Applied knowledge management: a set of well‐tried tools
| Published date | 01 October 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720610716674 |
| Pages | 423-431 |
| Date | 01 October 2006 |
| Author | Philippe Van Berten,Jean‐Louis Ermine |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Applied knowledge management:
a set of well-tried tools
Philippe Van Berten and Jean-Louis Ermine
National Institute of Telecommunications, Evry Cedex, France
Abstract
Purpose – For almost 20 years, knowledge management projects hit various domains. This paper
aims to describe briefly a set of four well-tried knowledge management tools allowing practitioners to
analyse and structure, describe and represent, share and store, teach and transmit knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper focuses on selected tools now of general practice and
becoming popular among the practitioners.
Findings – The paper finds that, originally out of the information science laboratories, the tools
introduced here have been proved tested efficient and reliable after hundreds of real projects, no matter
what type of industry and domain use them. This now common practice should open the path to new
models for the knowledge economy. Dealing with complexity becomes easier as well as putting the
information system at the crossing of the interactive information flows instead of keeping it out of
reach of a majority of knowledge workers. Because of the massive retirement of the baby boomers, a
large loss of workforce challenges the companies for the first time in history. How to evaluate and pass
to the next generation its core business of knowledge is thus of critical importance.
Originality/value – This paper reminds that knowledge management is no longer a solely academic
issue since tools of the next generation are now available, beefing up the growing domain of the
knowledge economy.
Keywords Knowledge management, Knowledge economy,Intranets, E-learning
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In the late 1990s, knowledge management (KM) became a major issue for companies. A
set of strategic points may help to understand this sudden interest in corporate
knowledge. For instance, knowledge is now viewed as a capital asset of economic
value, a new strategic resource in productivity enhancement and a stability factor in an
unstable and dynamic competitive environment. Therefore, KM tools bring decisive
competitive advantage when properly used by practitioners.
This paper provides the description of the most common KM tools coming from
theoretical models, which have been put into practice and shown operational efficiency.
The strategy in regard is always structured by three key issues: Capitalise
(“knowing where you are coming from in order to better know where you’re going to”),
Share (“switch from individual to collective intelligence”), and Create (“innovate to
survive”). However, those objectives are to a certain extend paradoxical (“knowledge is
power”!), and KM is then a real challenge for managers, leading to considerable change
in companies vision and management.
Many businesses, of all sizes and sectors rally on that domain of the so-called new
“knowledge-based economy”. The market place is in strong demand of KM systems. It
is then rather difficult to understand what KM really is!
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
Applied
knowledge
management
423
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 36 No. 4, 2006
pp. 423-431
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055720610716674
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