Knowledge Management Software

I will attempt to inform you on what Knowledge Management Software (KMS) is. I will also attempt to give you a brief history and specific benefits the KMS adds to our specific global organization.

First let’s talk about knowledge management (KM), and define what it is? I had the opportunity to talk with three coworkers and for them to give me a definition that I myself had no idea about until I decided to do some research. Well, my first interview went with Tasha who’s a Supply person. She had no idea; she thought it could not be such a thing as KM.

Secondly, I interviewed Michelle our unit secretary. She said she’d heard of it but couldn’t possibly tell me what it meant. And lastly, I interviewed Tonya, our personnel specialist. Tonya said she knew what knowledge was. According to her, knowledge had something to do with knowing information and management according to her is knowing what to do with the information. Well, that gave me a starting point. Well, what is knowledge? Let’s see, knowledge has two basic definitions of interest.

The first pertains to a defined body of information. Depending on the definition, the body of information might consist of facts, opinions, ideas, theories, principles, and models (or other frameworks). Clearly, other categories are possible, too. Subject matter (e.g., chemistry, mathematics, etc.) is just one possibility. In addition, knowledge also refers to a person’s state of being with respect to some body of information. These states include ignorance, awareness, familiarity, understanding, facility, and so on.

Now that was a mouthful. Management on the other had has some of the similarities as Tonya mention above. When I researched the definition for management it means to manage or be responsible for controlling or organizing someone or something especially a business.

After reviewing both and putting those together KM means - the processes of finding, collecting and sharing information within an organization. This has taken the business community by storm in the last five years. It is about making optimum use of the intellectual capital (skills, ideas and knowledge) of employees.

The history of KMS has many faces. With continuously emerging work roles, the unlocking of an enterprise's information to members at every level has become essential to ensure that each has the knowledge, skills and authority to be productive. These new work roles demand that every individual have access to the correct data and knowledge in order to make their own effective business decisions. With the rise of organizations seeking ways to manage their knowledge there has come the desire to share strategies with peers.

The first conference in the United States that focused upon knowledge beyond the theories of artificial intelligence was entitled "Managing the Knowledge Asset into the 21st Century." It was convened by Digital Equipment Corporation and the Technology Transfer