What is knowledge management in higher education institutions?

Question

What is knowledge management in high education instituition?

Answer

Knowledge management is a relatively new concept which arose in the late twentieth century following the realisation that many countries were entering a post-industrial era (Hislop, 2009). Manufacturing industries were in decline, while service industries were growing. This, coupled with very fast innovations in communications technology, resulted in many debates around the notion of an emerging “information society” (Webster, 2014, p. 30). Higher education institutions are at the heart of the creation, sharing and using of all kinds of knowledge in this new, highly connected and information-rich society and so they have been closely involved in theorising and practising this new discipline of knowledge management. It is applicable to all aspects of higher education, including teaching and research, operational management and strategy alike. According to Jones and Sallis (2012), the wealth of information available is now so great that educational establishments must review how they create, process and categorise information so that it can be used effectively to meet organisational goals. This is not just a matter of collecting and organising formal knowledge in the form of books, lecture notes, research reports, university policies and the like, but also harnessing the tacit kind of knowledge that exists in teams and communities of practice. Open knowledge-sharing platforms and collaborative working styles are typical strategies used in universities and colleges. Many higher education institutions aim to lead the way in these areas, so that graduates and employees can go on to make useful contributions to the knowledge management of all the organisations where they eventually will be working.

References

Hislop, D. (2009) Knowledge Management in Organizations. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jones, G. and Sallis, E. (2012) Knowledge Management in Education: Enhancing Learning & Education. Abingdon: Routledge. Webster, F. (2014) Theories of the Information Society. Fourth edition. Abingdon: Routledge.