KM Definition:
* The process of systematically and actively managing and leveraging the stores of knowledge in an organization is called knowledge management.
* The way a company stores, organizes and accesses internal and external information. Narrower terms are: “Organizational Memory” and “Knowledge Transfer.”
* A term that can have multiple meanings. In business information technology knowledge management refers to an entire integrated system for accumulation, integration, manipulation, and access of data across multiple organizations, including such data as credit data, consumer profiles, market data …
* knowledge management is an organized process that leads to have access to people with knowledge to benefit from them in a systematic way and not to leave this vital process to a chance, in order to achieve current objectives and to initiate future developments for the organization.
What is Knowledge
According to Russell Ackoff, a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, the content of the human mind can be classified into five categories:
1. Data: symbols
2. Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions
3. Knowledge: application of data and information; answers "how" questions
4. Understanding: appreciation of "why"
5. Wisdom: evaluated understanding.
Data represents a fact or statement of event without relation to other things.
Ex: It is raining.
Information embodies the understanding of a relationship of some sort, possibly cause and effect.
Ex: The temperature dropped 15 degrees and then it started raining.
Knowledge represents a pattern that connects and generally provides a high level of predictability as to what is described or what will happen next.
Ex: If the humidity is very high and the temperature drops substantially the atmospheres is often unlikely to be able to hold the moisture so it rains.
Wisdom embodies more of an understanding of fundamental principles embodied within the knowledge that are essentially the basis for the knowledge being what it is. Wisdom is essentially systemic.
Ex: It rains because it rains. And this encompasses an understanding of all the interactions that happen between raining, evaporation, air currents, temperature gradients, changes, and raining.
Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
– Embedded in the human brain
– Cannot be expressed easily
– Requires extensive personal contact
– Mentorship networks
– Knowledge Maps, Video conferencing
Explicit Knowledge
– Can be easily codified,
– Embedded in procedures,
– Represented in documents,
– Transferred with reasonable accuracy
Knowledge Management ( KM)
· Treating the knowledge component of business activities as an explicit concern of business reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the organization.
· Making a direct connection between an organization’s intellectual assets — both explicit [recorded] and tacit [personal know-how] — and positive business result
is simply sharing of Experience one another , You don’t know what you know until you are asked. This is the challenge that many organizations face – having so much of their corporate knowledge compartmentalized in the heads of one or a few experts in each department. What is needed is a way to capture and share this tacit knowledge so that it can be accessible to others.
The key to managing organizational memory is to capture knowledge when it is provided, directly within the workflow. First, it is helpful to examine the ways that knowledge is currently being exchanged within workplace activities and how the information is captured.
How Knowldge Sharing Captured
Direct personal exchanges, such as conversations and meetings: The information is sometimes captured in the form of summary documents or emails.
Email threads: The information may be captured, but can be challenging to find when you want to access it.
Phone calls: The information is lost unless recorded.
Instant messages: The information exchanged is saved by some, but not captured by most.
Forums: The information is captured and accessible to all.
Institutional repository
Blog
Knwoledge sharing discussion
Seminars Capturing Information from many to be accessible to all. The knowledge is organized by topic so that each topic consists of issues or questions raised along with the associated responses or resolutions.
In library perspective could say making Information accessible to all. In a corporate we may have differnt departmant i.e different Projects. But the staff may not have chance to discuss their experince, some one could use innovative way, perhaps it may not woth ful to their projects and could useful for another projects. if they share their experince that would send and save cost. Librarian can make knowldge easily accessbile. It could be organised in a manner in which user search their requirment. It should be in a classified manner. Every body talk abot tags now. Perhaps it might be an another way but capturing the need of user is very impotant when browse for Info.
Components of Knowledge Management:
• Knowledge Creation: Includes all activities, which brings to light knowledge that is "new" to the individual, to the group, and to the organization.
• Knowledge codification: Representation of knowledge so that it can be "reused “either by an individual or an organization.
• Knowledge transfer. “Movement of knowledge from one location to another
Why we need knowledge management now
· Marketplaces are increasingly competitive and the rate of innovation is rising.
· Reductions in staffing create a need to replace informal knowledge with formal methods.
· Competitive pressures reduce the size of the work force that holds valuable business knowledge.
· The amount of time available to experience and acquire knowledge has diminished.
· Early retirements and increasing mobility of the work force lead to loss of knowledge.
· There is a need to manage increasing complexity as small operating companies are trans-national sourcing operations.
· Changes in strategic direction may result in the loss of knowledge in a specific are
Business strategies related to knowledge management
· KM is connections with several well-known management strategies, practices, and business issues, including
· Change management
· Best practices
· Risk management
· Benchmarking
· Quality
· Cost effective /Benefit