The interaction between information gathering and knowledge management?

Question

The interaction between information gathering and knowledge management?

Answer 1

One persistent interaction is the effect of previous knowledge on attention and interpretation of information.  Given that all the information we collect is made meaningful by the knowledge which we already possess, that knowledge we already possess imparts its limitations on how we interpret new knowledge.  Similarly, knowledge we possess leads us to focus attention towards what we judge "important" & "irrelevant".

   Knowledge management is a particularly relevant issue in the MIS field. One issue that arises is the belief that "knowledge" management is merely an issue of collecting information. The flaw in this thinking is that it assumes all knowledge is codifiable (which ignores the existence of tacit knowledge). Another problem is that it also ignores the necessity of rationing our information gathering activities to attend to only those that are important given that these activities require finite resources. This gets us back to how do we determine what is important since most of the major changes that happen emit weak signals through directions which we typically consider trivial.

Some clear-headed discussion about this comes from Prahalad and Bettis and their concept "dominant logic".  They hold that organizations and societies choose paradigms which establish boundaries on what is considered meaningful information as well as conventions for interpreting it.

Answer 2

here's  a layman's simple answer.  

info gathering must be specific. relevant to your purpose and objective must be clear.

when doing so it becomes knowledge and it can be a tool which if used properly will benefit the user.  hence the user must know how to manage this info that has metamorphised into knowledge.  the end product of that management is a work of art.

eg some social reports that is acted upon by the relevant body to make life more meaningful for some pple. helping the underprivileged.  

or in the big companies - increase profit- do a market research, target the market and swell your profits