Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A KMS can involve different types of knowledge. 9 Explicit knowledge is objective and
can be measured and documented in reports, papers, and rules. For example, knowing the
best road to take to minimize drive time from home to the office when a major highway is
closed due to an accident is explicit knowledge. It can be documented in a report or a rule,
as in “If I-70 is closed, take Highway 6 to town and the office.” Tacit knowledge , on the other
hand, is hard to measure and document and typically is not objective or formalized. Knowing
the best way to negotiate with a foreign government about nuclear disarmament or a volatile
hostage situation often requires a lifetime of experience and a high level of skill. These are
examples of tacit knowledge. It is difficult to write a detailed report or a set of rules that
would always work in every hostage situation. Many organizations actively attempt to convert
tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge to make the knowledge easier to measure, document,
and share with others.
Data and Knowledge Management Workers and
Communities of Practice
The personnel involved in a KMS include data workers and knowledge workers. Secretaries,
administrative assistants, bookkeepers, and similar data-entry personnel are often called data
workers . As mentioned in Chapter 1, knowledge workers are people who create, use, and dis-
seminate knowledge. They are usually professionals in science, engineering, or business, and
work in offices and belong to professional organizations. Other examples of knowledge
workers include writers, researchers, educators, and corporate designers. 10 See Figure 11.2.
Figure 11.2
Knowledge Workers
Knowledge workers are people who
create, use, and disseminate
knowledge, including professionals
in science, engineering, business,
and other areas.
(Source: Eliza Snow/iStockphoto.)
The chief knowledge officer (CKO) is a top-level executive who helps the organization
work with a KMS to create, store, and use knowledge to achieve organizational goals. 11 The
CKO is responsible for the organization's KMS, and typically works with other executives
and vice presidents, including the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO),
and others. According to Jay Kostrzewa, assistant vice president of knowledge management
at CNA, “My role as leader of the knowledge management area is to make certain the com-
pany has the right tools, the right information, and the right processes in place to share
information.” 12 CNA is a Chicago financial services company.
Some organizations and professions use communities of practice (COP) to create, store,
and share knowledge. A COP is a group of people dedicated to a common discipline or
practice, such as open-source software, auditing, medicine, or engineering. A group of
oceanographers investigating climate change or a team of medical researchers looking for new
ways to treat lung cancer are examples of COPs. COPs excel at obtaining, storing, sharing,
and using knowledge. A COP from the International Conference on Knowledge Manage-
ment in Nuclear Facilities investigates the use of knowledge management systems in the
chief knowledge officer (CKO)
A top-level executive who helps the
organization use a KMS to create,
store, and use knowledge to achieve
organizational goals.
 
 
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