Knowledge Management

Article by Amanda J. Howard, ManagementInfoCenter.com

The buzzword in Management circles nowadays is Knowledge Management. Let us analyze what knowledge management signifies and what is its importance.

Knowledge Management is a system adopted by an organization to collect, systematize, assess and then share its knowledge among all the members of the organization. The knowledge can be in the fields of resources, skills or documents. In broad terms, Knowledge Management deals with recognition and supervision of procedures for leveraging the knowledge base of organizations with relation to the period and place. It can, therefore, be applied to all job categories and procedures. It endeavors to amass all the knowledge available in the institution and then it shares the best functions with the employees so that the organization benefits as a whole.

In general terms, the main purpose of knowledge management is to utilize and share the experience and know-how that it has gained so that the organization achieves improved efficiency and better productivity. However, the various programs of knowledge management point out that merely employing technology and information systems cannot achieve the intricate target of knowledge sharing.

Proper implementation of Knowledge Management requires a receptive working environment where there is an inclination on the part of every member to share experience and knowledge. Such a disciplined approach is absolutely essential for knowledge sharing and for the process of Knowledge Management to benefit the organization.

In the past, there was no systematic usage of knowledge management processes but with the technological advancements, it has become easy to share knowledge and as such many organizations have moved towards implementing the knowledge management procedures.

However, it is necessary that a proper plan and strategy should be chalked out by an organization before starting the process of knowledge management. In doing so, the first step should be to identify the procedures and the areas that would be influenced by the implementation of knowledge management.

Moreover the stages of its implementation should concentrate more on the processes than on technology. Once the criteria are understood, the organization will be able to design strategies and systems with regard to those processes. They will also be able to gain clear-cut benefits, which they can measure, especially in the most critical operational areas.

The significance, goals and challenges of knowledge have to be understood fully by all concerned in the organization to make the knowledge management process a success. Various people will react differently to this exercise as the meaning of knowledge management will be intuitive to some and common sense to others. Most people fail to realize how the management technique can help in particular work processes.

The final aim of an organization that is putting in place the knowledge management process should be to create a Knowledge Powered Organization so that the various routes and techniques of knowledge management are ingrained in the basic functions of the organization and there is an atmosphere that is conducive to sharing knowledge.

Any knowledge management procedure must, therefore, be simple and forthright so that the correct information passes through a conduit to the concerned individual at the opportune moment. The object of this exercise is that this person should be able to take the right decision quickly, aided by the inflow of the right information.

For knowledge management to take root in the organization there is need for patience, a persistent approach and concentrated effort from everyone concerned. In the case of law firms, the availability of knowledge is not the problem but it is the accessibility to tools and procedures to extricate the large resources that are available. Knowledge is power. Hence, if an organization is able to distribute its knowledge base to all its members, the organization will definitely become powerful and consequently successful.