Knowledge Management

Data, information, knowledge, wisdom: these four related concepts represent the continuum of human experience. A single datum has no relevance until it is related to other data to form information. Similarly, information is not useful unless it can be combined with other knowledge and applied to human situations. Wisdom might be defined as the ability to weigh knowledge and other values and determine an appropriate course of action or non-action.

There is no purely technical means to wisdom, but you can manage the collective knowledge of an organization, and thus provide management with the tools they need to make enlightened decisions.

Moreover, in today’s lightning-paced new economy, your organization's value is not determined merely by the value of your assets, but by your ability to marshal the organization's collective knowledge and apply it to your products and services.

Knowledge management seeks to maximize the application of your organization’s intellectual assets to the development and deployment of solutions that meet your customers’ business needs.

We've all heard the joke about the corporate mushroom: you keep him in the dark, feed him manure, and eventually can him. Knowledge management seeks to eliminate the conditions under which mushrooms can flourish.

Why is knowledge management necessary 
for the success of your organization?

Some or all of the following justifications for a knowledge management solution may apply to your organization:

• The marketplace is increasingly competitive. Organizations are competing on the basis of the knowledge that they can provide.
• Fluctuations in staffing create a need to replace informal collections of knowledge management with a formal system.
• Shortened development cycles and tighter time-to-market schedules mean that organizations need to acquire more knowledge - but in less time.
• Market pressures are forcing organizations to react to changes more quickly than ever before.
• As products and services become more sophisticated, there is a growing need to manage the increased depth and breadth of the knowledge you use to build and provide them.

Knowledge Management Technical Solutions

When an organization is small, accessing its knowledge is easy. Everybody knows everybody and the exchange of information is informal and fast. But when the organization grows beyond a certain size, communication problems begin to appear.

Some of these communication problems can be solved by simple technological solutions. For example, a simple intranet application with a database backend that allows Human Resources personnel to view and manage employee information can alleviate some communication problems and even empower employees to manage their own information. 

Other areas in which knowledge management can provide solutions include:

• Document management
• Knowledge base management systems
• GroupWare (applications that allow people to collaborate)
• Expert systems
• Artificial intelligence
• Decision support systems

Why do small companies need 
knowledge management?

Small companies need a competitive advantage to compensate for their smaller size and market share. They need to be more flexible so that they can adapt to change more quickly. Small companies need to implement knowledge management if they wish someday to become large companies.