Knowledge management (KM) represents an enormous opportunity for organizations to take advantage of the increased benefits that accrue from a great degree of collaboration among individuals. This collaborative intellectual asset sharing allows organizations to take advantage of a diverse body of information and individuals with different levels of skill, intelligence, and experience. Rapid and innovative changes in technology and communications have helped the global marketplace emerge. In such a global market, it is even more imperative that the organization adopt and apply knowledge management across all strategies, policies, and practices. The ability to rapidly share information and keep individuals informed of pertinent knowledge is even more critical in the global era of increased competition and the drive for increased revenues. Collaboration, i.e., employee participation and effective management of information from a diverse body of individuals (vendors, suppliers, customers, employees, etc.), is mandatory for knowledge management to reap optimal benefits for the organization. Collaboration and participation in knowledge management is a must for organizations that wish to add value to their products and services and retain competitive advantage in the global era. As Neil Gross (135) maintains about the new knowledge management reality:
To cut through the red tape, companies depend on a new type of executive – a chief knowledge officer. This is a person who has the high-level clout to break down hierarchies, unlock the knowledge and skills of the staff, and channel these assets across networks such as the Web. Human skills, intuition and wisdom are replacing capital as the most precious corporate resource. Knowledge managers seek to disperse those assets throughout the company and spin them into innovations.
These innovations are not possible without elevating the level of collaboration among employees and pool...