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Managing Knowledge
2003-05-01
In today's fast paced ever changing world, we find ourselves (whether we recognize it or not) constantly processing, analyzing and sharing knowledge about our environment, customers, products and competition to mention a few.
As a business owner or manager the challenge from a Human Resource Management perspective is how to manage this knowledge in order to derive a competitive advantage. First, it is important to define what knowledge is in order to best manage it.
According to one expert: "Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of individuals. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also organizational routines, processes, practices and norms."
| | | | Process of Managing Knowledge | Therefore, the management of knowledge is the process of creating, capturing and using knowledge to enhance organizational performance. In other words organizations have to create an environment where knowledge is shared, integrated and generated.
Organizations that recognize and embrace the management of knowledge to enable them to meet their goals and objectives are ones with the following characteristics:
* A strategy to manage and deal with change
* An organizational culture supportive of knowledge sharing
* Mechanisms (electronic or manual) to share information
* No communication barriers
* The codifying, storing and retrieval of information
* No silos within the organization
| | | | Conclusion | At the pace that knowledge is being created - given our technological capabilities and the global environment that we operate within - it is believed that those organizations that recognize the true value of managing knowledge will be the ones with the real competitive advantage.
Future columns will identify both the opportunities and challenges of Managing Knowledge through the identification of an organization's Intellectual Capital as represented by its Human Capital, Structural Capital and its Relationship Capital (customers/suppliers). |
Contact:
 | Paul R. Hawn, President, Hawn & Associates Inc. | | Suite 507, 421 Bay Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1X3 | | info@Hawn.ca | | http://www.Hawn.ca |
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