Knowledge Management in Emirates Secondary Schools - Assignment Example

A Projection of Knowledge Management in the Emirates Secondary Schools Research proposal Contents 2 Introduction 3 2. Research background 4 2.1 KM basics 4 2.2 KM in education 5 2.3 Cultural influences on KM 6 2.4 Educational system in the UAE 7 3. Research questions 7 4. Research design 8 4.1 Research methods 8 4.2 Data generating 9 4.3 Data analysis 10 4.4 Sampling 11 5. Ethical considerations 11 6. Epistemological validation 12 7. Contribution of research to knowledge 13 8. Research timeline 13 References 15 Appendix A. Features of educational system in the UAE 19 1. Introduction Knowledge management (KM) is referred to the “identifying and leveraging the collective knowledge in an organization to help the organization compete” (Alavi & Leidner 2001: p.113). The business world has recognised that KM is vitally important for organisation development even some decades ago. However, educational administrators and teachers have turned toward knowledge management tools and methods only recently. Many researchers emphasise that there is a lack of estimation of a potential impact that the using of KM systems may have upon the current educational systems (Friehs 2003; Fullan 2002; Petrides & Nodine 2003; etc.). At the same time, Petrides & Guiney (2002) argue that the effective use of data, information and knowledge through knowledge management ‘can enable schools to evolve from bureaucracies forged during in industrial era to educational knowledge ecologies that are prepared to compete in a networked information-driven global society.’ (p.1703). KM is built on a human-centered approach that heavily depends on the organisational context and involves three core organisational resources – people, processes and technologies. Previous researches in the field revealed that such factors as management, technology and culture contribute differently to managing knowledge. In this paper we present our proposal for a piece of research which is aimed to investigate the relationship between the current state of management, technology and culture and the knowledge management activities in the Emirates secondary schools. We hope that our study will promote an improvement of the existing KM practices in the UAE educational system and make a contribution in positive changes in the country economy at a whole. 2. Research background 2.1 KM basics Nonaka (1994) defines knowledge as “justified belief that increases an entity’s capacity for effective action” (cited in Alavi & Leidner 2001:p.109). Knowledge is always a product of human activities – learning, reflection, experience. Today, when thanks to the ICT impetuous development an access to information of any sort has been increased dramatically, ‘the value of the cognitive skills becomes greater, [and] value of knowledge-intensive skills [such as judgment, design, leadership, better decisions, persuasiveness, wit, innovation, aesthetics, and humour] are more and more widely recognized’ (Prusak 2001: p.1002). De Long & Fahey (2000: p.14) point out that, in dependence on context, knowledge may be viewed either as being located in an individual (or a collective), or as embedded in a process (or a routine). Unlike information the distinctive feature of knowledge is that it can be often in a tacit form, what makes its codification and transfer via formal rules and procedures quite difficult. The overall purpose of KM in organisation can be defined as follows: ‘To enhance organisational performance by explicitly designing and implementing tools, processes, systems, structures, and cultures to improve creation, sharing, and use of all types of knowledge.’ (De Long & Fahey 2000: p.15) According to Davenport and Prusak (2001), the most organisational KM initiatives are commonly aimed onto one of three objectives: ‘(1) to make knowledge visible and show the role of knowledge in an organization; (2) to develop a knowledge-intensive culture by encouraging and aggregating behaviours such as knowledge sharing (as opposed to hoarding) and proactively seeking and offering knowledge; (3) to build a knowledge infrastructure not only a technical system, but a web of connections among people given space, time, tools, and encouragement to interact and collaborate’ (cited in Alavi & Leidner 2001:p.113). It is important to note that today, like twelve years ago, these three aims remain as major ones in the most of KM agendas across the world. 2.2 KM in education Researchers agree that today’s education is under the pressure of the marketplace; this forces schools and universities to improve their organisational systems, aiming to meet the requirements of different internal and external stakeholders (Na Ubon & Kimble 2002; Petrides & Guiney 2002). In spite of that, educational institutes are ‘among the last to implement KM principles and programs and suggested that academic cultures need to shift from knowledge hoarding to knowledge sharing ‘(Brewer & Brewer 2010: p.332). One of the main reasons for such situation is the inefficient ICT using. Petrides & Nodine (2003) assert that the practice of using ICT within education has focused in the most part to collect and organise quantitative data rather than to improve knowledge sharing and dissemination. Among other barriers of the effective information using Petrides & Nodine (2003) mention: a lack of qualified staff; a variety of ununified methods and tools used for KM; a lack of leadership; unclear organisational priorities; and distrust of data use (p.13). In addition, as Francisco (2006) emphasises, many educators are not comfortable to share information and knowledge via online systems with the lack of personal contacts, as well as they have little time for that in the course of the day (Fullan 2002). Yet, researchers and educational practitioners see a great potential of KM in improving organisational and educational outcomes (Friehs 2003). Communities of Practice (CoPs) seem to be the most promising KM tool in terms of KM efficiency. First of all, CoPs are ‘groups of people who share similar goals and interests’ (Kirchner & Wopereis 2003: p.111). This means that members of CoPs likely ‘employ common practices, work with the same tools and express themselves in a common language.’ (Ibid.) That, in its turn, causes strengthening of trust within the community and increases willingness of members to communicate with each other and to share knowledge. In addition, CoPs: Enable novice teachers access to a ‘wide range of distributed expertise from more experienced teachers to university faculty’; Help teachers to learn more about technology and how it can be used to support the learning of their own students; Provide sustained support to all teachers, including experienced ones - allowing teachers to share their experiences and techniques with others and get feedback on it so that they can modify their actions, their methods and their curricula. (Kirchner & Wopereis 2003: p.113) One more promising state-of-the-art technology that can provide a big step in KM at a whole and in KM in education in particular, is Semantic Knowledge Management, which implies the interplay of educational technologies and reified knowledge objects explicitly related to these technologies (Kohlhase & Kohlhase 2008). 2.3 Cultural influences on KM Hofstede (1983) declares that the influence of national cultures on management is a key issue for today’s organisations, which intend to implement a management system of some kind. Since 1970s managers and researchers have recognised the ‘stubbornness of national differences’ (Hofstede, 1983, p.75). Hofstede (1983) argues: ‘It became clear that national and regional cultures do matter for management. … These differences may become one of the most crucial problems for management.’ (p.75) Previous research confirmed that increasing globalisation processes do not lower a significance of culture differences in management (Brewster, 2004; Iellatchich and Mayrhofer, 2004; etc.). In a case of knowledge management, culture plays an extremely important role, because culture is ‘the shared values, beliefs and practices of the people’ (McDermott & O’Dell 2001:p.77), what is exactly the foundation of knowledge. McDermott & O’Dell (2001) explain that the most successful KM initiatives did not intend to change the culture in organisations, but instead they fitted their KM approach to existing organisational culture. Fullah (2002) emphasises an importance to understand the leadership role of school principals in management of complex change within educational institutes. 2.4 Educational system in the UAE The modern education system in the UAE is based basically on the same fundamentals as educational systems of many other world nations – on Western pedagogical models and the current K-12 curriculum (Godwin 2006). However, it differs profoundly by its cultural and political context. One of the major distinctions of the system is the lack of qualified national teachers. Muysken & Nour (2006) agree that ‘the educational system in the [UAE] suffers from serious weak performance/low quality of teachers due to lack of teaching skills and knowledge of the recent teaching and learning techniques/ tools’ (p.964). Results of their study present the causes of the deficient educational system in the UAE, the implications of this system and main factors constraining knowledge transfer in the UAE schools (see Appendix A). The results prove evidently the necessity of improvement of the educational system of the Emirates, where the effective KM may be crucial. 3. Research questions The primary aim of our research is to explore the relationship between KM influencing factors (management, technology and culture) and knowledge management activities in the Emirates secondary schools. The following research questions shall be answered during the study: How can existing theories and previous researches help to explain the connections and influences between KM factors and KM activities? What are current KM approaches and practices in Emirates secondary schools? What political, organisational, technological and social conditions currently facilitate KM activities in Emirates secondary schools? What political, organisational, technological and social barriers currently have the negative impact on facilitating KM activities in Emirates secondary schools? How schools can improve the performance and achieve business goals more effectively by using Knowledge Management practical methods? 4. Research design 4.1 Research methods Teagarden et al. (1995) assert that the desired outcomes of any research are the generation of reliable and valid data and accurate interpretation of the data. So a right choice of methods of collecting data is the major issue in research design. In our study we intend to use a descriptive form of research, the objective of which is ‘to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations’ (Saunders et al. 2007:p.134). A descriptive form of research will help us to investigate and present the true nature and status of relationships and existing practices, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, as well as environmental conditions as they occur at the moment of the investigation (Creswell, 1994). The descriptive approach will also allow us to obtain first hand data from the respondents, based on their current impressions, and thus to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. The study will combine qualitative and quantitative approaches. Such mixed research method will allow gathering pertinent data and achieving the objectives of the study effectively. Saunders et al. (2007) point out that the mixed method provides better opportunity to answer research questions and to evaluate better the extent to which the research findings can be trusted (p.146). 4.2 Data generating Qualitative research Primary Sources of Data According to Maykut and Morehouse (1994), ‘the data of qualitative inquiry is most often people’s words and actions, and thus requires methods that allow the researcher to capture language and behaviour.” (p. 46). As the main technique for gathering data we will use semi-structured face-to-face in-depth interview to gain in-depth information (explanations, interpretations, opinions) on the area of our study from principals of real Emirates secondary schools. In this type of interview ‘the researcher wants to know specific information which can be compared and contrasted with information gained in other interviews.’ (Dawson, 2002, p.28) We will also produce an interview schedule - a list of topics to be discussed; each interview will be conducting according this schedule to ensure continuity. During the study the schedule might be updated and revised after each interview to include more topics which have arisen as a result of the previous interview. Boyce & Neale (2006) assert that ‘The primary advantage of in-depth interviews is that they provide much more detailed information than what is available through other data collection methods, such as surveys. They also may provide a more relaxed atmosphere in which to collect information - people may feel more comfortable having a conversation with you about their program as opposed to filling out a survey.’ (p.3) To do that, the same questions will be asked in each interview, they will be open and precise enough to give the interviewee the place and the opportunity to speak and develop own ideas. We will try to remain the interview ‘flexible so that other important information can still arise.’ (Dawson, 2002, p.29) Interviews will be focused on KM strategies and activities in the Emirates secondary schools; key factors influencing the KM activity, employees’ attitudes to KM; specific features of KM and other aspects related to our research objectives. Secondary Sources of Data In support of the data gathered, a state-of-the-art literature review will be done with the help of secondary data from printed sources, such as journal articles, books, research papers and academic magazines, professional journals, as well as from online sources. It will give a strong foundation of the whole study. Quantitative research. The quantitative approach will be used to draw measurable data to determine relationships between different KM factors and KM activities. Structured questionnaire survey helps ‘to collect quantitative data which you can analyse quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics’ (Sanders et al. 2007: p.138). So, it will help us to determine and understand better relationships between different variables. Survey aims to draw information from a large sample; it allows us to derive and investigate precise and impartial data to support conclusions and generalizations. The questionnaire will be designed in English, discussed and revised after discussing with experts, and then it will be translated if it needed. We plan to conduct a questionnaire survey among principals, teachers and assistants of the Emirates secondary schools via email and telephone. 4.3 Data analysis Qualitative data gathered during in-depth interviewing will be analysed by reviewing, generalising and interpreting appropriately, so that to reveal interconnections among elements and to determine existing patterns of relationship between them. Quantitative results of the survey will be analysed using statistical methods (e.g. percentage analysis or correlation analysis, which determines the existence of a relationship between the various dependent and independent variables). Results and analysis will be presented using Microsoft Excel where the data is tabulated and graphed to facilitate readability. 4.4 Sampling Participants of the research interviewing and surveying will be selected from the Emirates secondary schools using both convenience and random sampling – school principals for the in-depth interview will be chosen based on our access to key personnel in the Emirates secondary schools, while principals, teachers and assistants for survey can be chosen from data bases or open information sources (e.g. school web-sites). We intend to select schools with different organisational contexts – e.g. different sizes and different ownerships. The population for our study will be composed as follows: Population for face-to-face interview should include 10 principals of the Emirates secondary schools Population for questionnaire survey should include 50 principals and 150 teachers and assistants of the Emirates secondary schools. 5. Ethical considerations In our research we will be strongly governed by ethical considerations. The general ethical principal, which we will adhere to, is that our research design will not subject people whom we will research (our research population) to embarrassment or any other material disadvantage (Saunders et al 2007: p.153). Other principles are: Informed consent – we will conduct a research only among people who will give us a clear consent after receiving truthful information about the research; Right to privacy – we appreciate the right of our population to privacy and will not ask them to provide their name or other identity in the research. Although we will ask some demographical characteristics, important for the study (age, education, nationality) but without identity. Protection from harm – we will not harm our population neither physically, nor emotionally, nor by any other kind. We will be open, friendly and supportive. 6. Epistemological validation Creswell (1994) insists to validate research in order to ensure the accuracy of the findings. In our study we see possible weaknesses both in quantitative and qualitative methods, so we have developed strategies to compensate these weaknesses. In-depth interview method can fail in gathering accurate information about the context of the research objects, inability to control the environment, or pre-determined outcomes (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1992). We intend to compensate it by expert validation, i.e. constant interaction with the research participants during interviews, as well as learning about the context in advance and after interview, and uncovering new emerged research themes in time. Possible weaknesses of the qualitative method, such as departing from the original objectives of the research or excessive subjectivity of judgment (Cassell and Symon, 1994), will be compensated by the thorough questionnaire development (including discussion of the survey draft with experts), and by the clearly stating the research problem and crosschecking with the results of the statistical analyses. 7. Contribution of research to knowledge At a whole, our study will promote an improvement of existing Knowledge Management practices in Emirates educational system, and consequently cause positive changes in the schools’ performance and strategy management. In this sense, we agree with Friehs (2003) who says: ‘Supporting factors for successful knowledge management strategies are a knowledge-based and knowledge-oriented culture, the cooperation of the top-management, an adequate technical and organizational infrastructure, a clear vision, motivating elements, a certain amount of knowledge structure and multiple channels for knowledge transfer. Then the aim of knowledge management – improved teaching, learning and general working conditions – can be realized.’ (p.14). We strongly hope that our research will be a remarkable step towards the deeper understanding of nature and particular features of these supporting factors regarding the UAE educational system. We believe that our study will be also helpful for researchers who are going to conduct further research in the area of KM in education. 8. Research timeline The timeline of the study is 6 months – from 01 January 2011 to 01 July 2011. During this period the following activities will be executed: Ready research proposal: 01 January 2011. Conducting the state-of-the-art-literature review – to 01 February 2011. Design of interview and survey questionnaires – to 15 February 2011. Discussing the interview and survey questionnaires, improvement – to 01 March 2011. Conducting the interview (10 persons) – to 01 April 2011. Conducting the survey (200 persons) – to 01 May 2011. Data analysis and interpretation – to 01 June 2011. Final reporting – to 01 July 2011. There is a small time superfluity in June-July in a case if we will not manage to conduct all interviews and surveys in time. References Alavi, M. & Leidner, D.E. (2001) Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25 (1), 107-136. Boyce, C. & Neale, P. (2006) Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input. [Online] Watertown, Pathfinder International. Available from: http://www.pathfind.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_indepth_interviews.pdf [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Brewer, P.D. & Brewer, K.L. (2010) Knowledge Management, Human Resource Management, and higher education: A theoretical model. Journal of Education for Business, 85, 330-335. Cassell, C. & Symon, G. (1994) Qualitative research in work contexts. In: Cassell, C. & Symon, G. (eds.) Qualitative methods in organizational research. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications. pp. 1-13. Creswell, J. W. (1994) Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications. Dawson, C. (2002) Practical research methods: A user-friendly guide to mastering research. Oxford, How To Books. De Long, D.W. & Fahey, L. (2000) Diagnosing cultural barriers to Knowledge Management. Academy of Management Executive, 14 (4), 113-127. Francisco, J.R. (2006) Knowledge Management tools to support education. [Online] Phoenix, University of Phoenix. Available from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=916609 [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Frankfort-Nachmias, C. & Nachmias, D. (1992) Research methods in the social sciences. 4th edition. New York, St. Martins Press. Friehs, B. (2003) Knowledge Management in educational settings. International Education Research Conference AARE – NZARE, 30 November - 3 December 2003. Auckland, New Zealand. [Online] Available from: http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/fri03007.pdf [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Fullan, M. (2002) The role of leadership in the promotion of Knowledge Management in schools. Teachers and Teaching, 8 (3), 409 – 419. Godwin, S.M. (2006) Globalization, education and emiratization: A study of the United Arab Emirates. Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing countries, 27(1), 1-14. Hofstede, G. (1983) The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 14 (2), 75-89. Hofstede, G. (1998) Organizational culture. In: Poole, M. & Warner, M. (eds.) IEBM Handbook of HRM. London, International Thomson Press. pp. 237-255. Iellatchich, A. & Mayrhofer, W. (2004) Management across borders - A multidisciplinary approach towards globalisation and diffusion processes in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal for East European Management Studies, 9 (2), 93-97. Kirchner, P. & Wopereis, I.G.J.H. (2003) Mindtools for teacher communities: a European perspective. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 12 (1), 105-124. Kohlhase, A. & Kohlhase, M. (2008) Semantic Knowledge Management for education. Proceedings of the IEEE, 96 (6), 970-989. Kostova, T. (1999) Transnational transfer of strategic organizational practices: A contextual perspective. Academy of Management Review, 24 (2), 308-24. Maykut, P. S. & Morehouse, R.E. (1994) Beginning qualitative research: A philosophic and practical guide. London, The Falmer Press. McDermott, R. & O’Dell, C. (2001) Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing knowledge. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5 (1), 76-85. Muysken, J. & Nour, S. (2006) Deficiencies in education and poor prospects for economic growth in the Gulf countries: The case of the UAE. Journal of Development Studies, 42 (6), 957–980. Na Ubon, A. & Kimble, C. (2002) Knowledge Management in online distance education. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Networked Learning, 465-473. [Online] Available from: http://www.chris-kimble.com/Publications/Documents/Ubon_2002.pdf [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Petrides, L.A. & Guiney, S.Z. (2002) Knowledge Management for school leaders: an ecological framework for thinking schools. Teachers College Record, 104 (8), 1702-1717. Petrides, L.A. & Nodine, T.R. (2003) Knowledge Management in education: Defining the landscape. [Online] Half Moon Bay, CA, Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education. Available from: http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED477349.pdf [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Prusak, L. (2001) Where did Knowledge Management come from? IBM Systems Journal, 40 (4), 1002-1007. Rowley, C. & Benson, J. (2000) Convergence and divergence in Asian Human Resource Management. [Online] Paris, Association Francophone de Gestaion des Ressources Humaines. Available from: http://www.reims-ms.fr/agrh/docs/actes-agrh/pdf-des-actes/2000rowley-benson087.pdf [Accessed 14 December 2010]. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2007) Research methods for business students. Harlow, Pearson Education. Teagarden, M.B., Glinow, V., Ann, M., Bowen, D.E. & Frayne, C.A. (1995) Toward a theory of comparative management research: an idiographic case study of the best international human resources management project. Academy of Management Journal, 38 (5), 1261-1287. Appendix A. Features of educational system in the UAE Table A1. The causes of the deficient educational system in the UAE (as indicated by the survey respondents). Source: Muysken & Nour 2006: p.971 Table A2. The implications of a deficient educational system and unskilled foreign workers Source: Muysken & Nour 2006: p.973. Table A3. Factors constraining knowledge transfer in the UAE (indicated by respondents). Source: Muysken & Nour 2006: p.974. Read More