Over the past decade, across the globe, we have seen the rapid development
of information and communication technologies. At the same time, unpredictable
environments and down-sized staffing patterns have put a premium on knowing
what employees have learned – what gets results and how to avoid mistakes.
Knowledge Management has evolved in several advanced economies to help
organizations fully utilize information and communication systems while promoting
knowledge identification and transfer. There is a growing recognition that
information and communications systems alone, without Knowledge Management,
will not meet organization objectives.

Those who practice Knowledge Management believe that human and knowledge
capital are the fundamental elements for economic prosperity and superior business
competence. However, because environments change so rapidly, the successful
strategies of yesterday do not necessarily translate into successes of today and
tomorrow. Therefore, doing things faster and more efficiently may not be the right
answer. Instead, new processes may be required to obtain the desired result. This
places heavy pressure on managers and their organizations to foster creativity and
innovation.

The building blocks of Knowledge Management are formed by pieces of data…
which when viewed in perspective and understood in relation to other data forms
information…which when understood in terms of patterns and their implications
becomes knowledge…from which principles and insight may be derived, forming
wisdom. (Note that knowledge may be of two types, explicit, which is formal
and recorded, and tacit, which is informal and personal.) For example, the
numbers 100 and 5 percent mean nothing when they are out of context, they are
just data. However, in the context of a bank account -- $100 principal at 5
percent rate of interest -- the data are transformed into information. Recognizing
the pattern established -- a $100 principal at 5 percent interest rate yields
$105 -- the information becomes knowledge. Wisdom accrues over time as we
recognize that as long as these parameters are in place, we can predict the
growth of our principal.

Knowledge Management recognizes that information and knowledge are assets,
and that business and government need strategies, policies, and tools to manage
those assets. Thus, initiatives are launched to capture, retain, and promote the
re-use of all the relevant pieces of information and how they fit together. Such
information includes past results, data and information associated with the
organization, its customers, the competition, and the patterns that might lead
to reliable forecasts of the future.

"Without on-demand access to managed knowledge, every situation is addressed
based on what the individual or group brings to the situation with them. With
on-demand access to managed knowledge, every situation is addressed with the
sum total of everything anyone in the organization has ever learned about a
situation of a similar nature." ¹

To accomplish Knowledge Management, organizations are constructing
information management systems and human resource strategies to assess,
change, and improve individual skills and/or behavior. As you pursue your
education, hunt for the right job, or seek advancement, knowing about Knowledge
Management may be the knowledge that propels you to reach your career goal.

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¹Bellinger, Gene, Knowledge Management – Emerging Perspectives,
OutSights Website.