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In a knowledge organization, people use systems and processes to generate, transform, manage, use, and transfer knowledge-based products and services to achieve organizational goals. A knowledge organization also links past, present, and future by capturing and preserving knowledge in the past, sharing and mobilizing knowledge today, and learning and adapting to sustain itself in the future. Knowledge organizations can be viewed from a number of perspectives: their general nature, networks, behavior, human dimensions, communications, intelligence, functions, and services.

In terms of the general nature of knowledge organizations, Drucker (1974) was the first to describe knowledge workers and knowledge work. Savage (1990) observed that the nature of an organization based on knowledge rather than industrial society notions of land, labor, or capital was not well understood. Mcgee and Prusak (1993) noted that core competencies are not what an organization owns, but rather what it knows.

Knowledge organizations have a network dimension. Davis (1977) states that networks would not replace hierarchies, but that the two would coexist within a broader organizational concept. Similarly, Amidon (1997) points out that traditional industrial-era hierarchies are neither flexible nor fluid enough to mobilize an organization's intellectual capacity and that much less constrained networked organizational forms are needed for modern decision making. Tapscott (1998) notes that there is an underlying logic and order to the emerging digital organizational form. It is networked, involves multiple enterprises, is based on core competencies, and knowledge is actively created, exchanged, and used.

There is also a behavioral approach. Bartlett (1999) indicates that organizational structure is just a skeleton. Knowledge organizations also have a physiology in the form of the flow of information and knowledge, as life-blood. They also have a psychology represented by people's values and how they act as individuals and collectively.

Knowledge is created and used by people. Strassman (1985) described the transformation of work in the electronic age from the standpoint of education and training for managers and employees, human aspects of the working environment, and issues of morale, motivation, privacy, and displacements. Bartlett (1999) indicates that empowerment is not possible in an autocratic organization, that networks cannot be sustained in fixed hierarchical structure, and that learning is not possible in an environment constrianed by rigid policies and procedures. Davenport (1997) used an information ecology approach, in which he explored the use and abuse of information in the context of infighting, resource hoarding, and political battles as well as appropriate management in such a context.

Simard (2000) states that knowledge is inextricably linked to organizational mandates. Some providers strive for objectivity, others selectively disseminate information and knowledge, while still others use information to further their agenda. Users must understand that information is not innocent, and that all information is not created equal.

Knowledge organizations also have collective intelligence. Liautaut (2001) points out that in the knowledge economy, being an intelligent business is not only a prerequisite to winning, but even to compete in the first place. In a fluid, fast-paced knowledge market, companies that can find and exploit the slightest advantage for faster, better decision making will dominate. He also indicates that the greater the exchange of data and information across an organization, the more intelligent it will be.

From a functional perspective, in a knowledge organization, content (objects, data, information, knowledge, and wisdom) are generated by knowledge workers. Content is captured, organized, and preserved to enable its reuse and leveraging by people and groups other than those who generated it. Infrastructure is in place to enable sharing of content across all elements of an organization and with external partners, as appropriate. Procedures are in place to integrate content from multiple sources and mobilize it to achieve organizational goals and objectives. A learning culture promotes not only individual learning but also results in a shared understanding. Finally, the organization embraces continuous evolutionary change to sustain itself in a constantly changing environment.

Simard et.al. (2007) described five functions of a knowledge-service organization: 1) generate content; 2) transform content into useful products and services, 3) preserve and manage content to enable organizational use and external transfer, 4) use content to achieve organizational goals, and 5) transfer content externally, in the form of products and services. Functions 1, 3, and 5 are essential and cannot be bypassed.

Amidon, Debra M. 1997. Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy. Butterworth-Heinemann. p18.

Bartlett, Christopher A. 1999. The Knowledge-Based Organization, in: The Knowledge Advantage (Ruggles), p111

Davis, Stanley M. 1977. Future Perfect, p89.

Liautaut, Bernard. 2001. E-Business Intelligence. McGraw-Hill. p4, 13

McGee, James and Laurence Prusak. 1993. Managing information Strategically. John Wiley & Sons. p42.

Savage, Charles M. 1990. 5th Generation Management. Digital Press. p. 88

Simard, Albert. 2000. Managing Knowledge at the Canadian Forest Service. Natural Resources Canada. p21. [1]

Simard, Albert, John Broome, Malcolm Drury, Brian Haddon, Bob O'Neil, and Dave Pasho. 2007. Understanding Knowledge Services at Natural Resources Canada. 82p. (in press, preprint available)

Tapscott, Don. 1998. Blueprint to the Digital Economy. McGraw-Hill.