Knowledge Management

This is a knowledge management site covering the theories, frameworks, models, tools, and supporting disciplines that are relevant to both the student and the practitioner. The goal of this site is to provide a comprehensive overview of knowledge management by examining its objectives, scope, best practices, knowledge management tools, and so on.

Knowledge management is essentially about getting the right knowledge to the right person at the right time. This in itself may not seem so complex, but it implies a strong tie to corporate strategy, understanding where and in what forms knowledge exists, creating processes that span organizational functions, and ensuring that initiatives are accepted and supported by organizational members. Knowledge management may also include new knowledge creation, or it may solely focus on knowledge sharing, storage, and refinement. For a more comprehensive discussion and definition, see my knowledge management definition.

It is important to remember that knowledge management is not about managing knowledge for knowledge's sake; the overall objective is to create value and to leverage, improve, and refine the firm's competences and knowledge assets to meet organizational goals and targets. Implementing knowledge management thus has several dimensions including:

• Organizational: The right processes, environments, culture, and systems.
• Managerial: The right leadership, strategy, etc.
• Technological: The right systems, tools, and technologies - properly implemented
• Political: The support to implement and sustain initiatives that involve virtually all organizational functions; that may be costly to implement (both from the perspective of time and money); and which often do not have a directly visible return on investment.

Typically, failed initiatives have often placed an undue focus on knowledge management tools and systems while neglecting the other aspects. This issue will also be addressed throughout the site, and particularly in the knowledge management strategy section. In the articles presented here, I will focus on the first three dimensions. The political aspect, important as it is, is often company specific and generally considered beyond the scope of knowledge management literature.

Throughout the site, I will explain and discuss known theories, occasionally contributing with some of my own models and frameworks. I will also discuss the potential role of knowledge management systems from a broad perspective and, in the section on KM tools, I will provide specific advice on this topic. I have tried to organize the site as logically as possible, moving from a general introduction, to key subjects like organizational learning and organizational memory, to the presentation of several models and frameworks, to a more specific look at knowledge management initiatives and systems, and finally to an overview of various tools and techniques.

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