INTRODUCTION TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THEORY AND PRACTISES
Although knowledge is increasingly being viewed as
a commodity or an intellectual asset, it possesses some paradoxical characteristics
that are radically different from those of other valuable commodities.
These knowledge characteristics include the following:
_ Use of knowledge does not consume it.
_ Transferral of knowledge does not result in losing it.
_ Knowledge is abundant, but the ability to use it is scarce.
_ Much of an organization’s valuable knowledge walks out the door at the
end of the day.
Knowledge management (KM) was initially defined as the process of applying
a systematic approach to the capture, structure, management, and dissemination
of knowledge throughout an organization in order to work faster, reuse
best practices, and reduce costly rework from project to project (Nonaka and
Takeuchi, 1995; Pasternack and Viscio, 1998; Pfeiffer and Sutton, 1999;
Ruggles and Holtshouse, 1999).
Multidisciplinary Nature of KM
Knowledge management draws upon a vast number of diverse fields such
as:
_ Organizational science.
_ Cognitive science.
_ Linguistics and computational linguistics.
_ Information technologies such as knowledge-based systems, document and
information management, electronic performance support systems, and
database technologies.
_ Information and library science.
_ Technical writing and journalism.
_ Anthropology and sociology.
_ Education and training.
_ Storytelling and communication studies.
_ Collaborative technologies such as Computer Supported Collaborative Work
and groupware, as well as intranets, extranets, portals, and other web
technologies.
One of the major attributes of KM relates to the fact that it deals with knowledge
as well as information. Knowledge is a more subjective way of knowing
and is typically based on experiential or individual values, perceptions, and
experience. Popular examples to distinguish data from information and from
knowledge include the following:
Data: Content that is directly observable or verifiable; a fact—for example,
listings of the times and locations of all movies being shown today—
I download the listings.
Information: Content that represents analyzed data—for example, “I can’t leave
before 5 so I will go to the 7:00 P.M. show at the cinema near my
office.”
Knowledge: At that time of day, it will be impossible to find parking. I remember
the last time I took the car I was so frustrated and stressed because I
thought I would miss the opening credits. I’ll therefore take the commuter
train. But first I’ll check with Al. I usually love all the movies
he hates so I want to make sure it’s worth seeing!
The Concept Analysis Technique
Concept analysis is an established technique used in the social sciences, such
as philosophy and education, in order to derive a “formula” that in turn can
be used to generate definitions and descriptive phrases for highly complex
terms.
HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Although the phrase “knowledge management” entered popular usage in the
late 1980s (e.g., conferences in KM began appearing, books on KM were published,
and the term began to be seen in business-oriented journals), KM has
been around for many decades. Librarians, philosophers, teachers, and writers
have long been making use of many of the same techniques. However, it could
also be argued that knowledge management has been around far longer than
the actual term has been in use.
Organizational Perspectives on Knowledge Management
Wiig (1993) considers knowledge management in organizations from three
perspectives, each with different horizons and purposes:
1. Business Perspective—focusing on why, where, and to what extent the
organization must invest in or exploit knowledge. Strategies, products
and services, alliances, acquisitions, or divestments should be considered
from knowledge-related points of view.
2. Management Perspective—focusing on determining, organizing, directing,
facilitating, and monitoring knowledge-related practices and activities
required to achieve the desired business strategies and objectives.
WHY IS KM IMPORTANT TODAY?
The major business drivers behind today’s increased interest in and application
of KM lie in four key areas:
1. Globalization of business. Organizations today are more global—
multisite, multilingual, and multicultural in nature.
2. Leaner organizations. We are doing more and we are doing it faster, but
we also need to work smarter as knowledge workers, adopting an
increased pace and workload.
3. “Corporate amnesia.” We are more mobile as a workforce, which
creates problems of knowledge continuity for the organization and
places continuous learning demands on the knowledge worker. We no
longer expect to spend our entire work life with the same organization.
4. Technological advances. We are more connected. Advances in information
technology not only have made connectivity ubiquitous but have
radically changed expectations. We are expected to be “on” at all times,
and the turnaround time in responding is now measured in minutes, not
weeks.
Knowledge management represents one response to the challenge of trying
to manage this complex, information-overloaded work environment. As such,
KM is perhaps best categorized as a science of complexity.
KM for Individuals, Communities, and Organizations
Knowledge management provides benefits to individual employees, to communities
of practice, and to the organization itself. This three-tiered view of
KM helps emphasize why KM is important today.
For the individual, KM:
_ Helps people do their jobs and save time through better decision making and
problem solving.
_ Builds a sense of community bonds within the organization.
_ Helps people to keep up to date.
_ Provides challenges and opportunities to contribute.
For the community of practice, KM:
_ Develops professional skills.
_ Promotes peer-to-peer mentoring.
_ Facilitates more effective networking and collaboration.
_ Develops a professional code of ethics that members can follow.
_ Develops a common language.
For the organization, KM:
_ Helps drive strategy.
_ Solves problems quickly.
_ Diffuses best practices.
_ Improves knowledge embedded in products and services.
_ Cross-fertilizes ideas and increases opportunities for innovation.
_ Enables organizations to stay ahead of the competition better.
_ Builds organizational memory.
In order for knowledge management to succeed, it has to tap into what is
important to knowledge workers—what is of value to them and to their professional
practice as well as what the organization stands to gain. It is important
to get the balance right.
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