Knowledge management toolkit and best practices

Knowledge Management Toolkit

A data warehouse encompasses and provides access to all the company's information to whoever needs access to it. A warehouse literally means a storehouse, and the information within an organization may be distributed within one computer or with many computers, form one single warehouse. They may contain several databases and all types of information, and in a large variety of different formats. However, all the above information and knowledge must be accessible through a server, and the user gains a transparent means of access to the data because he can utilize extremely simple commands to retrieve and gain access to the information, and also analyze it, as he wants to. A data warehouse will also generally contain certain details about the warehouse, and where and how the information has been stored within the warehouse. (Definition of Data Warehouse on the web)

A typical data warehouse is usually housed on an enterprise mainframe server, which in other words means that all the data from various different online transactions processing, or OTP, as it is known as, is gathered and then organized into a database that is then put into the data warehouse. This information can then be used for the purpose of analytical applications, and also for any types of queries form the users of the data. Data warehousing generally stresses and lays importance on the capture of data from several different sources, and allows this information to be accessed so that it may be useful to the person who needs it. However, the fact is that data warehousing does not start from the viewpoint of the end user or to the knowledge worker who may actually need the information as a means of gaining access to specialized databases. (Database.com Definitions)

The Intranet, on the other hand, is the internal or the private Internet that is used by a company or an organization, or maybe by a college or a University, and so on. 'Intra' means 'internal' and this is exactly what the Intranet means, that it is meant for those on the inside of the organization, and not outside. 'Inter' means among or between, and this in other words means that the Internet is to be used between lots of people. Until a few years before, most companies used certain local networks for the purpose of internal communications. Expensive and proprietary software was used for this purpose, and today, the new Intranet technology makes organizations do away with the extra cost of new and highly technological software, and allows, instead, companies to use the Internet based Intranet technology, that is simple and cost effective and therefore more practical to use. Most Intranets use a TCP/IP connection, and this is something that would support web browsing, in the same way that a normal Internet connection would allow the user access to nay information that he want to peruse. However, the major difference between the Internet and the Intranet is that while the Internet is available to anybody, the intranet is generally connected through the local network, and the web pages that may be available within this network would have to be allowed by the Intranet to be available to the user of the information. (Intranet)

What is 'Groupware'? Any application that is networked and allows its users access to the data that is contained within the network, and also allows the users to share the data that they have had access to is called 'groupware'. Robert Johansen, the author of the book, 'Groupware-Computer Support for Business Teams' states that he finds that groupware can be defined as certain specialized computer aids that have been created and designed for the use of collaborative working groups within an organization. This definition effectively eliminates multi-user databases from the category called groupware, but at the same time, there can be no doubt that electronic mailing systems fall within the category of groupware and the sharing category also, and some other types of sharing software are also included in this category be the experts. (Definitions of Groupware)

In a nutshell, groupware can be explained as a technology that has been basically developed to facilitate the working together of groups, whether small or large. This technology is immensely useful and practical for any organization because of the fact that it helps the persons within the organization to communicate, to cooperate with each other, to coordinate all the activities within the organization in an effective manner, to negotiate with each other, to solve the various problems within the organization, and to also compete with each other or with the outside competitors. In truth, the age-old traditional technology offered by the telephone can be counted as a part of groupware and group technology, but the term is most often used in connection with the world of computers, and on the technology that generally relies on all the modern computer network technologies of today, including e-mails, and chatting, and newsgroups, and videophones. (Groupware, Introduction)

All groupware technologies are generally divided into two different groups, one being that of the group of people who all work together in a synchronized manner, in what is known as 'real-time', that is, when they all work together at the same time as each other. If the group of people is not working together in a synchronicity, then they are referred to as being 'asynchronous groupware'. The second category is based on whether the group of people is working together in the very same place or whether they are all in different places, when they are together they are referred to as being 'face-to-face', or as being 'collocated', and when they are not in the same place they are known to be 'non-collocated' or 'distant'. (Groupware, Introduction)

It can be said that all the various resources that have been explained above must form a part of the Knowledge management System within an organization that hopes to work efficiently and effectively using the bets principles of knowledge management that are available today so that it may be able to generate profit with relative ease, in today's global economy where knowledge is of utmost importance. What actually is Knowledge Management? Knowledge management has become extremely important in today's working context, and everywhere there are facts and statements about this totally new and emerging concept. Knowledge Management is can be explained with the help of several different sets of knowledge, which, when put together, make for a better working process. When simplified, the various components are: the development of a context, then developing a continuum for the context that has been created, then the extension of the context, with several examples on the process, after which is the concept of Knowledge Management.

The final step is that of recognizing the innate value of Knowledge Management. What does 'developing a context' mean? Today, there is more data generated in all fields than at any time in the entire history, and all this data has to be managed in a proper and practical manner so that there would be no confusion of issues or maybe some data becoming lost, and so on. In fact, the data that is generated in today's working environment is most often referred to as a virtual 'sea' of information, and management of the sea is of utmost importance if one were to hope to progress and derive some sort of benefit from such a wealth of information, since it is a well recognized fact that his data is a vital resource. When one prepares in an appropriate manner, then one would be able to tap into such a reservoir of information so that the benefits could be sorted out and assessed. (Knowledge Management-Emerging Perspectives)

New methods and channels are therefore necessary to utilize this information and change raw data into useful information that can be used for an important purpose such as the acquisition of knowledge fro the purpose of developing wisdom. One researcher and data management specialist, Neil Fleming, has this to say about information and its management: the mere exercise of the collection of data is not called information, and in the same way, the mere collection of information cannot be referred to as knowledge; the collection of knowledge cannot be termed as wisdom, and finally, the collection of mere wisdom cannot mean that it is the truth. What Neil Fleming actually means is that information and knowledge and wisdom are not all mere collection of data, they are all representative of one single entity, and the whole actually represents infinitely more than the sum of all its parts put together, and the whole has a synergy uniquely its very own.

Beginning with data, data is merely a meaningless babble of words, and a meaningless point if it is not put in reference to the time and the space where it exists, and when there is no reference point for data, it becomes something that is quite 'out of context' with the world. Therefore, data that does not have a reference point in time or space can be said to exist without a meaningful relation with anything else, and therefore, it goes without saying that it will not have any meaning for us when we attempt to decipher it. When an individual sees any piece of data, he immediately attempts to find a reference point or context for it, by associating it with other things, and it is only when he does find it that he would find any meaning in the piece of data. For example, if one happens to see the number five written somewhere, then he immediately associates it as the number that comes before six and after four and this is how he manages to comprehend the number five. (Knowledge Management-Emerging Perspectives)

In the same way, an individual will find meaning in the data that he encounters only when he finds a reference point or any other association for it. Neil also sated that a mere collection of data is not information, and this means that a collection of data for which there are no references cannot make for good information; in fact it makes no meaning at all if there is no sort of coordinated meaning between the various pieces of data within the same collection. Even if the pieces of data represent information, one may not be able to understand whether it is pertinent information or not if there was no relationship between all the pieces. However, if the individual who accesses the data is able to use his basic understanding skills to assimilate the information within the data, then he has gained knowledge from that information. Therefore, the value of the information also depends on the perceiver of the information and the data, and the more knowledge he possesses, the better he would be able to understand the data.

Therefore, the extent of knowledge that the individual gains from the data depends on the various associations that he is able to make within the data in relation to the knowledge that he already has, and when the same individual is more knowledgeable, then it only means that he would be able to make that many more associations within the collection of data and assimilate them into a comprehensive structure that gives meaning to what he is viewing. Information, therefore, can be explained as the basic understanding of all the basic relationships between the various pieces of data and other information that make up a collection of data. But, though information necessitates the understanding of the relationships between the various pieces of data within a collection, it still does not offer or provide a basic foundation for what the data is, and why it is like this, and if it will in fact change over a period of time, and the manner in which it is expected to change. This is because information by nature is generally static and also linear, and this means that information is a relationship between data, and depends to a large extent on context to gain meaning, and has no type of implication for the future. (Knowledge Management-Emerging Perspectives)

Behind every relation, there is a set pattern, and here pattern means more than a mere relation between different relations. Pattern also means completeness and a consistency of relations that end up in the creation of its own context for the particular pattern. Pattern also generally functions as an archetypical design wherein both repetition and predictability co exist in an amicable manner, functioning side by side. When there is in existence a definite pattern among the collection of data and information, then that particular pattern has the immense potential to represent knowledge, and it becomes knowledge when an individual is able to comprehend and decipher the patterns and their meaning within the collection. When a pattern represents knowledge, then the pattern becomes self-contextual, and when this happens, the pattern in fact creates its own context, rather than depending upon the information and the context that the information is set in. A pattern that is representative of knowledge also provides a highly reliable and stable platform on which to base the assimilation of knowledge from the collection of data, and also demonstrates the ways and means in which the information will evolve over a period of time.

This is because a pattern is almost never static, and a pattern that represents knowledge has fullness and completeness to it that simple information would never contain. Therefore, when an individual wishes to acquire wisdom from the fount of knowledge that he is confronted with, he must first understand the principles that represent the patterns as they are found, and glean knowledge from that pattern. Since wisdom also creates its own context, this fact has to be remembered by the individual who wishes to gain knowledge from the data and information that are available to him. One example would make the above statements extremely clear: take a Bank Savings Account, and see how data and information and knowledge and wisdom are all interrelated and, in this context, refer to principal, interest rate, and interest. It is quite clear that the numbers 5 and 100 have no relation with each other at all in any manner. However, if a person were to open a savings account and deposit $100 in the account as the principal, then gain an interest rate of 5% per annum on that amount of money, then there is a meaningful relationship between the numbers 100 and 5. (Knowledge Management-Emerging Perspectives)

They form a veritable pattern within themselves, and one would understand the information and gain wisdom from it only if the pattern were to be deciphered and meaning understood so that the unrelated bits and pieces of information and data become co-related and make sense to the person who wishes to make some meaning out of it. Therefore, it is clearly seen that the continuum or the pattern made up of the sequence of Data> Information> Knowledge> Wisdom is an entirely discrete entity, but the progression from one stage to another is not discrete, and on the other hand, progress is generally made when one understands the continuum, and therefore progresses along the line. This is the basic line that makes up knowledge management, and it is only when one understands this line of continuum that one will be able to understand the basics of the principles of knowledge management. Mike Davidson offers this opinion that knowledge management must contain answers to the following questions: the mission of the process, or in other words, what exactly is it that we are trying to accomplish?

The next question is about the competition that we are faced with, and the issue is how is it possible to gain a competitive edge over the others in the same field as us? The third question is related to the performance of the working team, and we must be able to ask of ourselves, how can we deliver the desired results? Finally, we must also be ready to face change whenever it occurs, and we must ask this: can we cope with change, and if so, how do we do it? When taken in the context of an organization, data represents facts and the value of the results of the facts, and the inter-relationships between the various bits and pieces of data have the capacity to offer information to the person who wants such information. All this happens within a set pattern, and this pattern has the ability to represent knowledge.

Therefore, one must also understand the real value of information and knowledge, and the ways and means with which to manage such information. In other words, knowledge management is very important when taken in the context of an organization where data is generated almost every minute of the day, and when the management of the data and the knowledge that has been revealed by the data is managed in a better way, then the members of the organization would be able to deal with the difficult situations within the organization with ease and elan, and face the future in a much better way than their counterparts who have no knowledge of the concepts of knowledge management. (Knowledge Management-Emerging Perspectives)

How is developing and maintaining a Knowledge Management System important within an Organization? Is it in fact essential for an organization of today to have in place a Knowledge Management System, and why? It is the truth that today there is no single organization that functions in today's highly competitive environment that can say without fear that it does not need a Knowledge Management System. All organizations today have a very important need of a Knowledge Management System that would help to leverage and maintain human capital within the system that would maintain the information and the technology within the organization and also help the members of the organization to win and achieve accolades for their performances based on the Knowledge Management System within their firms. Today, knowledge and its productivity and capacity have become very important topics for discussion among the theorists and the practitioners of management theories., and this importance and stress laid on the principles of the acquisition of knowledge is what basically drives market leadership, and many major international companies in the field of technology, telecommunications, engineering and construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, software and hardware manufacturing, and so on, have all started to believe in the principles and in the importance of Knowledge Management System theories and practice. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

This is because of the fact that this type of knowledge enables these companies to gain the keen competitive edge that they need in order to succeed in today's market conditions, and this type of knowledge also helps them to be sure of what they know, and the knowing of what to know, how to know it, and how to use this important knowledge in the pursuit of success. What is even more important is the fact that the knowledge of the system of knowledge management is not only used within the confines of the business organization, but also by several different types of governmental agencies and non-profit organizations that not only produce but also use the knowledge that is produced by them. Therefore the basics of Knowledge Management Systems would be useful to anybody who wishes to use them to their advantage. Not only is a large amount of literature now available on Knowledge Management Systems, but websites on the world wide web are also now dedicate to this important new concept, and more and more people are showing keen interest in the idea of being able to manage knowledge in a profitable manner.

Corporate leaders are also part of the group of people who are quite convinced that there is indeed a very strong connection between their ultimate performance and knowledge productivity. Therefore, it is seen that the economic value of knowledge is growing day-to-day, and when productivity and knowledge are linked together, then one must be able to cope with this fact in today's knowledge-intensive economies. When knowledge becomes so valuable in the economies of today, then one must understand that this knowledge must be able to create a sustained superior performance within the organization, and this superior performance would include a great value for the customers, a greater value for the investors in the organization, and a greater career value for the employees of the firm. Thus it is seen that knowledge is capable of contributing towards winning innovations within the firm, and also to better execution. In addition, if one were to hope to seize whatever opportunities may arise both in the present as well as in the future, then one must be well armed with the knowledge of the Knowledge Management System, and this would also help them to better urn the organization that they are running at the present time. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

What is the type and nature of knowledge generally used within an organization of any kind? Knowledge capital is usually made up of two main interactive and inter-related parts: human capital, and, information. Human capital consists of the mind and the character and the capability and the talents of the human beings that are involved in the running of the organization, and when the human being is better armed with such talents, he would be better able to contribute towards the success of the organization. Both innate as well as acquired knowledge rule human competence, and this is generally made up of certain components like skills in doing something better than anybody else, and imagination and creativity and originality, and education and talents, and experience in handling any particular types of situations, all make up the basic wealth of human capital that the organization would be able to use for its own benefit.

Individual human knowledge is generally within oneself, and is not usually expressed out in the open all the time; however, such knowledge has the capacity of being able to influence the decisions, whether they are minor or major, within the organization, and also influences the actions of the individual within the organization. This sort of tacit and innate knowledge is extremely difficult to document or transfer or even to communicate, and it is up to the organization to delve into this hidden knowledge of its employees and use it for its best advantage. Wealth of information is also a major knowledge capital for the organization today. What is this information? Information covers anything that documents the knowledge and the experience of a human being, and includes all his intellectual achievements and his various formulations of all the problems that await his resolution. One example of the wealth of documented information that is in evidence in plenty everywhere is the information that can be found printed on any types of reports, on cassette covers, on DVD covers, in books, in magazines, in software and on their covers, in databases, and so on. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

Everywhere there is information for whoever is interested in it, and it must be stated here that all the creation and the development and the application of knowledge generally involves the interaction of human capital and information. Technology can be taken as a basic example of this fact: it is because of technology that this sort of information has come into existence, and it is because of this interaction that this particular tool has been developed so that it becomes easier to avail of information. The main difference between knowledge and information is that whereas knowledge exists in the mind of the person who possesses it, information is something that can exist as a separate entity independent of its creators, and it can most of the time survive when it is tested for facts like whether it is reliable, whether it is valid, whether it is practically useful and so on.

One perfect example to demonstrate this fact is the fact of scientific knowledge. This type of knowledge can be adapted as well as transferred wherever necessary and adapted so that it can be used wherever applicable, by many people at a time in a simultaneous fashion, or by a single individual, in many applications at a time or in one single application by many people, and the value of the information can be availed of many people within the organization, and this means that the capture and the documentation and the transfer of such information would be vital for the organization, so that individual knowledge would be transferred both inside as well as outside of the organization, thereby converting it to enterprise information. This means that all this information is of utmost necessity to the problem of Knowledge Management Systems. Therefore, Knowledge Management can be described as a system or the process that uses knowledge that has been acquired by the organization to create more value for the organization. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

The most important function of any organization or enterprise would be to use whatever opportunities may arise to both acquire and to keep and maintain the customers that they have acquired, and also keep the owners and the employee happy and satisfied with the value of the offerings of the company. How does the organization generate increased value for its customers and employees? Most organizations achieve this by synthesizing knowledge capital and the value of technology to effectively create and develop innovation dynamics. Therefore, within an enterprise where knowledge capital and information are given primary importance, and a fast stream of cheaper and better and faster products are made available day-to-day, along with all the knowledge that this generates, it results in better and more superior performances within the organization than at any other time. Markets generally reward innovation dynamics by allowing such companies to price these higher than their book values. Therefore, not only is performance improved dramatically, but the value also increases significantly, and this means better profits for the organization.

However, when an organization is able to use innovative dynamics in order to be able to generate more profits for the company, then they must also be able to gain knowledge of the use of the Knowledge Management Systems that would help them to understand the concepts of such systems better and therefore enable them to open the lock for knowledge technology that may be used by them for their ultimate betterment. Each individual organization would therefore need to develop its own Knowledge Management System so that it may act for the best in terms of the operational and the strategic needs of the company. Therefore, each Knowledge Management System would undoubtedly comprise of the various different processes and the technologies that have been developed as a result of the separate needs and the wants and the visions of the strategies needed by the organization and which would be able to deliver the proper and essential knowledge to those persons who may need them for the purposes of solving problems within the organization, and for decision-making for the firm. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

A Knowledge Management System cannot be automated or mechanized, though it is true that when it is in fact automated, the processes of Knowledge Management Systems can be greatly enhanced and improved, provided the technology requirement for the process are seen as being the tolls for the development of these systems. Knowledge Management Systems can be configured in several different ways, depending on the needs of the organizations that require them. However, it must be remembered that a Knowledge Management System must always be based on the various cultural and the strategic essentials of the organization. It must also be remembered that the output of a Knowledge Management System must be able to feed the essential value chain of the organization, and knowledge technology must extend across all the various processes within the organization to show that they are in fact enablers of each of the different processes that are present.

The different processes within a Knowledge Management System are as follows: knowledge needs assessment, knowledge acquisition and its development, knowledge evaluation and its mapping out process, knowledge transfer and its purpose and its benefits and its uses, the measurement and the improvement of the process of knowledge management initiatives, and the basic knowledge of whether or not the enterprise actually needs a Knowledge Management System. In detail, the first process of a Knowledge Management System that is made up of the knowledge needs assessment by the organization that would want to implement this system for the betterment of the organization requires the development of a strategy that would assess the continual evaluation of the human competencies as well as of the information of the organization. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

Therefore, each and every value adding activity of the organization must be assessed to see whether the knowledge needs to respond to both the present and the future challenges that the company may face. This means that the organization must be prepared to answer all the following issues satisfactorily, for each of the activities that may take place within the workings of the organization. These questions are: what does the organization actually know, are the employees of the organization competent and capable, and if so, are they competent enough, what must the organization know, what are the competencies that are required to be possessed by the employees and the workforce of the company, and are there any knowledge gaps that exist between operational and strategic criticality, and how can these gaps be bridged satisfactorily? An organization must find answers to all the above issues before it can proceed to the next step in the process of the implementation of a Knowledge Management System.

The second process is that of acquiring and developing the knowledge that has been assimilated into the organization, after the initial step of what the organization and the workforce needs to know and how to go about acquiring the knowledge that is needed. Now the organization can go about the knowledge that it has decided that it needs in order to function better, and this is the second step in a Knowledge Management System. The best ways and means in which to actually go about the company must now identify the process of the acquisition of knowledge, and this must be done by the process of knowledge needs assessment exercises that have been carried out earlier. These sources may be either internal or external, and the best choice must be made by the organization for this purpose. There will be several different choices that the company may be able to use, some of then being the strategic importance of the knowledge to be acquired, the level of the knowledge that is actually available for use at the enterprise level, and the feasibility and practicality of using outsourcing options. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

Once these options are analyzed fully, then the organization can go about acquiring the knowledge that it needs. The very concept of acquiring knowledge is comprised of either creating knowledge within the enterprise itself so that it may be used by everyone within the organization, like for example, as demonstrated by the Human Resources and Development units of an organization that provides knowledge for the use of the management of the enterprise, within the enterprise. Knowledge can also be created in collaboration with other enterprises or academia, where knowledge can be freely accessed. On the other hand, competencies can be developed within the organization so that the organization would be able to acquire this knowledge. This can be achieved by appointing people who are found to be extremely competent in any program of interest and benefit too the company, like for example, coaching, teaching, and in-career education programs.

In a similar way, knowledge can be purchased for a fee from knowledge vendors like consultants, researchers, and so on. The market and the industry as such is also a great provider of information, and such information and knowledge can be garnered from the market and sources of information, like for example, the basic customer who would be able to provide knowledge about the market, the world wide web that gives ample information on anything and everything, and any publications and printed material that the company can use to acquire information and knowledge. The organization can also either acquire the people who have the requisite knowledge, or the company that possesses the requisite knowledge.

Thus, information and knowledge can be acquired by the organization that needs it. Once this knowledge has been attained, the company can go about the next process that is, critically evaluating the knowledge and information, and updates them wherever required. It then maps all the information that it feels is relevant to the organization, and is therefore a highly interactive tool in the examination and testing and assessment of the acquired knowledge. The entire process would ensure that the Knowledge Management System would serve its purpose, that of passing over the knowledge to the human component of the organization in an efficient manner. The system contains all the knowledge that has been gathered from the various activities of the organization, like for example, marketing activities, product development, and so on. All the knowledge that has been acquired and mapped out and critically analyzed now has to be put to some use, and this is the next process in a Knowledge Management System. This can handle the problems of decision-making and problem solving that are constantly preset within an organization. (The Knowledge Enterprise)

What are the main challenges within an organization in the knowledge management section, and how can this be handled effectively? Let us take one example of a Knowledge Management System, that of the Lotus Discovery Server. This system allows its users to search and browse for information while at the same time collaborating with others and sharing the knowledge that they have acquired, and at the same time look for other resources that offer more knowledge, all in an excellently time efficient manner. Therefore, a good Knowledge Management System must be able to provide all these facilities to the user. (Privacy and Knowledge management Challenges)

However, the two most important challenges within a good Knowledge Management System are that of relevance, and effectiveness. Relevance in this case means that knowledge of how the information and the knowledge and the capabilities within the organization can be used to meet the demand for knowledge and the various challenges that this brings into focus. Effectiveness in this context means the method in which the work can be shared between numerous knowledge workers and various teams that work in a parallel manner, effectively and efficiently. (Knowledge management Challenges) Therefore, one of the main challenges in a Knowledge Management System in an organization is to be able to implement a systematic approach to get the correct information to the right people at the proper time. (Roundtable Discussion on Knowledge management challenges and the lessons learned)

The problem and challenge of aligning knowledge management with strategy that the organization wants to adopt is one of the key issues that were faced by several organizations in the late 1990's. It was discovered during that time that verbal communication was an extremely important issue in being able to create and share knowledge within an organization, as opposed to data transfer or knowledge transfer in a mechanized manner. Stories, anecdotes, small incidents, all made up for this sort of sharing of knowledge, and the presence of a common language was also seen as a very important aspect in this sharing. Open networks were seen as being an important part of an organization, and this also meant that learning and acquiring knowledge would play very important roles in the basic empowerment of the organization. Prior knowledge and experience ere seen as useful tools in helping in the decision making process of the organization, and business experience was seen as the best method in which to get started in the quest for the acquisition of knowledge and information. The fact that most companies were at that time virtually drowning in a sea of information made knowledge management systems an absolute necessity at that time, and it was from those roots that the system has been created and then developed into the sophisticated machinery that it is today. (Knowledge management 1997)