Managing Knowledge: Repurposing Information

Managing Knowledge: Repurposing Information

Knowledge management and information management are often interchangeably used. However, this practice of juxta positioning should be avoided. Knowledge is something that gives us sets of information on how to proceed and progress. Whereas the information is set of contextualize data and narrative of it simply offering us 'what is it'. So, managing knowledge is more to trigger the action while managing information is to ideate and commence on process and proceeding. In addition to this knowledge can take any form of existence while information is always codified to give the meaningful interpretation. The re-packaging of information to make it knowledgeable and adaptable worthy for practice and action is the repurposing of information.

Knowledge management is primarily concerned with instilling the practice of referring to existing testimonies for any ongoing or new undertakings. Knowledge is most often the by-product of action, personal observation, intangible experiences, and analytics. Knowledge emerges and evolves as the process move forward and time passes. In an organizational setting there are several versions of knowledge that exists, and it passes by without any notice. Physically available knowledge, that are packaged, reposited, shared and referred is most common knowledge pieces. Beside these exists the tacit knowledge that is embedded in personal experiences and observation and remains with an individual. These pieces of knowledge that are intangible are often crux of efficiency and effectiveness.

Everything known to us is via information. However, it is irony that being informed and having knowledge about something is entirely different phenomenon. Exposure to information is pre-contemplation phase while absorption of knowledge is contemplation stage. Knowledge management pulls bits and pieces from information, extract the knowledge coefficient form information and re-shape it to usable piece of knowledge. The process is repurposing information by adding usability value to it and leveraging on other facets of information that is implicit within the information itself. Knowledge is the ultimate metamorphosis of information and the give purposeful meaning to information.

Knowledge management is organizational practice encompassing people, technology, and physical environment. It is incomplete without people to produce and consume the knowledge, technology to reposit the knowledge and physical environment that enables knowledge sharing. Information are mere scriptural representation of data, facts and numbers. Information management is more about analyzing information and its visualist presentation. Whilst knowledge management repurpose this information to be referred, to be absorbed and to be practiced.

Last two years, during ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, most of the public health practitioner, bio-molecular laboratories and pharmaceutical giants focused on managing information. The availability of knowledge, sharing of knowledge and adaption of best practices would have really impacted if not retarded the spread of the contagious virus and helped the lesser equipped countries to contain with minimal resources. The knowledge sharing on containment practices done in Wuhan, China would have benefitted other countries. But the world was more interested in getting the sensational information. Curiosity can be quenched by information. But to mitigate a problem that is daunting and is tragedy of all, a community of practices must be established. Here the knowledge management becomes ever important when knowledge is available to influence the practices of individual and communities.

Since the knowledge is the capacity for the action to make thing happen, it's proper transfer to practitioner is always crucial. The appropriate knowledge that needs to consume by the general public should be packaged well and should be fed into feasible media channels so that its contemplation rate is higher among the people that ultimately leads to communities of practice. In other words, knowledge from anywhere in whatever formats and shapes will help all those involved to minimize the tragedy of commons. It minimizes the uncalculated and unforeseen risks and gives ample of opportunity learn and improve.

In corporate world operational knowledge is flows through a technically backed system and is available, retrievable, and ready to use, but the knowledge related to business expansion and boosting sales is often termed as trade secret. These knowledge management practices are a bit different when it comes to development world and state's operations. Development practitioners, multi-lateral aid agency and states are custodian of vast knowledge. However, they often lack the knowledge manager to capture and package the knowledge, people to use knowledge and appropriate technology make knowledge available and the physical environment to pitch these knowledges in the knowledge eco-system resulting in knowledge retention rather than knowledge diffusion. This makes the practice of knowledge management rudimentary in many cases.

Concussively, it is evident that information cannot stand alone and trigger the desired action. Knowledge that is purposefully distilled from the information to give it worthiness of being used is important. The more knowledge is shared its abortiveness increases hence the use of knowledge. Information keeps updated, while knowledge always makes someone and something on the go. In the era of info-demic where misinformation and disinformation are prevalent, knowledge is protected and cannot be tempered. Rather it gets rectified with time once it is tested and proven. Information as building blocks needs to be contextualized and added with usability to make it purposeful.

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Mr. Adhikari is Knowledge Management Expert