. Introduction
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and peoples' heads and are distributed right across the enterprise. All too often one part of an enterprise repeats work of another part simply because it is impossible to keep track of, and make use of, knowledge in other parts. Enterprises need to know:
· what their knowledge assets are
· how to manage and make use of these assets to get maximum return.
Most traditional company policies and controls focus on the tangible assets of the company and leave unmanaged their important knowledge assets.
Success in an increasingly competitive marketplace depends critically on the quality of knowledge which organizations apply to their key business processes. For example the supply chain depends on knowledge of diverse areas including raw materials, planning, manufacturing and distribution. Likewise product development requires knowledge of consumer requirements, new science, new technology, marketing etc.
The challenge of deploying the knowledge assets of an organization to create competitive advantage becomes more crucial as:
· The marketplace is increasingly competitive and the rate of innovation is rising, so that knowledge must evolve and be assimilated at an even faster rate.
· Corporations are organizing their businesses to be focused on creating customer value. Staff functions are being reduced as are management structures. There is a need to replace the informal knowledge management of the staff function with formal methods in customer aligned business processes.
· Competitive pressures are reducing the size of the workforce which holds this knowledge.
· Knowledge takes time to experience and acquire. Employees have less and less time for this.
· There are trends for employees to retire earlier and for increasing mobility, leading to loss of knowledge.
· There is a need to manage increasing complexity as small operating companies are trans-national sourcing operations.
A change in strategic direction may result in the loss of knowledge in a specific area. A subsequent reversal in policy may then lead to a renewed requirement for this knowledge, but the employees with that knowledge may no longer be there.
| . Definition |
| . Why is Knowledge Management Difficult |
| . A Knowledge Management Framework |
| . Techniques to Manage Knowledge |
| . Knowledge Management Roadmaps |
| . IT Support for Knowledge Management |
