Chief Knowledge Officer

(CKO) is a very useful position within a company to assists the organization in the use of advanced knowledge to reach and achieve their expansion goals. This select position doesn't exist alone in many companies, but those who do succeed faster then other companies in similar industries. The Chief Knowledge Officer is "a senior executive who is responsible for ensuring that an organization maximizes the value it achieves through one of its most important assets - knowledge". (1) Some people may argue that a company does not need a CKO if its upper management is strong and has a central point of focus. Having a person focusing on the largest return on the firm investment in knowledge can be a huge advantage for success. Most companies have the responsibilities divided among management which doesn't distinguish the potential for differences. Having someone focus on the type of knowledge the company uses, how it can be improved, and integrate tho advancements into firm will have outstanding results. Most companies that have implemented a seperate CKO have reported near 10% company growth in their knowledge and a clear understanding of company's goals in terms of information. The CKO usually has a strong influence on decisions within the upper management. "In the final analysis, the knowledge management is in one idea transformation, is heavy is changing person’s point of view and the custom".(2) CKO can deliver useful information that upper level management can utilize to make business decisions. The CKO job description can vary depending on what the company is need of or what area is needs improvement on. The over objective of a CKO in a company "is to maximize the creation, discovery and dissemination of knowledge in the organization".(3) Knowledge is very important to management and especially to the growth and success of the company. Why wouldn't a company invest money in someone who will potentially bring new innovative technologies to bring in more capital for the business? A CKO can organize and integrate different types of knowledge to help a company is areas of weaknesses. 

1.) http://www.skyrme.com/insights/27cko.htm

2.) http://www.onlinembawiki.com/chief-knowledge-officer%EF%BC%8Ccko/

3.) http://www.providersedge.com/docs/leadership_articles/The_Role_of_the_CKO.pdf