| Danial Norjidi |
THE importance of knowledge management was highlighted in a recent speech by Centre Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and Training (Voctech) Dr Haji Mohd Zamri bin Haji Sabli.
The centre director delivered his speech during the closing ceremony of the Customised Training Programme on Knowledge Management on August 10.
“We have heard the old saying, ‘knowledge is power’ and we recognise the truth in our everyday working and personal lives. However in recent years, it has become clear that globally, we are somewhat lacking in high-end skills that many organisations require,” he said.
“To gain highly qualified employees, it takes a certain amount of investment. However, this takes many forms and one of the most important for modern organisations is recognising and fostering those that have knowledge in the first place.”
He underlined that these days, knowledge is not only power, but is also something that can be used with an organisation to foster innovation.
“Knowledge is a very huge and important asset with each individual and organisation. With a strong and clear knowledge system, it helps the organisation to minimise the unnecessary faults as well as lead to better performance.”
The centre director then proceeded to share a definition of knowledge management. “There are many definitions of knowledge management but the one I prefer is the simplest – ‘Knowledge Management is the way we manage our organisation when we understand the value of knowledge’. In other words, it is the management framework that we put in place to maximise the value and application of our knowledge.
“Therefore knowledge management is the systematic management of the organisation’s knowledge assets, (which can be in the form of documents, policies or databases) for the purpose of creating value and meeting strategic requirements of the organisation. Knowledge management consists of the initiatives, processes, strategies and systems that sustain and enhance the storage, assessment, sharing, refinement and creation of knowledge.”
He affirmed that there are many reasons why knowledge management is vital for today’s organisations. He said that knowledge management speeds up access to information and knowledge; improves decision-making processes; promotes innovation and cultural change; improves the efficiency of an organisation’s operations and processes; and also increases customer satisfaction, according to a study in the United States.
“Of course, in this context of knowledge management, technology plays a very important role. Technology should not be perceived simply as an enabling tool, but as a driver for new collaborative practices and sharing of knowledge,” he added.