Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a starting point for the sharing of information and knowledge among Department of Defense public affairs practitioners.   This will be accomplished by applying theories related to the concept of knowledge management, a widely acclaimed business practice that is being pursued in thousands of corporations across the world.

By applying the principles of knowledge management and, specifically, the six steps of knowledge packaging, the authors aim to prove that the establishment of a knowledge-based system in which public affairs professionals throughout the Department of Defense can share knowledge and information will facilitate how public affairs professionals solve public affairs problems and challenges.  Following from this, the authors also aim to prove through Nonaka’s (1994) spiral of knowledge that the establishment of a knowledge-based system in which public affairs professionals throughout the Department of Defense can share knowledge and information will create better performance in both individual public affairs professionals and the entire public affairs organization as a whole.  Although this project only begins the study into the application of knowledge management principles to the public affairs community, it offers insight into what is needed to share, transfer, and create knowledge in order to advance the military public affairs field.