As the old saying goes, “knowledge is power”, and this statement is true given its definition. The Australian Oxford Dictionary has a number of 
definitions. They state knowledge as 1 awareness that is gained by experience, 2 a person’s range of information1 and the English Version states knowledge as [1] the expertise and skills that a person has acquired through experience or education and an understanding of a subject, 2 what is known in a particular field or in total or 3 the awareness or familiarity gained through experience. However, these definitions have been of great debate among philosophers.
Knowledge in a business sense is called knowledge management and is seen as a management theory started in the 1990’s. This theory is seen as a way to understand people within organizations through the creation and sharing of knowledge. This theory has produced two models of knowledge, the DIKW model and Nonaka's reformulation of Polanyi's distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The DIKW model involves places knowledge, data and information in a pyramid. Both models are under threat as new schools of thought are emerging.
The goal of knowledge management indicates that the right information is received by the right person, so they can execute the correct decision. Recently, management has looked at how knowledge is being flowed and the exchange of knowledge rather than just focusing on knowledge itself [2].
Knowledge management is a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands of books, professional and academic journals and university degrees dedicated to the subject. The objectives are to improve the organisations performance, have a competitive advantage, create innovation, developmental processes, and create greater development of the collaborative process.
It has been acknowledged that knowledge management has always been around, but in the last 10 years, this has been enhanced courtesy of modern technology.
Knowledge management can be seen as being in three stages: before, during, or after knowledge-related activities, however some think it has a life cycle.
An example of knowledge management would be an effective management method in a architectural company. When a project is about to begin, an architect may want to learn and gain knowledge from a past project similar to their current one, gain any information during the design stage when problems arise and finally get information after the design stage or when the project has been completed to get advice on problems arisen from its completion or from any completed activities. Lessons will be learnt during the whole design stage and should be recorded so they can gain knowledge and learn from any mistakes that had arisen from this project [3]
So, this can be seen as an effective way to conduct knowledge within an architectural company. By using knowledge, architects can go back and view and look at buildings from the past and this will provide them with enough knowledge for future designs.
How this works in collaboration will be quite simple. As people work together in a team environment, they will be able to share knowledge and experiences meaning the team will learn from one another, creating a productive environment. In a team environment, the team will be able to view from past projects, to understand and gain knowledge from these past projects, so it can be used on their current project. This way, they won’t make the same mistakes again.
This is currently the case on our team, as not everyone knows 3D modeling, but will all share our skills and knowledge to achieve the final goal. If we didn’t do this, our team will likely fail.
Finally, knowledge is a wonderful thing, and if you use it, be that individually or in a team, it can take you places. Learning from the past, present or from mistakes is very powerful and that is what knowledge is all about.
References:
1. Edited by Bruce Moore, The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary – Fourth Edition, 1996, Oxford University Press.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge viewed on 20th April 2008.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Management, viewed on 21st April 2008.
definitions. They state knowledge as 1 awareness that is gained by experience, 2 a person’s range of information1 and the English Version states knowledge as [1] the expertise and skills that a person has acquired through experience or education and an understanding of a subject, 2 what is known in a particular field or in total or 3 the awareness or familiarity gained through experience. However, these definitions have been of great debate among philosophers.Knowledge in a business sense is called knowledge management and is seen as a management theory started in the 1990’s. This theory is seen as a way to understand people within organizations through the creation and sharing of knowledge. This theory has produced two models of knowledge, the DIKW model and Nonaka's reformulation of Polanyi's distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The DIKW model involves places knowledge, data and information in a pyramid. Both models are under threat as new schools of thought are emerging.
The goal of knowledge management indicates that the right information is received by the right person, so they can execute the correct decision. Recently, management has looked at how knowledge is being flowed and the exchange of knowledge rather than just focusing on knowledge itself [2].
Knowledge management is a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands of books, professional and academic journals and university degrees dedicated to the subject. The objectives are to improve the organisations performance, have a competitive advantage, create innovation, developmental processes, and create greater development of the collaborative process.
It has been acknowledged that knowledge management has always been around, but in the last 10 years, this has been enhanced courtesy of modern technology.
Knowledge management can be seen as being in three stages: before, during, or after knowledge-related activities, however some think it has a life cycle.
An example of knowledge management would be an effective management method in a architectural company. When a project is about to begin, an architect may want to learn and gain knowledge from a past project similar to their current one, gain any information during the design stage when problems arise and finally get information after the design stage or when the project has been completed to get advice on problems arisen from its completion or from any completed activities. Lessons will be learnt during the whole design stage and should be recorded so they can gain knowledge and learn from any mistakes that had arisen from this project [3]
So, this can be seen as an effective way to conduct knowledge within an architectural company. By using knowledge, architects can go back and view and look at buildings from the past and this will provide them with enough knowledge for future designs.
How this works in collaboration will be quite simple. As people work together in a team environment, they will be able to share knowledge and experiences meaning the team will learn from one another, creating a productive environment. In a team environment, the team will be able to view from past projects, to understand and gain knowledge from these past projects, so it can be used on their current project. This way, they won’t make the same mistakes again.
This is currently the case on our team, as not everyone knows 3D modeling, but will all share our skills and knowledge to achieve the final goal. If we didn’t do this, our team will likely fail.
Finally, knowledge is a wonderful thing, and if you use it, be that individually or in a team, it can take you places. Learning from the past, present or from mistakes is very powerful and that is what knowledge is all about.
References:
1. Edited by Bruce Moore, The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary – Fourth Edition, 1996, Oxford University Press.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge viewed on 20th April 2008.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Management, viewed on 21st April 2008.
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