Abstract
In the knowledge economy of present times, managing knowledge has become the prime concern of almost all the organizations in the world. The organizations in this recessionary time are realizing that the optimum utilisation of knowledge and knowledge resources could help them sail over the current economic crisis. The thrust is on creating, using, transferring and collaborating knowledge within the organization. This chapter aims to present a practitioner overview of the challenges and growing strategic importance of knowledge management (KM) in the organizations. The introduction of the chapter provides reasoning for adoption of KM and explores the concept of knowledge and KM, followed by outlining the framework of KM for implementation by the organization. A section in this chapter also provides detail of the KM policy framework and generalized approach for KM policy adoption. The chapter includes explanation on the tools and technology for KM with recommendation and suggestions for its successful implementation. The chapter closes by providing focus on future trends in KM.
TopBackground
The practice of managing knowledge is centuries old. The concept of knowledge has been discussed for centuries and in the works of the ancient Greek philosophers, knowledge originates with people. Knowledge, centuries ago was informally passed through practice and work among people, institutions, families and disciples. Vedic scriptures and religious scripts of the eastern world are an oldest form of KM. In principle, the organizational constitution generally reflects concern for knowledge transfer among the stakeholders in the organization.
The concept of KM can be understood by knowing the origin of DIKW (Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom) hierarchy as presented by Sharma (2004). He highlights the first appearances of the hierarchy in both the KM and information science domains. Similar references to DIKW hierarchy were made by both Zeleny (1987) and Ackoff (1989) in the KM domain. The relationship between data, information, knowledge and wisdom form a pyramid. The pyramid has data as its base, followed in the hierarchy by information, then knowledge, with wisdom at the top. Figure below shows the relationships between data, information knowledge and wisdom.
Data: Data can exist in a variety of forms, as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored in electronic memory, or as facts stored in a person's mind. Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum, a single piece of information. In practice, however, people use data as both the singular and plural form of the word.
Information: Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose. It has meaning and it is organized for some purpose. Information for example, is a collection of data and associated explanations, interpretations, and other textual material concerning a particular object, event, or process.
Key Terms in this Chapter
BPR: Business process reengineering (BPR) is the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises.
KM: Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.
Blog: A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.
E-Mail: E-mail is a method of exchanging digital messages.
Web 3.0: Based on the development of semantic web.
Web 2.0: Refers to second generation of web development and web design.
Yahoo!: Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, (in Silicon Valley), that provides Internet services worldwide.
Twitter: Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others’ updates, known as tweets.
ERP: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a company-wide computer software system used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared data stores.
Vedic Scriptures: The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.
Podcast: A podcast is a series of digital computer files, usually either digital audio or video that is released periodically and made available for download by means of web syndication.
ICT: ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware.
LinkedIN: LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003.
SCM: Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers.