The mission statement and strategic plan of the organization acts as the foundation that everything else is built upon. But information is only a subset of knowledge, just as data is a subset of information. Information becomes knowledge when it is acted upon. It is how the user reacts to a collection of information that matters. We have to remember what Churchman is saying when discussing knowledge management.
Technology is only a piece of the puzzle.
Knowledge is not something we can display as a tool or product. It is something we work towards, but will never reach a final destination since it is impossible for an individual organization to know everything about every possible topic and experience. At first, this may sound strange, since many think of Nike as a manufacturer of footwear. Stewart points out that they are a research and marketing company since they don't own any factories. They use the knowledge within their company to design great sneakers and they use their tremendous marketing talent to sell products made by other companies to their specifications.