Knowledge Management & Intellectual Capital
In the information economy, intellectual capital is key to an organization's competitive position and long term shareholder value. At the heart of developing intellectual capital is the knowledge management challenge: how to go about capturing, storing, maintaining and leveraging the knowledge that exists inside the organization.
This site has a range of information about knowledge management, and you can browse our extensive knowledge management bookshop.
The term 'Knowledge Management' (often abbreviated to 'KM') "designates an approach to improving organizational outcomes and organizational learning by introducing into an organization a range of specific processes and practices for identifying and capturing knowledge, know-how, expertise and other intellectual capital, and for making such knowledge assets available for transfer and reuse across the organization. (Wikipedia, June 2006).
KM Directions
Download: Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management today - submit your email address in the form below, and we'll email you a link so that you can download and read 'Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management'.
Acquiring Knowledge
One of the best starting points for acquiring knowledge is the concise Essentials of Knowledge Management, supported by Knowledge Management: Vocabulary (because KM has generated a wide range of terms and acronyms) and PAS 2001, the Guide to Knowledge Management Good Practice (available in softcovers and as a download).
Specially Selected KM Titles
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Our Introduction to Knowledge Management contains three critical texts on the subject, and provides someone new to the world of Knowledge Management with a comprehensive introduction to the field. |
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The Knowledge Management Library contains some of the most widely-read books on the topic and is a 'must-have' for anyone taking the subject seriously. |
Essential Knowledge for KM Professionals
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Knowledge Management Toolkit
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You'll want to make a start on implementing a knowledge management strategy - and the simplest way to do this is to deploy the KM Toolkit, described by Managing Risk Magazine as "an indispensable tool for any..firm that aspires to develop and manage its knowledge base, and is highly recommended." Read more about the toolkit and order online here. |
Intellectual Capital
The concept of Intellectual Capital, discussed in detail in Chapter 3 of IT Governance: Guidelines for Directors, is closely linked to KM.
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The top seminal books on Intellectual Capital are both by Thomas A Stewart: Intellectual Capital, the Wealth of Organizations is the original, and the latest is The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the 21st Century Organization. |
Intellectual capital can be thought of as 'the stored knowledge possessed by an organization'. This knowledge may be tacit (personal knowledge possessed by an employee that may be difficult to express or communicate to others), in other cases it may be explicit knowledge, which is codified and stored by the organization and available to all employees. Most KM projects focus on collecting, storing and making this knowledge available. KM projects can involve a wide range of software tools and products, ranging from simple collaborative software to intranets, extranets, portals and sophisticated databases.
Knowledge Management, increasingly the responsibility of a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), is supported by a comprehensive body of knowledge that has developed over a relatively short time period. One of the challenges faced by anyone who wishes to derive business value from KM is the sheer volume of information that has been generated on the subject. Much of the published material suggests that organizations can get immediate benefits from a KM project.
Knowledge Management projects need to be approached constructively, and with a clear understanding of both the benefits and the challenges inherent in such projects. Key to long term success with KM projects is the full understanding and involvement of everyone in the organization. The better a KM project is structured, and the better an understanding everyone involved has, the more likely will the project deliver the real, long-term benefits expected of it.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is a major component of intellectual capital - here is a portal to the world of Intellectual Property (IP).
