Blog Journal Enry 6

Meesha Carey- Module 6

What is KM? Knowledge Management Explained.  By Michael E. D. Koenig. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/What-Is-.../What-is-KM-Knowledge-Management-Explained-82405.aspx

Why was this article, blog, post, or multimedia chosen?

The article was chosen because of its appropriateness to the topic discussed in module 6, Knowledge, Discovery and Management.

What makes it interesting, appropriate, or reputable?

The article is interesting to me because it gives a very detailed explanation of knowledge management (KM) and also details its various stages. The author Michael E.D. Koenig is a professor and founding dean of the College of Information and Computer Science at Long Island University. He has held several senior positions in the information industry including Manager of Research Information Services at Pfizer Inc., Director of Development at the Institute for Science Information and Vice President of Data Management at Tradenet. He obtained a Ph.D. in Information Sciences from Drexel University and has served as associate professor at Columbia University and Dean at Dominican University. 

Is it an opinion? Case study? Research study? Product review?

The article was written from the author’s experience and knowledge on the topic however he made reference to information he obtained from doing his own research. He made several citations throughout the article when trying to explain certain concepts of knowledge management.

What was the need, problem, issue or trend addressed in the article, blog, post, or multimedia?

The article was written to try to explain the true meaning of KM, its contents and stages of development.  One definition was that KM was how an organization’s information and knowledge was organized holistically. Another was that KM was the process of capturing, distributing and effectively using knowledge. In later years, a more detailed definition was formed which was that KM was a discipline that promoted an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving and sharing all of an enterprise’s information assets.

What was the solution for which technology had an answer?

 The solution was to make the organization’s data and information available to the members of the organization through portals and with the use of Content Management Systems (CMS) or Enterprise Content Management. A CMS is an application that provides capabilities for multiple users with different permission levels to manage content, data or information of a website project, or internet/ intranet application (Comentum, 2010).

What implications might this have in healthcare delivery?

 The concepts of KM can help health care professionals manage information more effectively, which can lead to quality patient care and improvement in patient outcomes. In the case of portals, having essential patient data available where all disciplines including physicians can have access will allow for prompt interventions whenever an abnormal event is occurring. It is well known that it is often difficult to get physicians to sign paperwork or write orders but with the portal, the physician has access to the information immediately and can write an order which is sent electronically. 

What did you learn from it that might have application for your practice?

What I learned was that understanding the meaning of KM and its contents can help improve the way I manage data and information. I learned that I can effectively identify, capture and distribute information use the knowledge I have acquired over the years from literature as well as life experiences.

  

Reference

What is a Content Management System (CMS)? (2010). Retrieved from http://www.comentum.com/what-is-cms-content-management-system.html