An Ontological Representation of Competencies as Codified Knowledge

Abstract

In current organizations, the models of knowledge creation include specific processes and elements that drive the production of knowledge aimed at satisfying organizational objectives. The Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) model of the Knowledge Management Consortium International (KMCI) provides a comprehensive framework for situating competencies as part of the organizational context. Recent work on the use of ontologies for the explicit description of competency-related terms and relations can be used as the basis for an study on the ontological representation of competencies as codified knowledge, situating those definitions in the KMCI lifecycle model. In this paper, we discuss about the similarities between the life cycle of KM and the processes in which competencies are identified and assessed. The concept of competency, as well as the standard definitions for this term that coexist nowadays, will then be connected to existing KLC models in order to provide a more comprehensive framework for competency management in a wider KM framework. This paper also depicts the framework’s integration into the KLC of the KMCI in the form of ontological definitions.