for

the future.

Beyond relation there is pattern, where pattern is more than simply a relation of relations.

Pattern embodies both a consistency and completeness of relations which, to an extent,

creates its own context. Pattern also serves as an Archetype with both an implied

repeatability and predictability.

When a pattern relation exists amidst the data and information, the pattern has

the potential to represent knowledge. It only becomes knowledge, however, when one is

able to realize and understand the patterns and their implications. The patterns

representing knowledge have a tendency to be more self-contextualizing. That is, the

pattern tends, to a great extent, to create its own context rather than being context

dependent to the same extent that information is. A pattern which represents knowledge

also provides, when the pattern is understood, a high level of reliability or predictability

as to how the pattern will evolve over time, for patterns are seldom static. Patterns which

represent knowledge have a completeness to them that information simply does not

contain.

Wisdom arises when one understands the foundational principles responsible for the

patterns representing knowledge being what they are. And wisdom, even more so than

knowledge, tends to create its own context. I have a preference for referring to these

foundational principles as eternal truths, yet I find people have a tendency to be

somewhat uncomfortable with this labeling. These foundational principles are universal

and completely context independent. Of course, this last statement is sort of a redundant

word game, for if the principle was context dependent, then it couldn't be universally true

now could it?

So, in summary the following associations can reasonably be made:

Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when,where).


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Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how). Wisdom embodies principle, insight, moral, or archetype (why).

Now that I have categories I can get hold of, maybe I can figure out what can be

managed.

An Example:

This example uses a bank savings account to show how data, information, knowledge,

and wisdom relate to principal, interest rate, and interest.

Data: The numbers 100 or 5%, completely out of context, are just pieces of data. Interest,

principal, and interest rate, out of context, are not much more than data as each hasmultiple meanings which are context dependent.

Information: If I establish a bank savings account as the basis for context, then interest,

principal, and interest rate become meaningful in that context with specific

interpretations.

Principal is the amount of money, $100, in the savings account.

Interest rate, 5%, is the factor used by the bank to compute interest on theprincipal.

Knowledge: If I put $100 in my savings account, and the bank pays 5% interest yearly,

then at the end of one year the bank will compute the interest of $5 and add it to my

principal and I will have $105 in the bank. This pattern represents knowledge, which,

when I understand it, allows me to understand how the pattern will evolve over time and

the results it will produce. In understanding the pattern, I know, and what I know is

knowledge. If I deposit more money in my account, I will earn more interest, while if I

withdraw money from my account, I will earn less interest.

Wisdom: Getting wisdom out of this is a bit tricky, and is, in fact, founded in systems

principles. The principle is that any action which produces a result which encourages


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more of the same action produces an emergent characteristic called growth. And, nothing

grows forever for sooner or later growth runs into limits.

If one studied all the individual components of this

pattern, which represents knowledge, they would

never discover the emergent characteristic of growth.

Only when the pattern connects, interacts, and

evolves over time, does the principle exhibit the

characteristic of growth.

Note: If the mechanics of this diagram are unfamiliar, you can find the basis in Systems

Thinking Introduction

Now, if this knowledge is valid, why doesn't everyone simply become rich by putting

money in a savings account and letting it grow? The answer has to do with the fact that

the pattern described above is only a small part of a more elaborate pattern which

operates over time. People don't get rich because they either don't put money in a savings

account in the first place, or when they do, in time, they find things they need or want

more than being rich, so they withdraw money. Withdrawing money depletes the

principal and subsequently the interest they earn on that principal. Getting into this anydeeper is more of a systems thinking exercise than is appropriate to pursue here.
http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htmhttp://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htmhttp://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htmhttp://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm


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A Continuum

Note that the sequence data -> information -> knowledge -> wisdom represents an

emergent continuum. That is, although data is a discrete entity, the progression to

information, to knowledge, and finally to wisdom does not occur in discrete stages of

development. One progresses along the continuum as one's understanding develops.

Everything is relative, and one can have partial understanding of the relations that

represent information, partial understanding of the patterns that represent knowledge, and

partial understanding of the principles which are the foundation of wisdom. As the partial

understanding stage.

Extending the Concept

We learn by connecting new information to patterns that we already understand. In doing

so, we extend the patterns. So, in my effort to make sense of this continuum, I searched

for something to connect it to that already made sense. And, I related it to

Csikszentmihalyi's interpretation of complexity.

Csikszentmihalyi provides a definition of complexity

based on the degree to which something is

simultaneously differentiated and integrated. His point is

that complexity evolves along a corridor and he provides

some very interesting examples as to why complexity

evolves. The diagram below indicates that what is more

highly differentiated and integrated is more complex.

While high levels of differentiation without integration

promote the complicated, that which is highly integrated, without differentiation,

produces mundane. And, it should be rather obvious from personal experience that we

tend to avoid the complicated and are uninterested in the mundane. The complexity that

exists between these two alternatives is the path we generally find most attractive.


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On 4/27/05 commented that Csikszentmihalyi's labeling could be is bit clearer if

"Differentiation" was replaced by "Many Components" and "Integration" was replaced by

Highly Interconnected." Robert also commented that "Common Sense" might be another

label for "Mundane." If the mundane is something we seem to avoid paying attention to

then "Common Sense" might often be a very appropriate label. Thanks Robert.

What I found really interesting was the view that

resulted when I dropped this diagram on top of the one

at the beginning of this article. It seemed that

"Integrated" and "Understanding" immediately

correlated to each other. There was also a real

awareness that "Context Independence" related to"Differentiated." Overall, the continuum of data to

wisdom seemed to correlate exactly to

Csikszentmihalyi's model of evolving complexity.

I now end up with a perception that wisdom is sort of simplified complexity.


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Knowledge Management: Bah Humbug!

When I first became interested in knowledge as a concept, and then knowledge

management, it was because of the connections I made between my system studies and

the data, information, knowledge, and wisdom descriptions already stated. Saying that I

became interested is a bit of an understatement as I'm generally either not interested or

obsessed, and seldom anywhere in between. Then, after a couple months I managed to

catch myself, with the help of Mike Davidson, as to the indirection I was pursuing.

I managed to survive the Formula Fifties, the Sensitive Sixties, the Strategic Seventies,

and the Excellent Eighties to exist in the Nanosecond Nineties, and for a time I thought I

was headed for the Learning Organizational Oh's of the next decade. The misdirection I

was caught up in was a focus on Knowledge Management not as a means, but as an end

in itself. Yes, knowledge management is important, and I'll address reasons why shortly.

But knowledge management should simply be one of many cooperating means to an end,

not the end in itself, unless your job turns out to be corporate knowledge management

director or chief knowledge officer. I'm quite sure it will come to this, for in some ways

we are predictably consistent.

I associate the cause of my indirection with the many companies I have been associatedwith in the past. These companies had pursued TQM or reengineering, not in support of

what they were trying to accomplish, but as ends in themselves because they simply

didn't know what they were really trying to accomplish. And, since they didn't know what

they were really trying to accomplish, the misdirection was actually a relief, and pursued

with a passion SHY; &SHY; it just didn't get them anywhere in particular.


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According to Mike Davidson, and I agree with him, what's really important is:

Mission: What are we trying to accomplish? Competition: How do we gain a competitive edge? Performance: How do we deliver the results? Change: How do we cope with change?

As such, knowledge management, and everything else for that matter, is important only

to the extent that it enhances an organization's ability and capacity to deal with, and

develop in, these four dimensions.


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The Value of Knowledge Management

In an organizational context, data represents facts or values of results, and relations

between data and other relations have the capacity to represent information. Patterns of

relations of data and information and other patterns have the capacity to represent

knowledge. For the representation to be of any utility it must be understood, and when

understood the representation is information or knowledge to the one that understands.

Yet, what is the real value of information and knowledge, and what does it mean to

manage it?

Without associations we have little chance of understanding anything. We understand

things based on the associations we are able to discern. If someone says that sales started

at $100,000 per quarter and have been rising 20% per quarter for the last four quarters, I

am somewhat confident that sales are now about $207,000 per quarter. I am confident

because I know what "rising 20% per quarter" means and I can do the math.

Yet, if someone asks what sales are apt to be next quarter, I would have to say, "It

depends!" I would have to say this because although I have data and information, I have

no knowledge. This is a trap that many fall into, because they don't understand that data

doesn't predict trends of data. What predicts trends of data is the activity that isresponsible for the data. To be able to estimate the sales for next quarter, I would need

information about the competition, market size, extent of market saturation, current

backlog, customer satisfaction levels associated with current product delivery, current

production capacity, the extent of capacity utilization, and a whole host of other things.

When I was able to amass sufficient data and information to form a complete pattern that

I understood, I would have knowledge, and would then be somewhat comfortable

estimating the sales for next quarter. Anything less would be just fantasy!

In this example what needs to be managed to create value is the data that defines past

results, the data and information associated with the organization, it's market, it's

customers, and it's competition, and the patterns which relate all these items to enable a

reliable level of predictability of the future.What I would refer to as knowledge


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management would be the capture, retention, and reuse of the foundation for imparting an

understanding of how all these pieces fit together and how to convey them meaningfully

to some other person.

The value of Knowledge Management relates directly to the effectiveness with which the

managed knowledge enables the members of the organization to deal with today's

situations and effectively envision and create their future. Without on-demand access to

managed knowledge, every situation is addressed based on what the individual or group

brings to the situation with them. With on-demand access to managed knowledge, every

situation is addressed with the sum total of everything anyone in the organization has

ever learned about a situation of a similar nature. Which approach would you perceive

would make a more effective organization?


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Strategies

Knowledge may be accessed at three stages: before, during, or after KM-related

activities. Different organizations have tried various knowledge capture incentives,

including making content submission mandatory and incorporating rewards

into performance measurement plans. Considerable controversy exists over whether

incentives work or not in this field and no consensus has emerged.

One strategy to KM involves actively managing knowledge (push strategy). In such an

instance, individuals strive to explicitly encode their knowledge into a shared knowledge

repository, such as a database, as well as retrieving knowledge they need that other

individuals have provided to the repository.[12]This is also commonly known as the

Codification approach to KM.

Another strategy to KM involves individuals making knowledge requests

ofexperts associated with a particular subject on an ad hoc basis (pull strategy). In such

an instance, expert individual(s) can provide their insights to the particular person or

people needing this (Snowden 2002). This is also commonly known as the

Personalization approach to KM.

Other knowledge management strategies and instruments for companies include:

rewards (as a means of motivating for knowledge sharing) storytelling (as a means of transferring tacit knowledge) cross-project learning after action reviews knowledge mapping (a map of knowledge repositories within a company accessible

by all)

communities of practice expert directories (to enable knowledge seeker to reach to the experts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incentiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_measurementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expertshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hochttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSnowden2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytellinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytellinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFSnowden2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hochttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expertshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_measurementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incentives


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best practice transfer knowledge fairs competence management (systematic evaluation and planning of competences of

individual organization members)

proximity & architecture (the physical situation of employees can be either conduciveor obstructive to knowledge sharing)

master-apprentice relationship collaborative technologies (groupware, etc.) knowledge repositories (databases, bookmarking engines, etc.) measuring and reporting intellectual capital (a way of making explicit knowledge for

companies)

knowledge brokers (some organizational members take on responsibility for aspecific "field" and act as first reference on whom to talk about a specific subject)

social software (wikis, social bookmarking, blogs, etc.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knowledge_fairs&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_bookmarkinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_softwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_softwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_bookmarkinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knowledge_fairs&action=edit&redlink=1


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Motivations

A number of claims exist as to the motivations leading organizations to undertake a KM

effort. Typical considerations driving a KM effort include:

Making available increased knowledge content in the development and provisionofproducts and services

Achieving shorter new product development cycles Facilitating and managing innovation and organizational learning Leveraging the expertise of people across the organization Increasing networkconnectivity between internal and external individuals Managing business environments and allowing employees to obtain relevant insights

and ideas appropriate to their work

Solving intractable or wicked problems Managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the

expertise and know-how possessed by key individuals)

Debate exists whether KM is more than a passing fad, though increasing amount of

research in this field may hopefully help to answer this question, as well as create

consensus on what elements of KM help determine the success or failure of such efforts

(Wilson 2002).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expertisehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inter_connectivity&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWilson2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFWilson2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inter_connectivity&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expertisehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation


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Technologies

Early KM technologies included online corporate yellow pages as expertise locators

and document management systems. Combined with the early development of

collaborative technologies (in particular Lotus Notes), KM technologies expanded in themid-1990s. Subsequent KM efforts leveraged semantic technologies forsearch and

retrieval and the development ofe-learning tools for communities of practice (Capozzi

2007). Knowledge management systems can thus be categorized as falling into one or

more of the following groups: Groupware, document management systems, expert

systems, semantic networks, relational and object oriented databases, simulation tools,

and artificial intelligence (Gupta & Sharma 2004)

More recently, development of social computing tools (such as bookmarks, blogs,

and wikis) have allowed more unstructured, self-governing or ecosystem approaches to

the transfer, capture and creation of knowledge, including the development of new forms

of communities, networks, or matrixed organizations. However such tools for the most

part are still based on text and code, and thus represent explicit knowledge transfer. These

tools face challenges in distilling meaningful re-usable knowledge and ensuring that their

content is transmissible through diverse channels (Andrus 2005).

Software tools in knowledge management are a collection of technologies and are not

necessarily acquired as a single software solution. Furthermore, these knowledge

management software tools have the advantage of using the organization existing

information technology infrastructure. Organizations and business decision makers spend

a great deal of resources and make significant investments in the latest technology,

systems and infrastructure to support knowledge management. It is imperative that theseinvestments are validated properly, made wisely and that the most appropriate

technologies and software tools are selected or combined to facilitate knowledge

management.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onlinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_pageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_management_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFCapozzi2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFCapozzi2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFGuptaSharma2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_bookmarkinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_(communications)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAndrus2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFAndrus2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_(communications)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_bookmarkinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFGuptaSharma2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFCapozzi2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management#CITEREFCapozzi2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_of_practicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_management_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_pageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online


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Knowledge management has also become a cornerstone in emerging business

strategies such as Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) with companies increasingly

turning to software vendors to enhance their efficiency in industries including, but not

limited to, the aviation industry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_lifecycle_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_lifecycle_managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_strategy


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Knowledge managers

"Knowledge manager" is a role and designation that has gained popularity over the past

decade. The role has evolved drastically from that of one involving the creation and

maintenance of knowledge repositories to one that involves influencing the culture of anorganization toward improved knowledge sharing, reuse, learning, collaboration and

innovation. Knowledge management functions are associated with different departments

in different organizations. It may be combined with Quality, Sales, HR, Innovation,

Operations etc. and is likely to be determined by the KM motivation of that particular

organization.

Knowledge managers have varied backgrounds ranging from Information Sciences to

Business Management. An effective knowledge manager is likely to be someone who has

a versatile skills portfolio and is comfortable with the concepts of organizational

behavior/culture, processes, branding & marketing and collaborative technology.


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Knowledge Management System

Knowledge Management System (KM System) refers to a (generally generated via or

through to an IT based program/department or section) system for managing knowledge

in organizations for supporting creation, capture, storage and dissemination ofinformation. It can comprise a part (neither necessary nor sufficient) of a Knowledge

Management initiative.

The idea of a KM system is to enable employees to have ready access to the

organization's documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. For

example a typical claim justifying the creation of a KM system might run something like

this: an engineer could know the metallurgical composition of an alloy that reduces sound

in gear systems. Sharing this information organization wide can lead to more effective

engine design and it could also lead to ideas for new or improved equipment.

A KM system could be any of the following:

1. Document based i.e. any technology that permits creation/management/sharing offormatted documents such as Lotus Notes, SharePoint, web, distributed

databases etc.

2. Ontology/Taxonomy based: these are similar to document technologies in thesense that a system of terminologies (i.e. ontology) are used to summarize the

document e.g. Author, Subj, Organization etc. as in DAML & other XML based

ontologies

3. Based on AI technologies which use a customized representation scheme torepresent the problem domain.

4. Provide network maps of the organization showing the flow of communicationbetween entities and individuals

5. Increasingly social computing tools are being deployed to provide a more organicapproach to creation of a KM system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SharePointhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Network_map&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Network_map&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_databasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SharePointhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology


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KMS systems deal with information (although Knowledge Management as a discipline

may extend beyond the information centric aspect of any system) so they are a class of

information system and may build on, or utilize other information sources. Distinguishing

features of a KMS can include:

1. Purpose: a KMS will have an explicit Knowledge Management objective of sometype such as collaboration, sharing good practice or the like.

2. Context: One perspective on KMS would see knowledge is information that ismeaningfully organized, accumulated and embedded in a context of creation and

application.

3. Processes: KMS are developed to support and enhance knowledge-intensiveprocesses, tasks or projects of e.g., creation, construction, identification,capturing, acquisition, selection, valuation, organization, linking, structuring,

formalization, visualization, transfer, distribution, retention, maintenance,

refinement, revision, evolution, accessing, retrieval and last but not least the

application of knowledge, also called the knowledge life cycle.

4. Participants: Users can play the roles of active, involved participants inknowledge networks and communities fostered by KMS, although this is not

necessarily the case. KMS designs are held to reflect that knowledge is developed

collectively and that the distribution of knowledge leads to its continuous

change, reconstruction and application in different contexts, by different

participants with differing backgrounds and experiences.

5. Instruments: KMS support KM instruments, e.g., the capture, creation and sharingof the codifiable aspects of experience, the creation of corporate knowledge

directories, taxonomies or ontologies, expertise locators, skill management

systems, collaborative filtering and handling of interests used to connect people,

the creation and fostering of communities or knowledge networks.


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A KMS offers integrated services to deploy KM instruments for networks of participants,

i.e. active knowledge workers, in knowledge-intensive business processes along the

entire knowledge life cycle. KMS can be used for a wide range of cooperative,

collaborative, adhocracy and hierarchy communities, virtual organizations, societies and

other virtual networks, to manage media contents; activities, interactions and work-flows

purposes; projects; works, networks, departments, privileges, roles, participants and other

active users in order to extract and generate new knowledge and to enhance, leverage and

transfer in new outcomes of knowledge providing new services using new formats and

interfaces and different communication channels.

The term KMS can be associated to Open Source Software, and Open Standards, Open

Protocols and Open Knowledge licenses, initiatives and policies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhocracyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhocracy


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Benefits of KM Systems

Some of the advantages claimed for KM systems are:

1. Sharing of valuable organizational information throughout organizationalhierarchy.

2. Can avoid re-inventing the wheel, reducing redundant work.3. May reduce training time for new employees4. Retention of Intellectual Property after the employee leaves if such knowledge

can be codified.


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Doing Knowledge management?

Has Knowledge Management (KM) been done? Of course, KM has been done. It is a

natural function in human organizations, and it is being done all of the time in An

informal distributed way by everyone undertaking activity in order to enhance knowledge

production and integration tasks. But whether formal interventions claiming the label

"KM" are bona fide instances of KM practice is another matter entirely. To answer that

question, we need to have clear, non-contradictory ideas about the nature of knowledge,

knowledge processing, and Knowledge Management. And to have those, we need to get

beyond the notion that we can do KM by just doing anything that may have a positive

impact on worker effectiveness while calling that thing "KM." Instead we need to

recognize that the immediate purpose of KM is not to improve either workereffectiveness (though it may well do that) or an organization's bottom line. Its purpose is

to enhance knowledge processing (Firestone and McElroy, 2003, ch. 3) in the expectation

that such enhancements will produce better quality solutions (knowledge), which, in turn,

may, ceteris paribus, when used, improve worker effectiveness and the bottom line. And

when we undertake KM projects, we must evaluate the contributions of our interventions

to the quality of knowledge processing and knowledge outcomes. That calls for tough,

precise thinking about knowledge processing, knowledge, and the impact on these that

our interventions are likely to have.

The question we are asking here is whether KM practitioners are, in fact, providing this

tough, precise thinking as a basis for KM practice, or whether, instead, they are

"practicing KM" by helping fields or techniques such as Information Technology,

Content Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Social Network

Analysis, Storytelling, Communities of Practice, and "Knowledge" Cafs to "colonize"it? Is such conceptual drift in KM so widespread that one can conclude that, generally

speaking, at least, KM as a formal, intentional endeavor has, indeed, not yet been done?


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Note: This is a pre-print version of a paper by the same title published in The Learning

Organization Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2005 Emerald Group Publishing, Ltd., also

available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/09696470510583557.Copyright

2004 by Executive Information Systems, Inc. and Mark W. McElroy 2In this paper we

will begin by providing an account of our view of KM, knowledge processing,

information, knowledge, and Knowledge Management, and then continue by considering

the above questions and by analyzing the Partners HealthCare case, a case where KM has

most emphatically been done, and done successfully. We will then end by drawing out

the implications of the Partners HealthCare case for KM Strategy and KM Programs. The

Nature of KM as a Type of Activity or a Set of Processes In an earlier "Viewpoint" in

TLO (Firestone and McElroy, 2004) we presented a three-tier framework (see Figure 1)

of business processes and outcomes (Also see McElroy, 2003, Firestone, 2003, and

Firestone and McElroy, 2003, 2003a), distinguishing operational business processes,

knowledge processes, and processes for managing knowledge processes. Operational

processes are those that use knowledge but, apart from routinely produced knowledge

about specific events and conditions, dont produce or integrate it. Examples of outcomes

are Sales Revenue, Market Share, Customer Retention and Environmental Compliance.

There are two knowledge processes: knowledge production, the process an organization

executes that produces new general knowledge and other knowledge whose creation is

non-routine; and knowledge integration, the Copyright 2004 by Executive Information

Systems, Inc. and Mark W. McElroy 3process that presents this new knowledge to

individuals and groups comprising the organization. Examples of outcomes are new

organizational strategies communicated throughout an enterprise using e-mail, and new

health insurance policies communicated through a new release of the organization's

personnel manual.


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Knowledge Management is the set of processes that seeks to change the organization's

present pattern of knowledge processing to enhance both it and its outcomes. A discrete

Knowledge Management activity is one that has the same goal as above or that is meant

to contribute to that set of processes. The discipline of KM is the study of such processes

and their impact on knowledge and operational processing and outcomes. The foregoing

implies that KM doesn't directly manage, create or integrate most knowledge outcomes in

organizations, but only impacts knowledge processes (performed by operational process

agents), which, in turn, impact knowledge outcomes. For example, if a Knowledge

Manager changes the rules affecting knowledge production, then the quality of

knowledge claims may improve. Or if a KM intervention supplies a new search

technology, based on semantic analysis of knowledge bases, then that may result in

improvement in the quality of business forecasting models.


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Why knowledge management?

Long before Knowledge Management became a term du jour, the industrialist giant,

Andrew Carnegie, said, The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the

knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how

effectively people share their competence with those who can use it. The author of

modern management, Peter Drucker, wrote, The basic economic resourcethe means of

productionis no longer capital, nor natural resources, nor labor. It is and will be

knowledge. Even the genius of Charles Darwin makes the point, It is not the strongest

of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to

change. In this age, the only constant is change. Beside the well known changes in

technology, there are continuing changes politically, socially, and economically. Theability of an organization to stay current and stay relevant requires a core competence in

Knowledge Management.

Knowledge Management can transform your organization to new levels of effectiveness,

efficiency, and scope of operation. Through advancements in technology, data and

information are readily available. The modern business manager is able to discover and

learn new measures, new technologies, and new opportunities, but this requires the ability

to gather information in usable formats and disseminate knowledge to achieve the

organizations objectives.

Knowledge Management is continually discovering what an organization knows

codifying tacit knowledge, Data Mining, and Business Intelligence; continually

increasing what the organization knowsorganizational learning and communities of

practice, and continually organizing and disseminating explicit knowledge for use

throughout the organization.

Knowledge Managmnt

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