Replying to LO28773 --
Dear LO member, At, Dileep and Organlearners
I am just joining this discussion as a member of a class about the
learning organization which is part of an MA program.
Two weeks ago I finished a paper about knowledge management and
leadership. That's why I respond to this posting. I belive some of the
sentences written here are at least misleading. I'm not saying I know it
better than you do, but would like to present what I wrote recently.
My own definition is rather simple and more like a formula:
Knowledge (subject) = Information (subject) + Experience (subject)
For my own definition of Knowledge Management (KM) based on the previous
definitions of knowledge, it is the creation of an atmosphere that
identifies existing knowledge, makes it available to the right individuals
in the organization, and creates the environment to develop new content
from the existing sources.
Knowledge Management from this point of view is an unfortunate term -
knowledge resides in people's brains and managing it is not desirable.
Going along with the requirement to draw on experience to convert
information that was created from data into knowledge, it becomes obvious
that the knowledge part of the term can be different for each individual,
even if the information and data is the same. What can be done, and what
the concepts behind Knowledge Management are all about, is to create and
maintain an environment in which people are encouraged to innovate, share,
learn and use knowledge for the benefit of the organization and the people
who work in it - knowledge can be mobilized.
Creating a knowledge environment often requires changing corporate values
and culture, changing people's behaviors and work patterns, and providing
people with easy access to each other and to relevant information
resources.
I believe, together with many sources in this field, that a knowledge
culture is fundamental to the success of any organization in the new
economy and that without such a culture and the value it places on
knowledge and information, new initiatives such as e-business and
e-commerce will fail to meet objectives. This is especially important in
those areas of the economy where the work is mainly concentrated on
intellectual and academic skills. This is not to say that Knowledge
Management doesn't play a role in the manufacturing process.
If one accepts that Knowledge Management can be defined as described
above, it becomes obvious that the aspect of leadership needs to be
introduced to address the part of the term were people act to create
change. There is a large repertoire of information available about the
term leadership, its definition and opinions of what it encompasses.
I would be alittle careful with definitions that place pieces of terms in
certain places. In addition I believe KM can only exost within an
environment.
I'm looking forward to hear what you think.
Have a great 4th of July and holiday weekend
Axel Meierhoefer
--"ahsfamily" <ahsfamily@cox.net>
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