Knowledge Management.

Every employee in an organisation has both tacit and explicit knowledge. The knowledge which resides within employees and is ingrained within them is called tacit knowledge. This knowledge is very difficult to teach and profess. But explicit knowledge is detached from the person and can be easily expressed. All these types of knowledge can be summarised in the knowledge base of the organisation which should be easily accessible by all employees. Knowledge management is the effective management of the knowledge base and it increases the ability of the organisation to learn from its environment and incorporate the knowledge gained into its business processes.2. Knowledge management can be defined as the "systematic process of finding, selecting, organising, distilling and presenting information in a way that improves an employees comprehension in a specific area of interest".1 Knowledge management helps an organization to gain insight and understanding from its own experience. Specific knowledge management activities help focus the organization on acquiring, storing and utilizing knowledge for such things as problem solving, dynamic learning, strategic planning and decision making. It also protects intellectual assets from decay, adds to a firm's intelligence and provides increased flexibility.1The knowledge management programs are managed by the Chief Knowledge Officer who is responsible for the firm's knowledge base.

Knowledge management requires different types of Information Systems to facilitate the capturing and collecting of knowledge, sharing and distributing it between the employees and most importantly for creating knowledge.

Knowledge workers are people who generally create knowledge through research and development. This is knowledge is created through Knowledge Work Systems. The Knowledge Work Systems aid knowledge workers in the creation of knowledge in the organisation. Example Computer Aided Design, Virtual Reality Systems, Virtual Reality Modelling Languages etc. Knowledge is then shared through group collaboration systems such as email, teleconferencing, data conferencing, video conferencing and groupware. Knowledge is codified and extended using Artificial Intelligence technology. Expert Systems, neural networks, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms, and intelligent agents are also used to codify knowledge and extend the knowledge base.

One example of a company that uses Knowledge Management Systems is Hewlett Packard. They have developed a system known as 'Knowledge Links' which they use to codify, identify and store important company knowledge. This knowledge is accessible by any employee within the company and it has helped the company get its best practices across to all its employees.1

REFERENCES

. http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/kman/)

2. Management Information Systems - Managing the digital firm.

--- K.C. Laudon, J.P. Laudon.