Tom has a letter in this month's LAR in which he disparages an attempt
by the BSI to develop a standard on knowledge management. I think
this is an important argument for the profession. The points he makes
about knowledge and information (but not action), are similar to those
I might. But let us look at what has happened to standards and
quality ;(
He also points to the issue of information management (though not
document management for which similar arguments might apply). Yet if
we look at the difficulties we have created for ourselves since the
1977 Encyclopedia Britannica (which has an article on information
systems which I understand), and we consider the issues of
systematisation of information (which T doesn't), then I think we have
to consider what areas most properly should have standards, and when
the standards making bodies decide to make them, what role we as a
profession, we should play.
I think some of us have to be in there, if only for some common sense
to prevail (though twas Voltaire I think who remarked that common
sense is remarkably uncommon :)).
Sorry there are so many brackets.
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