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Knowledge and Its Attributes
by Clyde W. Holsapple
Presented by Eric Havens, Sanusha Matthews, and
Mike Copciac
Asking Webster
 Knowledge- the range of one’s information or understanding
 Information- knowledge obtained from investigation, study,
or instruction..also defined as facts, data.
 Data-factual information used as a basis for discussion
 So that leaves us with:
Knowledge is a range of information, information is
knowledge, information is data, and data is information.
Useful definitions?
Knowledge as Usable Representations
A representation is an arrangement in time/space
Ex. words in a conversation, diagrams, photographs, etc.
Newell says knowledge cannot so easily be seen, only imagined
as the result of interpretive processes operating on symbolic
expressions.
This suggests that knowledge doesn’t exist outside of the
processor that perceives or has a representation that it finds
to be usable.
Knowledge as a Progression of States
 Variations in the usability of a representation(depending on
processor, task, environment, etc)
 Six states of Knowledge proposed by Van Lohuizen
1)Decision
2)Judgement
3)Insight
4)Structured Information
5)Information
6)Data
Fundamental notions with Knowledge
as a Progression of States
1)States of Knowledge exist
2) These states form a progression from the lowest level,
where usability is marginal or potenitla to higher levels
where usability is clearer or more immediate.
3) Knowledge States are subject to change through various
kinds of processes
Production Perspective
 Views knowledge as existing in stocks and flows.
 Stock-an inventory of knowledge available to one or more
processors
 Two main types of flows:
 Knowledge transferrable from one stock to another
 Knowledge flow from a stock into itself
∑x
n
Knowledge Versus Information
Perspective
 Views knowledge as a state in its own right, as something
beyond information.
 The states used earlier (data, information, etc) are viewed as
precursors to knowledge. Data is turned into information
and information is turned into knowledge.
A note on the various perspectives
 These perspectives aren’t exhaustive, but can help us be
familiar with some of the more common ones.
 Also, it may be obvious that certain authors are taken a
given perspective while sometimes it may not be so
apparent.
Knowledge and technology
 1990s rise of knowledge management as a prominent field of
practice, research, and study coincided with tremendous
advances in computing and communication technology.
 There are two extreme for the relationship between
technology and knowledge management
 Knowledge management has nothing to do with technology
 Knowledge management is all about technology
Technology is incidental
 Knowledge is defined as uniquely human, which exist in the
context of human interpretation and processing. Technology
has no role at all in knowledge management.
 But if technology is eliminated, then knowledge management
has the following loses
 Knowledge would flow via face to face meetings, physical
bulletin boards, hardcopy reports and memos, surface mail, fax
telephone conversation, and so forth; but groupware, email,
electronic forums, computer mediated communications,
workflow systems, and computer supported cooperative work
would be of little relevance to knowledge work.
Technology is incidental
 Knowledge repositories would include pieces of paper, briefing
books, filing cabinets, traditional libraries, and memories; but digital
documents, databases, web pages, and software libraries would not
have a role in KM.
 Knowledge generation would be performed by human mind power,
with the aid of pencil and paper; but solvers or spreadsheets for
deriving forecast, expectations, and analyses would be out-of-bounds;
rule sets, case bases, and reference engines for deriving advice would
be out-of-bounds; data mining, text mining, and automated pattern
recognition for knowledge discovery would be out-of-bounds.
 Technological means for acquiring and selecting knowledge-search
engines, web crawlers, intelligent agents- would be of little
importance to knowledge workers.
Technology is everything
 Another view is encompassing the lower states of information and
data or seeing computer based processors as capable of
interpretation and processing
 However if humans are eliminated then knowledge management
has the following loses.
 Knowledge management could not have predated the advent of
computer based technology, but this would ignore the long history of
organizations struggling to achieve value from knowledge assets.
 Technology would become an end in and of itself, without attention
to its consequences.
 Technology vendors would become the primary sources for KM
solutions.
Technology is everything
 Technology would become the starting point and driver of KM
initiatives, instead of basing KM efforts on human traits and
capabilities, coupled with organizational objectives.
 KM initiatives would concentrate on explicit knowledge,
leaving the tacit mode of knowledge largely unattended.
 People would be seen as supporting the technology, instead of
technology enabling, supplementing, complementing, or
amplifying human knowledge processing abilities.
Middle path
 Another path of knowledge management can be concerned
with including people, technology, organization and the fits
among them
 We can focus on the representation that computer based
processors can utilize in accomplishing various task. The
specifics on such processors and how they can be devised,
improved and managed to support and facilitate the human
dimension of knowledge management
Computer based technology as a
servant of knowledge management
 One way the CBT has transformed life and organization is by
transforming how knowledge work is done. CBT is concerned
with digital means of representation and processing knowledge
 CBT has transformed how individuals and organization accomplish
knowledge works by amplifying complimenting leveraging and
improving human knowledge handling capabilities.
 CBT progressed from data processing systems(1950-1960)
to management information system(1960-1970)
to decision support system(1970-1990)
to organizational computing system(1980-1990)
to ubiquitous computing(1990)
Computer based technology as a
servant of knowledge management
 Technology from a knowledge perceptive triumphs in its
ability to connect more people in more ways than ever
before, example email, intranet, discussion forums, chat
rooms etc.
 CBT is increasingly becoming all about knowledge
management
 CBT researchers are knowledge management researchers
whether they recognize it or not.
 There are opportunities for research that improves on current
CBT for
 Enabling and facilitating knowledge flows among knowledge
processors(human and computer based)
Computer based technology as a
servant of knowledge management
 Supporting and performing knowledge manipulation tasks .
 Assisting in the measurement, control, coordination, and leadership of
knowledge and knowledge processors.
 Helping ensure that the right knowledge gets to the right processors in
the right formats at the right times and at the right cost.
 To advance the field of business computing, we need to better
understand the users and usage of CBT in knowledge
management.
 What works and under what condition does it work?
 What does not work and why?
 What CBT advances and breakthroughs are needed?
 How do we cultivate” good” fits between technological infrastructure on
one hand and organizational infrastructure on the other hand in
knowledge based organizations?
Computer based technology as a
servant of knowledge management
 To advance the business computing field, we need to study
outcomes of using CBT in knowledge management
 What are its competitive impacts?
 How can CBT be used to implement a knowledge chain activity?
 Or, in a more targeted vein, how can CBT be used to enhance
productivity, agility, or reputation as a means for competitive advantage?
Knowledge Attributes
 Each instance of knowledge has a point in space
 Defines what type of processors can operate
 Determines of processing that can be subjected to
 Knowledge characteristics
 Mode – Tacit vs. Explicit
 Type – Descriptive vs. Procedure vs. Reasoning
 Domain / Orientation –
 Subject or broad domain
 Relational or Relative or Self-knowledge orientation
 Applicability / Management / Usage
Knowledge Attributes cont’d
 Applicability / Management / Usage
 Local or global applicability
 Operational or Management or Strategic planning control
 Professional or Improvement uses
 Accessibility / Utility
 Privately or publicly accessible – or in between
 Levels of usefulness defines utility
 Clarity
 Meaning
 Relevance
 Importance
Knowledge Attributes cont’d
 Validity / Proficiency / Source
 Accuracy or consistency or confidence determines validity
 Degree of expertise defines proficiency
 Origin of knowledge
 Temporal – attributes dependent on time
 Immediacy, Age, Perishability, Volatility
Conclusion
 Knowledge Management
 Multidisciplinary field with substantial opportunity
 Relatively new field with multiple viewpoints & perspectives
 Attributes are all potential areas of research