Knowledge Management & Records Management Establishing Relationships for Common Development Luciana Duranti and Sherry L. Xie School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver, Canada Keywords:eywords: KnowleKnowledgedge ManaManagement,gement, Records ManaManagement,gement, InterPARES. Abstract:bstract: This paper argues that there are logical relationshipsrelationships between the fields of KnowlKnowledgeeddgge MManagementana aggemment aanandnd Records Management, and the recognition of such relatirelationshipsonships will benefit the ddevelopmentevvellopopmementnt ooff bboboththh ffields.ieieldldss. IItt bases these arguments on the nature of records andand Records Management as wellwelell ass thethee ffindingsiindidings oof tthehe InterPARESInterPARES project. 1 INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION sstudy,tuddyy, oorr prpractice”acctticcee” (O((Oxfordxforrd EEnEnglishngglish Dictionary, 202012)0112) . TheThe termsteterrms tacittaciit andannd expliciteexplicit are chosen to KnowledgeKnowledge Management (KM) is a field based on grggroupoouup thethhe characteristicschchaaracteristics ofof knowledgeknowledge as discussed multidisciplinarymultidisciplinary ininputput and contribution. However,However,, inn KMKM literatureliitterature wwhichhhichh aallssoo reflectreflect ththee cchosenhosen thehe Records Management (RM) field appears neverneveer dedefinition.efinin ttiioon. ThThee tetermermrm tatacitcit subsusubsumesmes ththee beingeing discussed or researched in connection wwiwiththh chcharacteristicshara aaccteerir stics ofof beingbeiing invisible,invisible, experiential, KKM.M. This observation emerged from the findingsfinddiings ooff sussubjective,ubjbjeecctiiveve, inn aassociationssssoociation withwith a knower, hard oror thehe InterPARES project, which, for thirteenthirtteeen years,yeara s,s imimpossiblempoossssiblee toto beb articulatedarticulated oorr codifiedcodified,, etc.etc.,, and the hadad collectedcollected eextensivextensive ddataata oonn RMM wworldwideoorlddwiw dde tetermerrmm eexplicitxpplilicciit cocountsunts for the characteristics of being (www.interpares.orwww.interpares.org)g).. Although KM as a programproogrgrama abableblee ttoo bee ddocumented/codifiocumented/codified anandd mmobilizedobilized in ththee existsxists in many organizations, ththehe colleccollectedteed daddatatata foformormm ooff tangible artefacts. In this paper, Wigg’s revealedevealed no existing RM-KM relationship.reelattiionship.. TThishhis wawasas knkknowledgeowledge assett is chosen to represent explicit confirmedonfirmed by a literature sesearcheararcch oonn bboboththh KKMM aanandnd kknknowledgeowledge (1993). RM,M, covering all pospossiblesiible ttytypespees ofof ssourcesouo rcrcess ((i.e.,i.ee., A recordrecord isis dedefinedfined aass “a docudocumentment mademade or mmonograph,onograph, journal article,arrticiclle, InInternetntternnet rresource)essouourrce)) tthathaat rreceivedeceived in the course of a practical activity as an thehe aauthorsuthors hahadd aaccessed.ccesssedd. iinstrumentnstrument or a by-product of such activity, and set This paper argarguesuees ththataat tthereheerer aareree llogicaloogical aside for action or reference” ((InterPARES).InterPARES). This relationshipselationships betweenbbetwweeen thethhe fieldsffields ofof KMK andandd RM,RM, and iimpliesmplies that records are first documents, i.e., thehe recorecognitiongnnittioon of ssuchuuch rrelaelationshipstiioonshhipps willwiwillll bbenefitenefit the iinformationnformation affixed to a mediummedium,, and second that developmentevelopmmene t of bothbototh fields. ttheyhey are a special kind of document, the residue of action, purposely kept as evidence on which to base ssubsequentubsequent activities. 2 KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE & RECORDRECORD Thehe termtermm knoknowledgewleddgge is not consensually defined in 3 KM & RM thehe KMM fieldfiieeld (Dalkir,(DaDalkl ir, 20092009),), yet the KM literature demonstratesemonstrrata eses continuouscononttinuous effortsefforts of describing and AmongAmong the numerous KM definitions, the one bbyy analyzingnalyzing thtthee uununiqueique characteristics of knowleknowledge.dge. Dr. Dalkir was chosen for its emphases on the Foror the purpose of this paper, the definition of purposefulness of KM and on the concept of knowledge was chosen to be “[t]he fact or condition organization as a whole. According to Dr. Dalkir of having acquired a practical understanding or (2005, p.3), KM is “a deliberate and systematic command of, or competence or skill in, a particular coordination of an organization’s people, subject, language, etc., esp. through instruction, technology, processes, and organizational structure in order to add value through reuse and innovation”. 2 Duranti L. and L. Xie S. (2012). Knowledge Management & Records Management - Establishing Relationships for Common Development. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing, pages 247-250 DOI: 10.5220/0004110302470250 Copyright c SciTePress KMIS 2012 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing By this definition, KM is driven or directed by established when they participate in and become an determined intention and has a nature that is integral part of a business activity of the multifaceted. As its multifaceted nature comes from organization, regardless of where or how. The its multidisciplinary origin, KM work exhibits function of RM is to document the entire business different foci, including those on the design of process in the form of records, and this certainly information technologies, management, includes capturing the participation of the organizational learning, to name a few. In this paper, knowledge asset. In the context of performing a the phrase knowledge process by Wiig (1993) is business activity, a deliberately captured knowledge chosen to represent the variety of KM endeavors asset is by such action transformed into a record, as required to achieve KM goals. the capture occurs by classifying it in an RM refers to the systematic design, organization-wide,organization-wide, business activity-directed records implementation,mplementation, and administrative control of a classificationclassification system, and managingmanaging iitt in a frameworkamework thatthat ensures efficiencyefficiency and economy in recordkeepingrecordkeeping system. In ththee process, thethhe knowledgeknknowowlel dge thehe creation, use, handling,handling, maintenance and asset will aacquirecquire an archivalarchival bonbondd withwwiitthh thetheh recordsreeccoorrdsd dispositionisposition (i.e., destruction or transfer to long-termlong-term ofof the business process and of thethee organizationorrggananizzatatiion aass a preservationreservation repository) of organizational records whole. This does not necessarilynecesssaarriilyly mmeaneaean ththathatt tthehhe (InterPARES).nterPARES). In the InterPARES Chain of knowledgeknowledge asset has to be physicallyphhysysicicalallyy mmovedoovveded iintontn o thethe Preservationreservation (COP) model, RM encompasses two recordkeepingrecordkeeping system, ass tthehehe aarchivalrcrchihivval bobbondonnd arises conceptuallyonceptually distinct systsystemsems deddedicatedicated ttoo rrecords-ecords- from the aattributiontttriribubutit on ooff metadmem tatadadatataa ttoo thtthehe assetasasses t that put makingmaking and records-keeping respectively. itit into relationreellaatitioonn withwiti h thetthhe orgorrggaanization’sninizzaatit oonn’’ss rrecords.ecords. KM andand RMRM tthushhus iinintersectnteerrsseecct wwithith eeachacach oototherhher at ththee timtimee whenwhheenn an organizationoorrgganizaatitioonn aappliesppp lies externalized 4 KM-RM RELATIONSHIPSRELATIONSHIPS knowledgekknnoowledgge andaand fulfilfulfillslss iitstts duty of keeping operationalopopererata ioonnaal eevevidence.idence. Too illustrate the KM-RM relationship, the NonakaNonakaa andnd Takeuchi (1995) knowledge SocializSocialization,attiioonn, 4.24..2 InclusiveInI clusivve Externalization,xternalization, CombinCombination,ation, InternalizationInternalization (SECI)((SSECCII) modelmodel is chosen for beingbeing the first KM modelmooddeel andandnd ToTo RM,RM,M ProcessesProocecesss es 2 and 3 are business activities of foror the influence it hahadd for disseminatingdissemminaattingg thetheh thtthehe KMKM ffunction,ununctc iion, same as the business activities of conceptsoncepts of tacit and explicit knowlknowledgeeddge ((Dalkir,DaDalklkir, anyanny ototherthheer organizationaloorganizational functions, such as financial 2011).011). EssentialEssentially,ly, the SECI mmodeloddele concontainstaainns fofourouurr management,mmaananagegemment, human resource management, R&D, processesrocesses that can be repeatedrepeatedd wwheneverhhenever tththehe neneedeeedd oro mmarketing.arketing. The RM fifieldeld chcharacterizesaracterizes ththee arises:rises: Process 1, fromfrom tacittataccit toto tacittaacciti (i.e.,(ii.ee., operationooperation of an organization as fulfilling the various socialization,ocialization, suchsuch asas peer-to-peerpep eerr-tto-o-ppeeeerr functionsffunctions derivedderived from its mandate,mandate, each of which coaching/networking),oaching/networking), ProcessPPrroocess 2,2, fromfroom tacitttaciit toto consistsconsists of activities,activities, sub-activities,sub-activities, and transactions explicitxplicit (i.e., externexternalization,alliizzaattiion,, suchsucch ass capturingcapptturiinngg andannd (LAC,(LAC, 20062006).). Records are generated at