The practice of knowledge management advocates knowledge sharing. Trust and mutual respect must be present to promote K-sharing. Sharing of best practices will spur constant innovation, and this will benefit organisation. Enterprise recognition should be given to encourage K-sharing in an organisation. Working in innovative teams will provide a platform for K-sharing among peers. A structured K-policy supported by a variety of K-tools and collaborative technologies such as intranet will promote K-sharing.

K-development will focus on development on conceptual, behavioural and technical abilities of an individual. Planned efforts like structured competency based learning must be initiated to build overall competency of employees in an organisation. In other words, organisations need to be competency driven, ensuring a high level of competency in its employees.

A passion to explore and innovate on ideas needs to be cultivated. The enterprise must develop ability to create new knowledge. New knowledge will form platform for dynamics of continuous innovation. This can be achieved by integrating both tacit and explicit knowledge that exists in an organisation.

A high retention of knowledge can be achieved by creating a culture for knowledge preservation. Enterprise wide K-sharing, COPs and COINs can be used to preserve knowledge within an organisation. K-preservation is about real time knowledge capture, use, re-use and constant updating. Since knowledge has a short 'life-span', focus is on frequency of using captured knowledge to support intelligent decision making. Technology will be enabler to store selective and current specialised knowledge. Knowledge preserved must be made accessible to every individual at any point in time.

A knowledge measurement system must be implemented to gauge knowledge capital of an enterprise on a periodic basis. The focus is to measure K-inventory of an organisation.

A new adage will then become apparent, an era where knowledge will be power only if it is being used wisely. Hence, fundamentals of knowledge management will be prominent in an economy where knowledge will be deciding role in ensuring a sustainable edge in an ever-competitive market.

Yes, such tactics are vital cogs in public relations problem solving sequence but, again, only as interim steps designed to alter target audience perceptions and behaviors.

Fact is, NO organization – business, non-profit or public sector – can succeed today unless behaviors of its most important audiences are in-sync with organization’s objectives. And that means public relations professionals must modify somebody’s behavior if they are to help hit employer/client’s objective and earn a paycheck. All else are but means to that end.

Once public relations’ natural phenomenon characteristics are understood, an action pathway begins to appear:

-- identify problem -- identify target audiences -- set public relations goal -- set public relations strategy -- prepare persuasive messages -- select and implement key communications tactics -- monitor progress -- and end-game? Meet behavior modification goal

And we get a bonus because we’re using a near-perfect public relations performance standard. I mean, how can you measure results of an activity more accurately than when you clearly achieve goal you set at beginning of that activity? You can’t. It’s pure success.

Of course, as we develop those interim tactical activities, we’ll be nurturing relationships between our target audiences and our employer/client’s business by burnishing reputation of organization, its service and products. We will do our best to persuade those target audiences to do what our employer/client wants them to do. And while seeking public understanding and acceptance of that employer/client, we’ll insure that our joint activities not only comply with law, but clearly serve public interest. Then, we will pull out all tactical stops to actually move those individuals to action. And our employer/client will be pleased that we have brought matters along to this point.

But when will that employer/client of ours be fully satisfied with public relations results we have produced? Only when our “reach, persuade and move-to-action” efforts have produced desired, visible modification in behaviors of those target audiences we, and they wish to influence.

In my view, this is fundamental premise of a natural phenomenon called public relations, and strategic context in which we must operate.

end

Bob Kelly, public relations counselor, was director of public relations for Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-Public Relations, Texaco Inc.; VP-Public Relations, Olin Corp.; VP-Public Relations, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net