The metrics of knowledge: Mechanisms for preserving the value of managerial knowledge

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the scholarly study, and actual implementation in work organizations, of knowledge systems. While much of this effort has been directed toward making these systems more efficient, a gap has developed between the need to preserve and safeguard managerial knowledge, and the continued hemorrhaging of the same from the pool of organizational knowledge. This article describes that gap and suggests a set of mechanisms (socialization, tutoring, mentoring, and continuous reporting) which may be used to reduce the loss of critical knowledge. Because knowledge is fundamentally a cognitive phenomenon, these mechanisms emphasize the sharing of knowledge by experienced, with less experienced, managers. This article also recommends that these largely informal mechanisms be absorbed by the organization to become an integral component of the formal modes of knowledge management, in particular the institutional knowledge system.