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The Knowledge Management Cycle 49

knowledge means that the individual has retained or remembered that item of knowl-
edge (e.g., knowledge has been internalized and understood by a given individual).
Accumulating knowledge in a repository means creating a computer-resident knowl-
edge base and encoding knowledge so that it can be stored in organizational memory.
Knowledge is then embedded in the repository by ensuring they are part of business
procedures (e.g., added to a procedures manual, training course). Finally, knowledge
must be archived by creating a scientifi c library and by systematically retiring out-of-
date, false, or no longer relevant knowledge from the active repository. The latter
typically involves storing the content in another, less costly, or less bulky medium for
less frequent future retrieval.
Examples of knowledge held by companies includes intellectual property, patents,
knowledge documented in the form of research reports, and technical papers, or tacit
knowledge, which remains in the minds of individuals but which may be elicited and
embedded in the knowledge base or repository (e.g., tips, tricks of the trade, case
studies, videotapes of demonstrations by experts, and task support systems). In this
way, the valuable knowledge held by the organization is documented in repositories
or in people and therefore available for future reference and use.
Knowledge pooling consists of coordinating knowledge, assembling knowledge,
and accessing and retrieving knowledge. Coordination of knowledge typically requires
the formation of collaborative teams to work with particular content in order to create
a “ who knows what ” network. Once knowledge sources are identifi ed, they are then
assembled into background references for a library or repository in order to make
subsequent access and retrieval easier. Focus groups are often used in order to arrive
at a consensus as to how this can best be achieved. Access and retrieval then addresses
being able to consult with knowledgeable people about diffi cult problems, obtaining
a second opinion from an expert, or discussing a diffi cult case with a peer.
Knowledge can be accessed and retrieved directly from the repository as well (e.g.,
using a knowledge based system to obtain advice on how to do something, or reading
a knowledge document in order to be able to arrive at a decision).
Organizations may pool knowledge in a variety of ways. An employee may realize
that he or she does not have the necessary knowledge and know-how to solve a par-
ticular problem. The individual can contact others in the organization who have faced
and solved similar problems by either obtaining the information from the organiza-
tional knowledge repository or by fi nding an expert through the expertise locator
network and contacting that person directly to obtain help. The individual can then
organize all this information and request that more experienced knowledge workers
validate the content.