Carbon Information and Knowledge Management Higher Education - Essay Example

Running Head: Carbon Information and Carbon Information and Knowledge Management – Higher Education Instructor Name Date of Submission Carbon Information and Knowledge Management – Higher Education Introduction This is a self reflective essay that would critically evaluate Manchester University Carbon Management Plan. It is an information systems/ knowledge management project. At first, I will explain the programme from my viewpoint and experience. Next, I will focus on the things that I liked about the execution of the plan. This section will be followed by another section that will describe what I disliked and why. After that, there is the conclusion part. The paper seeks to explain the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) concisely along with a critical evaluation of the daily functioning of the processes. It also focuses on my personal experience with the simulation program. I could correlate the lessons I learned with the real world scenario although there have been certain points of dissatisfaction. My Experience with the Plan The Carbon Management Plan was primarily aimed at minimizing the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. According to the executive summary presented by the university, the “Carbon Management Plan (CMP) is a 5-year action plan which contributes significantly towards reducing the University of Manchesters carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020 (2019/2020 academic year), a target incorporated into the Universitys strategic plan and approved by the Board of Governors in October 2009.” (Environmental and Sustainability Team, The University of Manchester, 2010a) Further in this context, the executive summary puts forward that “Financial penalties for failure to reduce carbon emissions are already in place (e.g. CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme) or expected (HEFCE Capital Investment Framework), and will likely increase in severity.” (Environmental and Sustainability Team, The University of Manchester, 2010a). Therefore, it is clear that the University was in a struggling state as far as the reduction of its carbon footprint is concerned. There was a gap between expected or desired performance and the actual one – the stakeholders who were involved in the plan were performing below the mark. This sort of situation created in the simulation program produced a really challenging atmosphere. Now the strategy was twofold. First, proficient knowledge management had to be achieved by prompt and flawless recording and documentation of the energy data: The variables like electricity consumption, waste management, vehicular emission, etc. had to be examined with the help of inferential statistics. Second, a sound information system was to be formulated to exploit the advantages of using information and communication technology. For example, face to face meetings (that involve vehicular emission due to travelling by the participants) could be replaced by teleconferencing and using the applications like Skype. Things that I Liked The best part of CMP was implementation plan – financing. The evaluation of the benefit/savings on a continuous basis helped the participants to quantify the targets in a corporate style. This was an example of excellent knowledge management. In fact, according to Makower and Pike (2009), carbon management permits organizations to consider carbon as a business variable that requires to be handled just like any other variables. The implementation plan – financing part of the programme helped in doing this as it not only quantified the related benefits/savings but also analyzed the financial costs and sources of funding (Environmental and Sustainability Team, The University of Manchester, 2010b). Moreover, in carbon management, storage and conversion, energy efficiency, waste treatment and similar innovations are very important (United States Office of the Federal Registrar, 2006). This sort of training with the simulation program helps in understanding the basic tenets of knowledge management. In today’s workplace, lots of things have to be synchronized at a place, for which knowledge in different fields is essential. The working knowledge, supplemented with proper management techniques helped me to develop an insight in my daily professional activities. In our office, there is a system of rotation of the employees from one department to another. This simulation program helped me to develop an interdisciplinary approach for the process and triumph in the office environment. Another aspect of the simulation was decision making. Handling so many processes simultaneously, decision making began to develop almost automatically. Business decision making is not an easy deal, but the corporate outlook of the CMP helped me a lot. Things that I Disliked In my opinion, the CMP was less intricate as far as the goals were set. Daily targets were not being given to the participants in a regular manner. Also, the IT integration appeared to be incomplete. Large scale IT integration could achieve faster communication. This would involve implementation of high speed wireless communication which could itself immensely help in minimizing carbon dioxide/monoxide emission and use of plastics, wires, cables, etc. Facilitating wireless communication among the stakeholders can be regarded as a very important consideration in the sphere of information system management. But the CMP neither had separate chapters in this regard nor was it taking any implemental steps to facilitate this. Thus the simulation did not provide a substantial information systems training. The information systems part I find difficult to manage at the work place. I need to be introduced to more innovative communication method that can help in understanding the information systems better. I think I have excelled in knowledge management, but as far as my daily professional life is concerned, I often face difficulty in understanding technology. The CMP simulation programme provides an understanding … but that is it. Advanced knowledge is unavailable. Knowledge based information engineering is very important in refining one’s organizational behaviour and understanding (Baba, Jain and Howlett, 2001). I need to overcome the difficulties I face in understanding technology at my workplace. Conclusion The major problem in implementing the CMP was underperformance by the University stakeholders so far. The losses due to environmental pollution too would be very serious. Therefore, there was an urgent need for more sophisticated knowledge management in combination with information and communication technology. Thus the environment created by the simulation becomes very challenging. I found the knowledge management portion of the programme very productive. We have to deal interdisciplinary topics time and again at the modern workplace. In the course of business synchronization this is very important indeed. But more work has to be done to improve the portion that deals with information systems. Effective knowledge management is impossible without quality IT integration. Reference List Baba, N., Jain, C. and Howlett, R.J. 2001. Knowledge Based Information Engineering Systems and Allied Technologies. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Environmental and Sustainability Team, The University of Manchester. 2010a. Executive Summary. Available: http://www.sustainability.manchester.ac.uk/campus/energy/cmanagement?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=CMP+Executive+Summary.pdf. Last accessed 19 August 2011. Environmental and Sustainability Team, The University of Manchester. 2010b. Carbon Management Plan. Available: http://www.sustainability.manchester.ac.uk/campus/energy/cmanagement?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=University+of+Manchester+CMP.pdf. Last accessed 19 August 2011. Makower, J. and Pike, C. 2009. Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business. New York: McGraw-Hill. United States Office of the Federal Registrar. 2006. L.S.A., List of C.F.R. Sections Affected. Washington D.C.: National Archives of the United States. Read More