By Rich Douglas
Executive Director, Human Capital Lab
Knowledge is hard to define, much less manage. One way to lower expectations – get them to a reasonable level, really – is to manage information, not knowledge. In the Learning Information Management model, information is moved from node to node, but knowledge is created by employees when they engage the work and other stakeholders – like customers.
There’s an evolution that takes place from data to results. Raw data are turned into information by placing them in an organizational context, which gives them meaning. Information is captured, stored, transferred and used by the Learning Information System. Employees use the information in the conduct of business, turning it into knowledge, which is made up of explicit information and tacit knowledge held by the user. This creates workplace performance and, if properly applied, business results.
There are several principles appropriate to this approach to learning (knowledge) management:
- Manage information, not knowledge. Information, not knowledge is a commodity. Information management can help stave off information overload by storing information, which can be turned into knowledge where and when necessary.
- Knowledge is information operationalized. Combine the tacit knowledge the employee already has with the explicit information available and put it to use.
- Knowledge is situated. It is created and used in the situation facing the employee.
- Knowledge is personal. Two or more people can create their own versions of knowledge based on the same information. And it’s socialized, with people learning from each other and communicating.
- Tacit knowledge can be transferred through action learning. The knowledge management process is ongoing, recursive and circular. It is not sequential, nor does it have a beginning and an ending. Learning can be experiential. It’s important to realize that not only may information be moved throughout the knowledge system, people may also be moved to work together on projects and, in turn, to learn from each other.
- Knowledge can be retained by retaining people. When organizations experience large amounts of personnel turnover, sometimes known as “brain drain,” they lose significant amounts of tacit knowledge possessed by their employees, despite efforts to codify and store knowledge to turn it into explicit information.
- Teach people how to learn. It’s not enough to make information available. Managers need to promote openness and recognize and retain diversity.
So, information management is the basis for knowledge management, called Learning Information Management in the model described above. Thus, knowledge management systems taking this approach will not differ greatly from other information technology/management systems. Managing information effectively will lead to greater knowledge generation, distribution and use. This will ultimately create better business results and make the organization more responsive to the demands of the knowledge economy.