Knowledge Management

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Knowledge Management

Definition

In order to be able to fully understand the concept of knowledge management, it is important that we start with the basics. First we have to define the word knowledge. Knowledge, according to dictionary definitions is an acquaintance with or understanding of facts, actions, ideas, etc. Psychologists, on the other hand, have defined knowledge as the result of perception and learning and reasoning.

Knowledge has always been an intangible concept.  We know that it is the pillar of strength of every individual as well as the core of every political society.  It is a complex concept that all activities and every human development are attributed to it.  Even the vastness of scientific fields is rooted to the concept of basic human knowledge.

In the past centuries, people have recognized the indispensability of knowledge.  We even accepted the principle that knowledge itself is power.  It is the fuel, which runs the engine of human interaction and organization.  However, intangible as it is, it was considered as a mere idea that exists like the air that we breathe.  Humans deemed it to be always there when the need arises, thus, notwithstanding its importance; it was never a subject of a closer scrutiny as compared to the attention given to the sciences that emanated from it.

During the turn of the millennium and the emergence of the global economy, organizations, especially the financial institutions, have formulated a systematic manner of handling this knowledge power. Knowledge remains to be the primary asset of companies- a leading indicator is the extent to which they invest on human capital development. Contemporary corporate management specifically, the financial sector had been increasingly aware of the future benefits of organizing ideas to in order to have a competitive advantage over others. All its elements, such as the ideas, advanced technology, modern machinery as well as the human minds, have been pooled altogether to form a scientific scheme now commonly known as KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT is the collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge. In one form or another, knowledge management has been around for a very long time. Practitioners have included philosophers, priests, teachers, politicians, scribes, librarians, etc.

In business terms, knowledge management is a discipline best described as a continuing process that focuses on the creation of business performance improvements--centered on people and not technology (Han, 2001). While technology enhances the feasibility of transferring knowledge between people, knowledge management includes creating and sharing knowledge as an organizational asset to drive the business. Scarborough (1999), on the other hand did not center his definition on any aspect. Scarborough (1999) defined knowledge management as comprising of any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance the learning and performing in organizations. Moreover, the value proposition of knowledge management states that there are fundamental business reasons and expected benefits for pursuing this process approach. There are gains the organization can achieve by using knowledge management to measure results, such as creating an Intranet and knowledge repositories (Han, 2001).

In the past, knowledge management among organizations/companies is being practiced through organizational libraries, formal training and education programs, mentoring and apprenticeship systems. These are evidences proving the fact that organizations have been doing different means to manage knowledge and provide for its transfer among the workforce. Since then several developments concerning the approach to knowledge management has been developed. These approaches are a product of a considerable number and time of researches done.

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Moreover, Stonehouse et al. (2001) noted that the concept of knowledge management has evolved from research on organizational learning.  They argue that it is simply the next phase of an evolutionary process of strategic frameworks that seek to explain how an organization may generate superior performance relative to the competitors in its market.  Earlier approaches centred on the competitive position of an organization within its industry.  Subsequent attention was focused on the creative mastery of an organization’s core competencies to achieve competitive advantage.  Currently, the concentration is firmly upon effectively “working” knowledge to produce the fruits of fiscal gain, as ...

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