Practical issues in knowledge management

It is easy to get caught up in the potential surrounding KM. Yes, it is promising and, if companies can realize that promise, KM will become important. In point of fact, though, KM is a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive undertaking even under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, today's world doesn't present the best of circumstances for most enterprises. Budgetary and resource constraints combine to put IT under the microscope of definable metrics, such as return on investment. This mindset challenges KM to deliver tangible and predictable results, when most KM benefits are difficult to realistically articulate. I examine two areas that present practical problems to any KM initiative. Rather than making a statement about knowledge or how to manage it, I simply want to identify the inherent challenges that any significant KM initiative faces. Coordinating the distribution of information in large companies is a challenge. It pays to think about fitting the information you have to an appropriate communication channel.