Key Issues Identified IM And KM Against The Literature - Essay Example

Information Management A discussion of the key issues identified IM and KM against the literature and the NASA, Xerox and Danone case studies ofthe Student Name of the University Introduction In this essay, the writer is trying to definite information management, knowledge management, their overlaps and the differences between them through the literatures and the case studies. After reading this essay, readers could easily identify what is information management, what is knowledge management and what are their overlaps and differences. Information Management Definition Information management can be stated as a synonym for data management or information technology management. The approach emphasises more on quantitative data structures and significant relationship with database design. Information management is all about effectively utilising various information resources in order to control, plan, lead and organise social activities. In business context, information technology can be regarded as a well-defined relationship between business performance and communication. Information management is a basic term which is given to input output, collecting and processing information (Powell, 2003). It can be stated that information gathering, storage and transmission are common factors encompassed within information management. The key issues of IM (1) Information requirements The approach of information management is centred towards information requirements. There is a high need for information in current scenario, specifically in business and managerial areas. Information services are a major area of concern for clients and customers. Since last fifty years, information requirement has played a major role within information science. On the other hand, competitive intelligence providers are the ones who access online sources so as to analyse information. They should be aware about customer’s needs in order to provide information in a cost-effective manner. The changes in information requirements are closely knitted with specific changes occurring in user environment. This kind of environmental conditions comprise of broader environment or immediate work environment. Information requirements basically changes with variations witnessed in received information. This ultimately results into new information needs or elimination of previous needs. The degree of information relevancy is dependent on the ultimate user. This indicates an individual’s interpretative and subjective response towards information (Jones and Teevan, 2011). It is all about making sensible interpretation of obtained information and then efficiently incorporating it into knowledge base (Ditsa, 2003). Information manager is solely responsible for analysing wide range of information requirements. It is a recurrent mechanism, where feedback obtained after providing information is used for enhancing organisational functions. (2) Information life cycle Information life cycle to certain extent is similar to records management. The document life cycle can be regarded as a critical component within records management. There are certain factors which are embedded within document control such as creation and record design, authorisation, identification, circulation, validation, verification, back-up procedures, destruction and retention schedules. This kind of lifecycle of records is expected to vary from one organisation to another. The variation in records lifecycle is interlinked with information usage, its organisation, nature, control and extent of usage. In general context, information lifecycle has five well-defined stages like collection, determination, use, disposition and processing. All of these stages require proper measurement and estimation of information values. Department of State considers information lifecycle to be directly associated with internal documents and much more organised or developed. The first stage deals with revising the entire document or making a draft. Stage two is related with approval or clearance (Choo, 2002). The following stages consider other elements such as informal or formal exchanges, reuse and local retrieval, indexing, central retrieval, secondary or primary distribution, permanent retention and systems administration. It is clearly evident that system administration is not linked with overall monitoring of the system. The password control and security classification are encompassed within system administration. (3) Information strategies and information policies Information policy is applicable for any kind of organisational level. In U.K., the major objective behind an information policy has been identification of business opportunities. Information management is based on the concept that information storage or analysis is a key driver of organisational success. The information policy comprises of objectives and aims, which revolve around organisational information. There are certain factors which are related with information policies such as software and information processing equipment, staff responsibilities and roles, data, and information systems. Information policy aims at upgrading accessibility of managers and executives towards organisational resources. Marketing and planning personnel often requires customised searching options or definite information resources which are included within an information policy (Cox, 2007). There are specific strategies for each dimension of information policy. These strategies mainly extend to intensive information scanning, identification of relevant business opportunities, frequent information assimilation, intensive information usage, forward-looking strategy on information management and building high level of competence. Information strategy is inclined towards successful accomplishment of set aims. There are different procedures which can be adopted for goal accomplishment such as training secretaries or personal assistants about components of online searching, investing in software agent in order to provide automated services to managers and commissioning library services of an organisation so as to effectively exhibit managerial search. Information Management in the case From the case - “Columbia’s Final Mission”, it is claimed that the Columbia’s disaster was due to strong winds hit during takeoff, the rocket booster’s temporary replacement before launching and "too old", then eventually lead to the "meritorious spacecraft" disintegration. In the 62 seconds after Columbia take-off, suddenly encountered an anomalies violent gale, which may lead to the "internal injuries" occurrence of the left side of the fuselage. After 20 seconds, from the lower part of the bodys main fuel tank foam insulation falling hit the front of left wing, causing directly "external injury". Experts believe that these injuries on a 10-year space shuttle are probably nothing, but to this 21-year-old "Columbia" is fatal. Through this useful information, scientists can sum up experiences and lessons; know how to pay attention to the space shuttle from all aspects. Knowledge Management Definition In 1990s, knowledge management gained significance in business community. Knowledge is considered to be equally valuable in relation to land, energy, labour and capital. Organisational success and effectiveness is driven by wide knowledge base (Awad, 2007). It is an integrated concept to share, identify, retrieve, capture and evaluate information assets of an organisation. Innovation and knowledge creation are fundamental concepts of knowledge management. The knowledge management approach is focused on organisational practices and cultural dimensions (Wallace, 2007). It is not just about acquiring conventional information but also to reflect upon tacit knowledge. There has been further development of this concept, whereby knowledge management is no longer structural and knowledge or information capital, but also includes customer capital. The key issues of KM (1) Communities and collaboration The term “silo” is used as a metaphor for knowledge management unit. It can be stated that the major issue with silos is lack of collaboration or communication. This issue can be eradicated by designing a platform known as “community of learning” (Vasconcelos, 2008). Silos were the resultant output which was generated after flattening organisational structure or removing middle management from the system. The knowledge management applications are focused on supporting and creating communities which possesses shared areas of interest. In current scenario, the trend of knowledge management is to develop a climate where individuals store knowledge and share it with others (Schultze & Stabell, 2004). There are two key application areas such as determining knowledge possessed by an individual and then creating best possible learning practices. British Petroleum is a known community creation example, where response teams across the globe resolve an issue by assembling virtually. (2) Tacit and explicit Tacit knowledge is highly distinct from explicit knowledge, since the former reflects upon knowledge stored in personal files or human minds. Knowledge sharing is the current trend in organisational system. The major intention of knowledge management technique is to enable employees to implement best learning practices. Explicit knowledge is greatly observed in databases or documents. The implementation of best practices facilitates proper screening of available information. There are two valuable principles – identifying knowledge base of individuals and focusing on various lessons learned (Little, Quintas & Ray, 2002). There is lack of concrete literature available on tacit knowledge, though it is considered to be a vital component of knowledge management. The system working on tacit knowledge takes into consideration context and culture of an organisation. It is at times also considered to be competitive advantage of an enterprise. (3) Innovation The knowledge management applications based on innovation is collaborating team members from different discipline to work towards development of new knowledge. Individual innovation is still considered to be an essential element though focus has shifted towards teamwork and discipline. Knowledge management can be classified as leaders fostering and embracing knowledge creation dynamism. In managerial literature, development of knowledge base is regarded as the most interesting topic (Klein, 2008). It is about creation of a new platform where individuals are able to acquire knowledge through effectively sharing information amongst team members. The knowledge management applications are centred towards creating an environment where knowledge workers are able to share creative ideas. It is often observed that capabilities of a company get upgraded in least time possible (Liebowitz, 2012). This form of change is only possible through application of knowledge management. Case studies on Knowledge Management (1) From the case ---- “Xerox: Building a Corporate Focus on Knowledge”, it is obviously to know that the firm has been successful through appropriate knowledge management mechanism. There are some critical success factors of the company such as research initiative on “innovation and knowledge", corporate intranet establishment, inclination towards sharing and development of intellectual resources, Knowledge Director Establishment, alteration of traditional marketing tools and internal knowledge base establishment. These factors have been incorporated within the system in order to bring forth a positive change. In overall context, efficient knowledge management tends to make business operations simpler and easier (Koenig & Srikantaiah, 2003). There is transparency maintained in the system along with creation of innovative ideas. Xerox has been able to implement a knowledge management system, whereby development strategies can be aligned with wider knowledge economy. (2) “Danone case – global knowledge management” - Franck Riboud was the leader of Danone. At Danone, there have been various driving forces such as local markets, integration and decentralisation, knowledge management and human connection, and prior knowledge management approaches. The act of decentralisation enabled team members to share information through a collaborative approach. This procedure even initiated participation of more employees in order to develop an innovative framework. Technological integration can be denoted as one of the essential investments from firm’s perspective. In a nutshell, investment in intellectual capital facilitates sustainable development in a competitive scenario. The overlaps of IM and KM There has been quick transformation in product branding by software houses, specifically in case of knowledge management software. This kind of transformation is not observed in context of e-mail, groupware, or information retrieval software. The entire approach can be stated as ‘replace and search marketing’. Knowledge management Index describes the internal and external mechanism of twenty-seven companies. However there is less number of firms which describe themselves as knowledge management organisation (Hislop, 2005). The list of twenty-seven companies, encompass a single firm which has utilised knowledge management label in order to market their product. Database technology is basically marketed by majority of firms through their websites. This marketed technology is usually in terms of customer relationship management, intranet systems, information retrieval systems, e-commerce, groupware, etc. Any of these mentioned companies do not portray a new procedure to manage information efficiently. However integration of knowledge management within information management is an accurate phenomenon displayed by the companies. Knowledge management can be considered as a simple synonym for wider approach of information management (BegonaLloria, 2008). The major overlap between knowledge management and information management is in terms of organisational culture, business strategy and external environment. Organisational culture usually revolves around promoting enterprise development. There are certain key components of external environment such as society constraints, government policy, organisational strategy and information policy. The core element encompassed within the approach is values and spirit. There is an integration established between different cultural values in order to accomplish goals. Differences between IM and KM Information management Knowledge management This concept emphasises more on formal as well as structured information. However there is certain limitation within the approach There are multiple factors encompassed within knowledge management. The emphasis is still on informal and unstructured information It is an external factor which primarily focuses only on information It considers internal information as well as external information. However that external information is reflected upon which resides with customers and suppliers It brings forth organisational neutrality Knowledge management is a vital component to initiate transformation of corporate culture The delivery of knowledge and information follows a spoke and hub structure An integrated web structure is adopted where there is efficient sharing of knowledge and information The structure mainly comprise of synthetic formats, taxonomies, classification, information structuring, etc. It is an unformed appreciation in context of knowledge or information structuring There is contextual knowledge within this approach. However there is lack of recognition Appropriate data available in relation to customer, organisation, supplier, etc The information displayed is either graphic, text or numerical It is often assumed to be in text format, but gets displayed as non-textual information Information management is never combined with any kind of compensation policy There is a strong link established between compensation policy and knowledge-sharing Conclusion As per the study, information management is about resolving organisational issues, accomplishing goals, planning, controlling and integrating, addressing specific requirements, and utilising resources effectively as a part of strategic management process. Knowledge management takes into consideration both aspects such as human and information management. The comparison between these two concepts outlined certain factors like improvement in managing techniques, objects, goals and methods. Hence knowledge management is an integrated part of information management, where focus is on upgradation of knowledge economy. As a whole, knowledge management has evolved as a new concept in managerial and business literature. Bibliography Awad, E. M. (2007). Knowledge management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. BegonaLloria, M. (2008). A review of the main approaches to knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 6, 77-89. Choo, C.W. (2002). Information management for the intelligent organization. 3rd ed. Medford, NJ: Information Today. Cox, A. (2007). Reproducing knowledge: Xerox and the story of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 5 (1), 3-12. Ditsa, G. (2003). Information management: support systems & multimedia technology. New York: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Hislop, D. (2005). Knowledge management in organizations: a critical introduction. Oxford: OUP. Jones, W. P. and Teevan, J. (2011). Personal information management. Washington: University of Washington Press. Klein, J.H. (2008). Some directions for research in knowledge sharing. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 6, 41-46. Koenig, M.E.D. & Srikantaiah, T.K. (2003). Knowledge management lessons learned: what works and what doesnt. Medford, NJ: Information Today for the American Society for Information Science. Liebowitz, J. (2012). Knowledge Management Handbook: Collaboration and Social Networking, Second Edition. New York: CRC Press. Little, S., Quintas, P. & Ray, T. (2002). Managing knowledge: an essential reader. London: Open University and Sage. Powell, M. (2003). Information management for development organisations. London: Oxfam. Schultze, U. & Stabell, C. (2004). Knowing what you don’t know? Discourses and contradictions in Knowledge Management research. Journal of Management Studies, 41(4), 549-573. Vasconcelos, A.C. (2008). Dilemmas in knowledge management. Library Management, 29(4/5), 422-443. Wallace, D. P. (2007). Knowledge management: historical and cross-disciplinary themes. New York: Libraries Unlimited. Read More