Page 48 -

2 The Knowledge Management Cycle

A little knowledge that acts is worth infi nitely more than much knowledge that is idle.
— Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931)

This chapter provides a description of the major phases involved in the knowledge
management cycle, encompassing the capture, creation, codifi cation, sharing, access-
ing, applying, and reuse of knowledge within and between organizations. Four
major approaches to KM cycles are presented from Meyer and Zack (1996) , Bukowitz
and Williams (2000) , McElroy (1993, 2003), and Wiig (1993) . A synthesis of these
approaches is then developed as a framework for following the path that information
takes to become a valuable knowledge asset for a given organization. This chapter
concludes with a discussion of the strategic and practical implications of managing
knowledge throughout the KM cycle.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how valuable individual, group, and organizational knowledge is captured,
created, codifi ed, shared, accessed, applied, and reused throughout the knowledge
management cycle.
2. Compare and contrast major KM life cycle models including the Meyer and Zack,
Bukowitz and Williams, McElroy, and Wiig life cycle models.
3. Defi ne the key steps in each process of the KM cycle and provide concrete examples
of each.
4. Identify the major challenges and benefi ts of each phase of the KM cycle.
5. Describe how the integrated KM cycle combines the advantages of other KM life
cycle models.