 DATA,
INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE |
Central
to the discussion are issues
related to the differences between data,
information and
knowledge. Fundamental
to the discourse in the KM literature, we note, are discussions
concerning the differences between knowledge and information
and data . As they have different characteristics it is possible
to establish a clear boundary between knowledge and information
.
Data
may be regarded as a commodity, value is added to data when
they are processed into information and in turn information
gains further value when it is applied in new contexts becoming
transformed into enterprise specific knowledge. Knowledge
is also defined as information to which experience, context,
interpretation and reflection are added by individuals so
that it becomes a high value form of information . In these
circumstances knowledge can be utilised in novel ways - making
predictions, for example – thereafter being retained within
the organisation as organisational knowledge. Contextualised
knowledge is regarded as the outcome, or product, of a learning
process , . Because it becomes owned as organisational, such
knowledge is sticky in the sense that it is both localised
and contextualised And thus it is argued that organisational
knowledge is socially constructed because its added value
derives from an intra-organisational social process – the
process of sharing.
Information
according to Blumentitt
and Johnston (1999) gains further value when it is used in
new contexts and is transformed into enterprise specific knowledge
in the process.
Once
these definitions are clarified and perhaps considered as
a sliding scale, as Stair
et al (1999) propose, it is attempting to categorise
knowledge itself that becomes of interest.
These
viewpoints link with Davenport’s general definition through
the added value that is derived from the intra-organisational
context and the process of sharing, and it may be that this
is the most important kind of knowledge for any individual
organisation. These definitions are more linked to the effects
of knowledge on an organisation rather than precise definitions
of knowledge itself.
When
considering organisational knowledge and the management of
this knowledge, what we need to ensure is that this is not
seen simply as the acquisition of more data and information
(Coakes & Sugden 2000) Effective knowledge management
is more about managing the human resource than about managing
the technology. ‘People will be the biggest factor in determining
the success or failure of knowledge management by the quality
of their decisions’ (Taylor 1998). Knowledge management
thus becomes concerned with people management, and social
interaction/communication and learning: a sociotechnical issue
which is the study of the relationships and inter-relationships
between the social and technical parts of any system.
There is also a
map available for the Knowledge Management
Review section
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