Posted by Rob Cayzer on July 20, 1999 at 11:12:06:

In Reply to: Re: Exactly my point! posted by P. Richard Hansen on July 20, 1999 at 07:40:53:

Hi,

The study of knowledge as a concept cannot be effective without the context of the organisation, as it would not capture: (1) motivations for undertaking such exercises (2) the synergistic benefits (3) the process/issues of developing a knowledge oriented system. The focus of discussion on KM should both knowledge and management - in the context of the organisation.

I don't think capturing knowledge in documents is the point. As Richard was eluding to, KM is primarily a people system. In an enterprise (or any organised entity), Knowledge Management is a further evolution in the struggle to survive/thrive in the fast-paced global business enviroment, where profit streams are derived directly from people's ideas (intellectual capital). The strongest proponents of KM are those who realise that ultimately they want to be learning ORGANISATIONS, by building on existing knowledge bases to come out with better products and services.

Knowledge systems, in whatever form, are primarily based on the precept that you want to capture these knowledge and share it so that it may be used, improved upon, etc. It may be on paper, plastic, metal, documents, phone, mail, discussion groups, BI, EDM, etc. It doesn't really matter. It's an organisational system. You may view it in terms of maturity models:

1) Static - company never changes (will eventually fail, I suppose)
2) BPR - company makes changes from time to time (but from a one-off / top-down / best practice approach)
3) Changed oriented - There exists a culture of change, however the direction of change may not be well placed (TQM)
4) Knowledge Based - The direction of change depend on capturing vital information and moving your products/services accordingly. However, it is managed by minority Knowledge Leaders (aka Knowledge mediators)
5) Learning Organisation - A significant part of the organisation is geared to growing and adapting

cheers,
rob.c.

---

Follow Ups:

---

Click Here to Post Follow Up in New Forums

    Knowledge Management Think Tank (New)

  

 Subject: 

Message: