SEMANTIC WEB BASED APPLICATION FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS FLOWS

This article presents the architecture of a framework designed to facilitate the interoperability between organizations based on knowledge management. The framework has four components: business flow design, rules developing, semantic networks and ontologies design, automated semantic web service composition. The latter, is based on fractals theory and agent supervision so that to determine the boundaries of the research environment and to enhance composition performance.semantic web, business, knowledge, interoperability, services, fractals

The Management of Debris Flow in Disaster Prevention using an Ontology-based Knowledge Management System

In recently years, the government, academia and business have applied different information technologies to disaster prevention and diverse web sites have been developed. Although these web sites provide a large number of data about disaster-prevention, they are knowledge poor in nature. Furthermore, disaster-prevention is a knowledge-intensive task and a potential knowledge management system can overcome the shortcoming of knowledge poor. On the other hand, ontology design plays the key role toward designing a successful knowledge management system. In this paper, we introduce a three-stage life cycle for ontology design for supporting the service of disaster prevention of debris flow and propose a framework of an ontology-based knowledge management system with the KAON API environment. In addition, by appealing to the technology of component reuse, the system is developed at lower cost thus knowledge workers can focus on the design of ontology and knowledge objects. The objectives of the proposed system is to facilitate knowledge accumulation, knowledge reuse and dissemination for the management of disaster prevention. This work is expected to enable the promotion of the traditional disaster management of debris flow towards the so-called knowledge-driven decision support services

TOWARD SYSTEMATIC DESIGN OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SERVICE DELIVERY NETWORKS

Effective management of IT-enabled services is becoming increasingly important. These services are often delivered by networks of knowledge workers who constitute Knowledge Intensive Service Delivery Networks (KISDN). This dissertation contributes to the effective design and management of KISDN by presenting two mixed integer programming models which integrate disparate streams of research. The first model facilitates analysis and managerial benchmarking of KISDN. We focus on how the performance of such networks depends on the interaction between workflow decisions, information flow networks (IFNs) structure and knowledge management decisions. We propose that knowledge about IFNs and worker competencies can be effectively used to make workflow decisions. Our results, based on the study of different IFN archetypes, illustrate practices for effective management of KISDN. Recognizing existing IFNs, increasing randomness in IFNs, nurturing weak or performative ties depending on the archetype, assigning tasks based on effective worker competence, and selectively delaying assignment of tasks to workers can enhance business value. The second model focuses on the design of IFNs. Organizations are increasingly creating and using IFNs to transfer knowledge. However, there is limited understanding of the design of IFNs to maximize knowledge sharing. Our results demonstrate the impact of worker competency heterogeneity, number of skills supported by the firm, and time (cost) associated with knowledge sharing on the design of efficient IFNs

The intellectual capital - environmental practices, performance and their relationships in the Romanian banking sector

Purpose – This paper reviews the knowledge assets that can be capitalized for successful Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) implementation in the Romanian banking industry. GSCM is defined as the company’s ability to understand and manage the environmental risks along the Supply Chain (SC) (Carter and Rogers,2008). Banks are very much members of the SCs (McKenzie and Wolfe, 2004), called to integrate the environmental management into both operational and core commercial activities and to manage the environmental risk in their supply chain (FORGE Group,2000; International Finance Corporation, 2006; UNEP Finance Initiative, 2009a). Intellectual capital, or the ‘stock’ of knowledge-based equity firms hold, is recognized as a key contributor to their competitiveness (Bontis et al., 1999), which may act as a driver of environmental pro-activeness (Bernauer et al., 2006; Wu et al., 2007), as well as an obstacle in the process to design and implement GSCM (Post and Altman, 1994; Baresel-Bofinger et al., 2007), while organizational learning is seen as the key component in overcoming the organizational obstacles to environmental changes (Post and Altman, 1992; Post and Altman, 1994; Anderson and Wolff, 1996). Design/methodology/approach – This research paper describes the empirical results of a cross-sectional design employed in a sample of 41 banks operating in Romania with the purpose a. to explore the stage of designing and implementing GSCM practices in the Romanian banking sector; b. to determine which GSCM practices tend to be followed the most, c. which are the bank managers’ perceived benefits from implementing GSCM practices, as well as perceived obstacles in GSCM implementation in the banking sector; and d. what is the relationship between the aforementioned variables. For these purposes several statistical analyses were used, including both descriptive and inferential statistics. Originality/value – This is the first study looking for GSCM issues in the Romanian banking industry. The results of this research provide insights into what extent knowledge assets could be capitalized for successful Green Supply Chain Management implementation in the Romanian banking industry. Furthermore, it is increasing the ecological awareness, the theoretical and managerial insights for an effective implementation of GSCM practices in the banking sector. The analysis reveals that GSCM practices (especially practices in the immaterial flow) are strongly and significantly correlated with perceived benefits and pressures. However,this should be addressed in future research because the present study offers only correlational data and cannot establish causation. The study also concludes that bank’s size and foreign/Romanian ownership do not influence at all the level of GSCM practices implementation and related perceptions (pressures, obstacles,benefits) in the Romanian banking sector. Practical implications – The findings of this paper point to the conclusion that the banking sector in Romania is at a somehow advanced stage of ecological adaptation in the physical flow and at an early stage in the immaterial and commercial flows. Based on the literature and study’s findings, regarding the role that the management of intellectual capital and knowledge flow plays, several recommendations are proposed for enhancing the implementation process of GSCM practices in the banking industry in Romania

Collaborative Engineering Environments. Two Examples of Process Improvement

Companies are recognising that innovative processes are determining factors in competitiveness. Two examples from projects in aircraft development describe the introduction of collaborative engineering environments as a way to improve engineering processes. A multi-disciplinary simulation environment integrates models from all disciplines involved in a common functional structure. Quick configuration for specific design problems and powerful feedback / visualisation capabilities enable engineering teams to concentrate on the integrated behaviour of the design. An engineering process management system allows engineering teams to work concurrently in tasks, following a defined flow of activities, applying tools on a shared database. Automated management of workspaces including data consistency enables engineering teams to concentrate on the design activities. The huge amount of experience in companies must be transformed for effective application in engineering processes. Compatible concepts, notations and implementation platforms make tangible knowledge like models and algorithms accessible. Computer-based design management makes knowledge on engineering processes and methods explicit