Core Concepts
Whereas academics may cite hundreds of concepts from epistomology to "the resource view of the firm", we believe that practitioners need a grasp of only a few. Follow the links (from the images and headings below) to those that are the most useful in practice.
The Knowledge Hierarchy
What is the difference between data, information and knowledge? This basic hierarchy identifies that knowledge is different and must be managed in a different way.
Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
Simply put, explicit knowledge is that in documents and databases, while tacit knowledge is that in people's heads. But that's an oversimplification. This section explains the nuances.
The Knowledge Spiral
A simple but powerful concept by Nonaka and Takeuchi. They explain how knowledge evolves through various conversion processes - socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation - creating value as it become more readily transferrable throughout an organization.
Knowledge Cycles
Knowledge evolves through two complementary cycles - the innovation cycle and the knowledge sharing cycle. Innovation is the conversion of ideas (unstructured knowledge) into more structured and reproducible knowledge, embedded within processes or products. Sharing occurs through the creation, organising and accessing of knowledge stores.
Intellectual Capital
If knowledge is to be managed as a vital asset, then some method of accounting for the assset is needed. This has led to a perspective of knowledge management based on intellectual capital.A common model of intellectual capital divides it into three categories - structural capital, customer or relationship capital and human capital.
Levels of KM
Knowledge management covers a broad spectrum of activities and operates at many levels, from the individual to the enterprise, between enterprises (as in virtual organizations). Although our primary focus is that of KM at enterprise level, many of the approaches and techniques of organizational knowledge management are equally applicable at several levels.
KM Maturity Curve
There are several KM Maturity models that help you understand how well developed knowledge management is in your organisation. This section describes the stages of our maturity model. Coming soon will be a self-assessment tool based on this model.
Last updated: 1st March 2011
