Knowledge management can be defined as the skill or art of generating worth out of available assets or commodities. In simple terms, it is the ability of an individual to utilize the available intangible resources for improved performance and increased outcome through managing information and making it available to the workers and other users in the best useful way possible. It concerns the whole firm in question and how it is being run or managed to achieve its ultimate goals and objectives by integrating both the workers and its intended customers.
Just like other management theories such as Six Sigma and TQM, KM involves identifying ways to improve and assure the customers of high-quality commodities through improved information management and innovative practices. When considering knowledge management in the context of information technology, we can deduce that it involves the use of electronic computers and software’s to stock up, protect, recover and safely process information hence making it available to all the stakeholders in a firm to assist in making well-informed decisions crucial for profit attainment and improved quality for customer attraction.
In addition, knowledge management involves gathering all the necessary information and arranging it in a manner that can assist the administration in assisting in identifying innovative and creative procedures and methods to produce highly appealing commodities to their customers so that they can counteract their competitors by making well-informed decisions based on their customers’ taste and preferences. By combining both IT and KM together, creates a well-rounded and conducive environment for quality improvement, information exchange, and utilization, and ensuring that the information is stored and converted in the best way for making well-informed decisions.
The fact that computers and computer software have numerous roles and functions in managing information makes IT a very crucial field that assists many firms in terms of making decisions to increase workers’ productivity and performance. For instance, there are computer soft wares that have been developed to assist in collecting, converting, and interpreting data for the benefit of the firm in terms of improving value, understanding the market trends and assisting the managers in supervising over other workers. Therefore, IT makes knowledge management easier and faster as it contributes much to knowledge transfer and communication.
For instance, it’s easier for managers to inform and demonstrate to workers of new production and distribution techniques without being there personally. This facilitates knowledge and skills transfer necessary for increased productivity and profits.
In addition, knowledge management assists in developing and improving the planning, educational and physical methodologies, and tools necessary for training and transmitting the information. These tools are beneficial to managers as they develop a technique for formulating work schedules and coordinating activities in various sectors of a firm. For instance, a manager can easily monitor, supervise and coordinate the activities of managerial, production, marketing, and other sectors. This facilitates the free transmission of ideas and skills to all sectors of the firm necessary for increased productivity.
Therefore, knowledge management involves concentrating on human knowledge and skills to achieve the firm’s goals and objectives rather than focusing on information technology and soft wares. This focuses on equipping workers with the required skills and ideas for making well-informed decisions and planning as well as ensuring good workers and customer relationships necessary for firms growth and development compared to IT where firms concentrate on new technologies and little time on human knowledge hence experience failure or disappointment in one point or another.
References
Karl-Erik Sveiby: KM Today and Tomorrow – What makes me Passionate. Web.