Knowledge Harvesting: A proprietary solution to knowledge creation

Even when knowledge transformation using various technologies is adopted and a context is provided to these processes, the essence of knowledge creation lies in a holistic approach. Knowledge harvesting is one such proprietary, comprehensive approach that is gaining wide acceptance.

Knowledge harvesting may be seen as a strategic solution to knowledge creation as it synthesizes the advantages of technology with the relevance of a context.

'Knowledge Harvesting is a proprietary suite of methodologies and technologies for efficiently capturing the implicit intuitive knowledge of top performers, converting that expertise into explicit knowledge, and transferring it to users.’[25] It is predominantly an exercise of making implicit knowledge explicit. Larry T Wilson and the group at Learner First developed it.

• Stage 1: Identification of knowledge - Identification involves mapping the organization’s key processes and the individuals who possess the best know-how.
  
• Stage 2: Elicitation of knowledge - Experts and activities are first identified; the experts are then asked to explain the activities.
  
• Stage 3: Capture of knowledge - The expertise of the top performers must be preserved to continue the success of the organization.
  
• Stage 4: Organization of knowledge - The knowledge captured from top performers must be arranged in a coherent or systematic form.
  
• Stage 5: Application of knowledge - The whole point of a knowledge management system comes down to later applications by individuals.
  
• Stage 6: Recording of knowledge - This sub-process records the learning that takes place with the user, causing the database of knowledge to grow.
  
• Stage 7: Sharing of knowledge - Knowledge that has been captured must be shared or its capture will be irrelevant and the effort and expense wasted.
  
• Stage 8: Evaluation of the knowledge creation process - Evaluation should be continuous so that the database can be kept up-to-date, relevant, and as small as possible.
  
• Stage 9: Improvement of the knowledge creation process - The improvement sub-process is the continuous betterment of the entire process.
  

Extraído de Knowledge in Organizations Definition, Creation, and Harvesting
Smita Kothuri, May, 2002