Knowledge management and information management are each forms of internal communication. It’s critical to understand the differences.
The difference between information and knowledge is information is a factual asset and knowledge is one’s output from ingesting information. Information transfer is about moving factual assets between people. Knowledge transfer is about moving the collected output of knowledge between people. Information management ensures information is stored securely and transfers efficiently. Knowledge management is the strategy and system behind capturing, sharing and understanding an organization’s knowledge.
Yet the transfer of knowledge is not as easy as it sounds. There are two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit (or implicit). Explicit knowledge is easily documented because this is the type of knowledge that is easily explained. An example of explicit knowledge is explaining how to operate a system. Tacit knowledge is not easily documented because it’s hard to collect. So much knowledge is stuck in the human mind. This is the type of knowledge that pertains to intuition and feeling, like a sense of aesthetics.
At the heart of a high performing organizational culture is fluid transfer of information and knowledge between knowledge workers. Knowledge creation is the intellectual capital that advances your organization’s competitive advantage. A failure of knowledge transfer undermines organizational learning and personal knowledge.
Are you looking to learn more about the considerations and know-how for developing paths for efficient and effective transfer as you consider your knowledge management strategy?
Suggested reading:
- How should an organization manage information transfer with internal communications?
- How should an organization manage knowledge transfer with internal communications?