Knowledge Management Systems - Literature review Example

Topic: Knowledge Management Systems Student’s name Course name Institution’s name 20th July 2011 1. Integrating Knowledge With Needs It is evident that the application of knowledge can be seen in different aspects and spheres of life (Malhotra, 2005). For example, a clinician uses the biological knowledge to treat the patients while a construction engineer applies engineering knowledge to design and build the required buildings. This means that knowledge is applied in every situation to meet the needs at hand (Malhotra, 2005). For example, the need for the patient to get well demands that the medical knowledge is applied and integrated by the doctor in treating the patient. It is therefore important to note that knowledge would be useless if there were no needs upon which the knowledge is to be integrated in solving different problems associated with such needs. 2. Framework for Knowledge Management System Design Knowledge management systems refer to the system of knowledge management that exist in the organization to create, support, store, capture and distribute to disseminate information (Hayes & Walsham, 2003). This is particularly done through the information technology programs. The framework for knowledge management system design comprises of a number of features. They include purpose, processes, context, instruments and participants (Hayes & Walsham, 2003). Purpose refers to the objective of KMS which is mainly management of explicit knowledge. KMS are designed to enhance and support processes which are knowledge-intensive. KMS supports instruments meant for knowledge management. For example, capturing, creating and formulating a platform for sharing codifiable experience aspects. 3. The importance of tools, techniques and systems that exist within the organization that can be leveraged to achieve the outcome Organizations have different tools and techniques which they leverage to achieve the desired outcome (Sharma, 2004). For example, information technology is one of the tools leveraged by organizations to achieve the desired outcome in business process such as enhancing business processes and increasing the speed with which different departments in the organizations co-ordinate and cooperate to achieve the organizational objectives (Sharma, 2004). One of the techniques that have been leveraged by organizations in the recent past is the knowledge management which has helped greatly in sharing of knowledge between different departments and persons in the organizations resulting into higher quality of services and goods produced in the organization. 4. Methodology of knowledge management systems design Knowledge management system design is based on the method of enabling employees in any given organization to access facts which are documented, solutions and information sources to be able to perform their duties and responsibilities effectively (Benbasat & Zmud, 1999). Hence, KMS design takes different forms such as documented aspects which comprises of technology that allows sharing/ management/creation of documents that are formatted such as web and Lotus Notes. The other form is taxonomy/ontology based which comprises of methods used to summarize documents (Benbasat & Zmud, 1999). Additionally, organizational network maps which indicate the communication flow between individuals and entities. The other form is the tools for social computing which increase the approach to knowledge management system creation. 5. The best Knowledge and information could be used for organizations Knowledge and information are important sources of ideas and skills that can be applied in the organization to achieve higher levels of innovation and creativity in order to increase the organization’s product offering in the market (Langton & Robbins, 2006). Knowledge and information could best be used in organizations to achieve higher levels of production. For example, knowledge or information of a new method of production could be used to increase the production levels in the organization (Langton & Robbins, 2006). Additionally, information and knowledge could best be used in the organization to produce high quality products which would enable the organization to attain a competitive advantage in the market than the rest of the competitors. 6. Why is business Intelligence important for knowledge management systems Business intelligence refers to techniques used in organizations to extract, identify and carry out analysis of business information or data such as analysis of incomes and costs or analysis of sales revenue using computer-based programs (Negash, 2004). Business intelligence is therefore important for knowledge management systems in that it helps in data mining, management of information on business performance, text mining, process mining and analytics of information related to business process (Negash, 2004). It means business intelligence processes are widely applied in knowledge management systems to make information more relevant and useful to be shared across the whole organization for decision-making purposes. Hence, BI is important because it enhances the relevance of KMS in the organization. 7. Failing to recognize the importance of experimentation related to Knowledge Systems Knowledge systems undergo through different life cycle in their development. One of the most important cycles is system experimentation. Failure to recognize the importance of experimentation related to knowledge systems means that the knowledge systems may not yield the required end results due to a number of defects which may affect the performance of the knowledge systems (Beynon-David, 2009). This means that the knowledge system may not achieve the required user acceptance threshold due to numerous mistakes in the process of sharing information. For example, a knowledge system such as knowledge software for sharing information that contains any defect may not be widely accepted in the organization (Beynon-David, 2009). 8. Seeking to develop direct measures of knowledge When seeking to develop direct measures of knowledge a number of things must be taken into consideration. First, the measure of knowledge should reflect the company’s actual worth which means that higher measures of knowledge should be applied in companies with higher actual worth (Skyrme, 2008). Lower measures of knowledge should be applied in companies with a lower actual worth. Second, the measures of knowledge should give or provide insights into the organization’s sustainable performance drivers (Skyrme, 2008). For example, the measure of knowledge should seek to identify the required knowledge that can drive the organizational processes to greater heights and those that may support the goal of the company. 9. How to build a system to satisfy specified knowledge management requirements In order to build a system to satisfy specified knowledge management requirements several things must be taken into consideration. First, the system must emphasize on reason and concepts (Frank, 2001). This means that the system must offer clear definitions of concepts in order to enhance its relevance. For example, the systems must offer definitions of such terms as business processes, organizational unit, task, and corporate strategy (to mention a few) (Frank, 2001). Such definitions’ ensures that information shared and contained in the knowledge management systems is relevant to the readers and can be utilised to achieve the organizational objectives (Frank, 2001). Second, the system should also support awareness by supporting knowledge dissemination in order to make information and knowledge relevant to the users at the proper time. 10. What will happen if there are unreliable information and knowledge when designing knowledge management systems Unreliable information and knowledge would result into the collapse of knowledge management systems because users would lose confidence on the information contained in the KMS. For example, if the definition of business process is unreliable then it means that the users would not make use of the KMS in the organization (Maier, 2007). Additionally, it follows that the framework of sharing knowledge in the organization would also be narrowed because people would revert back to other methods of sharing knowledge such as hierarchical method where only a few people in the organization posses are required to posses and share knowledge in the organization (Maier, 2007). It also means that the KMS would not be effective in disseminating information and therefore the organization would incur unnecessary costs of implementing KMS. . References 1. Malhotra, Y. (2005). Integrating knowledge management technologies in organizational business processes: getting real time enterprises to deliver real business performance. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:WFLA7r4s20MJ:km.brint.com/RealTime.pdf+Integrating+Knowledge+With+Needs&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjxOP3bKYwhg2-7NcJ7uOFfWqXQZLRu3shZjKW_iueYrcysq5jKjXkVUpYL1BgdC7ayqUblhbtCFimDHLtpXgXS8nHC5zwMVDfTwywlzTXwncmTGQgSR1Qvyi54kQSnPiG4kYKU&sig=AHIEtbRdweOXtOZXSDwkqz-j2uB_3rphuA&pli=1 2. Hayes, M & Walsham, G. (2003). Knowledge sharing and ICTs: A relational perspective In M. Easterby- Smith & M. A. Lyles (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 54–77. 3. Sharma, S. (2004). Creating Knowledge Based Organizations (Boston, Idea Group Publishing). 4. Benbasat, I & Zmud, R. (1999). "Empirical research in information systems: The practice of relevance". MIS Quarterly 23 (1): 3–16 5. Langton, N & Robbins, S. (2006). Organizational Behaviour (Fourth Canadian Edition). (Toronto, Ontario, Pearson Prentice Hall). 6. Negash, S. (2004). "Business Intelligence", Communications of the Association of Information Systems, vol. 13, 2004, p. 177.195. 7. Beynon-David, P. (2009). Business Information Systems. (Palgrave, Basingstoke) 8. Skyrme, D. (2008). Measuring Knowledge. http://www.skyrme.com/insights/24kmeas.htm 9. Frank, U. (2001). Knowledge Management systems: Essential requirements and generic design patterns. (Koblenz, Germany). http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:ukN8F-6x4rAJ:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.73.5017%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+knowledge+management+requirements&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi0RXSbO9sKkgbvtyR7KFN6AviDtySZbWOhks0md9ss8-Gca3n9iexOS0XcI_LgFr3jyWVJX-Q9HV2qtayYQryka-oIZ_NO42fdOkAgrUJdYGi5MRSd2wgIjKyWLUMRthB7sONo&sig=AHIEtbTx7jm_ZPa74TEMAbZWuvBP8VK_4w 10. Maier, R (2007). Knowledge Management Systems: Information And Communication Technologies for Knowledge Management, (Berlin, Springer Publishers). Read More