Knowledge in Business

Knowledge in business is the intellectual contributions of employees. It drives up the worth of a business far beyond the sum of its tangible parts. The more knowledge-centric an organization is, the better equipped it is to respond to the changing marketplace. However, a true contribution of knowledge requires that it is acknowledged, preserved, and exploited. An organization only emerges as a k-business when it takes an active approach to knowledge.

Knowledge becomes active when it is nurtured. What exists as simple data becomes information that is taken in and then surfaces as knowledge. Training and experience provide employees with information. Each individual remembers and uses the information differently. Prior experience, knowledge, attitudes, and needs define how the information is used. As it is applied to decision-making, the information surfaces as knowledge.

Knowledge is then passed on in the form of decisions, advice, informal discussions and formal training. In turn it becomes new and unique data and information. When passed on it becomes part of someone else’s knowledge base. As long as the cycle is allowed to continue, the knowledge structure and value of the business grows.

Since knowledge begins as data, which is turned into information, knowledge is an active expression of information, and defines the value of the information. If the information is in the form of training, knowledge becomes a marker to gage its value.