Knowledge mapping (K-Mapping) as a means of charting assets

As rightly said by Cor about the learning alliance. But that alliance only work when one knows about its knowledge assets. I think most of organizations still not sure what ther knowledge assets are and how they can share that knowledge for learning b/w humans or organizations. For the best results each organization should undergo a massive knowledge mapping exercise because knowledge mapping (K-Mapping) is a means of charting the type, quality and location of the organisation's knowledge assets. It also helps discover the location, ownership, value and use of knowledge artifacts and leverage existing knowledge.

If we are not carefully managing our internal or existing knowledge it may lead to wrong decision making. (GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out)

As far as I see this should be the first step of any KM setup for improve learning.

Am pasting a para from a KM journal for your interest.

Research suggests that in more cases than not, knowledge mapping exercises of all types help learn. Why is this? There are many possible answers to this question. First, mapping provides sustained support for time on task in thinking about a topic. Second, if mapping is done collaboratively, it can lead to extended discussions about the meanings of concepts and the relations between them. Third, the act of creating an organized structure of ideas on paper or in a computer necessitates and often prompts the creation of such a knowledge structure in the mind. Fourth, knowledge mapping prompts to take implicit, often fuzzy, associations and make them into explicit and precise linkages, a process that is at the heart of meaning-making. Fifth, knowledge mapping takes many cognitive and metacognitive skills that remained invisible for so many generations and makes them visible, explicit, and accessible. Sixth, mapping prompts to make finer discriminations between ideas, another pr!
ocess at
the heart of learning. Seventh, the more one practices, the better one becomes at organizing and relating concepts (Cliburn, 1990). And eighth, each time two concepts are joined with a relation in working memory, that information is believed to be “broadcast” to all the modules in the brain so it can be used to solve any current problem the vast subconscious brain may be working on (Baars, 1988).

Best regards,
Asad Uz Zaman

Cor Dietvorst wrote:
This email is to inform you that a new Forum message has been published at www.irc.nl.

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Knowledge Management and the real world - Cor Dietvorst

As Asad Uz Zaman points out, KM is “a very huge area to discuss”, which according to Sébastien Kouassi it depends on “social, political, economical, cultural,...realities”. To add to this, I have not yet come across examples where organisations have implemented an integrated KM strategy as put forward in the Weggeman model (see http://www.irc.nl/page/8371).

Some cynics view KM as nothing more than a marketing concept thought up by management consultants and ICT companies (http://informationr.net/ir/8-1/paper144.html). Indeed, two of the most widely applied and acclaimed KM applications – the Intranet and Communities of Practices (CoPs) – use ICT tools to support existing working procedures/systems. An Intranet is an ICT-enhanced office communication and archiving system and CoPs are generally seen as groups of professionals with a common interest who use ICT-tools to enhance information sharing.

A KM model like that of Weggeman can be used as a checklist to see where KM processes are likely to fail. But where are the practical solutions?

A promising new angle to KM can be seen in Learning Alliances (http://www.irc.nl/page/14957). Many difficulties occur when knowledge has to be shared between different stakeholders. Researchers find it difficult to influence policy-makers, project implementers often do not take the experiences of end-users into consideration. KM could play a role in facilitating communication and knowledge sharing (learning) between these different stakeholders. A good way to start would be to let representatives of each stakeholder group inform each other about the information they rely on and how they use it for decision-making.

Cor Dietvorst, IRC

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