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Defining Knowledge Management How is knowledge management defined? Knowledge management :

1 - Systematic approaches to help information and knowledge flow - to the right people - at the right time - in the right format - at the right cost so they can act more efficiently and effectively. 2 - Find, understand, share and use knowledge to create value. The above is the current definition used by APQC. Or, as APQC President Carla O'Dell states more succinctly in The Executive's Role in Knowledge Management, "knowledge management is a systematic process of connecting people to people and people to knowledge and information they need to act effectively and create new knowledge." It's important to note that while knowledge management software is widely available, KM is not a technology, but rather a process assisted by technology. Indeed, CIO Magazine states that: "KM is the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Most often, generating value from such assets involves sharing them among employees, departments and even with other companies in an effort to devise best practices. It's important to note that the definition says nothing about technology; while KM is often facilitated by IT, technology by itself is not KM." While there isn't just one definition of knowledge management, there are definite similarities among definitions. One magazine on the subject, destinationKM, states that "knowledge management refers to strategies and structures for maximizing the return on intellectual and information resources." Sources: Barth, Steve. Defining Knowledge Management. destinationKM. June 19, 2002. http://www.destinationKM.com/articles/default.asp?articleid=949 O'Dell, Carla. The Executive's Role in Knowledge Management. APQC, 2004. Santosus, Megan and Jon Surmacz. "The ABCs of Knowledge Management." CIO Magazine. May 23, 2001. http://www.cio.com/research/knowledge/edit/kmabcs.html

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