Article 2: Knowledge Management System (KMS)
2.1. Introduction:
In the growing competitive world, every organization has responsibility to improve or to share the individual’s knowledge within the organization. But managing and maintaining knowledge within an organization is a very challenging process. Application of the KMS in an organization plays a major role to survive in the competitive world to store, combine and share the knowledge. Therefore the major challenge of Knowledge Management System is the capability of organizations to be flexible and respond more quickly to the changing market conditions and the ability to be more innovative as well as improving decision making and productivity (Stata, 1997; Harris, 1996). The challenge of managing knowledge is more depend on the capture and combination of knowledge (Grant, 1996; Davenport, 1997a). The effective Knowledge Management System will be support the creation and dissemination of knowledge within the organization members, (O’Brien, 22). Therefore, individual tacit knowledge will be captured, stored and distributed in a systematical way for the use of organization members in the future usage to improve the productivity of organizations growth, (Mc Lure, 20; Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Cody et al, 2002; Liao, 2003; Feng et al, 2004).
The knowledge will be managed with the support of IT, therefore the KMS is like a specific information systems, (Alavi and Leidner 2001) that mainly focus on organizational knowledge resources and process. The KMS include variety of Knowledge management applications such as DSS, CIS, DRMS, SCMS, GIS and EIS etc…. The improved new Knowledge Management System must provide the dynamics for effectively solving problems, enabling innovation, and providing the environment for continuous process and product improvement. I would like to discuss this point with my past employment experience.
2.2. Criticise with real life situation:
When I was working in the United Nations in Sri Lanka as a Information Systems Officer my main responsibility was to combine, manage and share the information from other stakeholders. The organization was facing some difficulties in how to collect, store, process, manage and share the knowledge from other organization members and publics. The collecting data was not a difficult part in our organization process, but combining the collected datum systematically and making the information quickly accessible by all the members our organization and the other organizations. On the other hand responding quickly to other members and organizations requests was the vital part in our project management, (O’Brien, 22).
Without the support of IT Management Systems we can’s store, combine and share large amount of information of other stakeholders. I had some situations where I had to manage, and share information and to respond quickly to other stakeholders. In this situation I faced some difficulties as we do not have proper systems. I raised some questions in our monthly conference as follows, for a long term view without any system how can we manage the information or knowledge? Is there any possibility to manage manually with high efficiency? And I answered for my second questions as, ‘definitely not in my experience’.
At the end of many meetings and discussions our organization decided to develop a information system to handle huge amount of data and information, (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). This system was called as Coordination and Planning System (CAPS). This CAPS system stored large amount of data to combine, interpret and quickly give the responses to other stakeholder’s requests. The CAPS system was helping me to easily find answer for where, when, who, why, which (W5) questions. And also this new system avoids the duplication of work, save plenty of time. In addition it’s was helping to take a decision easily, lessen the complexity of work etc. In this scenario the CAPS is an application of Knowledge Management System where the knowledge was captured, stored, combined, processed and shared with the support of IT.
2.3. Conclusion:
As I have real world experience without working, and then working with a proper system, I could say that the knowledge management system is very helpful in managing the information and sharing them within the organization and out side the organization in an efficient way. The improved new knowledge management system must provide the dynamics for effectively solving problems, enabling innovation, and providing the environment for continuous process and product improvement.
2.4. Reference
Stankosky. M. (2005) Creating the Discipline of the Knowledge Management
Anna Griman, Teresita Rojas, Maria Perez (2002) Methodological Approach for Developing KMS
Christopher Lueg and Xavier Alaman (2002) Knowledge Management and Information Technology
G.C. Mohanta, V. Kannan, K.P.Thooyamani (2006) Strategies for Improving Productivity of Knowledge Workers
Mohamed Khalifa, Angela Yan Yu and Kathy Ning Shen (2008) Knowledge management systems success: a contingency perspective
Jun Xu and Mohammed Quaddus (2004) A reality-based guide to KMS diffusion
Friday 3 April 2009
Article1: Knowledge, can be Manage within the Organisation?
1.1 Introduction:
An organizations competitive advantage mostly depends on its knowledge than anything. Now we will think about the knowledge, if the knowledge is not transferred or not shared to other members of the organization, what will happen to that knowledge? Definitely that knowledge is limited within the certain members of the organization. Think about it? The innovative production is the result of the organization success and sustainability of the competitiveness. The other question arising, how the innovative productivity come to enhance the quality of work? Definitely the answer is knowledge maturity and sharing the knowledge within the group members or organizational members. Sharing the knowledge will create more new ideas and quality of work, therefore the knowledge could be managed within the members in a proper way and this will reflect on the organizations process and the output. Therefore the Knowledge Management is an organizational memory (Laurence Prusak), which will enhance the organization success and the sustainability of competitiveness.
1.2. Criticise with real life situation:
When we think about Middlesex University, its ranking and the quality are in back compared to the best Universities like Oxford, Cambridge, in the UK. My question is why Middlesex University ranking and quality is in back? Definitely I can say that the knowledge is not managed in a proper way within the stakeholders in the University. The sustainability and its success come on its stakeholders. Therefore, each stakeholder plays a supportive role in order to achieve the success to compete with the leading UK Universities. I have identified lack of knowledge transfer in some specific areas such as Learning, teaching, and research, Student’s experiences, Productivity and efficiency, and Technologies and tools.
The next question is how these specific areas were created a backward in the knowledge sharing? The technology and tools such as OASIS plus, Extranet, Intranet, Wiki, Blogger and podcasting etc...Were not apply or not used in a proper way to share and manage the knowledge within the University. Therefore these resources should be used in a proper way to share and manage the knowledge with in the University. I could suggest some examples to enhance the student industrial experiences; the University can maintain a wiki which could be linked with the companies which offer graduate industrial placements. Therefore students will be able to know about the companies and will make a chance to get an industrial placement opportunities making contact through Wiki. And also student can publish their research articles on the Wiki, this will enhance the knowledge to share and manage within the organization. Many organizations use wikis and blogs to share the knowledge and they have already succeeded (Miller 2008).
Establishing corporate libraries would enhance the knowledge of the student as well as academic staff rather than having a separate library, a central library, accessible to all other locations leads to better efficiency because fewer staff resources are used. This will improve the students and staff will collaborate more in gaining knowledge within a centralised placed as opposed to different locations, therefore the intranet resources need to be used in a much efficient manner by improving the productivity of knowledge creation and sharing (Nonaka 1995). The University has an extranet, does not perform all the function in order to support the knowledge sharing, since it has world wide access, extra caution should be taken to limit its accessibility to only university’s critical stakeholders. For example, OASIS plus can be considered as extranet which can be accessed by the students and academic staff from outside the University. If students and staff do not take the advantage of using the existing system up to the maximum, it can be seen as a waste of resources. Instead of using common and classical technologies like E-mail, simple real time knowledge flows such as chat can be used to transfer knowledge among students and academics. Therefore students should be encouraged to collaborate with lectures more effectively. It is also helpful for lectures to enhance their own knowledge in order for them to share good quality knowledgeable students. If the resources will be used in a proper way to share the knowledge within the organization then the knowledge will be managed.
1.3. Conclusion:
Sustainability of the competitiveness, the organization has to share the knowledge within the organization. Therefore, knowledge must be managed within the organization. In order to manage the organizational knowledge for a long term purposes the knowledge should be managed with the support of technology in a proper way. Then the knowledge will be managed within the organization.
1.4. References:
Sarshar, M. 2006. Sharing good practice across construction organisations: The search continues. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/BLT/BUE_Docs/sarshar.pdf
Michael H Zack. 1998. If Managing Knowledge is the Solution, then what’s the Problem?
Laurence Prusak. Knowledge Management in Organization
Nonaka.I and H. Takeuchi. 1995. The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. New York. Oxford University Press.
1.1 Introduction:
An organizations competitive advantage mostly depends on its knowledge than anything. Now we will think about the knowledge, if the knowledge is not transferred or not shared to other members of the organization, what will happen to that knowledge? Definitely that knowledge is limited within the certain members of the organization. Think about it? The innovative production is the result of the organization success and sustainability of the competitiveness. The other question arising, how the innovative productivity come to enhance the quality of work? Definitely the answer is knowledge maturity and sharing the knowledge within the group members or organizational members. Sharing the knowledge will create more new ideas and quality of work, therefore the knowledge could be managed within the members in a proper way and this will reflect on the organizations process and the output. Therefore the Knowledge Management is an organizational memory (Laurence Prusak), which will enhance the organization success and the sustainability of competitiveness.
1.2. Criticise with real life situation:
When we think about Middlesex University, its ranking and the quality are in back compared to the best Universities like Oxford, Cambridge, in the UK. My question is why Middlesex University ranking and quality is in back? Definitely I can say that the knowledge is not managed in a proper way within the stakeholders in the University. The sustainability and its success come on its stakeholders. Therefore, each stakeholder plays a supportive role in order to achieve the success to compete with the leading UK Universities. I have identified lack of knowledge transfer in some specific areas such as Learning, teaching, and research, Student’s experiences, Productivity and efficiency, and Technologies and tools.
The next question is how these specific areas were created a backward in the knowledge sharing? The technology and tools such as OASIS plus, Extranet, Intranet, Wiki, Blogger and podcasting etc...Were not apply or not used in a proper way to share and manage the knowledge within the University. Therefore these resources should be used in a proper way to share and manage the knowledge with in the University. I could suggest some examples to enhance the student industrial experiences; the University can maintain a wiki which could be linked with the companies which offer graduate industrial placements. Therefore students will be able to know about the companies and will make a chance to get an industrial placement opportunities making contact through Wiki. And also student can publish their research articles on the Wiki, this will enhance the knowledge to share and manage within the organization. Many organizations use wikis and blogs to share the knowledge and they have already succeeded (Miller 2008).
Establishing corporate libraries would enhance the knowledge of the student as well as academic staff rather than having a separate library, a central library, accessible to all other locations leads to better efficiency because fewer staff resources are used. This will improve the students and staff will collaborate more in gaining knowledge within a centralised placed as opposed to different locations, therefore the intranet resources need to be used in a much efficient manner by improving the productivity of knowledge creation and sharing (Nonaka 1995). The University has an extranet, does not perform all the function in order to support the knowledge sharing, since it has world wide access, extra caution should be taken to limit its accessibility to only university’s critical stakeholders. For example, OASIS plus can be considered as extranet which can be accessed by the students and academic staff from outside the University. If students and staff do not take the advantage of using the existing system up to the maximum, it can be seen as a waste of resources. Instead of using common and classical technologies like E-mail, simple real time knowledge flows such as chat can be used to transfer knowledge among students and academics. Therefore students should be encouraged to collaborate with lectures more effectively. It is also helpful for lectures to enhance their own knowledge in order for them to share good quality knowledgeable students. If the resources will be used in a proper way to share the knowledge within the organization then the knowledge will be managed.
1.3. Conclusion:
Sustainability of the competitiveness, the organization has to share the knowledge within the organization. Therefore, knowledge must be managed within the organization. In order to manage the organizational knowledge for a long term purposes the knowledge should be managed with the support of technology in a proper way. Then the knowledge will be managed within the organization.
1.4. References:
Sarshar, M. 2006. Sharing good practice across construction organisations: The search continues. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/BLT/BUE_Docs/sarshar.pdf
Michael H Zack. 1998. If Managing Knowledge is the Solution, then what’s the Problem?
Laurence Prusak. Knowledge Management in Organization
Nonaka.I and H. Takeuchi. 1995. The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. New York. Oxford University Press.
Article 3: How to Apply Web 2.0 Technologies in KM
3.1. Introduction:
Over the past few years, the web was shifting from being a medium, in which information was transmitted and consumed, into being a platform, in which content was created, shared, remixed, re-purposed and passed along, (Downes, 2005). Nowadays we are entering into a new phase of web evolution which is a read-write Web. A new generation of user-centric, open, dynamic web, with peer production, sharing, collaboration, collective intelligence, distributed content and decentralized authority in the foreground. This new web generation has been referred to as “Web 2.0” (O’Reilly, 2005). Now we can see what is this Web 2.0? According to Anderson (2007), Web 2.0 is “an umbrella term that attempts to express explicitly the framework of ideas that underpin attempts to understand the manifestations of these newer Web services within the context of technologies that have produced them”. Let’s look at some of these webs 2.0 technologies, such as Wiki, Blogger, RSS, Podcasting, and Delicious, and the role they play on supporting Knowledge Management.
3.2. Critical Analysis of How to Apply Web 2.0 Technologies in Supporting KM
At present the teaching institutions such as Universities, and some organizations (for example NHS) using these web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning in order to enhance the knowledge within the students, staffs and other academic members. When we consider a blog which is simply a webpage or a personal journal that contains periodic, chronological ordered posts, additionally grouped by categories also users can often add comments to posts. In the Knowledge Management subject, the blogger which I created has facilities to post my views and ideas, and get comments or responses from other students and the lecturers. This technology is academically satisfying me and is helping to improve my writing better and share the knowledge in a stylish way. This could be extended to other subjects in order to share the knowledge within the students and staff. With the application of Web 2.0 technology in blogging, knowledge can be shared easily, refined, retained and transferred.
Many companies use wikis to share the knowledge and they have already succeeded (Miller 2008). But these wikis have their own issues as well. For example, as a university, it will be cumbersome to use common wikis because there are many people who might not have requisite knowledge about a particular subject. A Wiki is fundamentally a web of interlinked pages where each page typically contains a description of the concept. So, in my case I feel the university can maintain a Wiki in which a student will be able to publish his/her area of interest and the experience he/she would like to get. This Wiki should be advertised to all the graduate recruitment and placement offering companies so that the companies can go through it and find the interesting proposals. Therefore the student can apply the industrial experience or knowledge to write a better project and to do the viva exam.
A podcasting is simply like a group of sound files. I feel this will improve the student learning abilities in addition to the normal lecture. Because in my case or other students view I think if the lectures can use more video or audio files during the lectures the students will be easily keep the subject in memory the and write the answers well during the exam.
RSS is a technology that makes it easy to share resources across networks as it brings content from different sources. Therefore I feel using the RSS technology, the Middlesex University can share their research conferences with other university academic staffs or other universities can share their research conferences with other university staffs the use of RSS. So, I feel with the use of RSS the knowledge can refine and retained and the students can get to know the lecturer to do their research study and at the same time students can apply those knowledge in their field of studies to get a better results.
Delicious can also be used as tool for knowledge sharing. Delicious is a social bookmaking site, this make bookmaking more useful and more organized. If I consider our KM lecture class as a scenario, KM class can get more benefit from this tool. Since Delicious bookmaking is public students can view all the other members’ bookmarks and can tag according to the order of the bookmarks. Also students can view our lectures bookmarks in KM and then those bookmarks can be benefits for others group members within the class. This method provides new and relevant materials regarding the topic. Therefore it leads to share and create knowledge within this subject.
3.3 Conclusion:
In my view as I have discussed above how this web 2.0 technologies will apply for knowledge management to improve the learning, teaching, and sharing, it will be a best teaching methodology in all the sectors to easily Manage the Knowledge within and outside the organization. Instead of previous web versions, application of Web2.0 version makes the facility to have two way communications by sending comments and answering questions like a forum.
3.4. References:
Davenport and T H & Prusak (1998).Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts
Etienne Wenger (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University
Laura Cooney (2006). Wiki as a Knowledge Management Tool
Anderson, P. (2007). "What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education", JISC Technology and Standards Watch
3.1. Introduction:
Over the past few years, the web was shifting from being a medium, in which information was transmitted and consumed, into being a platform, in which content was created, shared, remixed, re-purposed and passed along, (Downes, 2005). Nowadays we are entering into a new phase of web evolution which is a read-write Web. A new generation of user-centric, open, dynamic web, with peer production, sharing, collaboration, collective intelligence, distributed content and decentralized authority in the foreground. This new web generation has been referred to as “Web 2.0” (O’Reilly, 2005). Now we can see what is this Web 2.0? According to Anderson (2007), Web 2.0 is “an umbrella term that attempts to express explicitly the framework of ideas that underpin attempts to understand the manifestations of these newer Web services within the context of technologies that have produced them”. Let’s look at some of these webs 2.0 technologies, such as Wiki, Blogger, RSS, Podcasting, and Delicious, and the role they play on supporting Knowledge Management.
3.2. Critical Analysis of How to Apply Web 2.0 Technologies in Supporting KM
At present the teaching institutions such as Universities, and some organizations (for example NHS) using these web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning in order to enhance the knowledge within the students, staffs and other academic members. When we consider a blog which is simply a webpage or a personal journal that contains periodic, chronological ordered posts, additionally grouped by categories also users can often add comments to posts. In the Knowledge Management subject, the blogger which I created has facilities to post my views and ideas, and get comments or responses from other students and the lecturers. This technology is academically satisfying me and is helping to improve my writing better and share the knowledge in a stylish way. This could be extended to other subjects in order to share the knowledge within the students and staff. With the application of Web 2.0 technology in blogging, knowledge can be shared easily, refined, retained and transferred.
Many companies use wikis to share the knowledge and they have already succeeded (Miller 2008). But these wikis have their own issues as well. For example, as a university, it will be cumbersome to use common wikis because there are many people who might not have requisite knowledge about a particular subject. A Wiki is fundamentally a web of interlinked pages where each page typically contains a description of the concept. So, in my case I feel the university can maintain a Wiki in which a student will be able to publish his/her area of interest and the experience he/she would like to get. This Wiki should be advertised to all the graduate recruitment and placement offering companies so that the companies can go through it and find the interesting proposals. Therefore the student can apply the industrial experience or knowledge to write a better project and to do the viva exam.
A podcasting is simply like a group of sound files. I feel this will improve the student learning abilities in addition to the normal lecture. Because in my case or other students view I think if the lectures can use more video or audio files during the lectures the students will be easily keep the subject in memory the and write the answers well during the exam.
RSS is a technology that makes it easy to share resources across networks as it brings content from different sources. Therefore I feel using the RSS technology, the Middlesex University can share their research conferences with other university academic staffs or other universities can share their research conferences with other university staffs the use of RSS. So, I feel with the use of RSS the knowledge can refine and retained and the students can get to know the lecturer to do their research study and at the same time students can apply those knowledge in their field of studies to get a better results.
Delicious can also be used as tool for knowledge sharing. Delicious is a social bookmaking site, this make bookmaking more useful and more organized. If I consider our KM lecture class as a scenario, KM class can get more benefit from this tool. Since Delicious bookmaking is public students can view all the other members’ bookmarks and can tag according to the order of the bookmarks. Also students can view our lectures bookmarks in KM and then those bookmarks can be benefits for others group members within the class. This method provides new and relevant materials regarding the topic. Therefore it leads to share and create knowledge within this subject.
3.3 Conclusion:
In my view as I have discussed above how this web 2.0 technologies will apply for knowledge management to improve the learning, teaching, and sharing, it will be a best teaching methodology in all the sectors to easily Manage the Knowledge within and outside the organization. Instead of previous web versions, application of Web2.0 version makes the facility to have two way communications by sending comments and answering questions like a forum.
3.4. References:
Davenport and T H & Prusak (1998).Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts
Etienne Wenger (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University
Laura Cooney (2006). Wiki as a Knowledge Management Tool
Anderson, P. (2007). "What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education", JISC Technology and Standards Watch
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