We have been discussing research, knowledge and knowledge the last few weeks. At present we are working on research questions that we have chosen ourselves.Furthermore we are working through the different processes to collect data and create information from it that will become knowledge. The words data, information and knowledge are interesting and something we discussed the meaning of in class. Are they the same? What is the difference between them? I see them as different stages in a process of understanding. In research terms you gather raw data from different sources and organise that data into useable information and then you add context to that information to gain comprehension.

 

 

Research

In our class we are going through the process of finding a research question, construct questions for a survey, get feedback, improve on questions. Then in the future we will use the data from the survey to delve into the important topics with in focus groups and one on one interviews. Going through this process is interesting as it shows me, first of all the different tools I can use to gather data, secondly the progress from the getting raw data up to the information stage and then to gaining knowledge. Knowledge can be looked at as either tacit or explicit knowledge. If we look at Nonaka and Takeuchis’ “Spiral of Knowledge Creation”, it show us the process of turning tacit into explicit Knowledge through the four stages, Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation.

 

Source – CipherUltra

 

Knowledge Management

Dalkirs’ research into knowledge management for organisations goes more in-depth. It looks at how organisations use individual and group knowledge to better their companies and create organisational knowledge. I found it interesting most of the work done on capturing knowledge came from work in Artificial Intelligence. Most of all, this shows the detail that is going into knowledge management and the importance of it to organisations. They see the importance of knowledge and the threat of employees leaving or retiring, bring with them all the understanding they have built up within the company over a long period of time.As a result organisations are trying to perfect the process of using the knowledge of all employees. And transforming it into organisational knowledge that they can hold on to after the employee leaves the company.

Technology and Knowledge

We are learning different and more effective ways to communicated expertise to people. Technology has given us a lot of alternatives to the way we learn, gather information and get knowledge from it. Companies are seeing the benefits of these alternative methods of learning and using them to teach their employees. They are using multiple avenues to share information with their employees, which include e-mail, interactive manuals and even video games. Game based learning has become increasingly popular as a method for teaching. Video games have reach a point where they are completely immersive like film but interactive so the player feels more connected to the story. When you can fully engage in something you are more likely to gain knowledge from it and it stays longer in your memory. In conclusion, from what I have read on KM, it is taken very seriously in the business world. You can see why it is too as it is an important long term resource and can save a lot of money if used well. Sir Francis Bacon said it best “knowledge is power”.