Shirvanov R.A.

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation

Knowledge Management Concept and Objectives

Currently, a new type of economy is emerging. The process of knowledge building forms the basis of such economy. In a broad sense, knowledge is a form of maintaining and classifying the results of human cognitive activity, and such knowledge is usually created by science. In a strict sense, knowledge means the possession of reliable information that allows a specific person to solve the issues, including professional ones. This knowledge which is generated from the required for career and qualitative information through education (which can include both educational institutions and arrangements within such institutions as well as self-education) as a method (tool) of such generation and which is defined as a multi-level and multi-faceted process that includes learning, actions and resources, becomes the most mobile resource and source of public wealth. Nowadays, knowledge is the thing which is increasingly acquired, produced and sold by many companies.

According to B.Z. Milner, acquiring the skills needed to manage knowledge involves entering the world of concepts, categories, structures, technologies, practices, procedures, assessments (Milner, 2003). Knowledge management is regarded by the author as the area where management practices, institutional arrangements and economic incentives should be applied collectively. The purpose of this application is to create real competitive advantages of a company.

B.Z. Milner identifies the two most common definitions of knowledge. According to the first definition, the knowledge is understood as the practical information used to actively manage the process of problem-solving, decision-making and execution of tasks. In this case, by knowledge management is meant the systematic generation, updating and use of knowledge in order to maximize the performance of the company and profit from assets which are based on knowledge. According to the second definition, the knowledge means any word, fact, example, event, hypothesis that enhance understanding or performance of any activity in a particular area or discipline. According to the author, this definition of knowledge ensures the formalization and access to knowledge and practical experience, creating new opportunities for contributing to the improvement of activities that promote innovation and increase customer value. (Milner, 2003)

According to M.F. Mizintsevа, T.V. Gerbinа, the knowledge is defined as a type of information that reflects the experience of a specialist in a particular subject area, his understanding of the current situation and how to move from one object to another (Mizintseva and Gerbina, 2007). Also, the knowledge is information that has been obtained and analyzed in order to make it understandable to solve any problem or to make a decision. Whereas the knowledge management is a concept by which a company collects, analyzes, arranges and distributes its own knowledge in respect of documents, resources and human skills. Knowledge is the most important element of the knowledge management system (Mizintseva and Gerbina, 2007).

B.Z. Milner identified two main objectives of the knowledge management: 1) the use of knowledge to improve performance by reducing costs or response time; 2) innovation, creation of new businesses, products or services, new business processes. In order to reduce the deficit of knowledge the companies should address the following issues: acquisition, digestion and transfer of knowledge which involves the formation of continuous education system, creation of knowledge catalogs, knowledge sharing systems, technical infrastructures, etc. When implementing the knowledge management function, it is important to create conditions for acquisition of new knowledge (Mizintseva and Gerbina, 2007).

Analyzing various positions in determining the nature of knowledge management, M.F. Mizintseva, T.V. Gerbina, as well as B.Z. Milner, highlight the need to address the issue of integrated approach to the creation, collection, arrangement and use of company's information resources and access to them by using this system (Mizintseva and Gerbina, 2007; Milner, 2003).

As can be seen from the above, the authors believe that humanitarian ("people") and information ("Information") technologies should be combined to solve organizational challenges of knowledge management. Integration of humanitarian and information technologies will make it possible to maintain the resulting corporate experience and knowledge for subsequent re-use, providing users with access to the necessary information.

Thus, we can draw the following conclusions.

The knowledge management should be understood as a formalization of practical experience and access to knowledge and expert data providing new opportunities that contribute to improving the activity and stimulate innovation.

The knowledge management system can be viewed as a combination of organizational procedures, organizational units (knowledge management services) and information technology, which should ensure interconnection of disparate and diverse sources of knowledge and their joint use in the professional activities.

References

1. Annenkova N.V., Kamneva E.V., Shirvanov R.A. (2014), The specifics of the selection of young professionals, New pedagogical technologies, No. XVI, pp. 98-101.

2. McClelland D.C. (1973), Testing for competence rather than for intelligence, American Psychologist, No. 28, pp. 1-14.

3. Mizintseva M.F. and Gerbina T.V. (2007), Modern tendencies of knowledge management in financial sphere, Bulletin of the People's Friendship University of Russia. Series: Economics, No. 3-4, pp. 45-57.

4. Milner B.Z. (2003), The concept of knowledge management in modern organizations, Russian Management Journal, No. 1, pp. 57-76.

5. Shirvanov R.A., Kamneva E.V., Annenkova N.V. (2014), Application of information technologies for management of competences of education process, Acmeology, No. 3-4, pp. 196-197.