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Knowledge Management or KM is any process which incorporates the desire to expand our range of inquiry with the need to simplify our decisions.¹ This can involve both human and technological applications which create, organize or share knowledge.

The Practice of KM

Knowledge management has always existed as an informal process i.e. apprenticeships, colleagues chatting, or a parent handing over her/his business to offspring. As a formal theory KM has developed in response to advances in technology - the scope and speed by which knowledge is accessed and exchanged. Individuals and companies continually seek better ways to harness this knowledge potential, therefore KM works to provide real world solutions and best practices.

While knowledge as a whole involves action, there are sub-sets of knowledge which can be further defined. Nonaka and Takeuchi (Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge Creating Company, New York: Oxford University Press.) suggest using the concepts of data, information, tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge to describe several types that are relevant to an organisation. Tacit knowledge is knowing that has been internalized, and is difficult to share or express. Explicit knowledge has been externalized, and is easier to exchange. Nonaka/Takeuchi conclude that all knowledge creation begins with the individual.²

An approach taken by Don Mezei (Mezei, D. (2002). The One Minute Knowledge Manager; Mezei, D. (2000). The Unified Theory of Knowledge) compares knowledge, information and data to levels of context:

Data is used to describe the world that extends between inorganic matter and biological forms. For example, data is used in fuzzy logic to control systems. A temperature measurement for brakes might have several functions defining the ranges that control brakes properly. Each function maps a temperature value to a truth value in the 0/1 range.

Information is used to describe the world that extends between biological forms and social groups. For example, the overall equation for photosynthesis in green plants is:

n CO₂ + 2n H₂O + light energy → (CH₂O)_n + n O₂ + n H₂O

Knowledge is used to describe the world that extends between social groups and intellectual ideas. For example, The United States Constitution styles itself the 'supreme law of the land.' Here a group of intellectual ideas help govern a social body, the U.S. of A.

In another example, he illustrates how the context of knowledge, information and data can be understood using the alphabet:

(T)(h)(e)(o)(l)(d)(s)(h)(o)(e) - data

(The)(old)(shoe) - information

(The old shoe) - knowledge

Denham Gray uses the example of baking a cake to define knowledge, information and data:

data - the different ingredients i.e. flour, water, eggs, sugar etc.
information - the recipe i.e. mix flour, eggs and water, preheat oven to 400 etc.
knowledge - the know how the cook uses to bake the cake, to best utilize the data and information available.³

Related Definitions

Knowledge Management - a process which transforms intellect into intellectual capital.
Intellectual Capital - the intangible assets of a company which contribute to its valuation.
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) - an executive responsible for maximizing the knowledge potential of an organisation.
Knowledge - that which can be acted upon.
Personal knowledge management - the organisation of an individual's thoughts and beliefs.
Enterprise Knowledge Management - the strategy, process or technologies used to acquire, share and re-use an enterprise's knowledge and understanding.

Knowledge Management Tools

Wikis are examples of software systems that are used as a knowledge management tool. For example, the HowTo/Wikisolutions project is to knowledge management what Wikipedia is to encyclopedias: a place to organize knowledge and information related to all areas in which people may be interested in an open society.

Conclusion

As we all can attest, a good idea goes a long way. So too, good communication. These traits bear the hallmark of progress both for individuals and organizations.

KM helps retain the elasticity of progress by examining how thoughts and ideas work. How we create and structure these thoughts and ideas, how we communicate them, and how we value them, all this comes under the guise of knowledge management.

Just as Collins/Porras (Collins, J. and Porras, J. (1997) Built to Last, New York: Harper Collins) wrote that 'successful companies simultaneously preserve the core and stimulate progress', knowledge is managed by expanding our range of inquiry while simultaneously refining the understanding that drives our decision making. Expand and contract. It can be concluded that KM is a highly dynamic process.

References

¹ Mezei, D. (2006) posted on theoryofkm.com.

² Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge Creating Company, New York: Oxford University Press.

³ Gray, D. (1998) posted as an archived message on brint.com.

Websites

KmWiki - Collaborative KM repository
The Knowledge Community- Award winning health and social care KM site
KnowledgeBoard;
Research on KM by the IMU unit;
Knowledge in Action: Seminal Contributions to Practice and Research
Knowledge Management for Higher Education. ERIC Digest.
Knowledge Management in Instructional Design. ERIC Digest.
"The nonsense of 'knowledge management'", a paper by T.D. Wilson that criticizes knowledge management for being an "umbrella term for a variety of organizational activities, none of which are concerned with the management of knowledge."
PNAS supplement: Mapping Knowledge Domains

Blogs

Organizations

Brint Institute- Brint Institute: The Knowledge Creating Company

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 ==Conclusion==
-As we all can attest, a good idea goes a long way.  So too, good communication.  These traits bear the hallmark of progress, both for individuals and organizations.
+As we all can attest, a good idea goes a long way.  So too, good communication.  These traits bear the hallmark of progress both for individuals and organizations.
 KM helps retain the elasticity of progress by examining how thoughts and ideas work.  How we create and structure these thoughts and ideas, how we communicate them, and how we value them, all this comes under the guise of knowledge management.