Mission-Driven Recordkeeping: The Need for RIM Staff in U.S. Nonprofit Organizations

As a robust and growing industry, often with strong ties to communities served, there is much potential for nonprofit organizations to harness powerful and rich databases of cultural information not found in any other sector. Yet research shows that in most cases, nonprofit organizations operate on limited budgets, tight deadlines, and may see the task of properly managing records as counter-productive to the mission of the organization. This research examines the systems of recordkeeping in nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and argues that record keeping staff must be considered an essential component for a nonprofit organization to survive and thrive

Knowledge Management Challenges for Nongovernment Organizations: The Health and Disability Sector in New Zealand

This paper reports on an exploratory study looking at the knowledge management (KM) challenges faced by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Specifically, this paper looks at NGOs in the health and disability sector in New Zealand. Within this sector, the introduction of competitive tendering and contracting and a lack of transparent funding processes has seen a move towards greater contestability of services in the NGO sector. To ameliorate this situation requires effective management of knowledge assets and a sound understanding of KM practices. Using qualitative research methods, we studied the KM practices of nine NGOs in the health and disability sector in New Zealand. Our findings suggest that there are many barriers to the successful implementation of KM in NGOs, some of the most important ones being related to organizational structure and culture

Knowledge Management and the Nigerian Culture – A round peg in a square hole?

Knowledge Management (KM) is a key strategy which many organizations have been leveraging upon because of its potential in achieving competitive advantage. However, factors such as the national culture can impact the efficacy of this strategy. Hence, the aim of this paper is to provide insight into how Nigerian culture influences organizational culture, which in turn influences KM practices in Nigerian organizations. Based on a post-positivist stance, this research employs a descriptive survey approach for the data collection and analysis while also incorporating Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The findings suggest that the hierarchical nature of the society in Nigeria supports centralized decision making; thus influencing the KM practices in Nigerian organizations. Secondly, our findings indicate that a masculine-based culture, which is characterized by the propensity to achieve, may align to the problem of employees exiting organizations. Thirdly, the findings suggest that the short term orientation of Nigerian organizations hinders commitment to relationships and values associated with motivating employees. This paper then concludes by highlighting that lack of trust prevails in Nigerian organizations, but there was no evidence substantiating that the religious and tribal diversities in Nigeria was responsible for it. This research has highlighted the characteristics of culture in a developing country that does not support organizations adopting knowledge management. It has identified the issues that need to be addressed before KM can be adopted, implemented and practiced successfully in organizations within developing countries with similar type cultures

Examining the Use of Knowledge Management Technology in a Small Nonprofit to Attain Organizational Goals

People working for nonprofit organizations today have many responsibilities, from planning fundraisers to organizing volunteers. For daily tasks, the employees and volunteers of nonprofits must have access to necessary information. This is vital to the success of the organization and to its mission. With limited financial and human resources, a nonprofit must be able to share information effectively in order to accomplish organizational goals. This is especially true for small nonprofits. Recent research has focused on knowledge management technology and its ability to provide an efficient, low-cost way to share information to a wide range of people within a nonprofit. Using interviews with three key groups, this study examines the knowledge processes of a small animal rescue 501(c)(3) and provides a practical explanation of the uses of knowledge management and related technology for the organization

Gestión del conocimiento en el tercer sector de la competitividad a la eficiencia organizacional: de la competitividad a la eficiencia organizacional

The purpose of this study is to provide a reflection about the contribution of knowledge management (KM) to the efficiency of organizations in the third sector. To that end, the author of the study carried out an analysis of the content of a compilation of 35 articles from indexed journals (i.e. JCR and SJR) and journals specialized in KM. This review shows that, although third sector organizations do not intend to compete like traditional organizations or to create customer attraction and retention strategies, they do compete for funding from other organizations and carry out mission-based processes whose efficiency could be increased through the application of KM in order to improve the attention to and management of their target groups. Some of the study findings highlight the importance of human resources to attain efficiency through KM in third sector organizations. This study suggests that future research studies could focus on the empirical determination of the impact of variables (such as personnel management, use of ICTs, and innovation) on KM and on the efficiency of third sector organizations. Third sector organizations are very important in developing countries because they address those socioeconomic needs in which the State is inefficient. Thus, KM can make contributions to their organizational objectives.El estudio tiene como objetivo presentar una reflexión sobre el aporte de la gestión del conocimiento (GC) a la eficiencia en organizaciones del tercer sector. Para ello se llevó a cabo un análisis de contenido de una recopilación de 35 artículos de revistas indexadas JCR y SJR, y de revistas especializadas en GC. El análisis señala que aunque las organizaciones del tercer sector no están llamadas a competir como las organizaciones tradicionales, ni a generar estrategias de captación y fidelización de clientes, sí compiten por la financiación de otras organizaciones y realizan procesos misionales en donde la GC puede contribuir a su eficiencia, de modo que tengan una mejor atención y gestión de sus grupos de interés. Entre los resultados se destaca la importancia de los recursos humanos para lograr la eficiencia a través de la GC en las organizaciones del tercer sector. Este estudio sugiere, para futuras investigaciones, determinar empíricamente el efecto que tienen variables como la gestión de personal, el uso de las TIC, y la innovación en la GC y en la eficiencia de organizaciones del tercer sector, de gran importancia en los países en vía de desarrollo, debido a que atienden necesidades sociales y económicas en las que los Estados son ineficaces, por lo que la GC puede generar aportes para sus objetivos organizacionale

Application of standardized project management practices in Egyptian non-profit organizations: Two case studies

A standardized project management approach across the entire organization is one of the business models adopted by non-profits that contributes to a more efficient and effective project delivery and achieving the organizations’ goals and objectives. Lack of a standardized project management approach might result in project failure and losing the skills and knowledge gained from previous projects, which significantly harms the organizational efforts to have institutional memory that allows implementing these skills and knowledge in future projects. A project management office is the key to mainstream the standardized project management methodology across non-profits. This research aims at investigating the impacts of adopting project management offices within the context of non-profits in Egypt. This study employed a qualitative approach to research through a case study methodology by interviewing key informants of two non-profits in Egypt; one national and one international, which are already implementing a project management office. The key findings of the research suggested that the two organizations under study operate in a very similar way, in terms of challenges faced by the two organizations, adopting business-like models, tendency to diversify their income generating activities and finally, adopting a project management office. The study concludes that the project management offices are the catalyst of change for non-profits to mainstream a standardized project management approach and mainstream strategies across organizations. Also, a standardized project management approach allows non-profits to implement a time-tested and results-oriented methodology of project management. Based on the lessons learned from the case studies, recommendations for non-profits are presented to guide non-profits’ executives, project management office directors, and non-profits’ staff members while implementing the PMO

Καλές πρακτικές και διάχυση γνώσης στον ΟΑΕΔ

Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2019.Η διαχείριση γνώσης αποτελεί μια πρακτική ιδιαίτερα δημοφιλή στο πεδίο της διοικητικής επιστήμης τα τελευταία χρόνια. Έχει ήδη αναγνωριστεί ως ένα σημαντικό στοιχείο στη θεωρία του μάνατζμεντ και ιδιαίτερα στην εποχή της πληροφορίας που διανύουμε μπορεί να είναι καθοριστική για τη βιωσιμότητα των οργανισμών. Με την επιπρόσθετη συμβολή των ΤΠΕ σε αυτές τις προσπάθειες, ο ιδιωτικός τομέας φαίνεται ότι έχει ωφεληθεί από την αξιοποίηση της γνώσης τα τελευταία χρόνια. Ο δημόσιος τομέας έχοντας να αντιμετωπίσει πολλά προβλήματα και εμπόδια, φαίνεται ότι αναγνώρισε και αυτός την ανάγκη υιοθέτησης πρακτικών ΔΓ για να μπορέσει να παρέχει ποιοτικότερες υπηρεσίες στους πολίτες. Στην παρούσα εργασία, ο ελληνικός δημόσιος τομέας θα είναι το επίκεντρο του ενδιαφέροντος και μάλιστα ένας μεγάλος οργανισμός που ασχολείται με την απασχόληση. Ο οργανισμός αυτός είναι ο ΟΑΕΔ, στους υπαλλήλους του οποίου απευθυνθήκαμε για τη συμπλήρωση ενός ερωτηματολογίου με ερωτήσεις σχετικές με την απόκτηση και το διαμοιρασμό γνώσης, τα εργαλεία διαχείρισης γνώσης που χρησιμοποιούνται και την αξιολόγηση της αποδοτικότητας του Οργανισμού. Ο Οργανισμός αυτός διανύει μια περίοδο διοικητικής ανασυγκρότησης, η οποία από ότι προκύπτει έχει προσδώσει στον οργανισμό αρκετά στοιχεία που βοηθούν στη διαδικασία διαχείρισης και αξιοποίησης της γνώσης. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, από την ανάλυση που ακολούθησε, προέκυψε ότι οι υπάλληλοι του οργανισμού κατανοούν την αξία της γνώσης, χρησιμοποιούν αρκετά εργαλεία απόκτησης και διάχυσης γνώσης, αρκετά από τα οποία προέρχονται από τις ΤΠΕ. Γενικά, οι διαδικασίες που χρησιμοποιούνται αξιολογούνται ως επαρκείς και διαπιστώνεται ότι έχουν οδηγήσει τους υπαλλήλους, αλλά και τον οργανισμό συνολικά, σε επίπεδα μεγαλύτερης αποδοτικότητας

Impact of information technology on knowledge management at a selected university of technology

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019Information and communication technology (ICT) is an enormous financial investment and its typical intended result is a subsequent positive effect on knowledge management and individual work performance which thus benefit the organisation through strategic competitive advantage. ICT plays a significant role in implementing and supporting knowledge management (KM). However, there are barriers hampering KM due to ineffective use of ICT such as poor knowledge coordination and transfer and unreliability of systems. The main aim of this research was to determine how ICT impacts on KM within higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa. Based on the primary research objective, the secondary research objectives were to explore the benefits of ICT in HEIs, find out what the barriers to implementing ICT in HEIs are and explore the key functions of knowledge management at HEIs. The outcome of this study was the proposing of general guidelines for ICT use in order to positively propel knowledge management for competitive advantage of HEIs. The methodology utilised in this study is a case study with a mixed qualitative and quantitative method. Data was collected through questionnaires, site observations and interviews from staff members (n=111) at a selected University in the Western Cape, South Africa. The questionnaire was used for quantitative data, and analysed and interpreted using SPSS software, whereas site observations and interviews were used for qualitative data and analysed through content analysis. The findings indicate that ICT users have varied levels of competencies when it comes to ICT use. It highlights the challenge for the university management to improve the ICT skills of staff members so that they may expand their ability to comfortably manoeuvre through the ICT system and maximise its benefits, and ultimately, to be more productive for the university. The findings further reveal that there is a need to establish general guidelines for ICT use in order to positively propel KM for competitive advantage of HEIs. Based on the research findings, this study recommends that the university take a comparative approach and examine the gaps in ICT use within the institution. Moreover, it will also be interesting to find out the experiences and views of stakeholders in ICT use at other HEIs such as students, management and teaching staff. This will generate valuable information that can shed more light on the opportunities and challenges of ICT use in KM in HEIs

Gestión del conocimiento en los municipios colombianos: Estudios de caso

Este documento se inscribe en el campo de las ciencias de la gestión. Describe el estado de la Gestión del Conocimiento (GC) en algunas organizaciones municipales colombianas basado en estudios de caso de tipo exploratorio, bajo la metodología de realismo crítico. Para su evaluación se utilizan variables extraídas de los modelos de KM European Forum (European KM Forum, 2001), (Chen, 2008), Grundstein (2008) (como se cita en Šajeva, 2010) y del European Committee For Standardization (CEN, 2004). Plantea inicialmente los referentes teóricos relacionados con el conocimiento y la GC para determinar los conceptos y las variables que van a ser utilizadas en la evaluación de los estudios de caso. Se estudian cuatro organizaciones municipales de Boyacá, de categorías 2 a 6, y se concluye con la determinación del nivel de implementación de la GC en estas entidades, el cual servirá de base para nuevos estudios y proyectos que permitan mejorar el desempeño organizacional de estas entidades en beneficio de toda lacomunidad. / Abstract: This document is part of management science field. It describe the state of knowledge management (KM) in some Colombian municipal organizations based on exploratory case studies, with critical realism methodology. For evaluation we used variables from the following models: European KM Forum (European KM Forum, 2001), (Chen, 2008), Grundstein (2008) (as cited in Sajeva, 2010) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN, 2004). Initially we expose the theoretical references related with knowledge and knowledge management to determine the concepts and variables that will be used in the assessment of the case studies. We evaluated four Colombian municipal organizations of Boyacá region, categorized from 2 to 6, and we concluded with the determination of the level of implementation of knowledge management in these organizations, which provide the basis for further studies and projects to improve organizational performance of these entities for benefit of the whole community.Maestrí