Practical approaches to knowledge management

This paper is the result of a study of knowledge management carried out by five companies and two research organisations. The work originates in the Knowledge Management Implementers Forum that meets in Blackburn and involves the organisations listed above. The main purpose of the study has been to help improve several knowledge management programmes through shared experience and the investigation of good practice. The study itself began with seven position papers. An interview framework that took account of these positions was then devised and used to conduct five separate interviews in each of the five participating companies. Results were made more objective through a table representing elements of knowledge management. Results and subsequent analysis relied on this table and on the transcripts from each interview. Each of the authors has analysed and verified the components of this work. It has been possible to make several recommendations that may assist companies wishing to develop their own schemes or to initiate a scheme. Some of these recommendations are fairly obvious but are confirmed by the study; others are less obvious.