A Congenial Access Control Technique for Knowledge Management Systems

Usability is of extreme importance in any system design. In knowledge management systems, the need for usability is heightened by the inertia to use the system by workers. The current popular access control technique used by in KMS and portals is not exactly suitable for such a sensitive system because it does not amend to the fuzzy nature of a KMS and KM functions and ends up making the system difficult to use and violates the overall objective of the system. The research highlights usability issues as one of the problems of KMS and a potent cause of failure it was therefore treated with such seriousness. A more congenial access control technique was proposed which allows for the fuzziness inherent in KMS for large organizations. The model was evaluated through a real-world implementation – the dotCSC and the design proved viable. The system had a 0% false positive and an initial 2.1% false negative rate which was quickly corrected. It eliminated the stress of continuous role engineering and modifications. The system also recorded a high level of usability based on an online survey conducted through it. Overall, we achieved adequate security and usability, a goal which has been elusive to KMS and other systems

Towards Controlling the Acceptance Factors for a Collaborative Platform in Engineering Design

International audienceThis paper might serve as a guide to take step towards a better acceptance of computer-based Knowledge management (KM) tools in institutional setting. At first time, it investigates a set of factors with different origins which are proved to have an effect on usage decision. Secondly, we set a list of candidate factor which are supposed to influence future users of a collaborative KM platform (Dimocode). At the end, we develop a methodology to take into account the selected factors and master their positive or negative impacts. The contents of this paper would be an appropriate framework in the way of Knowledge management systems (KMS) deployment

Group Support Systems for Knowledge Acquisition in Humanitarian Disaster Response Teams: Embedded Research in the Belgian First Aid and Support Team

Knowledge management systems (KMS) are designed to support and enhance the process of creating, storing, retrieving and transferring knowledge. In this contribution we investigate the use of such systems for the acquisition of knowledge in humanitarian disaster response teams. First, we present a framework describing how KMS should enhance group process gains and alleviate group process losses, and create an effective learning environment for successfully supporting the acquisition of knowledge. Second, we describe ongoing research on the acquisition of knowledge in the Belgian humanitarian response team (B-FAST, for Belgian First Aid and Support Team) that uses Microsoft Groove as knowledge management system before, during and after their missions. Initial findings are presented based on participant observation and interviews of the B-FAST team during a large humanitarian exercise, along with plans for future research

Official Knowledge: Validation Mechanisms for Knowledge Management Systems

One of the most important roles of a knowledge management system is as a filter to verify, authenticate, or justify the knowledge of an organization. The knowledge that passes this filter and is retained or otherwise deemed valuable by the system is official knowledge, the knowledge sanctioned by an organization. In this study, twenty-two articles that describe typologies of knowledge management systems were reviewed for their insights into knowledge validation. The articles were reviewed in the context of intellectual parentage with each article belonging to one of ten lines of inquiry spawning from five preeminent knowledge management articles. The results of this metastudy identify epistemology, knowledge transfer, the application environment, and the social process of sensemaking as valuable considerations for the design of validation mechanisms. A checklist of these considerations serves as the primary contribution of this study. Implications for future work in the design of validation mechanisms for knowledge management systems are discussed

Defining Knowledge Management System Risk

Knowledge Management Systems are becoming widely used in organizations. Early successes are encouraging but these systems entail their own set of challenges. This paper proposes a measure of risk exposure for knowledge management system use. Five undesirable outcomes and thirty two risk factors were identified. These elements were extracted from the literature and from cases, and validated using a Delphi exercise. This measure enables knowledge managers to assess the level of risk supported by their organization and to take the appropriate action to manage their risk exposure

An investigation into tacit knowledge management at the supervisory level.

An investigation into tacit knowledge management at the supervisory level Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate how supervisors managed tacit knowledge. Aims: The aims were to understand what tacit knowledge looked like on the shop floor, to understand "experience‟ in terms of tacit knowledge, and to describe the methods and techniques that supervisors used to manage this elusive resource as they went about the task of achieving organisational goals. Method: Qualitative data was collected using a novel iterative participant observation method, where the researcher-as-instrument was embedded as a novice (but privileged) employee for extended periods in four different case study sites. Over the course of the study, the researcher took on the role of laboratory technician, electrical engineer, manufacturing process worker, and aircraft maintenance engineer. A grounded theory approach was taken to the analysis of the various field notes, photographs, video, audio, and found objects. The methodology was augmented with specialist qualitative research software to manage the data. Results: It was found that supervisors' tacit knowledge management activities can be classified according to formal and informal behaviours that correspond with Nonaka and Takeuchi's SECI knowledge life cycle. It was also found that a worker's task related tacit knowledge has seven aspects in five levels of competency, and their experience can be described in terms of 10 categories of tacit knowledge working capital. Insights attributed to the novel method of data collection produced an unexpected finding – the Home Guard model, which describes how the value of an individual's knowledge sharing activities is related to their power distance and self-confidence. Conclusions: The findings provide empirical support for existing knowledge management theory, identify specific supervisory behaviours that support tacit knowledge management on the shop floor, and extend the knowledge management discourse with new theories about knowledge sharing behaviours that have direct application to the supervisory role

Two Cases in High Reliability Organizing: A Hermeneutic Reconceptualization.

In view of the primacy of organizational reliability, an exploration of what contextual and structural organization dimensions contribute to high reliability is a pertinent research issue. This dissertation attempts to answer this question in case of the incident management process of the IT department of a financial institution and of a nuclear power plant. By means of constructs stemming from research in so-called High Reliability Organizations (HRO) and SenseMaking, and by taking a hermeneutic research approach, building on quantitative as well as qualitative techniques, existing HRO literature is reconceptualized. It is this reconceptualization that allows for a confirmation of the assumption that not only the nuclear power plant – as an archetypical HRO – but also the financial institution – as a mainstream organization – are bearing genuine HRO hallmarks. However, the answer to what constitutes high reliability is less univocal. As a general observation, a high score on HRO constructs does not necessarily contribute to high reliability. Hence the conclusion that the poison makes the dose. On the other hand, starting from the reconceptualized framework, newly introduced HRO constructs like Team Orientation, Threat Flexibility and Efficiency do univocally influence high reliability. Therefore – notwithstanding the absence of an ideal reliability cocktail – there are strong indications that a reconceptualized HRO theory has the potential of offering valuable advice regarding organizing for high reliability.

Towards a triadic creative role: Hong Kong advertising creatives' responses to the rise of social media

The rise of social media has significant implications for the advertising industry, particularly for the relationships between marketers, consumers and advertising agencies. In fact, the entire advertising landscape has been developing in response to the emergence of digital technologies and advertising media, and the roles of these key stakeholders of the advertising industry and how they perform in the social media era are still not clear. Most previous research on this topic has focused on Western countries and adopted a macro perspective. In contrast, this study contributes to knowledge by focusing on an Asian context, and by exploring how social media are shaping the working lives of individual creatives who play a key role in the development of creative ideas and their expression across an increasingly diverse range of media. This study aimed to explore how and to what extent the work roles and identities of Hong Kong-based advertising creatives are changing in response to the rise of social media. As the study focused on creatives’ experiences, a qualitative, interpretive approach was taken. This involved 32 interviews with advertising creatives in agencies differing in size, digital focus and ownership, supplemented with participant observations in both a multinational full-service advertising agency (Agency-M) and an independent Hong-Kong digital agency (Agency R). The study has provided insights into creatives’ perspectives on their roles, identities, skill-sets and beliefs in relation to the rise of social media, and on the ways in which their relationships with clients and agency colleagues were changing as social media became more important. In particular, the study identified three key experiences of Hong Kong advertising creatives in relation to the rise of social media. First, they were found to have divergent role identities linked to their identification with traditional and digital communication agencies. Second, the rise of social media led them to experience new tensions in their relationships with clients. Finally, across both traditional and digital agencies in Hong Kong, the role of advertising creatives is beginning to transcend the digital/traditional distinction. This new hybrid role was found to involve creative switching between three identities over the course of the advertising development process: creative strategist, creative facilitator, and creative producer. Each of these role identities required more from them than the merging of ‘digital’ and ‘traditional’ creative skills; in particular, the creatives increasingly found themselves having to work closely with a broader range of stakeholders within and beyond their own agencies, requiring them to develop their interpersonal and negotiating skills. This research contributes to understanding the role and role identity in creative industries. It explores the many ways that social media are shaping advertising creatives’ working practices and identities, and it highlights the importance of cultural context to advertising practice. The triadic structure of contemporary Hong Kong advertising creatives’ roles identified here has implications for theorising advertising creativity, agency practice, and social media as a catalyst for individual and organisational identity and practices in the creative industries. The findings also have implications for advertising agency structure and practices, within and beyond the creative department