There are four main knowledge management processes, and each process comprises two sub-processes. The overview below presents a brief introduction, but should not be considered an exhaustive examination. The correct mix of knowledge management processes and sub-processes depends on organization-specific factors, and not every process will be applicable in every situation. In fact some processes and sub-processes may actually be detrimental to a specific organization, and they should be discontinued if they are already in use.
Cognotix uses a custom scorecard to consider organization-specific factors and rate the eight knowledge management sub-processes. Sub-processes scoring above a certain threshold should be implemented or expanded, while those scoring below the threshold should be ignored or abandoned.
Knowledge discovery is the process through which new knowledge is created. Its two sub-processes are combination and socialization. Combination comprises efforts to create new explicit knowledge from existing sets of explicit knowledge like data mining or merging multiple documents into a single document. Socialization involves synthesizing tacit knowledge across individuals through joint activities such as brainstorming.
Knowledge capture is the process by which knowledge is converted from tacit to explicit form and vice versa through the sub-processes of externalization and internalization. The externalization sub-process is how an organization captures the tacit knowledge its workers possess so that it can be archived and shared. Internalization is the sub-process through which workers acquire tacit knowledge; it is how they learn. Technologies like customer relationship management and document management systems can facilitate the capture (and ultimately sharing) of specific kinds of knowledge. Knowledge capture can also be conducted outside an organization through surveys and customer-response cards.
Knowledge sharing is how individuals communicate knowledge to other individuals. This should not be confused with direction in which only directives based on knowledge are communicated. Exchange, which includes e-mail and the transfer of artifacts like policy manuals, is the sub-process used to share explicit knowledge. Socialization is used to share tacit knowledge among individuals, but unlike socialization for discovery, the use of socialization for knowledge sharing does not focus on the creation of new knowledge.
Knowledge application is when available knowledge is used to make decisions and perform tasks through direction and routines. Direction is the manner in which an individual who possesses knowledge advises another, but the knowledgeable party does not actually transfer the knowledge to the other. Routines are the embodiment of directives in procedures, rules and processes. Both direction and routines are applicable to either tacit or explicit knowledge. An important difference between application and sharing is application does not require the person applying the knowledge to understand it. Application can be facilitated through the use of sophisticated data models that identify the correct actions to take in certain situations.
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