Introduction

Knowledge management is an emerging field of specialization in various professionals and more specifically in information science. It is in the public domain that most professions are contributing to the development of KM in different ways. Nevertheless, it has been noted that the IS profession has not been contributing to the advancement of KM as much as it should for various reasons. The primary objective of this paper is contributing towards achieving consensus on the actual place of KM in IS among its professionals. The article acknowledges that KM is long overdue for IS professionals to contribute to the KM advancement. It is the obligation of the research o help in defining conceptualization, goals and scope of KM and IS.

Summary

The author of the research paper starts with establishing the primary reasons behind the reluctance of IS professionals in contributing towards KM advancement. For instance, the author argues that most members of the profession still wonder whether KM is a legitimate and distinct field of specialization of IS. This least some members of the profession rejecting KM as a distinct field of specialization within IS apparently avoiding purposeful engagement in advancing KM.

Additionally, the research also asserts that many members of IS profession consider KM as akin to information management that they have been practicing thus finding it insignificant in their profession. Members of the profession also believe that they need a new and different skill set, new professional culture, and a new mindset to emphasize KM.  Members of the IS profession perceive the KM advancement being beyond their understanding and thus acquiring new skills and mindset is a prerequisite for their participation in KM.

Members of the profession have also been reluctant to KM advancement due to lack of adequate exposure and knowledge essential in KM. Most of the professionals have acknowledged having difficulties in understanding the fundamental concepts and distinct dimensions of KM.  The author recognizes that the professionals by large extent lack the necessary expertise to engage in exploration and KM practice.  IS professions have also been inhibited from participating in research due to lack of readily usable techniques, frameworks and tools developed or promoted by their profession and that are in tune with existing philosophy, tradition and theoretical frameworks of IS. Despite their acknowledgment of the legitimacy of KM, they find it difficult to participate actively in advancing to this debate. The author also claims that most professions primary objective is to prove their worth to the organizations they work for thus developing KM is a secondary objective.

The study has also tried to outline some of the adversaries associated with reluctance to KM advancement. For instance, other professions are influencing development in KM in the direction that is in line with their traditions and perspectives. Additionally, IS affects its development by jot fully embracing KM, which is critical in the development of the profession. The contribution of IS professions to the KM advancement has not realized its optimum level and thus there is paramount importance for the professionals to adopt new measures aimed at advancing this field.

The study also outlines the major factors leading to emergence and developments of KM and IS. It is imperative understanding such factors since they are instrumental in filing the research gap and contribution to the development of the KM discipline. For instance, the author stresses the importance of knowledge as the highest order of manifestation of the object of study of IS. Just as knowledge is necessary for knowledge management, information is equally essential in an information system. Information systems are a hierarchy that starts with data, information to knowledge. The knowledge hierarchy is widely accepted conceptualization of the object of interest of IS and is extensively used to define and reveal relationships in KM and IS.  The relationship proves that knowledge and its management are the ultimate targets towards which development in the field has been logically progressing.

Another conclusion from the study is that knowledge is the ultimate concern of IS. Knowledge has been instrumental in the study of IS. The author cites several works that prove knowledge and knowledge management critical to the IS profession.  The author acknowledges the ultimate challenge being production and use of knowledge rather than effective means of information provision. He asserts that emphasis of IS profession is skewed towards knowledge. There is interrelation between data, information and knowledge thus making knowledge management a critical aspect of information science.

The author also brings us to the attention that IS profession mainly depends on understanding and managing data and information. Nevertheless, knowledge management has superior values over data and information thus knowledge management evolution is essential in IS profession.  The study also stresses on the deeper understanding of the inherent qualities of knowledge. He implies that a lot of emphasis on knowledge and KM.

As earlier indicated, the paper intends to bring out conceptualization, goals and scope of KM in IS profession.  The study emphasizes conceptualization of knowledge and KM has to be in line with the perspective that KM is a natural development and IS is a result of data and information management. The concept of knowledge is defined as the highest manifestation of information that includes both data and information. The report describes the goal of KM in IS as to help facilitate human access to information and knowledge for effective decision-making and problem-solving in work situation as well as daily lives. It is also said that the scope of KM should be broader than just the narrowly defined focus on KM. The report ends with concluding KM as a logical progression within the knowledge hierarchy framework that the profession has adopted.  The study also makes several recommendations that would help in advancing KM in IS profession.

Critique

The research paper has to a great extent tried to explain the problem of KM in IS profession. It is imperative noting that the research paper begins with acknowledging that IS profession has not contributed to the advancement of KM due to various reasons. However, the author fails to outline the other fields that have been able to contribute towards knowledge management. It would be of paramount importance for the study to suggest some of the proactive and visible measures that other professions have adopted to advance KM in their professionals. The report also fails o make suggestions as to what should be done to change the limits that inhibit members of the IS profession in playing a leading role towards contributing to KM.

The research paper has also outlined a number of recommendations that will help professions in the IS field to respond to the logical progression in KM. However, the study fails to address countermeasures that will neutralize the reasons leading to reluctance in the implementation of KM in IS profession. For instance, the author acknowledges that these professions lack adequate exposure and knowledge and essence of KM, legitimacy doubts and readily usable techniques essential in research and development of the field. All these shortcomings should be adequately addressed before encouraging professions to embrace KM advancement in their professions. It would be illogical to suggest to someone to adopt an opinion that he or she does not own.

Application

The suggestions, findings and recommendations of the research paper are very much applicable to a hypothetical business enterprise. For instance, the assertion by the author that some professionals view embracing KM as a secondary objective is evident in a hypothetical business enterprise. Most of the employees in an organization are tempted to prove their value to the organization. As a result, only a few of the employees will be greatly concerned with the advancement of the KM in their professions. Members of the IS profession will be mainly focused on ensuring that the productivity of the organization is maximized irrespective of the means used to increased productivity.

Nevertheless, the recommendations of the research paper are very much applicable to a hypothetical business enterprise. The study encourages professions to embrace the emergence of KM as a natural progression. In the journal, it is evident that knowledge gathering and management is a critical aspect of information systems.  Although data collection is an essential element in IS, it is imperative noting that this data cannot be useful if the significance of this information is not endowed. Knowledge is defined as the information that is transformed through reasoning into beliefs concepts and mental models. This makes it critical to embrace knowledge and knowledge management in the work schedule and our daily lives.

Areas of further research

The research paper has tried to address the issue of KM and IS to a high extent. However, there are still some critical areas that leave room for further research. For instance, the research paper fails to address the source of this knowledge that is critically essential in IS. In future, it would be recommendable to carry out extensive research on sources of this knowledge. Such research would be indispensable in sustaining the IS profession and advancement of KM.  That research process should try to analyze the application of KM tools, techniques, frameworks and technologies that address the daily human life.

It would also be essential in future there to find out the relationship between knowledge and information. It is worth understanding that knowledge, data, and information have for a long time been used interchangeably. Understanding these concepts would be an important aspect of KM development and promotion of the IS profession. These are some of the controversial issues in this subject matter that should be addressed urgently to bring consensus among the members of the professions. It is, therefore, essential that further research to extensively cover issues of information, data, and knowledge to ensure the smooth advancement of KM in IS profession.

Reference

Kebede, G. (2010). Knowledge management: An information science perspective. International Journal Of Information Management, 30(5), 416-424. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.02.004

 
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