Course Knowledge Management

Topic Introduction to knowledge management

Faculty Aroor Aatmika Shetty
Knowledge Management
Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, you will be able to:

❑Distinguish between different perspectives in the knowledge

management (KM) literature
❑Explain the diversity of disciplines and content that make up the
field of knowledge management
❑Describe the differences between the terms data, information and
knowledge
 Knowledge Management
The Basics

• Difference between “ Manual Worker” and “Knowledge Worker”

• A Manual worker uses his hands to produce goods and services

• A knowledge worker uses his head to create ideas, information and

knowledge that could add value to the firm
 Definitions of Knowledge Economy

“ Is one in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge has come to play the
predominant part in the creation of wealth. It is not simply about pushing back the
frontiers of knowledge; it is also about the most effective use and exploitation of all types
of knowledge in all manner of economic activity.” (DTI 1998)

“ Is the economic success is increasingly based upon the effective utilisation of intangible
assets such as knowledge, skills and innovative potential as the key resource for
competitive advantage. The term ‘knowledge economy’ is used to describe this emerging
economic structure.” (ESRC 2005 quoted in Brinkley 2006)
 What is Knowledge Management?

• Knowledge management has become an emerging discipline that has gained

enormous popularity among academics, consultants and practitioners.

• It has been argued that it is no longer the traditional industrial technologies or

craft skills that drive competitive performance but, instead, knowledge that has
become the key asset to drive organizational survival and success.

• To the uninitiated reader, the multitude of offerings on knowledge management in

books, journals and magazines can appear rather daunting and confusing at first

• This is a relatively young discipline trying to find its way, while recognizing that
it has roots in a number of other, very different disciplines.
Tree of Knowledge Management
What is knowledge management?
Knowledge Management
 What are the differences between data, information,
knowledge and wisdom?

- It is ‘known facts or things used as a basis of inference or

reckoning’.
Dictionary
Definition
Knowledge Management
 Knowledge Management

❑We can also exclude data in a number of ways that can

affect our inference or reckoning of it.

❑What about the source of the signal and the channel or

medium through which it is transmitted?

❑Each one of these can contain a distortion and this can

affect the nature of data coming to us
 Information

❑Information could be considered as ‘systematically organised

data’ (Meadows 2001).
❑The notion of ‘systematic’ implies the ability to predict or
make inferences from the data assuming it is based on some
system.
❑ If we are given a sequence of odd numbers such as 7, 9, 11,
13, next number will be…….?
 Knowledge

❑Knowledge could be considered as ‘actionable information’, as

shown in the hierarchy of data, information and knowledge

❑Actionable information allows us to make better decisions and

provide an effective input to dialogue and creativity in
organizations

❑This occurs by providing information at the right place, at the right

time and in the appropriate format (Tiwana 2000)

❑ Knowledge allows us to act more effectively than information or

data and equips us with a greater ability to predict future
outcomes
Question Time

• What is the difference between information and knowledge

management?
• What are the strengths and shortcomings of academic
knowledge and practitioner
knowledge?