Using a Taxonomy for Knowledge Audits: Some Field Experiences

Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2010

Posted: 12 Oct 2010

See all articles by Ravi Sharma

Ravi Sharma

Center for Inclusive Digital Enterprise - CeIDE; Zayed University

Melvyn Chia

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Vironica Choo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Eyosore Samuel

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: March 2010

Abstract

The organisation of knowledge for exploitation and re-use in the modern enterprise is often a most perplexing challenge. The entire knowledge management life-cycle (for example – create, capture, organize, store, search, and transfer) is impacted by the organisation of intellectual capital into a corporate taxonomy or knowledge map (often used interchangeably). Determining the extent to which such an objective is achieved is part of the focus of what is known as a knowledge audit. In this practice-oriented article, the authors review the fundamentals of creating a taxonomy, the use of meta-data in a necessary process known as classification and the role of expertise locators where the knowledge is not explicit but resides within experts (ie. tacit knowledge). The authors conclude with a framework for conducting a knowledge audit based on the conceptual underpinnings of the corporate taxonomy. This framework is field tested in five distinct organizations for its practicability and effectiveness. It is hence the intent of the paper to provide such a useable framework for knowledge audits.

Keywords: Knowledge ontologies, Taxonomy tools, Taxonomy methods, Knowledge mobilization

Suggested Citation

Sharma, Ravi S. and Chia, Melvyn and Choo, Vironica and Samuel, Eyosore, Using a Taxonomy for Knowledge Audits: Some Field Experiences (March 2010). Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1690451

Ravi S. Sharma (Contact Author)

Center for Inclusive Digital Enterprise - CeIDE ( email )

New Zealand

HOME PAGE: http://www.ceide.org

Zayed University ( email )

P.O. Box 4783
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates

HOME PAGE: http://www.tinyurl.com/ravi-zu

Melvyn Chia

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Vironica Choo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Eyosore Samuel

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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