| Title | Knowledge Management: Harnessing Mental Capital for the Future |
| ShortDescription | This resource details what knowledge management is, why it is important, and how it should be approached. |
| LongDescription | In today's environment we are more separated, and at the same time connected, by the computer. While computers enable us to stay in touch with our operations virtually from any location, they also separate us from the experts that really know what's going on. If you could sit and talk to your great-grandfather, eventually you would hear some gold nuggets that came from experience, yet were never written down. In industry, we know that the generation of the 'baby boomers' is approaching retirement, and we will lose these experiences if we do not know how to capture them. In the government, and in the military, we need to harness the experience of our senior leaders. Fundamentally, this is called knowledge management (KM). KM systematically brings together people, organizations and processes, enabled by technology, to facilitate the exchange of operationally relevant information and expertise. It is a process whereby information is discovered, selected, organized, distilled, shared, developed, and used in a social context to improve organizational effectiveness. Knowledge management, in conjunction with information management (IM), should provide an organizational framework to accumulate, create, and disseminate actionable knowledge. That means take in the information, provide business rules for filtering and formulating it, put it in an understandable context, evaluate it through another set of business filters, and then present knowledge to the organizational leadership to make or enhance a decision. Even while still in its infancy, the term KM already exists, is accepted, and currently used by many military institutions including those of several allies. Knowledge is a commodity however, that must be managed effectively. Therefore, organizations must ensure that they have a trained knowledge crew whose primary duties are to assist in this management. They should be involved in gathering and editing knowledge, paving the way for establishing effective knowledge sharing networks, and managing knowledge technology infrastructures. The knowledge crew should be made up of technicians as well as operators. They should identify and correct knowledge sharing seams and gaps, provide access to KM networks and technologies, establish procedures for knowledge retention, and implement metrics to measure the value of initiatives. |
| SourceAuthor | Wilker, Phil; Snook, Keith Colonel |
| Reference | DISAM Journal, July 2007 |
| Organization | Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) |
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http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IAJ/is_3_29/ai_n19396134/
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