KM LOG1: The Nonsense of Knowledge Management

Part I:

Data and information may be managed, and information resource may be managed, but knowledge can never be managed.

When employees leave a company, their knowledge goes with them, no matter how much they've shared.

Can "Tacit knowledge" be captured? The answer, of course, is that it cannot be "captured" - it can only be demonstrated through our expressible knowledge an through our acts.

The conclusion is reached that "knowledge management" is an umbrella term for a variety of organization. Those activities that are not concerned with the management of information are concerned with the management of work practice.

Part II

KM is a papular work in business work, but even in acdamic community, they still use 'knowledge' as a synonym for 'information'. A lot of KM activities are just a kind of Information Management.

Even though, it is not saying that people to contribute effectively the management of organizations is impossible and that sharing knowledge is impossible. It's just to differcult to do it.

Part IV

The opinion of this article made me shock. I have never heard opinions like this.

Before I read this report, I knew KM was a kind of work to make the knowledge of a company can be stored and shared. Especilly sharing, it was the most important activity of KM. But now, I agree that 'Tacit Knowledge' can't be captured, the knowledge will go with retired employees, no matter how much they shared before. I also argee that 'Information' and 'Knowledge' these two words make people confused.

In this condition, KM may be a fad. But I still believe KM should be developed. Because of the economy of knowledge, in this term, we never use ‘information’ to replace ‘knowledge’. It is a new word and this is a new world, the important element of companies (or others) is not only information but knowledge. So we do need a new discipline to deal with this new element.

I believe Wilson didn’t mean to offend the people who advocate managing knowledge. He just wanted to remind us the knowledge couldn’t be handled as like as we handled information before.