The Journal of Business Strategy's May issue contains a commentary by Mark Horwitch and Robert Armacoston of Bain on KM. Once I figure out how to post a word document (I am just about there), I will do so. The article responds to the negative press of KM such as: "In Bain & Company's 2001 Management Tools survey, KM ranked nineteenth among all 25 tools evaluated for effectiveness, and 14% of the 451 senior executives polled said they had abandoned it altogether." Bain provided some good definitions that corresponded with what I've learned: Data - "sets of discrete, objective facts about events, or structured records of transactions" Examples of KM ROIs from the article: -"In situations where success hinges on increasing customer satisfaction, KM can help protect revenue streams by getting the right information to the right people at the right time. For example, KM may help increase the response rates and effectiveness of call centers. " -"And where it's a challenge to leverage firm-wide resources across global and industry boundaries, well-built knowledge systems can help break open new markets." And lastly, some good news quotes from the article: "Senior executives are the most open of all, according to a survey by KPMG. When asked, "What level in the organization is pushing hardest to have a KM program?" about 40% of management respondents said "senior management," and more than 15% indicated "board level." Overall, 80% of companies are developing such KM systems right now, and actual spending on KM projects is forecast to grow to $12 billion by 2003." [Tracy Reeder's Radio Weblog]

You can find a link to the article Helping Knowledge Management be all it can be on Bain's web site

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