What is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge management (KM) is a strategy and process designed to consciously and comprehensively identify, capture, structure, value, leverage and share an organization's intellectual assets in terms of resources, documents, and people skills in order to enhance its performance and competitiveness. KM is an audit of "intellectual assets" that highlights unique sources, critical functions and potential bottlenecks which hinder knowledge flows to the point of use. It protects intellectual assets from decay, seeks opportunities to enhance decisions, services and products through adding intelligence, increasing value and providing flexibility.
The vital importance of knowledge in business has always been recognised but, up until now, only a few organisations are able to manage it because they understood the problems, the opportunities, the strategies and solutions. This picture is gradually changing as models, methods, tools and techniques for effective knowledge management are becoming available and as organisations realise the importance of knowledge and thinking to their capacity to adapt to the changing world.
KM efforts typically focus on organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization. KM efforts overlap with organizational learning, and may be distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge.