Knowledge Management

I have gone through various studies and see that there are several meaningful explanation for Knowledge Management, but one of them which better suits with my experience in my life is comments given by Mustafa Sagsan(2006). According to Mustafa Sagsan, knowledge management means that the processes of knowledge in organizations or system, such as processing, storing data, step-by-step procedures, maintaining, innovating new things and creating to make profits for an organization. (Mustafa Sagsan)(Date published : 28th November 2006) (As per January 30, 2009)

I agree with the above comments made by Mustafa Sagsan, for example when I worked for Amazon Development Center forr one and half year and I used to keep a track of every records or e-mail I receive(Knowledge Storing). Each and every record is stored according to the time they receive and the customer e-mail address. This makes every individual e-mail a diferent identification. If the customer send a mail again to us we(every employee from ADC) have an option to check his previous mail and see that whether if he already received promotions from us. Doing this we can check the authentication of his/her data from e-mails. By doing this so we can share our knowledge with our fellow colleagues and decrease any further loss to our organization(Knowledge Sharing). All the data from they e-mails are shared in servers so that the data will not be lost (Sharing).

Here in our Organization every employee have a option to solve the problems we face in individual way, we share them with our leads. Once our ideas are good enough, they will be selected and shared among all other employees. Here, I understand that great organization used to prefer great principles like Knowledge Sharing and utilizing it in full proportion for the benifits of the organization.

Objectives of Knowledge management: 1) To make organization act intelligently so as to secure the available market.
2) To use complete available resources to attain collective objectives.

References : 1) http://www.knowledgeboard.com/lib/3562 retrieved on Feb 10, 2009

2) http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/2300010101.pdf
Knowledge Management - An Introduction and Perspective, Karl M. Wiig, Pg no 6-8, from Middlesex Library.
3) Syed Z. Shariq, Knowledge Management: An Emerging Discipline, As of Feb 12, 2009.
Retrieved from Middlesex library, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldAbstractOnlyArticle/Pdf/2300010108.pdf



LIFE CYCLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT:

Life Cycle of knowledge Management: The process of knowledge becomes very important in every organizations. In every Organization the knowledge management will be carried with a new dimensions in step by step procedures, so called “knowledge management life cycle”. Doing so in a step by step procedures, large tasks (goals or projects) in an organization will be completed in mean time.

According to Mustafa SAĞSAN from "A NEW LIFE CYCLE MODEL FOR PROCESSING OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT " there are five stages in Knowledge management, they are creating, sharing, structuring, using, and auditing (auditing in my sense deleting or changing).

Knowledge Management Life Cycle Model
Reference "A NEW LIFE CYCLE MODEL FOR PROCESSING OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT by Mustafa SAĞSAN as of Jan 30, 2009" Pg no 03.

For example: I worked in Amazon Development Center as a customer service Associate and I was trained and worked on the basis on Knowledge Management. When I am under training our trainers used to teach us on the basis of the problems they faced previously while working on mails, they teach us how to tackle each problem and each problem is taken as a an issue(Knowledge Creating). By doing this they can save the issue(using individual reference number available for each problem called Ticket raising Number), and follow the tricks used to tackle the problem(Knowledge Structuring) repeats again. By doing this, We can share these individual Ticket issues and knowledge among our leads through intra net available(Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Using). So that these issues can be solved easily.

Reference:
http://www.knowledgeboard.com/lib/3562

http://www.knowledgeboard.com/download/3562/A-NEW-LIFE-CYCLE-MODEL-FOR-PROCESSING-OF-KNOWLEDGE-MANAGEMENT.pdf

, As per Jan 30, 09 . Pg no 03.

Author
Mustafa Sagsan

Advantages of Knowledge Management:

-Helps the organization to know, what they know! i.e., What are the strong capabilities/ staff and facilities they have?

-With the help of Knowledge management we can identify the concentration areas and less populated areas of knowledge.
-It also helps us to identify the key problems in Organization and solve them with availabel resources. It helps us to achieve our organization goals in mean time.

Reference: Jan 30, 09 (Dr. M Khalid SHAIKH, m.khalid.shaikh@gmail.com)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_advantage_for_knowledge_management

Disadvantages of knowledge Management:

- Unable to give expected performance or output by this process.

-Some users or individuals are unable to use the complete resources or techniques available with Knowledge Management .

Reference: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_disadvantages_of_knowledge_management_system

(As of Feb 10, 2009)

Differeces between Data, Information and knowledge Management:

Data : 'Data' is the word derived from latin language around 300 BC. Data means datum, means 'to give'. At present data is used to define collection of values like number, images etc. Data refers to a collection of facts ususlly colleced from gaining experince, doing observaion or making experiments, or processing within a computer system etc. Data is viewed in terms of lowest level of abstraction from which information and knowledge are derived.

Reference: http://www.earthresearch.com/data-importance.shtml as per Feb 10, 2009.

2) 'Introduction to INFORMATION SYSTEMS' - supporting and transforming Business. Pg number:05
R. Kelly Rainer, Jr (Auburn University), Efraim Turban (University of Hawaii at Manao), Richard E. Potter (Uiversity of illinois, Chicago).

For example: If you go to railways station, you can see that numeric numbers are updated for every minute on notice board. If you see those numbers individually, It doess not make any sence. they are just numbers rotating unnecessarly. This is called as RAW DATA.

Advantages of Data: Data plays a vital role in Organisation, in order to measure a quantity or to take a reading. For example, When I was 14, there is an school trip to IICT (Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) There is see that every part of research or the data acquired on Coal to make cheaper burning fuel is important. They use to save this data in safer place, so that is does not get correpted. (Reference : http://www.earthresearch.com/data-importance.shtml by Dr J. Mark Tippett As of Feb , 09)

Disadvantages of Data: * Usually most of the data used in an organization is saved in data bases or memory devices which can be corrupted due to human mistakes(Sending or creating viruses), climatic condition (Needed to keep those data bases in certain temperature), etc according to the type of data storage will be used.

* Data stored on books can also be erased over time due to acidic nature of atmosphere.

Information: Information means data that have been organised in properly manner so that they give a meaningful and value to the raw data collected. Simply saying that , information is a message received and understood. In terms of data, it can be defined as a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn.

Reference: 1) 'Introduction to INFORMATION SYSTEMS' - supporting and transforming Business. Pg number:05

R. Kelly Rainer, Jr (Auburn University), Efraim Turban (University of Hawaii at Manao), Richard E. Potter (Uiversity of illinois, Chicago).

Reference 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information (as per Feb 10, 2009).

For example : When you go to railways station, when you see the numbers rotating for every mean time. If you see only the numbers , we are unable to understand why they are rotating for every mean time. But when you read the whole board, you ccome to know that the numbers are regarding time for arrival and departure. This is the information you receive when you combine the whole raw data.

Information management means maintaining, studying about information, acquiring data and storing data. Information Management deals with present situation or current news etc, whereas knowledge management deals with process of knowledge in an Organization etc.

There is also difference between data and information. Information is the collective of raw data i.e collection of huge date regarding a topic is called called information.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:

As I already said, Knowledge Management is a tool used in an Organisation or a system to improve performance or earn more profits. Basically information on knowledge Management mainly focuses on Capturing, Storing, Managing and Reporting explicit Knowledge.

Knowledge management system is mainly used in organisation over turnover, rapid change and make profits.

For example: When I started working as my part time job in United Kingdom, Brighton, I shared my computer knowledge (how to use Excel sheet from Windows 07 , using Excel for creating invoice sheets) with the shop keeper and my other working saff. This made our shop(Stop to Shop) (Sharing knowledge on EXCEL = Knowledge Sharing) creating invoices more faster. So, from the above my experince I can confirm that knowledge sharing works for every person who involve in it. By creating invoices and fastering the delivery of items our shop keeper is planning to widen our delivery items(Capturing market by improving present business).

References: 'Introduction to INFORMATION SYSTEMS' - supporting and transforming Business. Pg number:05 R. Kelly Rainer, Jr (Auburn University), Efraim Turban (University of Hawaii at Manao), Richard E. Potter (Uiversity of illinois, Chicago). Pg Number 122. As per feb 10, 09.

Community of practice

Definition:
Community of practice (also abbrivated as CoP) is a group of individuals active participating in communal activity with each other in everyday life, in work place or in education, experiencing or continuously sharing their ideas with each other.

It is a process of social learning that shares sociocultural practices among each other in their community that emerge and evolve when people work to achieve their common goals. By doing community of Practicve one can share their knowledge with other in group.

These groups of people have common resorces or languages which they interlinked by any mean. For example in working enviroment employers and employees are interlinked by menns of internet or intranet available. They meet together to do a common practice or work for the benifit of Organisation. Community of practice also involves in organisation in terms of annual meeting day, board meeting, family day etc. In all these occation people in an organisation meet together work on single task. These practices are made for the benifit of complete Organistion or individual benifits also.

For example: When I am persuing my B Tech, It hard for me to meet any students from other Universities or colleges. But few days like paper presentation day , annual meeting day etc we (Me and students from other University) used to meet on that occation to discuss on single subjuct. By doing this so and discussing on single subjucts with different University students I used to gain knowledge on mutual subjucts. That inturn benifited for me to select my IV year projuct work.

By this way one or an complete organisation can be benifited from Community of Practice. My future plan is to become a successful business man, and I expext that by meeting people in some or the other way of same profession, I can gain knowledge on my business.

Reference : 1)http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=zI53WUaFfJIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Communities+of+Practice&ei=agqTSf_KLJb0ygSmzZEM#PPP1,M1
(Beyond Community of practice by David Bartoon and Karin Tusting) Retrived by Feb 11, 09. (ISBN 0-521- 83643-3)

2)http://www.answers.com/Community%20of%20practice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice

Strategies

Definition:

Strategy are long term plans or action of work to succeed an operation or goals. The word strategy is derived from Greek word stratēgos 'military commander'. Here stratos means army and ago means leading. In terms of business Management, strategies plays a key role for simple organization to high level organizations.

For Example: My father is shop keeper, we own a small provisional stores. We sell most of the goods needed for general purpose. Being a small store, we need to keep a track of every good and upcoming occasion in month for future purpose. Because on festival season goods are sold in full fledge and on other days goods are sold in normal rate. If we don't keep a track of it, goods which are left get spoiled or expired. Here by knowing or unknown, my father is planning for future purpose and needs, this is a strategic step to keep all goods in stock at the time of demand.

Example for larger Organizations: In Larger organizations like Wal-Mart, to sell they products to people at cheaper rate, they buy items in bulk quantity at cheaper rate and distribute them to all of they distribution center. By doing this innovating stem to buy goods at bulk quantity they can sell them at cheaper rate than the no0rmally available in general provisional stores.

Strategies used in organization for knowledge sharing or Knowledge implementation makes knowledge Management Stratigies. The Knowledge management strategies must not be isolated form the rest of the organization strategies, it must be given much importance level starting from HR and IT to a lower lever in organization. By doing this knowledge can be shared from all sectors of organizations.

For example : When I was working for ADC, We have a common website for vacancies or posts, new issues in Knowledge Center(Tool on which we work) and Blurbs (Our ADC online guide) on common website. So if there is any new issues running in organization, or if any individual are having any new innovating ideas we can submit them. If accepted they will be selected.

In my view, taking Knowledge management strategies is not fixed to single person like HR or IT. So, I support my previous work place where every individual have an option to share they strategic plans for the benefits of organization.

"At the broadest level formulating competitive strategy involves the consideration of four key factors that determine the limits of what a company can successfully accomplish," Michael E. Porter wrote in his classic book Competitive Strategy.

Reference: 1) Knowledge management in Education, Enhancing Learning and education by Edward sallis and Gary jones (ISBN 0-7494-3495-3). Retrieved on February 19, 2009.

2) Knowledge Management Strategies by Jerry Honeycutt, Microsoft Press © 2000 (239 pages) ISBN: 0735607249. As of Feb 19, 2009, pg no 60, Topic : Business planning strategies.

3)wikipedia (As per Jan 30, 09) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategies
http://www.answers.com/Strategy

Organisation

Definition: Individual people working together with mutual coordination with each other under single roof to meet common goal or predetermined Task.

Basically organisation consists of grousp of people working together to meet common goals with their our responsibilities. These Organisations may be in group of people, group of teams to thousands.

By doing mutual cordination among each other, large tasks or works can be solved easily and as planned. To acheive this knids of missions few tricks or stratigic methods are followed in an organisation. Like time management, step by step proceduring or orderly managing, knowledge management, work dedication etc.

Inside Organisation or Structure of an Organisation : Usually in big organisation they usually follow divide and rule policy. For example organisation will divide they organisation into subsystems, branches or divisions to acheive they goals. By doing this so large works can be done in mean time by dividing the work. There often these individual works are done on managing skills or work procedures.

For Example: ADC Amazon Development Center started in one room (Jeff Bezoz's Guarage in 1984). At that time Jeff Bezoz (Present CEO of ADC)with his five friends worked in one room. There ofter they business increased by year and year, they established One FC (Fullfillment Centre) ofter FC. Now there are one FC per state in US. To organise this in proper way and faster way they sub divided in divisions, like Tax section, Snowball section(USA), Retail, HMD, Software development, corporate section (INDIA) in different places. By doing this large and tougher tasks can be divided in sections according to the works needed to be done, which makes easier and understandable.



References : 1) http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/org_defn.htm As of Feb 11, 09
by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2007.

Knowledge management strategies

Name : Leela Krishna Boyapati