Knowledge Management Education and Curriculum Development

Abstract

Given the emerging nature of the knowledge management (KM) profession and the differing schools of thought on KM by academics and practitioners, designing a curriculum in KM poses substantial challenges. One of these challenges is to be able to determine the optimal mix of subjects from the various disciplines that best meets the objective of developing the requisite professional competencies of knowledge professional. A two-pronged methodology was adopted for this study comprising a survey research to gather perceptions on KM and KM education as well as an investigation of relevant web sites on the Internet for existing postgraduate programs. The latter was used to support a comparative review of the courses' objectives and curriculum, where available. The study established that the adoption of KM in Singapore was most significant in large organizations and the public sector. However, there were differing perceptions as to who in an organization should be responsible for KM and what full-time KM roles should be in-scaled. Nonetheless, the findings did suggest that there is a potential market for knowledge professionals and reinforced the fact that KM is indeed interdisciplinary and drew upon the theories and practices of a number of disciplines such as information technology, information science, communication, business, and management.