Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

A Different View to Knowledge and Personal Knowledge
Management System
Kaspars Osis 1,2 and Janis Grundspenkis 2
1
Faculty <strong>of</strong> Engineering, Vidzeme University <strong>of</strong> Applied Sciences, Valmiera,
Latvia
2
Institute <strong>of</strong> Applied Computer Systems, Riga Technical University, Riga,
Latvia
Kaspars.Osis@va.lv
Janis.Grundspenkis@cs.rtu.lv
Abstract: Many times it is stated that nowadays we live in <strong>the</strong> information age. Knowledge has been recognized
as <strong>the</strong> most important asset both for organizations and for individual knowledge workers. Thus knowledge and
knowledge management is an actively researched area. So far a lot <strong>of</strong> attention has been geared towards
knowledge, which we know and which we know that we do not know. However <strong>the</strong>re still remains such unknown
knowledge about which we do not know that we know, and such knowledge about which we do not know that we
do not know. This paper proposes a new notion <strong>of</strong> knowledge substance, which encompasses <strong>the</strong> whole
expanse <strong>of</strong> knowledge around people and around <strong>the</strong> whole environment <strong>the</strong>y live in. Also it introduces a
knowledge utility quotient, which in particular cases displays <strong>the</strong> ratio <strong>of</strong> available knowledge and all <strong>the</strong> required
knowledge to perform a particular task. Knowledge workers represent increasingly high number <strong>of</strong> different
pr<strong>of</strong>essions. Along with that individual knowledge and personal knowledge management receive more attention
among pr<strong>of</strong>essionals and among researchers as well. This paper proposes a personal trinity model approach for
developing a personal knowledge management system. It is proposed that such system includes both social and
partially technological aspects <strong>of</strong> personal knowledge management. In addition also a psychological aspect <strong>of</strong>
personal knowledge management is partially encompassed in this approach. Several knowledge acquisition
principles are suggested by taking into account a knowledge substance notion and personal trinity model
approach. Paper views personal trinity model approach from individual’s necessities aspect and gives a set <strong>of</strong>
characteristics a knowledge worker should strive for. The next step <strong>of</strong> this research is seen to combine personal
trinity model approach with personal knowledge management system strictly technical approach. Possible future
opportunities for personal knowledge management are explored and potential benefiting parties are identified.
Keywords: knowledge, knowledge substance, personal trinity model, personal knowledge management,
personal knowledge management system
1. Introduction
During several previous decades <strong>the</strong>re is a historic shift from <strong>the</strong> industrial age to <strong>the</strong> information age.
Creation and consumption <strong>of</strong> information becomes prevalent instead <strong>of</strong> creation and consumption <strong>of</strong>
material goods. Work is becoming increasingly complex (Wiig 2004). Workspace equipment and tools
are turning to be more sophisticated to make sense out <strong>of</strong> vast amounts <strong>of</strong> information. That requires
additional knowledge and skills to handle it. In turn that leads to recognize that knowledge has
become a very important asset. Knowledge more increasingly has been viewed as an active area <strong>of</strong>
research.
Much <strong>of</strong> attention is geared towards researching different knowledge related areas. Knowledge
management (KM) is one <strong>of</strong> such areas. Based on (Tiwana 2002) KM has three basic processes:
knowledge acquisition, sharing, and utilization. Knowledge is divided in two broad categories: tacit
and explicit. There are also some o<strong>the</strong>r ways <strong>of</strong> classifying knowledge. Majority <strong>of</strong> research is dealing
with knowledge that we do know and with knowledge we know that we do not know. Per (Frappaolo
2004) <strong>the</strong>re still remains knowledge which we do not know that we know and knowledge which we do
not know that we do not know. We propose a new concept <strong>of</strong> knowledge substance to encompass all
knowledge elements (KE) as a basis for fur<strong>the</strong>r research. In addition this paper introduces a
knowledge utility quotient, which in particular cases displays <strong>the</strong> ratio <strong>of</strong> available knowledge and all
<strong>the</strong> required knowledge to perform a particular task.
Notions <strong>of</strong> “knowledge work” and “knowledge worker” (KW) have reappeared out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> shift from
information to knowledge. Increased importance and usage <strong>of</strong> knowledge in business and in everyday
life creates a necessity for skilled and knowledgeable individuals. That implies a need for an effective
personal knowledge management system (PKMS). Such system should pave <strong>the</strong> road for a new
knowledge-based society, economy, and allow ambient participation in a social and economic life. Per
Jefferson currently available PKMS are just a bit more than just productivity tools (Jefferson 2006). He
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