Implementing Knowledge Management in Higher Educational Institutions in India: A Conceptual Framework

Higher education institutions (HEIs) create and apply knowledge during their processes and activities. The growth in the number of HEIs in India in the last decade has increased competition and the pressures for performing better. This has forced the institutions to recognize the need for knowledge management (KM) initiatives which is a key asset. KM in HEIs involves the discovery capture of the knowledge created, its filtering and encapsulation and mapping it to the needs of the organization to derive value from its sharing throughout the organization. A competitive edge over others depends largely on the quality of KM that organizations are able to apply to their operations. The paper explores the functional domains of HEIs and the indicators that determine these domains. Further, the authors have evaluated the functional domains for information technology (IT) based knowledge management (KM) intervention and identified the benefits that are perceived. In order to reinforce the results, the authors have proposed a conceptual framework for the efficient capture, encapsulation, structuring, dissemination and employment of the organizational knowledge towards the organizational goals and objectives. If the framework is implemented, the authors feel it will result in enhanced transformation of organizational knowledge into decision making and actions.

 

Keywords - Knowledge management, higher education, knowledge creation, knowledge encapsulation, knowledge structuring, knowledge dissemination