فعالیت های اعمال نفوذ در دانش: نتایج یک مطالعه دلفی

Knowledge-based organizations are hosts for multitudes of knowledge management (KM) episodes. Each episode is triggered by a knowledge need and culminates with the satisfaction of that need (or its abandonment). Within an episode, one or more of the organization’ processors (human and/or computer-based) manipulate knowledge resources in various ways in an effort to meet the need. This paper identifies and characterizes a generic set of elemental knowledge manipulation activities that can be arranged in a variety of patterns within KM episodes. It also indicates possible knowledge flows that can occur among the activities. This descriptive framework was developed using conceptual synthesis and a Delphi methodology involving an international panel of researchers and practitioners in the KM field. The framework can serve as a common language for discourse about knowledge manipulation. For researchers, it suggests issues that deserve investigation and concepts that must be considered in explorations of KM episodes. For practitioners, the framework provides a perspective on activities that need to be considered in the design, measurement, control, coordination, and support of an organization’ KM episodes.

A hallmark of the emerging knowledge economy is the rise of knowledge-based organizations [14]. In these, knowledge is regarded as a crucial resource processed by a joint human–computer system in changing the organization’ state of knowledge and of producing outputs. Individually, each human or automated processor is a knowledge worker that has a particular set of skills for manipulating knowledge. Collectively, an organization’ knowledge processors are arranged into a system that amplifies the knowledge work to be accomplished. Knowledge management (KM) involves attempts to get the right knowledge to the right processor at the right time in the right representation and at the right cost. The task of recognizing and satisfying the needs of a modern organization is both important and challenging. These can be modest or voluminous, simple or complex, routine or novel, well specified or vague, stable or volatile, of low priority or urgent. We shall term what occurs from the time of recognizing a knowledge need through its satisfaction (or abandonment) as a KM episode which may be independent or interdependent with other episodes and active at any given time in an organization. Each involves one or more knowledge processors operating on some knowledge resources and constrained or guided by various influences. Fig. 1 illustrates a KM episode. But what knowledge manipulation activities are allowed in a KM episode? The answer to this question is important. Indeed, a recent survey found that a majority of respondents preferred an activity-oriented KM [20]. However, there has been little agreement among researchers or practitioners on what they are [29]. This paper presents a descriptive framework of basic knowledge manipulation activities that can occur in an episode. The framework was developed through a Delphi process involving an international panel of over 30 KM researchers and practitioners. The result is a relatively comprehensive, unified perspective on the kinds of knowledge manipulation activities that can occur in a KM episode. This offers several benefits. It can serve as a common language for discussion about an organization’s KM episodes. It gives a foundation for suggesting how each of the knowledge manipulation activities should be accomplished and how they should be configured within episodes. Its characterization of each manipulation activity is suggestive of functionalities that would be helpful to include in the design of computer-based processors for performing or supporting the activity. It could be applied to highlight and investigate KM issues, such as a means for measuring, controlling, and coordinating manipulation activities, etc.

This paper presents a generic framework of basic knowledge manipulation activities that operate on an organization’s knowledge resources with KM episodes. Identification and explanation of knowledge manipulation activities and their inter-relationships allows for better understanding of the nature and the dynamics of activities that manipulate an organization’ knowledge resources. Each of the four knowledge manipulation activities and any of their sub-activities can be further characterized an analyzed in greater detail. For instance, such an analysis has been performed for the knowledge selection activity [12]. It fleshes out concepts of selection functionalities in greater detail. Based on these, it identifies issues related to knowledge selection, uses the framework’ concepts to organize a characterization of current technological offerings for knowledge selection, and describes the interaction of all the other activities with the selection activity. Similar analysis can be carried out for each of the other activities. Alteration of knowledge resources through knowledge valuing (i.e. what knowledge should be attained, retained and replenished) is a very serious issue faced by organizations [18]. This is an aspect of the framework’s internalization activity. However, types of alteration, criteria for alteration, and mechanisms to execute alteration are not detailed within the internalization activity. The framework’s activities are not confined to manipulation of explicit knowledge, but can also be performed on tacit/implicit knowledge. The manipulation skills and mechanisms needed to carry out a particular activity on one type of resource can substantially differ from those useful for another type of knowledge resource. This framework can be used to systematically generate, study, and discuss, KM-related issues. The framework provides a platform for communication and sharing of ideas related to knowledge manipulation activities among practitioners. The common language can aid practitioners in administering KM initiatives by addressing issues in a systematic fashion (e.g. the types of activities that need more attention, types of skills and competencies, tools and techniques that need to be cultivated and developed to execute these activities). The framework’s characterization of knowledge manipulation activities is descriptive, aiming to identify relevant activities and their knowledge–flow relationships. It does not advocate any particular methodology or process for coordinating these activities. They can be combined in various configurations in order to define a process or methodology.