1.1. Outline different views of the term knowledge management
Knowledge Management (KM) is a concept and a term that arose in the early 90 's. In addition, early on in the KM movement, Davenport (1994) defined knowledge management as ' 'the process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge." This definition has the virtue of being simple, stark, and to the point. A few years later, the Gartner Group defined KM to be a ‘ 'a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving, and sharing all of an enterprise 's information assets. These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and previously un-captured expertise and experience in individual workers." Both definitions share a very organizational and corporate orientation. KM is primarily about managing the knowledge of and in organizations. Additionally, there are several different perspectives on what Knowledge Management is. For instance, KM can be about systems and technologies or a holistic initiative across the entire organisation etc.
Knowledge management involves a strategic commitment to improving the organization’s effectiveness, as well as to improving its opportunity enhancement. The goal of knowledge management as a process is to improve the organization’s ability to execute its core processes more efficiently. Davenport et al. (1998) describes four broad objectives of knowledge management systems in practice: create knowledge
Knowledge management was defined as the turning of information into actionable knowledge which can be accessed by people who can apply it. Robbins (2003) gives a time perspective in his definition of knowledge management. He mentions as part of knowledge management the distribution of the right information to the right people at the right time. Lytras et al (2002) gives a definition of knowledge management which emphasises the purpose of knowledge management. In the definition creation of new capabilities, enablement for superior performance, encouraging innovation and enhancement of customer value were mentioned. For the purpose of this study the researcher summarised knowledge management as the intentional process of coordinating people, technology and systems to optimise creation and sharing of intellectual
The superior capabilities of knowledge management systems provide an opportunity for the business to engage the most effective components and recognize the importance of communication to make informed, accurate decisions (McGrath, 2001). This system can organize the company’s knowledge resources, knowledge obtaining, organizing, and applying to make a sound routine the will enforce effectiveness (Niu, 2008). The dynamic function of knowledge management to create, capture, and apply knowledge to achieve an organization’s objective will allow them to be more profitable and successful (Zucker, 1986). In addition to increasing profits, the system can be also used to reduce costs and enhance research and development (DeTienne & Jackson, 2001). With all of these advantages, it would be wasteful for a company to not employ knowledge management. As seen in the Discovery Communications, Inc. example, the company can attribute their new productivity levels and increase in ease of securing documents to the knowledge management system that put into place by Carefree Technology. Like Discovery Communications, Inc., knowledge management is so popular today because companies can collect, process and share knowledge to ignite employees ' creativity which in turn will make the business grow. Wenhong and Jianhua (2009) explained the core of knowledge management is to convert company’s knowledge resources into an increased company
While Knowledge Management (KM) is important in any business however, there is no real agreed upon definition. KM is a concept that includes the
In today 's high competitive business world, success is dependent on how efficiently and effectively an organization can develop and utilize its information and knowledge resources(Carlsson etc, 2002). Therefore, there are many dispute on information and knowledge management. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the relationship between Information management(IM) and knowledge management(KM), then argument about whether KM is important for an organization. In order to make sure essay have a clear structure, this essay main divided into four parts (from Part 2 to Part5 ): Part 2 will introduce what is IM and KM, the benefits of IM and KM, the relationships amongst data, information and knowledge, and then this paper will introduce the relationship between IM and KM; Part 3 will analysis case study of good knowledge management in Xerox company; Part 4 will analysis case study of bad knowledge management in NASA; Part 5, this essay will give an argument result to you in conclusion.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is apparent that in the knowledge era, creating and leveraging knowledge is the business of business. By all available measures, the stock market is already providing handsome rewards to companies that successfully leverage their knowledge--a phenomenon that will almost surely grow in significance as knowledge-based organizations increase in size and number. A number of firms are anticipating this and looking to knowledge management to enhance, measure, and manage the knowledge of their employees and organizations more effectively.
Since the mid-1990s, knowledge management has become increasingly significant for business managers and companies. ‘It is broadly accepted that systematic knowledge management is tightly linked with gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.’ (Bogner & Bansal, 2007, p658-6 as cited in Hislop, 2009, p1) The definition of knowledge management is various because of the wide range of this concept and its complexity (Al-Hawamdeh, 2003). For example, the broad definition provided by McAdam and McCreedy (2000, p155 as cited in Hislop 2009, p53) note that: ‘KM relates to the management of anything classified as knowledge’ Furthermore, Hislop (2009, p59)
Knowledge Management can make a significant difference between ongoing or successful ventures of any organization in a world of accelerating change. Knowledge Management provides the ability to connect and cooperate complex ideas efficiently and can be beneficial even to expand when using strategic alliances. To make Knowledge Management work in an
Knowledge management often involves isolating and planning intellectual assets within an organization, producing new knowledge for competitive advantages within the organization, making vast amounts of corporate information accessible. Knowledge management can be hard to interpret or explain. How would a nurse or doctor define “health care” succinctly? How would a CEO explain “management”? Each of these areas is very complex, with many sub-areas of specialization. This in turn leads to the question “What is Knowledge Management Strategy & Metrics”?
Abstract - knowledge management is a discipline that seeks to improve the performance of individuals and organizations by maintaining and influencing the present and future value of knowledge resources. It is an amalgamation of plentiful endeavors and fields of study. This paper provides a framework for distinguishing the various tools like methods, practices and technologies available to knowledge management practitioners. It includes a summary of a number of key terms and concepts, illustrates the framework, imparting examples of how to use it and searching a variety of prospective areas.
A technologic approach to Knowledge Management has a much higher initial cost, is inherently more scalable, and can handle a much greater transaction volume than an unassisted knowledge worker. Technology in support of Knowledge Management isn’t necessary or even optimal in every instance. Technologies supportive of Knowledge Management can be applied successfully to organizations of any size; extensive investments in technology are generally practical only in medium-size to large companies. Perhaps the most significant way technology enables the KM process is that it can provide virtual meeting space for communities of practice.
Knowledge management is a concept that is widely known in many organizations but despite the concept being around for more than two decades, a universally accepted meaning of the term is yet to be outlined. Knowledge management is a concept that is concerned with the aspect of learning something before putting it into action. The concept is also involved with creating a platform which will allow exploration of new types of knowledge. The created knowledge may then be incepted in the minds of the employees to add value to the products or services they deliver. What is important to note is that as far as KM is concerned, it does not go beyond storing and manipulating data or information. Knowledge transfer to decision makers will need the development of a structured approach to ensure that it is available on demand. When considering the department of labor, you would appreciate the need for implementation of this strategy. Many departments hoard information thus making it tough to access
Organisational learning can be seen as the goal of knowledge management and may be obtained by good knowledge management strategies and processes. By motivating the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge, KM initiatives pay off by helping the organization embed knowledge into organisational processes so that it can continuously improve its practices and behaviours and pursue the achievement of its goals.
Knowledge Management (KM) is described as a systematic process of sharing, reusing and managing the knowledge only when it is made available and recorded (Jashapara, 2005). This helps an organization to gain insight and understanding for own experience (Remus, 2012). Most of the KM activities
In the contemporary corporate cultural based world, a knowledge management system (KMS) is considered an important element to assist the sharing and integration of knowledge within the organization. An effective knowledge management strategy is capable of resolving knowledge management issue arises at any level in the organization (top management-to-bottom management level). A successful KMS also helps in increasing the overall business performance through ensuring staff performance, project management, organizational change management, quality of deliverables and the satisfaction of the staffs and customers. On the other side a lack of implementation of proper knowledge management system may hinder the performance of the staffs and the overall productiveness for the organization.
The term knowledge management has become common in businesses throughout the world. Despite its increased prevalence, there remains a large degree of confusion concerning the applied definition of what knowledge management is. Within the knowledge management community, attempts at defining this elusive term appear to be in constant flux. However, a basic description of what constitutes