What is 'Knowledge Management'? 

Talking about ‘knowledge' is not something we do every day. We might use the words ‘information' and ‘knowledge' interchangeably but we take it for granted that we know certain things and that we all have our own ways of finding and sharing new information or learning to do new things.

We wouldn't refer to these everyday activities as ‘Knowledge Management', but ‘Knowledge Management' can serve as a useful label when we come to talk about the sharing of knowledge and information that takes place in the workplace.

The difficult task of defining Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management is, essentially, about sharing information effectively. But it is tricky to define and explanations can take various different slants:

• there's a people aspect to it because it's people who "carry" knowledge around with them and who share, apply, and develop their knowledge in the course of their day;
• there's an organisational aspect to it because some people worry that staff in their organisation don't use/share the knowledge they are believed to have, as often or as well as they might;
• there's a ‘librarianship' aspect to it, because knowledge and information can often be captured in writing and then organised and managed using systems and processes; and
• there's an IT aspect to it because of the rise of easily accessible sharing technologies such as email and new Web 2.0 technologies like Facebook and Twitter

  

Visit the case studies area for examples of effective Knowledge Management practice in the social enterprise sector

 

How Knowledge Management can benefit the social enterprise sector

What is really important for social enterprise is the idea that by sharing information and working together we can make good use of what we collectively know about running our enterprises; using this knowledge to:

• Foster innovation by encouraging the free flow of ideas;
• Learn from each other, share best practice and collaborate;
• Utilize resources effectively, streamline operations, avoid duplication and reduce costs;
• Boost revenues by getting products and services to market faster;
• Enhance retention rates by recognising the value of individuals' knowledge;
• Improve customer service and satisfaction; and ultimately
• Grow the sector

 

A more detailed presentation on Knowledge Management can be found here.

 For more information, please contact Craig Carey, Projects Manager, Social Enterprise Coalition