| Considering the dimensions of Knowledge | | | | Knowledge management is a framework within which |
| Management within an organization - it is not | | | | an organization views all its processes as knowledge |
| surprising at all to read of different ways of defining | | | | processes. In this view, all business processes involve |
| Knowledge Management or KM as it is referred to. | | | | creating, disseminating, renewing, and applying |
| Before proceeding, it would be imperative to define | | | | knowledge toward organizational sustenance and |
| the word "knowledge" within itself. Knowledge | | | | survival. In essence, it means that Knowledge |
| basically refers to "a collection/ or a body of | | | | management focuses on 'doing the right thing' instead |
| information". This could mean that the information is | | | | of 'doing things right'. The underlying premise is that |
| embedded in the form of theories, processes, and | | | | 'best practices' of yesterday may not be taken for |
| systems, or it could be voiced in form of opinions, | | | | granted as 'best practices' of today or tomorrow. |
| theories and analysis. | | | | Hence, double loop learning, unlearning and relearning |
| When discussing Knowledge Management within an | | | | processes need to be designed into the organizational |
| organizational context - it would mean managing the | | | | business processes Knowledge management is |
| collective information expertise in the form of | | | | necessary for companies because what worked |
| employees and the organizational processes. This | | | | yesterday may or may not work tomorrow. To |
| would encompass knowledge as an explicit business | | | | remain aligned with the dynamically changing needs of |
| activity that reflects in the organization's business | | | | the business environment, organizations need to |
| strategy, policy and practice at all the levels. | | | | continuously re-assess their internal procedures of |
| Keeping in view the aforementioned, we define | | | | business for ongoing effectiveness. |
| Knowledge Management as business activity that | | | | Importance of Knowledge Management |
| attempts to build a direct connection between an | | | | Considering the management dynamics today - the |
| organization's intellectual assets - be they in the form | | | | onus of managing knowledge requires utmost focus |
| of employees (tacit) or in the form of record | | | | as most of the work is information based. Secondly, |
| (explicit). Thus, Knowledge Management caters to | | | | it is an undisputed fact that organizations compete on |
| the critical issues of an organization trying to adapt | | | | the basis of knowledge, since products and services |
| itself, survive and competence in face of increasingly | | | | are becoming increasingly complex. Hence the |
| sporadic environmental changes. Essentially, it means | | | | requirement for a life-long learning has become an |
| encompassing organizational processes that seek a | | | | unavoidable reality and thus Knowledge Management |
| synergy among a combination of data and | | | | has become important because; |
| information processing capacity of information | | | | - Marketplaces are increasingly competitive and the |
| technologies ( ), and the creative and innovative | | | | rate of innovation is rising |
| capacity of it employees. | | | | - Downsizing staff creates a need to replace informal |
| Hence in practice, Knowledge Management covers | | | | knowledge with formal methods. |
| identifying and mapping intellectual assets within an | | | | - Competitive pressures reduce the size of the work |
| organization, generating up-to-date expertise for | | | | force that holds valuable business knowledge. |
| competitive advantage, making vast amounts of | | | | - The amount of time available to experience and |
| corporate information accessible, sharing of best | | | | acquire knowledge has diminished. |
| practices, and technology that enables managing all of | | | | - Early retirements and increasing mobility of the |
| the above including groupware and intranets. All this is | | | | work force lead to loss of knowledge. |
| crucial, because one of the most integral business | | | | - There is a need to manage increasing complexity as |
| activities is that of applying knowledge management | | | | small operating companies are trans-national sourcing |
| at work. | | | | operations. |
| Exploring Knowledge Management | | | | - Changes in strategic direction may result in the loss |
| As we further progress with the facets of | | | | of knowledge in a specific area. |
| Knowledge Management, highlighting a few well | | | | In brief, knowledge and information have become the |
| known management strategies serves as a better | | | | medium in which business problems occur. As a result, |
| comprehending factor; | | | | managing knowledge represents the primary |
| - Business Process Reengineering | | | | opportunity for achieving substantial savings, |
| - Change Management | | | | significant improvements in human performance, and |
| - Benchmarking | | | | competitive advantage. |
| - Risk Management | | | | Organizational Responsibility: Ensuring Knowledge |
| - Employee Recommitment Management | | | | Management |
| There seems to be a common thread among these | | | | Organizations that are competitively conscious need |
| and many other recent business strategies and an | | | | to effectively implement knowledge management |
| acknowledgment that information and knowledge are | | | | systems. This includes enforcing a linkage between |
| corporate assets, and that the businesses need | | | | the archived organizational 'best practices' and the |
| strategies, policies, and tools to manage those assets. | | | | actions taken by organizational members based on |
| The need to manage knowledge is obvious, as | | | | that information. Parallel to this also includes unraveling |
| discussions on intellectual capital have burgeoned. | | | | linkage between actions taken by organizational |
| Because knowledge has become the single most | | | | members that serve as a continuous check and |
| important factor of production and survival, managing | | | | balance for renewing the archived 'best practices.' |
| intellectual assets has become the single most | | | | This is where the intellectual organizational creativity |
| important task of business. | | | | and innovation comes into the picture. |
| Knowledge Management: An Organizational Necessity | | | | |