Human Resource Management Research 2012, 2(4): 53-58 DOI: 10.5923/j.hrmr.20120204.03 Knowledge as a Resource and Intellectual Capital in Development Adediran Daniel Ikuomola Department of Sociology, Adekunle Ajasin University. Akungba, Akoko, Nigeria Abstract The importance of knowledge in the 21 st century cannot be over emphasized in relation to the fact that it is a major criterion that places countries of the South as mostly underdeveloped, poor and impoverished as against countries of the North as rich and well-off. Through relevant literature this paper discusses the various concept of knowledge, perspectives in knowledge management and highlights the importance of innovation in knowledge organization. The paper concludes that the concept of knowledge as an industry should be well understood in any developmental process and in the sustenance of productivity through information technology and innovation. Keywords Developmental Process, Innovation, Productivity, Knowledge 1. Introduction Ever since the term Knowledge Management (KM) emerged as an initiative, various proposed definitions for what knowledge is and how it can be managed have often been a debate.[1],[2]. Unfortunately, the term knowledge management is not easy to define because it contains multiple representations and concepts. Many authors agree that KM requires a total organisational transformation, including organisational culture, structure, and management style[3],[4],[5]. Therefore many researchers have defined KM from different perspectives, because most debates are centred on the difference in meaning between information and knowledge. This research mentions some of the definitions, for example[6], defines KM as “the identification, optimization, and active management of intellectual assets, either in the form of explicit knowledge held in artefact or as tacit knowledge possessed by individuals or communities[7].[8], suggests that there are currently three major schools of thought on what KM is. One of them recommends that KM is mainly an IT issue, with networks of computers and groupware being the keys. If you construct widespread computer networks and add communication tools that allow group collaboration, people will be more disposed to share information and knowledge.[9], defines KM as “an audit of ‘intellectual assets’ that highlights unique sources, critical functions and potential bottlenecks which hinder knowledge flows to the point of use. It protects intellectual assets from decay, seeks * Corresponding author: diranreal@yahoo.com (Adediran Daniel Ikuomola) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/hrmr Copyright © 2012 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved opportunities to enhance decisions, services and products through adding intelligence, increasing value and providing flexibility”[10], defines KM as the management of the organisation towards the continuous renewal of the organisational knowledge base - this means, creation of supportive organisational structures, facilitation of organisational members, putting IT-instruments with emphasis on teamwork and diffusion of knowledge such as groupware into place.[11], sees KM as the discipline that assists the spread of knowledge of individuals or groups across companies in ways that directly affect performance. KM envisions getting the right information within the right context to the right person at the right time for the right business purpose. Therefore, for[12], knowledge management involves the recognition and analysis of obtainable and required knowledge assets, and knowledge asset related processes; and the ensuing planning and control of actions to develop both the assets and the processes so as to fulfil organisational objectives.[13], opined that KM is information or data management with the extra practice of capturing the tacit experience of the individual to be shared, used and built upon by the organisation, leading to increased productivity.[14] gives a short definition of KM as the process of creating value from an organisation’s intangible assets. The definitions of[13] and[14] though similar underscore the processes of creating, capturing, and allocation of knowledge, which are vital in building value and empowering the organisational workforce to increase productivity. From all of these definitions, knowledge is something more than information. Knowledge is seen as a tool, capacity and capability, as something that cannot be said, as information plus. They have successfully demonstrated how knowledge is derived for problem solving and how it is used for forecasting or predicting customer