A Structure for Knowledge Management Systems Assessment and Audit

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) seek to offer a framework to stimulate the sharing of the intellectual capital of an organization so that the resources invested in time and technology can be effectively utilized. Recent research has shown that some businesses invest thousands of dollars to establish knowledge management (KM) processes in their organizations. Others are still in the initial phase of introduction, and many of them would like to embark on such projects. It can be observed, however, that the great majority of such initiatives have not delivered the returns hoped for, since the greatest emphasis is given to questions of technology and to the methodologies of KM projects. In this study, we call attention to an emerging problem which recent studies of the phenomenon of knowledge sharing have not sufficiently addressed: the difficulties and efforts of organizations in identifying their centers of knowledge, in developing and implementing KM projects, and in utilizing them effectively. Thus, the objective of this chapter is to propose a framework to evaluate the present state of an organization's processes and activities and identify which information and communication technologies (ICT) are supporting these initiatives, with the intention of diagnosing its real need for KM.Another objective of this instrument is to create a base of knowledge, with all the evaluations undertaken in organizations in different sectors and areas of specialization available to all participants in the process, as a way of sharing knowledge for continual improvement and dissemination of the best practices. About 30 companies took part in the first phase of investigation in 2008, and the knowledge base is under construction.