Communications

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

The first link in an information chain is communica-tion,  an activity involving the transfer of verbal and visual information from one to another. It is better appreciated as a two-way process characterised by an exchange and progression of thoughts, per-ceptions and ideas. 

As a communication channel, the Internet and the Web have changed the way we acquire, keep, use, and share knowledge. To become a knowledge-based organisation, it is important to understand deeply collective intelligence and take full advantage of it. 

Knowledge is becoming increasingly specialised and fragmented. It must be brought together to gain some utility value and competitive advantage. Support systems like intranets, extranets and public-face websites for knowledge-gathering and sharing between people must not only provide communication services but also assist its users to find knowledge needed for their tasks.

WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE?

There are two forms of knowledge: (1) tacit knowledge, which is possessed by people and not generally recorded; and, (2) explicit knowledge, which is recorded information and usually stored in form of databases. 

There are also three kinds of knowledge: (1) subject matter knowledge, which identifies the location of knowledge but requires a broad level ontology to evolve as knowledge is developed; (2) collaborative knowledge, which defines the best way to carry out activities within an organisation. It supports tasks in getting any related information, finds the best ways to get consensus and reach agreement; and, (3) organisational knowledge, which defines objectives of workspaces and tasks needed to achieve them. It also contains information of the location of any tacit knowledge.

THE NEW ENVIRONMENT

To become a knowledge-based organisation using Digital Summit’s Trident Solutions approach, it then becomes possible to provide organisation members access to both tacit and explicit knowledge using client databases and computers in a Web environment. This requires use of technologies that identify where the knowledge is, and ways to access that knowledge. 

In this new environment, users are given the necessary support to easily make sense of available knowledge and adapt it to their needs. Support for knowledge-sharing processes directly accessible by people are also provided.

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