Knowledge management is the term used to describe activities carried out by an organisation which enable it to collect, store, retrieve, transfer and re-use the knowledge and experience of its people, in order to enhance skill levels and collaboration, take decisions, to modify and improve practice and to innovate. Any organisation, small or large, public or private, can benefit from operating a knowledge management process.
The 'knowledge' in the process comprises the skills, practices, insights, understandings and imagination of all those who make up the organisation. Transforming and passing on knowledge should be an intrinsic part of organisational culture, benefitting individuals and organisation alike. But to make the most of this activity, it must become a conscious practice. Good knowledge management includes all facets of the process - human, social, communication, learning and technical and requires planning and purpose. It demands resources, management effort and time commitment; willingness to change; mutual support and respect. Good knowledge management is not just about data storage!
Knowledge management processes must be tailored to your organisation. The model required by a small voluntary group will be different in form as well as scale to that for a small manufacturer or a large corporation.
In
one organisation for example, the definition of knowledge might focus
particularly on operational skills. Data collection could range
from
informal chats through to formalised training sessions, knowledge or skill
audits and bespoke workshops. Another organisation might
emphasise
entrepreneurial behaviour and technical innovation. Data collection might consist of informal collective
discussions.
The growth in attention to knowledge management is driven by a greater awareness of the importance of knowledge as a primary resource, embodied in each member of the organisation.
Revealing the multi-layered complexity of information types embodied in an individual or a group, linking this to a company's business focus and developing new ways to transfer and apply this throughout and across an organisation, creates interesting communication, social and learning challenges. Creating the environment for this to happen can involve physical, practical and cultural change.
Competitive advantage comes from an organisation's capabilities. Typically these consist of specialist knowledge and routines. In fast-evolving industries it is dynamic capabilities that count, namely the ability to rapidly achieve best practice and to generate novel and practical routines. Knowledge management is an important factor in capability development, dissemination and evolution.
Organisation and storage of knowledge requires an understanding of knowledge types, company requirements and purpose, practical and appropriate classification and user-friendly, timely retrieval systems.
Depending on needs and resources, filing systems, libraries, intranets, staff meetings and sophisticated computerised information management systems are all possible forms of storage. Whichever system is chosen, the use made of the material, and its accessibility to interpretation, understanding and re-use depends on human behaviour. We can help you work through these issues to create a system that is effective, and used.