Knowledge, Information and

Data
What is knowledge?

You mean know-how?

Or
Wisdom?
 Definition
 Theirauf (1999) defines the three components as
follows:
data is the lowest point, an unstructured collection of
facts and figures;
information is the next level, and it is regarded as
structured data; finally
knowledge is defined as "information about
information".
 Tacit vs. Explicit Knowledge

 Explicit Knowledge this type of knowledge is formalized and

codified, and is sometimes referred to as know-what (Brown &
Duguid 1998). It is therefore fairly easy to identify, store, and
retrieve (Wellman 2009). This is the type of knowledge most
easily handled by KMS, which are very effective at facilitating the
storage, retrieval, and modification of documents and texts.
 Tacit vs. Explicit Knowledge
 Tacit Knowledge this type of knowledge was originally defined by Polanyi in
1966.
 It is sometimes referred to as know-how (Brown & Duguid 1998) and refers to
intuitive, hard to define knowledge that is largely experience based. Because of this,
tacit knowledge is often context dependent and personal in nature.
 It is hard to communicate and deeply rooted in action, commitment, and
involvement (Nonaka 1994).
 Tacit knowledge is also regarded as being the most valuable source of knowledge,
and the most likely to lead to breakthroughs in the organization (Wellman 2009).
 Embedded Knowledge

 Embedded Knowledge refers to the knowledge that is locked in processes,

products, culture, routines, artifacts, or structures (Horvath 2000, Gamble &
Blackwell 2001). Knowledge is embedded either formally, such as through a
management initiative to formalize a certain beneficial routine, or informally as
the organization uses and applies the other two knowledge types.
 Embedded knowledge is found in: rules, processes, manuals, organizational
culture, codes of conduct, ethics, products, etc. It is important to note, that while
embedded knowledge can exist in explicit sources (i.e. a rule can be written in a
manual), the knowledge itself is not explicit, i.e. it is not immediately apparent
why doing something this way is beneficial to the organization.
 Knowledge Management
 KM is about making the right knowledge available to the
right people. It is about making sure that an organization
can learn, and that it will be able to retrieve and use its
knowledge assets in current applications as they are
needed.
 The coordination and exploitation of
organizational knowledge resources, in order to create
benefit and competitive advantage" (Drucker 1999).
Knowledge Management

 Knowledge management is the systematic management of

an organization's knowledge assets for the purpose of
creating value and meeting tactical & strategic
requirements; it consists of the initiatives, processes,
strategies, and systems that sustain and enhance the
storage, assessment, sharing, refinement, and creation of
knowledge.
 Why is knowledge management useful?
Knowledge management is responsible for understanding:
 What your organization knows.
 Where this knowledge is located, e.g. in the mind of a specific expert, a specific
department, in old files, with a specific team, etc.
 In what form this knowledge is stored e.g. the minds of experts, on paper, etc.
 How to best transfer this knowledge to relevant people, so as to be able to take
advantage of it or to ensure that it is not lost. E.g. setting up a mentoring relationship
between experienced experts and new employees, implementing a
document management system to provide access to key explicit knowledge.
 The need to methodically assess the organization's actual know-how vs the
organization's needs and to act accordingly, e.g. by hiring or firing, by promoting
specific in-house knowledge creation, etc.
 The major drivers behind today’s increased interest
in and application of KM lie in four key areas:
1. Globalization of business. Organizations today are more global— multisite, multilingual, and
multicultural in nature.
2. Leaner organizations. We are doing more and we are doing it faster, but we also need to work
smarter as knowledge workers, adopting an increased pace and workload.
3. “Corporate amnesia.” We are more mobile as a workforce, which creates problems of
knowledge continuity for the organization and places continuous learning demands on the
knowledge worker. We no longer expect to spend our entire work life with the same
organization.
4. Technological advances. We are more connected. Advances in information technology not
only have made connectivity ubiquitous but have radically changed expectations. We are
expected to be “on” at all times, and the turnaround time in responding is now measured in
minutes, not weeks.
Information Management vs. KM
 Organizational Perspectives on Knowledge Management

 Wiig (1993) considers knowledge management in organizations from three

perspectives, each with different horizons and purposes:
1. Business Perspective— focusing on why, where, and to what extent the
organization must invest in or exploit knowledge. Strategies, products and
services, alliances, acquisitions, or divestments should be considered from
knowledge-related points of view.
2. Management Perspective— focusing on determining, organizing, directing,
facilitating, and monitoring knowledge-related practices and activities required
to achieve the desired business strategies and objectives.
3. Hands-on Perspective— focusing on applying the expertise to conduct explicit
knowledge-related work and tasks.