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| What
is knowledge
management? |
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The
systematic process of
finding, selecting,
organizing, distilling
and presenting
information in a way
that improves an
employee's
comprehension in a
specific area of
interest. Knowledge
management helps an
organization to gain
insight and
understanding from its
own experience.
Specific knowledge
management activities
help focus the
organization on
acquiring, storing and
utilizing knowledge
for such things as
problem solving,
dynamic learning,
strategic planning and
decision making. It
also protects
intellectual assets
from decay, adds to
firm intelligence and
provides increased
flexibility.
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| What
is knowledge? |
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According
to Webster's
Dictionary, knowledge
is the fact or
condition of knowing
something with
familiarity gained
through experience or
association. Knowledge
may also be described
as a set of models
that describe various
properties and
behaviors within a
domain. Knowledge may
be recorded in an
individual brain or
stored in
organizational
processes, products,
facilities, systems
and documents.
In
reality, though, there
exist many possible,
equally plausible
definitions of
knowledge. For the
purposes of our
project, we will focus
upon the following
definition of
knowledge: The ideas
or understandings
which an entity
possesses that are
used to take effective
action to achieve the
entity's goal(s). This
knowledge is specific
to the entity which
created it.
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Why
is knowledge valuable?
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In
today's fast-paced
society, an entity's knowledge
base is quickly
becoming it's only
sustainable
competitive advantage.
As such, this resource
must be protected,
cultivated and shared
among entity members.
Until recently,
companies could
succeed based upon the
individual knowledge
of a handful of
strategically
positioned
individuals. However,
when competitors
promise more knowledge
as part of their
services, the
competition is over.
Why? Because
organizational
knowledge does not
replace individual
knowledge; it
complements individual
knowledge, making it
stronger and broader.
Thus, the full
utilization of an
entity's knowledge
base, coupled
with the potential of
individual skills,
competencies,
thoughts, innovations
and ideas will enable
a company to compete
more effectively in
the future.
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How
does a knowledge
management system
work?
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Many
enterprises do not
"know what they
know." Such a
situation can often
lead to duplication of
effort throughout an
organization. Thus,
organizations must ask
themselves two
important questions:
(1)
What are our knowledge
assets?
(2) How should we
manage those assets to
ensure a maximum
return on them?
There
are no right or wrong
answers to these
questions. Solutions
will depend upon
several factors such
as the type of
organization, its
culture and its needs.
Nevertheless,
effective management
of knowledge focuses
on solutions that
encompass the entire
system: organization,
people and technology.
Computers and
communications systems
are good at capturing,
transforming and
distributing highly
structured knowledge
that changes rapidly.
Some companies are
using analysis,
planning and computer
supported work systems
to radically improve
decision making,
resource allocation,
management systems,
access, and promulgate
process know-how and
overall performance as
a way to develop core
strategic competencies
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Who
uses knowledge
management?
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Any
organization can
effectively use
knowledge management
to develop and improve
their control and
effectiveness. For
example, Hewlett
Packard has developed
a system known as
'Knowledge Links'
which they use to
codify, identify and
store important
company knowledge.
This knowledge is
accessible by any
employee within the
company.
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Why
use a knowledge
management
tool/system?
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Any
company that can
figure out how to give
its people the
organizational
knowledge they need --
at the point and time
needed -- can position
itself to compete more
effectively and
succeed much faster.
Many companies have
vital knowledge
resting with one
individual and do
little to make the
knowledge more
generally available.
Many companies are
unaware of their own
knowledge base and
evidence has shown
that knowledge is
often lost from a
company through
employee attrition or
related cost saving
measures. The
enterprise that
harnesses its
intellectual capital
can apply that asset
to its business
challenges and
opportunities.
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Where
Can I Find More About
Resources and
Executives Involved in
Knowledge Management
Within a Specific
Industry?
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You
may refer to the
resources listed under
the last question.
Many of the articles
and web sites
accessible through
these resources focus
on specific company's,
executive's,
consultant's and/or
scholar's perspective,
and operationalization
of, Knowledge
Management.
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What
software should I buy
if I want to do
Knowledge Management
right?
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In
some organizations, a
software tool can be a
catalyst, serving to
motivate, educate or
guide KM activities.
In others, the very
process of software
selection, with its
many pitfalls and
detours, diverts
attention from
essential KM
activities. First make
a determination as to
where the organization
is in the process.
Software acquisition
and integration, when
needed, should be part
of an overall project
plan for implementing
KM.
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What
does the internet have
to do with Knowledge
Management? Was there
no KM before the web?
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Speaking
purely from a logical
or historical
perspective, the
internet is far from
an essential part of
knowledge management.
While it worked under
other guises in
earlier decades --
artificial
intelligence, product
data management, etc.
-- the concept has
been around for some
time. But this
fact takes nothing
away from the powerful
collaborative force
that the web
represents. In
addition, the
emergence of the web
as a standard
interface -- the web
browser -- made it
possible to focus on
other elements of
intelligent systems
design.
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Is
Knowledge Management a
"technology
thing" or an
"organizational
thing"?
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The
two are inextricably
intertwined. At
least one advocate --
from within the
organization, or from
the outside -- must
get the ball rolling.
After enough
organizational
momentum has been
gathered, modest
prototyping activities
that involve software
technologies of one
sort or another,
should be initiated.
These should be simple
enough to be
accomplished with few
resources, but complex
enough to demonstrate
the value of Knowledge
Management to
onlookers
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Isn't
Knowledge Management
just a repackaging of
previously developed
technologies?
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Yes,
but that doesn't
lessen its potential
impact to transform an
enterprise. For
example, a repackaging
might mean that the
necessary user
interface tools are in
place now, whereas the
tools may have been
unusable without a
knowledge engineer
onsite
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