LECTURE 8 Amare Michael Desta

1. Decision Support & Executive Information Systems: LECTURE 8Amare Michael Desta

2. Managing knowledge in knowledge work:How operations are organized in “traditional” work e.g. in manufacturing sector • Different operations follow each others in logical order until the task is completed

3. Managing knowledge in knowledge work - (Contd….) Could the same happen in knowledge work or isit “chaotic” or less organized byits nature? • What is the difference between the logistics of • physical components • information / knowledge components?

4. Available tacit knowledge resources Unavailable tacit knowledge resources transfer media transfer media Knowledgeoutcomes -embrained knowledge -embodied knowledge -encultured knowledge -embedded knowledge -encoded knowledge transfer media transfer media Unavailable explicit knowledge resources Available explicit knowledge resources Knowledge flow (logistic) and utilization of knowledge resources Knowledge acquisition -defining the requirements -localizing knowledge -accessing knowledge -absorptive capacity Knowledgecreation & reuse -skills & competencies -tools & methods

5. Knowledge Management, (KM)- the need and the reality The move from an industrially-based economy to a knowledge or information-based one in the 21st Century demands a top-notch KM System to secure a competitive edge and a capacity for learning.

6. Knowledge Management – the importance • The new source of wealth is K, and not labor, land, or financial capital. It is the intangible, intellectual assets that must be managed. • The key challenge of the Knowledge -based economy is to foster innovation

7. The Knowledge Economy For several decades the world's best-known forecasters of societal change have predicted the emergence of a new economy in which brainpower, not machine power, is the critical resource. But the future has already turned into the present, and the era ofK has arrived. "The Learning Organization," Economist Intelligence Unit” But do you all agree?

8. The Knowledge Economy – rest on THREE pillars • The role that K plays in transactions: it is what is being bought and sold; both the raw material and the finished goods • The concurrent rise in importance of K assets, which transform and add value to knowledge products • The emergence of ways to manage these materials and assets, or KM

9. Two Kinds of Knowledge K is intangible, dynamic, & difficult to measure, BUT without it no organization can survive. • Tacit: or unarticulated K is more personal, experiential, context specific, and hard to formalize; is difficult to communicate or share with others; and is generally embedded in the heads of individuals and teams. • Explicit: K can easily be written down and codified.

10. The main issues are – how to • Design and install techniques and processes to create, protect, and use known K. • Design and create environments and activities to discover and release K that is not known, or tacit K. • Articulate the purpose and nature of managing K as a resource & embodying it in other initiatives and programs.

11. Do we really need KM System? • Competitive success will be based on how strategically intellectual capital is managed • Capturing the knowledge residing in the minds of employees so that it can be easily shared across the enterprise • Leveraging organizational knowledge is emerging as the solution to an increasingly fragmented and globally-dispersed workplace

12. Do we really need KM System?(Contd…) • Instead of constantly reengineering and downsizing: talented people are assets to be developed for a global 21st Century • The reuse of knowledge saves work, reduces communications costs, and allows a company to take on more projects.

13. The Successful Managing of Knowledge Focus on FIVE tasks: • Generating knowledge • Accessing knowledge • Representing and embedding knowledge • Facilitating knowledge • Transferring knowledge It is a process of instilling the culture and helping the people in it find ways to share and utilize their collective knowledge.

14. KM – the enablers • Leadership • Knowledge champions, such as CKOs • Culture • Access • Technology • Learning Culture

15. More on the importance of Corporate Culture • Changing the culture is imperative. • To create a climate in which employees volunteer their creativity and expertise, managers need to look beyond the traditional tools at their disposal: finding ways to build trust and develop fair process. • That means getting the gatekeepers to facilitate the flow of information rather than hoard it. • And offering rewards and incentives

16. The technological divide • Generating organizational Kinvariably means converting the tacit K of the individual into explicit K accessible by all. IT is most effective when it enables this social process. • Organizations must think through their technological systems. • Technology such as Intranets and advanced collaborative software have made KM possible.

17. Organizational Changes • Lines between departments and operating divisions blur • KM even completely collapses boundaries • A KM system cannot work through hierarchies • Individual and team learning process must become the true driver of organizational learning

18. Organizational Knowledge - Why is it Important? • Knowledge can be embedded in processes, products, systems, and controls • Knowledge can be accessed as it is needed from sources inside or outside the firm • It is versatile and can be transferred formally, through training, or informally, by way of workplace socialization • It is the essence of the competitive edge!

19. Why KM? What’s the big deal? • By instituting a learning organization (KM-intensive), there is an increase in employee satisfaction due to greater personal development and empowerment. • Keep your employees longer and thereby, reduce the loss of intellectual capital from people leaving the company. • Save money by not reinventing the wheel for each new project

20. Why KM? What’s the big deal? (Contd….) • Reduce costs by decreasing and achieving economies of scale in obtaining information from external providers. • Increase productivity by making K available more quickly and easily. • Provides workers with a more democratic place to work by allowing everyone access to K

21. Why KM? What’s the big deal? (Contd….) • Learning Faster With KM • Learning fast to stay competitive • KM software and technological infrastructures allow for global access to an organization’s K, at a keystroke

22. Successful KM programs – the indications • Information is widely disseminated throughout the organization • Accessible at a fast rate of speed. • Virtual communities of practice share what is known in a global fashion, independent of time zones and other geographic limitations. • Business without boundaries broad, often virtual in nature. • Collaboration to support continuous innovation and new K creation.

23. KM and future scenarios • Where are we going? What are we here for? • People need awareness of the whole: in what direction is the organization going? • To have a goal to reach in the future can provide great incentive for a KM initiative. • Effective leveraging lies within an organization’s capacity for rethinking and recreating. Scenario thinking can help us see the blind spots, and help us create the future we want!!!

24. Sustainability of a KM endeavor There are three fundamental processes that sustain profound changes such as the introduction of a KM system: - developing networks of committed people - improving business results - enhancing personal results To achieve sustainability, there must be a focus on learning and learning how to harness the learning capabilities that lead to innovation.

25. Sustainability of a KM Endeavor (Contd….) • For significant change to lead to sustainability, hierarchical control must be put aside. • The emergence and development of informal networks must be supported so that people can share their tacit knowledge and help one another. • Managers need to surrender control. • And mental models need to be examined.

26. Globalserve Knowcorp Hyperknowledge MicroStrategy The Molloy Group KnowledgeX Inc. WebFarming.com Softlab Enabling Tools Imagination Excalibur Technologies Imaging Solutions Grapevine Technologies Intraspect Software Milagro: The Power of Imagination KM Software Tools

27. Knowledge Management - the essence • Is understanding and valuing intangible assets over tangible. • Understanding that human and intellectual capital are the greatest resources • Managing the skills and competencies that lie within an organization, and allowing them to blossom • Allowing people to be the best that they can be; optimizing performance.

28. KM & Systems – the main focus Key questions I’d like to raise: • What is the relationship between KM & systems? • Can “knowledge” serve as a unifying concept for understanding organizations and systems? • Can there be design principles and techniques based on KM concepts, for designing organizations and their systems?

29. KM as a management concept / approach • A parade of management ideas • Classical administrative theories 1940’s • Scientific management (e.g. Taylor) 1950’s • Human relations approach • … • TQM 1980’s • BPR 1990’s • KM !! 2000~ • … ?? • Is KM one among many approaches? • Shouldn’t knowledge be a fundamental concept for understanding and managing organizations?

30. Knowledge in Computing & IS The trend is toward (increasingly explicit) “knowledge representation” in systems • Programs 1960’s- • Database schemas (data independence from programs)1970’s- • Conceptual data modeling (domains, enterprises) 1980’s- • Knowledge-based systems (knowledge about world separate from inference engine) 1980’s- • Knowledge sharing among systems (“ontologies”) 1990’s- • Software agents 1990’s- • Semantic web 2000’s- The Question is: What is the role of knowledge in IS? Shouldn’t knowledge be a fundamental concept in IS?

31. Where is the knowledge? What kinds of knowledge? Whose knowledge? How does knowledge get “into” the systems? What is change effected? There is knowledge in: User organization Developer organization Various artifacts Requirements Analysis Forms Spec ERD Systems Design Software Implementation Architecture Tables VB Code VC++ Code Update Marketing Authorize Credit Order Entry Bill Customer Schedule Delivery Inventory Abstractions about world Abstractions about system Operations on system Knowledge about world What is the role of knowledge in IS, and IS development?

32. Limited KM perspective: How to manage the knowledge in organizations and systems Broader perspective – K as unifying concept: How to design effective organizations and systems? Knowledge in organizations and systems • Management is about achieving effectiveness through K and action • Info systems (development) is about converting (organizational) K into (automated) action. • Can there be a theory of K and action to help understand, analyze, and design organizations and their systems?

33. Groupware Data mining Learning tools E-bulletin boards Knowledge repositories and databases, FAQs Discussion forums Knowledge directories Expert systems Workflow systems Taxonomies Document classification Portals & metadata Text search Summarization Relationships discovery Visualization … KM systems as specialized classes of systems or “applications”e.g., [Alavi Leidner 01] [Marwick 01] [Smith Farquhar 00] Contrasted with more conventional information systems

34. Five Paradigms of IT Support- a rough typology Processing Repository Agent Medium Tool

35. Qualities emphasized: speed accuracy correctness ... Info. operations: calculate transform ... 1. the “processing” paradigm Here, the focus is on the processing (usually fixed a priori) E.g. sales orders processing, bank account statements, teller machine processing... Info. structures: data items lists arrays trees ... Processing

36. Qualities emphasized: persistence accessibility integrity security ... Info. operations: create/read/update/delete lookup navigate integrate ... 2. the “repository” paradigm Here, the focus is on the storage and retrieval E.g. document management systems, online catalogues, databases... Info. structures: records links/relationships indexes catalogues ... Repository

37. Qualities emphasized: usability flexibility extensibility ... Info. operations: manipulation of user’s information representations ... 3. the “tool” paradigm The focus is on enabling the user E.g. spreadsheet, word processing... Info. structures: conceptual information structurese.g., cells in spreadsheets ... Tool

38. Qualities emphasized: presence fidelity authenticity privacy ... Info. operations: send/receive share ... 4. the “medium” paradigm Here the focus is on communication E.g. email, teleconferencing, groupware Info. structures: message conversation conference ... Medium

39. Qualities emphasized: ability intelligence trustworthiness ... Info. operations: planning & goal achievement “understanding” delegation ... 5. the “agent” paradigm Here the focus is on assisting the user E.g. mail filters, web crawlers, knowledge discovery... Info. structures: Goals tasks/plans conceptual structures interdependencies among agents... Agent

40. How much domain knowledge is embedded in the system? Medium • Knowledge Media? A provocative concept Suggests that we need to span the full range Tool Least Embedded knowledge Repository Processing Agent Most Embedded knowledge

41. Major design questionsfor organizational information systems The term “K Media” suggests that an organization’s IS would be a mix of systems with more/less embedded K Major design questions - Who needs what K to achieve what objectives / responsibilities? - How much to embed in machines? - Where in the organization? - How to make tradeoffs – benefits vs. risks vulnerabilities? E.g. speed, accuracy, economy vs. inflexibility, privacy risks, loss of control, …

42. What design methods and techniques are available? • Most conventional IS analysis and design techniques are focused on “data” & “processing” • HCI research has strengthened design methods especially for “media” and “tool” The Key Question is: • How to bring in knowledge concepts for designing organizations and systems?

43. Modelling Strategic Actor Relationships and Rationales- modeling framework One possible approach... • have goals, beliefs, abilities, commitments are semi-autonomous • freedom of action, constrained by relationships with others • not fully knowable or controllable • has knowledge to guide action, but only partially explicit • depend on each other • for goals to be achieved, tasks to be performed, resources to be furnished Strategic Actors

44. Modelling systems & organizations in terms ofStrategic Dependenciesamong actors(Patient & Health Service provider)

45. I can … Actor B D Car Be Repaired D Strategic Dependency Relationship I want … Actor A

47. Strategic Rationalesabout alternative configurations of relationships with other actors –Why? How? How else? [Yu AOSE01]

48. Analysis and Design Support • opportunities and vulnerabilities • ability, workability, viability, believability • insurance, assurance, enforceability • node and loop analysis • design support • raising issues • exploring alternatives • evaluating, making tradeoffs • justifying, settling • based on qualitative reasoning

49. functional decomposition means-ends alternatives D D inputs outputs wants and abilities conventional systems modeling Compare: modeling agents – implicit knowledge 2. goals & (limited) explicit knowledge

50. means-ends alternatives D D Premises, key concepts • Actors are semi-autonomous, partially knowable • Strategic actors, intentional dependencies • have choice, reasons about alternate means to ends wants and abilities Intentionality Autonomy Sociality Identity & Boundaries Strategic Reflectivity Rational Self-Interest