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The word knowledge can be defined as an understanding that is acquired through personal experience or the study of factual information. Knowledge Management is a concept in which an enterprise gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes the knowledge of individuals and groups across the organization in ways that directly affect performance. It is about helping people communicate and share information. Knowledge Management envisions getting the right information, in the right context, to the right person, at the right time, for the right business purpose.
Knowledge Management focuses on ways of sharing and storing knowledge, as a means of improving speed, efficiency, and competency of individuals within an enterprise, therefore increasing the profitability.
The purpose of KM is to gather, categorize, store and spread all knowledge that is needed to make the organization both grow and prosper. It is not as much a technology change as it is a cultural change, but technology is a primary enabler of KM practices. Until recent years, many companies have rewarded individual performance, encouraging some individuals to keep much of what they know to themselves. Under the Knowledge Management approach, the organization seeks to find ways to get individuals to share their knowledge with others so the entire organization will benefit.
Knowledge is collected from all existing sources including people, systems, databases, file cabinets and desktops. All knowledge of value is stored and categorized as data in an organized repository. This knowledge can be immediately conveyed to those people and systems that need it, whether it's through an enterprise portal, collaboration tool, or knowledge transfer process. The right knowledge will go to the right person or system at the right time. Current knowledge can be retrieved from the system's archives at any time in the future. As knowledge becomes obsolete or expires, that knowledge can automatically be removed from the system. |
