Introduction of KM.
Three classic definition of KM, are :
- Knowledge management is the process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge.(Davenport,T,1994).
- Knowledge management is 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 uncaptured expertise and experience in individual workers.(Duhon,1998).
- Knowledge management is an effort to increase useful knowledge within the organization. Ways to do this include encouraging communication, offering opportunities to learn, and promoting the sharing of appropriate knowledge objects or artifacts.(McInerney,C,2002).
The history and development of KM
KM efforts have a long history, to include on-the-job discussions, formal apprenticeship, discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. 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 work have been introduced to further enhance such efforts.[1]
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 cultural norms which influence their behaviors are the most critical resources 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 and emergence. 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).
The Stage of KM Development
In observing the development ofKMas practiced, described, and discussed at professional meetings, conferences, and trade shows, one can observe three clear stages.
Stage one:
The initial stage of KM was driven primarily by information technology, or IT. Organizations, particularly the large international consulting organizations, realized that their stock in trade was information and knowledge.
STAGE I "By the Internet out of Intellectual Capital"
- Information Technology
- Intellectual Capital
- The Internet (including intranets, extranets, etc.)
- Key Phrases: "best practices," later replaced by the more politic "lessons learned"
Stage two:
The second stage of KM can be described simply as adding the recognition of the importance of the human and cultural dimensions.
STAGE II Human and cultural dimensions, the HR, Human Relations stage
- Communities of Practice
- Organizational Culture
- The Learning Organization (Senge), and
- Tacit Knowledge (Nonaka) incorporated into KM
- Key Phrase: "communities of practice"
Stage three:
The third stage was the awareness of the importance of content, and, in particular, an awareness of the importance of the retrievability and, therefore, of the importance of the arrangement, description, and structure of that content.
STAGE III Content and Retrievability
Structuring content and assigning descriptors (index terms)
Key Phrases: " content management" and "taxonomies"
Stage four:
Perhaps a fourth stage of KM may be emerging, although the delineation of this fourth stage is not nearly as clear as for the previous stages. This stage can be characterized by the awareness of the importance of information and knowledge external to the organization.
STAGE IV ? Access to External Information
Emphases upon External Information and the recognition of the Importance of Context
Key Terms: "context" and "extranet"
Domain of knowledge management:
knowledge management growth:
Knowledge As Resource and process:
Through the resource perspective, organizations view knowledge as a fundamental resource in addition to the traditional resources of land, labor, and capital. It is held that the knowledge that the firm possesses is a source of sustainable competitive advantage, and is, accordingly, regarded as a strategic resource of the firm in need of management attention. On the other hand, through the process view, organizations are thought of as information processing and knowledge generating systems [Grant, R., 1996].
Baumard, P. [1999] proposes looking at knowledge in organizations along two dimensions:
tacit-explicit versus individual-collective. He defines four quadrants in which knowledge types are situated: tacit-individual (intuitiveness), tacit-collective (social practice), explicit-individual (expertise), and, explicit-collective (rules). Grounding the use of the quadrants in observations of exemplar case-study organizations, Baumard suggests that the creation of organizational knowledge can be tracked by locating actors' responses (knowing) within the appropriate quadrants of the matrix.
Interaction for knowledge creation :
While knowledge itself may be perceived as a resource, its creation occurs through human interactions, whether physical or virtual. For example, for knowledge to emerge from within a group, interactions that occur among its members shape the knowledge that emerges from the mutual engagement and participation of the group members.
References:
- knowledge management(KM) process in organizations : teoritical foundations and practice, Claire R. McInerney and Michael E.D.Koenig, 2011
- http://en.wikipedia.com
