Social Learning Aspects of Knowledge Management

Abstract

There are probably as many variations of knowledge management definitions as there are practitioners and researchers in the discipline. Complete consensus in such a group would be a surprising finding. This is because the two words are loaded with pre-existing meanings that do not always sit comfortably in juxtaposition, so what it means to “manage knowledge” is difficult to ascertain, and hence comes to mean different things to different people. We do know however, that knowledge exists in the minds of individuals and is generated and shaped through interaction with others. In an organizational setting, knowledge management must, at the very least, be about how knowledge is acquired, constructed, transferred, and otherwise shared with other members of the organization, in a way that seeks to achieve the organization’s objectives. Put another way, knowledge management seeks to harness the power of individuals by supporting them with information technologies and other tools, with the broad aim of enhancing the learning capability of individuals, groups, and in turn, organizations (Ali, Warne, Bopping, Hart, & Pascoe, 2004). Social learning, in this context, is defined as learning occurring in or by a cultural cluster or organizational group or team and includes procedures for transmitting knowledge and practices across different work situations, settings, and time. However, the application of technology must be guided by the needs of the organization and its workers. As Davenport (2005, p.162) states, “While I don’t question the importance of technology in organizations today, it’s only one source of knowledge and learning for knowledge workers.”