Centre sharpens competitive edge

The Robert Gordon University has launched a centre for knowledge management that will help organisations unlock untapped potential.

Phil Murray, managing director of Petrotechnics, which was named knowledge-based company of the future in Scottish awards last year, gave the keynote address at the centre's launch. He said: "Terms like e-commerce and e-business are being bandied about, but do we really know what the impact will be in terms of a move towards products and services that are increasingly differentiated by knowledge?

"Building sustainable competitive advantage involves exploring at the edges of what your organisation knows, actively looking for gaps in the existing knowledge so that your business is ahead."

Judith Smith, director of the new centre, said it would offer research, consultancy and training, including auditing the knowledge base of an organisation and investigating how knowledge and learning are passed on within it.

Ms Smith has been with RGU's school of information and media for seven years, lecturing and researching electronic and business information in areas such as the currency of electronic databases, search technologies on the internet and developments in networked electronic information.

"Success in the knowledge economy requires a change in the working culture to support and value intellectual capital as a key sustainable asset," she said.