"Knowledge Management in Research and Development" by R. Chapas et.
al. provides an analysis of the importance of knowledge and cultural
management within organizations, particularly in the business
setting/environment. These two factors are discussed in the article
because of recent studies illustrating the vital role that knowledge
management and cultural diversity play in the development of intra-
organizational communication and interaction. Further, knowledge and
culture have significant relationships with each other, influencing the
kind and effectiveness of management within the organization.
The authors trace the shift of focus of business organizations from
being skills- and asset- to knowledge-orientedâ€"that is, "[h]istorically,
the focus was on capabilities involving tangible assets; now, knowledge is
widely recognized as the source for competitive advantageâ€" Indeed, the
development of businesses from being quantitative to qualitative resulted
to the valuation of knowledge, where information becomes vital for the
company, with the formulation of new ideas and concepts coming from the
organization's members/employees.
The essence of knowledge and its relationship in organizational
management is, more than a set of ideas and concepts, "the capability to
add value to the organization (or individual)." This means that there is
reciprocal relationship between employer and employee in the exchange of
knowledge and information: while the employee benefits from the
organization's recognition of his/her idea, the organization, in turn,
benefits from the success and ingenuity of the employee's idea(s).
The article also differentiates between knowledge management and
"facilitating knowledge flow": while the latter focuses on monitoring and
appropriately channeling incoming knowledge to their specific destinations
or uses, knowledge management refers to ...