The material, mental, historical and social character of knowledge

Article Summary for Week 5 Class 7

(Group: KMx6- Fatemeh, Skalk, Bee, Lanoi, Max, Roger)

Rooney, D., & Schneider, U. (2005). The material, mental, historical and social character of knowledge. In Handbook on the Knowledge Economy, New horizons in public policy (pp. 19-36). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

Type of article: Introductory chapter in a book .

Audience: Academics, Knowledge Management Professionals, Public policy makers.

Aim: This chapter provides a framework within which the rest of the chapters sit.

Summary:
The author maintains that knowledge or the act of knowing entails a number of things.
Tacit knowledge enabled modern society to come into being. Where humans used myths, stories and shared social backgrounds more socially orientated, strategic, abstract and innovative thinking occurred / are occurring. To enable these advances humans have always used symbolic, non-verbal thought systems such as imagination, intuition, analogy, and metaphor. These thought systems are used as linking mechanism to link an observation in the physical world to a description. This enabled humans to make sense of the world around them. Mention is made that knowledge have got two states, it can be articulated and un-articulated. The point is made that for knowledge to be shared in group it has to be communicable. The communicability of knowledge is dependant on the social context. A further distinction is made between procedural and declarative knowledge and intuition. An argument is then made that knowledge sits within a social-related and an interpretative-relational contexts. Individuals, as knowers’, are also doers. Individuals need to be made aware and be helped to cooperate, contest, advocate and communicate in the interest of better knowing. The knowers’ situation is also defined by time and space. Models should take cognisance of how information is diffused in groups through mediating technologies. Enactment of knowledge is the key aspect of knowledge transfer. Knowers enact knowledge strategically, the intentions are purposeful to realise goals and objectives for now or in the future. Knowledge systems are not predictable or controllable. This is a problem for managers and public policy makers. Strategic interventions can be put in place to enact knowledge. Wisdom and attention to context would be key elements for good public policy. The author them lists nine key observations from the article.


Review:
This chapter is part of a group of chapters on the concepts of Knowledge Management. It is not an easy ready and is highly philosophical in nature. If the reader is not comfortable with this approach or have enough prior knowledge then it is easy to loose interest. Ok use is made of headings to guide the reader through the text. Care should be taken to follow the argument. The useful bit of the article is the summary at the end (p. 33) that provides in points the position of the authors on Knowledge management and policy. These bullet points in my opinion are really useful to keep in mind if one were to explore knowledge management within Government policy.

MISQ Article : THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE : TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS
MISQ Executive - The Information Technology Workforce: Trends and Implications 2005-2008
Type of article: Research Article
Audience: Managers, IT professionals, and senior executives.
Central Focus / Theme: Examining current trends in the IT workforce – in particular the idea of IT firms and departments building up the quality and quantity of their work force.

The report was based on data collected from interviews with 81 IT executives in 77 IT departments from a range of industries. A substantial number of these executives were CIOs or Senior Vice presidents.

The research report focuses on five key results of the study.
1. Most large organizations anticipated an increase in their IT staff
2. A shift from an emphasis in technical skills to project management and client facing capabilities
3. IT executives were more likely to outsource technical skills
4. CIO’s felt that systems design and analysis were often retained in-house
5. IT executives were also on the lookout for individuals with traditional technical skills, that is programming, analysis, database and operating systems.

Implications for IT professionals

The article discusses how in the past IT professionals with technical skills became middle managers through years of experience. The authors propose the idea that there needs to be a shift in the way that organizations develop or train young IT professionals so that they gain the critical project skills that are essential to organizations. This report also highlighted the fact that the younger generation of IT workers are more mobile and Human resource management will have to implement strategies to leverage this mobility. There are other points raised in this article, however I have chosen to highlight these results , as these findings are relevant not only in the IT sector but in other industries as well.

Critique
The article is intended as a challenge to organizations to acknowledge knowledge capital and manage it effectively. The authors present this information in a clear, compelling and informative way. This information is meant to challenge executives, in the way that they view and manage their workforce. A major strength of the article is that it is well researched and well supported using statistics and relevant graphs. The authors use a very accessible and reader- friendly writing style to discuss important trends in the workforce.

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Knowledge Management Technologies: A Discriminative Approach

ARTICLE SUMMARY & REVIEW (Week3-Class4) by Fatemeh Hosseini

(Group: KMx6- Fatemeh, Skalk, Bee, Lanoi, Max, Roger)

Article: Factors Affecting the Adoption of Knowledge Management Technologies: A Discriminative Approach

Sherry D Ryan, & Victor R Prybutok. (2001). Factors affecting the adoption of knowledge management technologies: A discriminative approach. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 41(4), 31-37.


Summary:

This research paper investigates the characteristics associated with adaptation of KM technologies through a survey of IT executives. It begins with introducing the KM and the reasons for the increase in its recognition by organizations according to literature. The paper uses a theoretical framework which consists of three contextual variables that influence the information system adoption process:

a. Organizational: characteristics of the organizations
b. Environmental: the circumstances and climate in which the organization conducts its business
c. Technological: the characteristics of existing technologies in the organization & their influence

The paper then applies this framework to the adoption of KM technologies and consequently proposes four hypotheses:

H1: a higher degree of strategic relevance of IT positively influence the organization’s decision to adopt KM technologies

H2: Organizations with higher proportion of knowledge workers will be more inclined than other organizations to adopt KM technologies

H3: Organizations with prior user-centric technologies are more inclined to adopt KM technologies

H4: Higher level of investment in technology per employee will positively influence the organization’s decision to adopt KM technologies

The result of the study confirms that:

- Those organizations that use IT for strategic purposes are more likely to adopt KM technologies than those who do not, and this could have huge competitive consequences for those who are ignoring KM.

- Those organizations with prior experience with user-centric technologies (e.g. client/server technology) are more likely to adopt KM technologies. This could be related to the business mindset, technical expertise, and support infrastructure associated with client/server technology. As many of those organizations have reconceptualised their support strategies, providing the end-users with training and help needed to use the technological tools.

- Higher level of IT investment per employee in the past has a positive influence on the organization’s decision to adopt KM technologies.

- The environmental factor was not significant in the adoption of KM technologies in the organizations.


Review:
This is an empirical study that was a bit hard to read due to highly academic and technical style of writing with mentioning several theories and frameworks and how they are supposed to work, but not many specific examples about how exactly the technologies are used in the organizations and. The paper seems to be targeting the top level management groups or those who make decision about adopting of KM technologies rather than the lower level knowledge workers.

The paper looks at the three key technologies in KM (based on the available literature): intranets, groupware, and data warehouses. So the study only focuses on these technologies, and other types of KM technologies which may be more common or effective these days are not included. However, the extensive list of provided references which can be useful for following up on any of the mentioned topics/concepts.

Knowledge management systems: finding a way with technology

ARTICLE SUMMARY & REVIEW (Week3-Class4) by Fatemeh Hosseini

(Group: KMx6- Fatemeh, Skalk, Bee, Lanoi, Max, Roger)

Article: John S. Edwards, Duncan Shaw & Paul M. Collier (2005). Knowledge management systems: finding a way with technology. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 9 (1), 113-125.

Summary:

This article aims to consider the role of technology in KM in organizations (both current role and desired one). The authors review the literature with a focus on technology and KM Systems, while acknowledging that KM involves all 3 of organizational, human, and technical issues, and technical aspect is not the most important one. The literature review found out that the expert and knowledge-based system software have a role to play in supporting the KM, but so does the more conventional/general software (such as; email, search engines, discussion forums, databases, and etc.).

The research was carried out by conducting 10 workshops on 10 different organizations (with a variety of sizes and types), with 5-10 participants from the same organization attending each workshop.

The research result showed that use of general IT tools (e.g. emails, shared databases, and intranet) were among the most common tools to support KM activities rather than use of specific tools to KM. But the issue about the use of general IT tools for most organizations seems to be how to use them effectively in supporting KM.

The authors conclude that, each organization need to find a solution for their use of technology to support KM that is right for them and there is no “one size fit all” solution. But the article identifies 4 types of tensions that can influence the decisions about IT and KM and each organization needs to resolve them in order to support KM:

1) Quality Vs Quantity of information and knowledge that is being managed: e.g. existence of unfocussed and irrelevant content of shared databases
2) Centralized Vs Decentralized organizations: does KM imply a more centralized organization? What about importance of informal organizations (e.g. social networks)?
3) “Head office" Vs Operational knowledge. who should decide which knowledge needs to be managed?
4) “Push” Vs “Pull” information/knowledge strategies: How to get the right balance?


Review:

This was an empirical research article going into extensive details about description of the methodology used for data collection (i.e. observation in the workshops). It also mentions specific findings of the research about each participated organization and their extent of technology use in KM (and examples), organization’s overall focus of KM (on people, technology, or processes), issues and concerns of the current KM, and their desired level of KM. This was an easy-to-read article with lots of examples, but the examples are very general and don’t give specific information about how the organization is using the technologies and what could be changed to make them more effective.

The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management

MMIM 503 – Week 2 – Class 3

Fahey, L., Prusak, L. (1998). The eleven deadliest sins of Knowledge Management. California Management Review, 40(3), 80-89.


Summary:
The authors present a selection of common errors of knowledge management based on their observations of over a hundred knowledge projects. Following discussion of eleven particular errors or categories of errors, the authors propose a series of actions which managers can embark upon to avoid them.

The first errors stem from issues surrounding the definition of knowledge (as distinct from data and information) and the privileging of the concept of knowledge stock over the concept of knowledge flow.

The next group of errors involve the failure to recognize the role of the individual as the focus of knowledge generation, transmission and use. Context and the creation of shared context amongst groups of individuals is the key here.

Trivializing the role and importance of tacit knowledge, and the decoupling of knowledge from its uses are the focus of the next two errors.

The failure to challenge the dominance and pervasiveness of tacit knowledge can impact negatively on thinking and reasoning. This, combined with a failure to focus on the future and a reluctance to value experimentation are three more common errors.

Failure to recognize that human intervention is the only source of knowledge generation, combined with an overemphasis on direct measures of knowledge, complete the roster of common knowledge management errors.

By way of remedies for these errors, the authors suggest continual reflection on knowledge as an organizational phenomenon, and the obsessive noting and correction of errors in managers’ stock of knowledge and knowledge processes.

Review:
This article identifies a useful set of common errors and false assumptions surrounding the issue of Knowledge Management. Of particular interest is the emphasis on the central role the individual plays in the generation, transmission and use of knowledge. Thus, many issues surrounding Knowledge Management are related to the management of people.

The State of the Notion: Knowledge Mangement in Practice

MMIM 503 - Week 2 - Class 2

Ruggles, R. (1998). The state of the notion: Knowledge management in practice. California Management Review, 40(3), 80-89.


Summary:
The article looks at the results of a 1997 study of U.S. and European organizations and their approaches to Knowledge Management. The study examines Knowledge Management in these organizations from three perspectives: What is being done now to manage knowledge; what could or should be done; and what are the greatest barriers to their KM efforts.
Taking a process-based view of organizational management, the authors of the study apply this perspective to the management of knowledge, and develop eight categories of knowledge focused activities (knowledge processes).

The study reveals that in attempting to improve performance in one or more of these processes, organizations have embarked on a variety of KM projects. The four most popular projects are taken as representative of the current state of the practice in KM: Creating an Intranet; Data Warehousing/Creating Knowledge Repositories; Implementing Decision-Support Tools; and Implementing Groupware to Support Collaboration.

In terms of what could/should be done by organizations, the study finds the following three initiatives to be the most popular on the “to do” list: Mapping sources of internal expertise; creating networks of knowledge workers; and establishing new knowledge roles.

The authors of the study identify the balance of 50/25/25 people/process/technology from the outset as crucial to the success or failure of new KM initiatives.

Review:
This 1997 study shows its age now in terms of some of the KM projects which were priorities at the time – creating an intranet for example. However, the process-based view of KM, and the eight categories of processes identified provide a useful framework for the analysis of KM within an organization.