Working knowledge: how organizations manage what they know

Online Available
Authors: Davenport, Thomas H.; Prusak, Lawrence;
Publishing Info: Ubiquity , 1(24), 2.
Year: 2000

Abstract: KNOWLEDGE is neither data nor information, though it is related to both, and the differences between these terms are often a matter of degree. We start with those more familiar terms both because they are more familiar and because we can understand knowledge best with reference to them. Confusion about what data, information, and knowledge are -- how they differ, what those words mean -- has resulted in enormous expenditures on technology initiatives that rarely deliver what the firms spending the money needed or thought they were getting. Often firms don't understand what they need until they invest heavily in a system that fails to provide it. However basic it may sound, then, it is still important to emphasize that data, information, and knowledge are not interchangeable concepts. Organizational success and failure can often depend on knowing which of them you need, which you have, and what you can and can't do with each. Understanding what those three things are and how you get from one to another is essential to doing knowledge work successfully. So we believe it's best to begin with a brief comparison of the three terms and the factors involved in transforming data into information and information into knowledge.

Discuss This Article