1.2.1 Distinguishing information, data, knowledge and wisdom
Confusion often exists between terms such as knowledge and information. In recent times this confusion has intensified with a further hierarchy of differentiation building across data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Many texts and papers talk about the huge amount of knowledge available on the Internet, while it would be more accurate to refer to a huge amount of information available there. Similarly, when those management texts talk about KM, they also include the management of information. The difference between managing knowledge and information is enormous.
There is a profusion of texts and perspectives on knowledge management, and the diversity of approaches has confused some of the simple messages concerning what KM can and cannot do. To manage knowledge effectively, we need quite a sophisticated understanding of what knowledge is and how it works in different contexts. First, we need to look briefly at the processes by which knowledge is formed from data and information, and how it relates to the more philosophical notion of wisdom.
The basic building blocks of an information system are data — unstructured, discrete ‘packets’ or ‘objects’. These building blocks are transformed into information when they are given structure and meaning. Information in turn gives rise to knowledge when it is shaped by its relevance to a particular purpose or set of values. The crucial point to note is that this is a matter of human agency: it is people who select the information and assemble it for a purpose, thereby transforming it into knowledge. Finally, wisdom is accumulated knowledge shaped by an individual’s experience over an extended period of time (Katezenbach & Smith 1993).
Figure 4 Knowledge taxonomy and relationship to organisational purpose
Knowledge is any body of information (or data) given meaning by its relevance to a particular purpose or set of values. The individual pieces of information which finally form the ‘knowledge’ assume the new category of ‘knowledge’ because they relate together in some way in the eyes of the person using the information.
Knowledge can be divided into four groups (Bowles, 1999:34):
1) Knowledge of
The knowledge of people, processes and objects and the ability to actively deploy intelligence to construct responses to problems or complexity encounter in every day life or work.
For example: you may know what project planning is, but not know any more facts about the detail of project planning processes. However, you may also be able to solve problems encountered in a project because you can develop mental constructs to deal with the problem..
2) Knowledge how
The knowledge of how to do things, such as skills or competencies.
For example: you can know how to fix a TV set, use a computer, or clean a house.
3) Knowledge that
The knowledge that shapes perceptions and personal responses to people and things.
For example: you can know that there is a computer in front of you because you can show it is there, you believe it is there and there is good evidence for believing it to be there.
4) Acquired knowledge
The knowledge acquired to acquit everyday activities.
For example: This kind of knowledge is most often collected into an established body of knowledge, that may be kept by specific discipline groups and deployed by occupations or professionals such as transport clerks, marine scientists, information systems architects, psychologists and such like. For instance a transport clerk may have many seemingly isolated components of knowledge that make sense only when applied to a specific content (i.e. Processing export forms to Customs requirements). As such knowledge is gathered it also forms a basis of experience that can be applied in other contexts over the long term.
Identifying these four groups of knowledge is different from identifying how knowledge is created and transferred, a study to be completed in the following sections in this chapter.
What is necessary, therefore, is a definitional basis to distinguish learning from some other related terms such as data, information, knowledge and wisdom. The following definitions are proposed:
Data is usually used in information systems terms as a direct parallel to information. However, the term may also be used to denote structured ‘bits and bytes’, or unstructured information that is to be processed and given a strategic purpose.
Information may simply be defined as the systematic, structured data organised and communicated to transfer knowledge (Castells, 1996:17).
Knowledge is typically data and information structured for an agreed purpose, or as defined by Bell (1973:175):
A set of organized statements of facts or ideas, presenting a reasoned judgement or an experimental result, which is transmitted to others through some communication medium in some systematic form.
Wisdom is accumulated knowledge, usually covering knowledge with a more intense and contextual relationship because of an individual’s ability to bring their own experience to bear on the knowledge (Katezenbach & Smith, 1993).
In summary:
Data |
The basis for forming information |
Information |
Data + meaning |
Knowledge |
Data + meaning + purpose |
Wisdom |
Data + meaning + purpose + experienced (in a specific context) |
(a)
Figure 5 Information without a known relationship or purpose
(b)
Figure 6 Information with a known relationship and purpose
Knowledge is therefore differentiated from information because it has a defined purpose.
Figure 8 Purpose converts information into organisational knowledge
Reading 2
Bellinger, G, Castro, D & Mills, A (revised, 2004) Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom , 2 pages. Available at http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm.
Activity 3
Reflect on the importance of connectedness and understanding as dimensions differentiating data, information, knowledge and wisdom introduced in the reading above. We will late encounter the importance of context in the relevance and structure of knowledge. Do you think the concept of connectedness is related to context and situated understanding?
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