CMN5150 was my first encounter to the field of Knowledge Management. To be honest, after the first class I felt slightly intimidated and was not sure what to expect from this class. After a few weeks into the semester it was evident that this class would require the use and knowledge of social media tools which I found to be very interesting and exciting. I never associated social networking websites and online social media as a source for knowledge or collective intelligence. Even though I did not fully understand how to use Twitter until near the later half of the semester, this class encouraged me to sign up and become more engaged with the use of Twitter and other social media tools like Delicious which will continue to serve as a great tool in the future. Utilizing these social media tools and outlets is important, not only for communication students, but for the general public and knowledge seekers! Professor Levy can be quoted saying “your goal as a good citizen of the knowledge society is not only to learn as much as you can, but also to help other people to learn…you need awareness of the processes that are unfolding in these collaborative environments” (Levy, Sept 19, 2011). Therefore, this idea of not only contributing to society through day to day life, but through online sources is important and can educate the public with valuable information. I also appreciate Professor Levy’s assertion that in order to contribute effectively to the collective memory, you must avoid the 3 sins of network awareness. This includes: “ignorance, redundancy and irrelevance (having nothing to do with how to manage knowledge/or the topic at hand). This speaks to how there is 'good' or ‘acceptable’ behavior online in these collaborative websites” (Levy, Sept. 19, 2011). This concept of an individual’s personal responsibility to collective memory is fascinating and fosters the notion of ‘think before you post’. 
Looking back and reflecting over the duration of CMN5150, I believe one of the first concepts that Professor Levy acknowledged about the topic of knowledge management is how the ability to reason and to coordinate reasoning using language is what separates humans from other species and animals. (Levy, September 12, 2011). The difference between how animals and other species differ from humans is based upon three different levels. Humans have the ability to first experience and sense things through touch, taste, sight and hearing. Secondly, they have the ability to experience emotions and feelings. Beyond this, humans can also have ideas, and understand concepts. Contrary to humans, animals are only able to sense things and experience emotions; however they do not have the facet to experience intellectual notions (Levy, September 12, 2011).
In order to understand knowledge, we first must be able to understand the two different types of knowledge. This is most notably presented by Nonaka who depicts tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge involves “being highly personal and hard to formalize, making it hard to communicate or share with others,” whereas explicit knowledge is “easily processed by a computer or stored in databases” (Nonaka & Takeuchi, p. 8). This distinction is important and by understanding the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge, an individual or an organization can proceed towards the first step of knowledge capture and codification. This involves using techniques and tools to elicit tacit knowledge, to trigger the creation of new knowledge & to subsequently organize this content in a systematic manner. According to Dalkir (2005) the acquisition of knowledge from individuals to groups can be characterized as the transfer and transformation of valuable expertise from a knowledge source, for example a human expert, or document, to a knowledge repository for example a corporate memory, or an intranet. The following are 3 major approaches to knowledge acquisition from individuals and groups: 1) interviewing experts, ( with the use of stories), 2) learning by being told, 3) learning by observation, and a combination of these can be used to capture tacit knowledge. Additionally, Choo (2011), highlights the importance of knowledge management on more of an organizational level by stating “strategically speaking, there are four kinds of benefits to be gained from managing knowledge, this is because knowledge management:
- Creates new value through new products or services (innovations);
- Enhances current value of existing products (knowledge about customers);
- Reduces/avoids costs/promotes reuse (knowledge about processes);
- Reduces uncertainty/increases speed of response (knowledge about
the environment).”
Moreover, reflecting back it is evident that I learned much more than I had anticipated and I have successfully accumulated a wide range of knowledge that I look forward to applying in my future. I must say that my most favorable learning experience from CMN5150 was the opportunity to learn from my peers. The Facebook group alone acted as a significant source for information and allowed the students to learn from one another, meanwhile enhancing collective intelligence, all while being apart of a community of practice. From my peers educational posts to their in-class presentations, I retained and was exposed to a lot of information and topics that I would not have otherwise been exposed to. Additionally, for my own presentation on the knowledge management hand book titled Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice by Kimiz Dalkir, I learned a considerable amount of information about concepts; processes as well as I gained knowledge on 4 significant KM cycles which contribute to the Integrated Knowledge Management Cycle. This text also expanded my knowledge on knowledge capture and codification, knowledge application, organizational culture, knowledge management tools and the various roles of knowledge management professionals.
In closing, I would like to thank Professor Pierre Levy for teaching such an educational and engaging course, as well as my peers who willingly shared and contributed a considerable amount of knowledge to this course.
In closing, I would like to thank Professor Pierre Levy for teaching such an educational and engaging course, as well as my peers who willingly shared and contributed a considerable amount of knowledge to this course.
Bibliography
Choo, C. (2011). FAQs on knowledge management. Retrieved on November 28,
2011, from, http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/KMfaq/
Dalkir, K. (2005). Knowledge management: In theory and practice.
Burlington, MA, USA: Elsevir Butterworth-Heinemanne.
Levy, P. (September 12, 2011). Lecture notes. University of Ottawa.
Levy, P. (September 19, 2011). Lecture notes. University of Ottawa.
Nonaka, I., Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge creating company: how
Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York:
Oxford University Press.
