We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Technology

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is a Knowledge Management Cycle?

By Peter Hann
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 16,371
Share

The knowledge management cycle describes the way in which knowledge is captured, processed and distributed in an organization. Knowledge may be captured from sources that create it within the enterprise or from external sources. This knowledge is then processed within the organization and distributed to the relevant people or departments that need to use it. The cycle is completed by feedback that serves to update the knowledge stored within the organization.

Capturing knowledge arising within an organization requires an overview of the points at which knowledge is being created. Knowledge may arise in a research department, from reviews or audits of systems and processes, from the experience of sales and marketing or through customer feedback or open innovation. Knowledge also may arise from external sources such as new products and processes bought from suppliers, reports compiled by consultants, trade journals, conferences and seminars.

Knowledge must be captured by appropriate software systems or other reporting systems, or gathered by designated personnel. The capture of relevant knowledge as it arises in an organization is often one of the weak points of the knowledge management cycle. Work done for customers or clients may be filed and archived without any thought about its relevance to future projects. Appropriate archiving of useful knowledge is normally not the first priority of staff working under pressure to serve customer needs within a strict deadline. Instead, knowledge capture and information gathering usually must be encouraged by designated knowledge management personnel.

The next stage in the knowledge management cycle involves the processing and distribution of information to the points where it is needed. In some cases, personnel engaged in a particular task may access the relevant archive and benefit from knowledge stored within the organization. The distribution of knowledge also needs to be driven by personnel, such as a knowledge manager who is aware of the activities within the organization and may direct the relevant information to the activities where it is useful at the time when it is required.

As a result of feedback, the knowledge archive is updated and renewed. Feedback and experience of a product or process may lead to modifications in design or production. Marketing methods and techniques may be changed as sales statistics and the results of market research are considered by the organization. Through the knowledge management cycle, technological innovations are developed though research or open innovation and products are modified as a result of external information from journals and conferences about competing technology.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-knowledge-management-cycle.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.