Knowledge Management Structure and Value

Create a structure for knowledge management that allows the business to measure it qualitatively as well as quantitatively for shaping a knowledge-savvy organization.

Knowledge is information that has the potential to generate value. Knowledge is power. Compared to the physical asset, knowledge is more intangible, complex and dynamic. Some companies have managed it, but very few companies are doing what they should do to design a knowledge structure and take a holistic approach to preserve and manage knowledge from the long-term strategic perspective and build a knowledge savvy organization.

Knowledge Management structure is intertwined with organizational structure: Knowledge assets are a blend of resources, not a single asset, and knowledge integrity, availability, and confidentiality can be crucial to how the organization functions or maintains its competitive advantage and fits the business strategy the best. Unfortunately, many companies which get stuck at the low level of maturity, still take a very reactive attitude to manage knowledge, do not put enough effort on looking at the organizational structure to figure out where in the organization the requested expertise might be sitting, and how to manage knowledge in a structural way to achieve its business value. 

The structure is the mechanism to keep the knowledge empowered business system running smoothly. An ideal knowledge management structure enables knowledge flow, connects ideas but also people. The structural elements adapt because of the flow; the flow adapts because of the structural elements. The knowledge structure points out the impacts (changes/transformation) of environmental conditions on the system. Part of taking knowledge seriously as a corporate asset involves assigning responsibility for knowledge management within the organization, both maintaining and improving knowledge flow and decision effectiveness.

Knowledge structure facilitates learning and supports the knowledge workforce: Due to the abundance of information and the fast pace of changes, the knowledge life cycle is significantly shortened. Information creates structure, particularly a knowledge management repository which supports the knowledge workforce and is integrated into their everyday work. They need to not only assimilate the existing knowledge, more importantly, they also have to keep updating knowledge, creating new knowledge and knowledge management becomes a strategic imperative for business.

Knowledge workforces change each day, they grow, learn, develop. Learning becomes knowledge building and we can define learning through the knowledge it builds and the skills it develops. Knowledge Management structure should facilitate learning and encourage the digital workforce to climb the “information-knowledge-insight- wisdom” pyramid with accelerated speed and build a high-intelligent organization effortlessly.

A scientific knowledge structure enforces the value it creates: Fundamentally, knowledge is the product of the human mind, the power of knowledge can be released only when it’s used to create value. In the enterprise or the societal scope, knowledge is not an isolated fact, it must keep flowing and refreshed to generate value, and a scientific knowledge structure enforces value generation. However, many businesses have some unrealistic expectations that knowledge, ideas, or business solutions will easily transfer and that piece of the jigsaw will fit snugly into somewhere else without putting a lot of effort. Knowledge Management involves the exploration of the knowledge interdependencies that contribute to the value of critical knowledge.

Think knowledge as the business consciousness and treat knowledge as an intangible asset of the organization. Designing a knowledge structure involves the use of technologies and processes with the aim of optimizing the value knowledge creates. There are software tools that help the gathering of tacit knowledge and some are very powerful. These can be applied in the management of projects and knowledge management. Clever use of collaboration tools can convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. In fact, technology is a powerful tool (hardware and software) that is used to enable Knowledge Management for generating business value to benefit your organization and our modern society.

Organizations can work toward a knowledge ecosystem view, that incorporates the virtual aspects of the knowledge system, innovation, and intuitive behaviors. Create a structure for knowledge management that allows the business to measure it qualitatively as well as quantitatively for shaping a knowledge-savvy organization

Posted in: Information/Data Management