A FRAMEWORK TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Knowledge management Systems (KMS) are IT applications that manage representations of organizational knowledge. This paper presents a conceptual model of KMS which adapts an artificial intelligence (AI) based view of knowledge. According to this view, knowledge can be defined in terms of agent, action, state, and goal. The conceptual model is intended to help differentiate the role of KMS from that of Information Systems (IS). The knowledge managed by the KMS is intended to enable an agent to choose actions that can be taken to accomplish a goal in the given state. The role of the IS is to make the agent aware of a situation described in terms of states, actions, and goal. The model suggests that whether we classify an IT application as KMS or IS depends on the contents it manages and to increase the effectiveness of KMS, it is often necessary to use IS that complement the KMS. Considering the importance and popularity of KMS in organizations, we believe the clarification of the role of KMS is useful

Knowledge and information evaluation practice - an exploratory study in a construction firm

There are a number of challenges associated with managing knowledge and information in construction organizations delivering major capital assets. These include the ever-increasing volumes of information, losing people because of retirement or competitors, the continuously changing nature of information, lack of methods on eliciting useful knowledge, development of new information technologies and changes in management and innovation practices. Existing tools and methodologies for valuing intangible assets in fields such as engineering, project management and financial, accounting, do not address fully the issues associated with the valuation of information and knowledge. Information is rarely recorded in a way that a document can be valued, when either produced or subsequently retrieved and re-used. In addition, there is a wealth of tacit personal knowledge which, if codified into documentary information, may prove to be very valuable to operators of the finished asset or future designers. This paper addresses the problem of information overload and identifies the differences between data, information and knowledge. An exploratory study was conducted with a leading construction consultant examining three perspectives (business, project management and document management) by structured interviews and specifically how to value information in practical terms. Major challenges in information management are identified. An through-life Information Evaluation methodology (IEM) is presented to reduce information overload and to make the information more valuable in the future

Overload of information or lack of high value information: lessons learnt from construction

Information and knowledge are strategic assets, processed to attain objectives, perform actions and make decisions. However, technological innovations can change the format of information and often result in more complicated project information or knowledge management tools whilst this can provide information to an individual more easily and quickly. Current systems have little or no regard for the value of the information they contain. As projects draw to a close, some organisations are now asking what information is worth retaining and how might it be reused. This paper addresses the problems of information overload and value in the construction industry. Exploratory studies compared two major consultants in the UK from three perspectives (business, project management and document management). Major challenges in the current information evaluation practice in the industry were identified. Information overload does exist in the industry and is getting worse because of the heavy but often inappropriate use of search and collaborative technologies. Loss of high value information due to staff leaving is a major problem, but the companies are reluctant to evaluate recorded information (before or after storage) for future retrieval. From the strategic point of view, there is a lack of information evaluation tools that quantify the benefits and costs of performing information evaluation activities and the effects on storage. Based on these findings, a through-life Information Evaluation Methodology (IEM) has been proposed to allow high value information to be easily retrievable in the future in order to support through-life knowledge and information management (KIM) practice

PENGARUH PERILAKU WIRAUSAHA TERHADAP DAYA SAING USAHA PADA PENGUSAHA SENTRA INDUSTRI SEPATU CIBADUYUT DI BANDUNG

Indra Jayadi (1405930), “Pengaruh Perilaku Wirausaha Terhadap Daya Saing Usaha pada Pengusaha Sentra Industri Sepatu Cibaduyut di Bandung”. Di bawah bimbingan Dr. H. Hari Mulyadi, M. Si dan Drs. H. Rd. Dian H Utama, M. Si. Salah satu indikator ekonomi yang semakin mendapat perhatian dalam kancah perekonomian global adalah faktor daya saing, oleh karena itu upaya peningkatan daya saing harus menjadi salah satu fokus pemerintah dalam mengelola perekonomian. Industri kecil memiliki peran besar dalam perekonomian, yaitu dalam penyerapan tenaga kerja dan kontribusinya terhadap pendapatan daerah maupun nasional namun daya saingnya masih rendah. Perilaku wirausaha merupakan salah satu cara agar perusahaan dapat bersaing, yaitu dengan harus melakukan inovasi. Salah satu UMKM yang mengalami masalah daya saing yaitu Sentra Industri Sepatu Cibaduyut di Bandung. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1) mengetahui gambaran perilaku wirausaha, (2) mengetahui tingkat daya saing, dan (3) mengetahui pengaruh perilaku wirausaha terhadap daya saing usaha. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif dan verifikatif. Metode yang digunakan adalah explanatory survey dengan jumlah sampel 117 responden. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah Partial Least Square Path Modeling (PLS-PM) atau disebut juga PLS Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), dengan alat bantu software SmartPLS 3.2.7. Hasil temuan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa gambaran perilaku wirausaha dalam kategori cukup baik, dan tingkat daya saing dalam kategori cukup tinggi. Perilaku wirausaha berpengaruh signifikan terhadap daya saing. Kata kunci: Daya Saing, Perilaku Wirausaha Indra Jayadi (1405930), “Influence of Entrepreneurial Behavior on Business Competitiveness on entrepreneur of The Industrial Center Shoes Cibaduyut Bandung”. Under the guidance of Dr. H. Hari Mulyadi, M. Si and Drs. H. Rd. Dian H Utama, M. Si One of the economic indicators that increasingly get attention in the global economy is the competitiveness factor, therefore the efforts to increase competitiveness should be one of the government's focus on managing the economy. Small industries have a big role in the economy, namely in the absorption of labor and its contributions to local and national income but its competitiveness is still low. Entrepreneurial behavior is one of the ways that companies can compete, which should innovate. One of the SMES who are experiencing competitiveness problem is the industrial center of shoes Cibaduyut Bandung. This research aims to (1) find out the description of entrepreneurial behavior, (2) find out the level of competitiveness, and (4) find out the effect of entrepreneurial behavior towards competitiveness. This type of research is descriptive and verification. The method used was explanatory survey with the total sample of 117 respondents. Data analysis technique used was Partial Least Square Path Modeling (PLS-PM) or PLS Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), eith the software of SmartPLS 3.2.7. The results of the findings in this study indicate that the entrepreneurial behavior description is in the good enough category, the level of competitiveness is in the high enough category. The entrepreneurial behavior significantly influences competitiveness. Keywords : Competitiveness, Entrepreneurial Behavio

What is design knowledge from the viewpoint of CPM/PDD?

Knowledge is a very common term in engineering design and also extensively discussed. There are many theories describing what knowledge is and how it should be managed in engineering design. But no shown/presented concept or definition is generally accepted. One reason for this are differing theories and views about the underlying development/design process. Therefore, it is necessary to find an adequate model for knowledge, which considers the product development process. This paper is based on the Characteristics-Properties Modelling / Property-Driven Development (CPM/PDD) approach [Weber 2005]. The product model (i.e. CPM) and the model of the product development process (i.e. PDD) are based on the clear distinction between characteristics and properties and, thus, enable a structured and integrated consideration of design knowledge. On this account, this paper provides a closer look on design knowledge in the context of CPM/PDD. Among other considerations, a method out of the theoretical computer science is applied to this context

Information evaluation: empirical investigations in engineering organisations

The management of information in engineering organizations is facing a particular challenge due to the ever-increasing volume of information needs to be dealt with. It has been recognized that an effective methodology is required to evaluate information in order to avoid information overload and to retain the right information for reuse. By whatever approaches, information evaluation judgments are made in those engineering organizations in order to support businesses decisions. Investigating those practical methodologies would benefit the overall information evaluation research. This paper addresses this practical information evaluation issue firstly by briefly reviewing the idea of information evaluation, the definition of value, and related research work on the value of information in various areas. Then a series of industrial empirical investigation activities, based on interviews in engineering organizations, are introduced. The evaluation approaches in those organizations are analyzed and compared according to the nature of each of the organizations. The current practices are then summarized. Finally, several further issues including the impact of the newly developed information evaluation methodologies and the implementation issues associated with this evaluation assessment method are raised

A knowledge system to support manufacturing knowledge during preliminary design

The integration of manufacturing knowledge into the product introduction process is presented as a knowledge management problem. Concurrent engineering techniques are highly effective in sharing manufacturing knowledge, particularly for the re-use of knowledge at the detail design stage when the geometry has been developed. This research considers the use of manufacturing knowledge in the earlier, preliminary stage of design where the geometry is not so developed and where development of manufacturing technology may be required. An exploratory case study was carried out with a manufacturer of gas turbine engines for the civil aviation market. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to investigate the manufacturing knowledge required and its format. Using a data-driven analysis, a thematic code was developed and three themes emerged: manufacturing impact, expressions of impact and knowledge type. These themes indicate the requirement for a hybrid social-technical system to support both the tacit and explicit elements of manufacturing knowledge. An indication of the maturity of the manufacturing process also emerged as a major requirement in order to synchronize manufacturing technology developments with future product requirements. A prototype knowledge system is now being developed to meet the requirements identified through the coding analysis. The specification of the system, which uses a combination of information and social systems, is discussed

High value information in engineering organizations

The management of information in engineering organizations is facing a particular challenge in the ever-increasing volume of information. It has been recognized that an effective methodology is required to evaluate information in order to avoid information overload and to retain the right information for reuse. By using, as a starting point, a number of the current tools and techniques which attempt to obtain ‘the value’ of information, it is proposed that an assessment or filter mechanism for information is needed to be developed. This paper addresses this issue firstly by briefly reviewing the information overload problem, the definition of value, and related research work on the value of information in various areas. Then a “characteristic” based framework of information evaluation is introduced using the key characteristics identified from related work as an example. A Bayesian Network diagram method is introduced to the framework to build the linkage between the characteristics and information value in order to quantitatively calculate the quality and value of information. The training and verification process for the model is then described using 60 real engineering documents as a sample. The model gives a reasonable accurate result and the differences between the model calculation and training judgments are summarized as the potential causes are discussed. Finally several further the issues including the challenge of the framework and the implementations of this evaluation assessment method are raised