Turning Information into Knowledge

Knowledge exists in every organization that brings together people who work toward a common goal. Knowledge management is the formal recognition of knowledge as an asset that warrants investment of time and money to increase its value. Knowledge management differs from traditional information management and records management in that it goes beyond the pure collection and grouping of tangible information by bringing it in context with intangible processes and human culture.

Building up large stores of information doesn’t equate to building up knowledge. Information only becomes knowledge when it can be seen in the context of the complex networks in which it has been created or used. These networks involve business processes, transactions and interactions between people. Knowledge management has the purpose of making existing knowledge networks visible so that they can be analyzed, improved and combined with each other to seed new networks and encourage innovation.

Knowledge Management Tools
There are many tools that can be used to make existing knowledge networks visible. These include information management systems, business process maps, organizational charts, communication diagrams, communication plans, etc.

Traditional records management is a tool that goes a long way toward knowledge management because it groups information in meaningful taxonomies that reflect business structures and transactional context. This is the only way in which it can preserve the value of the information over many years.

The culture of an organization is as important a factor to knowledge management as information, because it determines the best ways to enable its people to access and create knowledge. A talk around the water cooler may suit some organizations better than an electronic message board. A good way to map the culture of an organization is through talking to its people and observation of how they interact and work.

Implementing Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is not self fulfilling. It needs to serve a purpose. In a business environment, the application of knowledge management must align with business strategy. It must serve the purpose of increasing productivity through better use of knowledge to streamline processes and to nurture innovation, which leads to new innovation.

Once an area of improvement has been identified, knowledge management can be implemented using the following high-level phases:

Phase 1—Take stock. Start by identifying what knowledge is required by the organization or a particular business process and compare it to the knowledge that is currently available. Analyzing the gaps between what is required and what is available creates the objectives for the planning stage. Next, research the culture of the people involved in the processes. This helps you to identify the best-suited tools to improve their use of knowledge.
Phase 2—Plan. Prioritize the order in which you are going to implement your changes. Take into account not only their benefit to the organization, but also their impact on the current culture. Implementing change needs to be done systematically... otherwise the organization can enter a shock state and close itself off to any other advances.
Phase 3—Implement. Pilot and try out your changes. This will allow you to recognize shortcomings in your plan and create an atmosphere of innovation to make improvements. It will also highlight any effect your change may have on processes external to the one you are working on. You may need to coordinate your efforts with a knowledge manager of another area.
Phase 4—Formalize. Once you have reached a satisfactory implementation in a pilot, you are ready to formalize the changes. This doesn’t just mean the uptake by a wider audience, but it also needs to take into account the sustainability of changes over time. The level of your involvement needs to be reduced to one of monitoring, rather than proactively driving the changes. Knowledge maintenance and transfer programs need to be in place including supporting technology, succession planning, mentoring programs, induction programs, etc.

These four phases are cyclical. It is quite normal to take stock after a while to see whether the use of knowledge in a process still matches the organization’s strategy or whether cultural shifts have created new knowledge gaps.

Enabling KM
Knowledge management is not a technology problem. Technology is merely an enabler to assist in the analysis of knowledge networks and to provide access to information at the right time to the right people, who can derive knowledge from it. The tools applied to encourage the use and sharing of knowledge need to be matched to the culture of the people working in an organization.

Well-executed knowledge management will enable an organization to identify valuable information and to present it to its people in a way that allows them to capitalize on it to the maximum extent possible. This will result in increased innovation and higher productivity levels that come from using information as a corporate asset.