Some Notes on Knowledge Management

Definition
"Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating  and incorporating new  experiences  and information. It
originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations, it often becomes  embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices,  and norms." [1]

Explicit and tacit

Explicit knowledge is often referred to those that can be codified and transmitted in a systematic and formal representation or language.

Tacit knowledge is often referred to personal, context specific knowledge that is difficult to formalize,
record, articulate, or encode. Tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge (externalization).

Both kinds of knowledge can be embedded in a company's products and processes.

Categories of KM strategies[2]

Codification and Personalization

Codification relies on computers. The value of codification lies in its ability to create economics of reuse. The goal of such an approach is that of connecting people with reusable codified knowledge.

Personalization relies more on social networks that allow knowledge workers to share tacit knowledge. Personalization creates value by connecting people with relevant knowledge. 

NPD[2]

New Product Development is a knowledge-intensive activity.

Characteristics:

(1) Short product & process life cycle

(2) Cross functional collaboration

(3) Cross institutional collaboration

(4) Transient existence of teams & high turn over (loss of knowledge)

[1] Davenport, T. H. and L. Prusak (2000). Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business Press.

[2] Ramesh, B. and A. Tiwana (1999). "Supporting collaborative process knowledge management in new product development teams." Decis. Support Syst. 27(1-2): 213-235.