8/12/2019 Defining Knowledge, Information, Data

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Defining Knowledge, Information, Data

Before one can begin to talk about knowledge management (KM), one must start by clearlydefining the meaning of the word "knowledge". It is important to understand what constitutes

knowledge and what falls under the category of information or data. nfortunately, this is amore difficult task than may be apparent at first. !ithin eeryday language, within specificfields, and een within the same disciplines, the word "knowledge" often takes on a ariety ofmeanings.

Perspectives on Knowledge, Information, Data

In eeryday language we use knowledge all the time. #ometimes we mean know$how, whileother times we are talking about wisdom. %n many occasions we een use it to refer to

information. &art of the difficulty of defining knowledge arises from its relationship to twoother concepts, namely data and information. 'hese two terms are often regarded as lowerdenominations of knowledge, but the eact relationship aries greatly from one eample toanother.

!ithin more technologically oriented disciplines$ particularly inoling information systems$knowledge is often treated ery similarly to information. It is seen as something one cancodify and transmit, and where I' plays a piotal role inknowledge sharing.or instance, theencyclopedia at fact$archie.com defines it as* "information that has a purpose or use."

'his kind of simplistic iew of knowledge was particularly widespread during the +s wheninformation technology became increasingly more common. -oweer een today, some KMsystems are little more than information management systems using knowledge as a irtualsynonym for information.

'o illustrate, 'heirauf (+++) defines the three components as follows* data is the lowestpoint, an unstructured collection of facts and figures/ information is the net leel, and it isregarded as structured data/ finally knowledge is defined as "information about information".

-oweer, increasingly one sees definitions that treat knowledge as a more comple andpersonal concept that incorporate more than 0ust information. 'he 1ongman online dictionaryhas one definition that begins to approach the way that knowledge is usually regarded withinKM. It states "the information, skills, and understanding that you hae gained through

learning or eperience." 2lthough still closely associated with information, concepts likeskills, understanding, and eperience begin to surface.

http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/knowledge-sharing.htmlhttp://www.bloomfire.com/free-trial/?seg1=adv&seg2=kmthttp://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/knowledge-sharing.html

8/12/2019 Defining Knowledge, Information, Data

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8/12/2019 Defining Knowledge, Information, Data

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I' is usually inaluable in the capacity of turning data into information, particularly in largerfirms that generate large amounts of data across multiple departments and functions. 'hehuman brain is mainly needed to assist in contetuali3ation.

Knowledge:Knowledge is closely linked to doing and implies know$how and understanding.

'he knowledge possessed by each indiidual is a product of his eperience, andencompasses the norms by which he ealuates new inputs from his surroundings(4aenport 5 &rusak 6). I will use the definition presented by 9amble and Blackwell(6), based closely on a preious definition by 4aenport 5 &rusak*

"Knowledge is a fluid mi of framed eperience, alues, contetual information, epertinsight, and grounded intuition that proides an enironment and framework for ealuatingand incorporating new eperiences and information. It originates and is applied in the mindof the knowers. In organi3ations it often becomes embedded not only in documents orrepositories, but also in organi3ational routines, practices and norms."

In order for KM to succeed, one needs a deep understanding of what constitutes knowledge.

:ow that we hae set clear boundaries between knowledge, information, and data, it ispossible to go one step further and look at the forms in which knowledge eists and thedifferent ways that it can be accessed, shared, and combined. I will eamine this in thesection titled "'he 4ifferent Kinds of Knowledge".