Organizational Memory: an Approach from Knowledge Management and Quality Management of Organizational Learning Perspectives

The recognition of the fact that, as of late, knowledge represents one of the most important assets of an organization, decisively influencing its competitiveness, has led to some comprehensive approaches of organizational memory. The organizational memory and the organizational learning capacity are the main sources for a competitive edge, so the main challenge is to effectively manage knowledge while maintaining the quality of formation services. The scientific investigation of literature (Crosby, 1979; Deming, 1982; Juran, 1990; Barcet and Bonamy, 1994; Barnabé, 1997; Bouchard and Plante, 2002; Demeuse and Strauven, 2006) specific to the area of management of services related to organizational learning, reveals the orientation of research, based on: (a) conformity between delivered services and the demanded characteristics or specifications; (b) meeting client’s needs; (c) studying the existing adequacy between result and what had been announced, foreseen or promised; (d) improving overall functioning of the organization by defining and implementing of a quality project, one that will involve the whole necessary staff for satisfying the needs of the learners. This paper will present: (1) contributions to a coherent point of view regarding the organizational memory from the perspective of the principles of quality management of services associated to organizational learning and based upon Knowledge Management; (2) the analysis of the main quality models that may be employed in organizational learning related services; (3) a study regarding the perception of successful organizational factors in the field of Knowledge Management-based training services amongst Romanian companies and institutions.organizational learning services quality management, organizational learning success model, cognitive acquis, organizational memory, knowledge management methods

A Unified Quality Control Model for E-Learning Systems

Defining, measuring, and achieving quality of e-learning systems are not an easy task. Accordingly, one of the most essential goals for the higher educational institutes is how to reach a high and satisfied level of quality in their learning systems. Achieving such level needs adequate and continuous improvements for the whole e-learning environment elements. Therefore, we aim in our work to construct a unified framework for total quality management system (TQMS) that attempt to satisfy the quality requirements, needs, and standards. The objective of this paper is to present a quality control model for e-learning system that adopts the e-learning platform according to the on-line determination of both user's requirements and global standards. This paper proposed software architecture of quality Management framework for e-learning that could be adopted by different higher education institutes to control the quality of the e-learning process, and assure the quality of the e-learning process outcome. The proposed framework is based on a tri-dimensions quality model. The three dimensions are set of quality requirements for e-learning environment represented in Quality Assurance (QA) policies that will be formalized by using policy based approach, the specifications of e-learning platform that provide learning and teaching activities, and quality control process loop. The architecture for monitor and ensure quality control of the QA policies for e-learning system will deliver the whole learning services in an optimal way. It is also flexible and can be implemented over any e-learning system

The Satisfaction Level of the Undergraduate Female Students Towards Using E-Courses in Qassim University

 The purpose of this study was to reveal the students’ Satisfaction rate  in quality of  general courses across online learning (E. Course) provided to female students during second semester . the descriptive approach was used and a questionnaire on the quality standards of electronic courses was designed consisting of 52 items and targeted 282 students from different disciplines in the College of Science and arts  - Qassim University. Some statistical analyzes such as means, standard deviations, and ANOVA Tests were performed to analyze the questionnaire. The results indicated that the level of satisfaction with the use The e-learning and for science and arts female  students are generally medium , but to varying degrees of one Element to another. The Satisfaction rate  of students towards quality of e. Course , not reach the level of 80% in the level of the significance 5%.The study included several recommendations. The most important of them is a necessity of Providing training programs for all university professors and students on how to use e-learning efficiently to enhancing their competencies and skills in using these innovative application

Independent e-learning offers in Tourism and Hospitality. In search of a map and possible quality indicators

E-learning offers in the tourism and hospitality sector have been investigated, recently and four main types of courses have been identified, according to their provider: Academic,Destination Management Organizations, Corporate, and Independent. While for other types several studies are available, there is a lack of research when it comes to the online independent courses. This study focuses on e-learning courses issued by independent providers: they include training offers of very different nature, e.g.: language trainings for waiters, food and wine matching courses, sustainability communication training, cookingfor celiac people, etc. The results of this exploratory study provide an initial map of such educational offers; it discusses also some inferential indicators of satisfaction expressed by the users on social media, which may provideuseful insights for the identification of possible quality indicators of tourism-related online independent courses

Quality assessment of the e-learning processes at higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia

Istraživanje koje je provedeno u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji daje svoj doprinos u procesu identificiranja i primjene kritičnih činitelja kvalitete procesa e-obrazovanja u procjeni kvalitete e-obrazovanja. Na osnovi mnogih znanstvenih i stručnih izvora koji obuhvaćaju raznolike pristupe kvaliteti e-obrazovanja, kao što su standardi kvalitete e-obrazovanja, modeli kvalitete, metodologije, sustavi vrednovanja i niza europskih projekata o kvaliteti e-obrazovanja, identificiran je skup pokazatelja koji promiču kvalitetu e-obrazovanja. Dani kriteriji, tj. pokazatelji mogu se grupirati u sljedeće kategorije: institucijski činitelji, tehnološki činitelji, pedagoški činitelji, činitelji instrukcijskog dizajna, nastavnički činitelji, studentski činitelji, evaluacijski činitelji i motivacijski činitelji. Nadalje, rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako nastavnici uglavnom nemaju kompetencije definirane modelom 'pismenosti kvalitete' obzirom da na inicijalnoj informativnoj dimenziji većina nastavnika nema potrebna znanja o kvaliteti e-obrazovanja. Također, u okviru razine primjene tehnologijâ e-učenja, u potpunosti je zadovoljena samo prva razina koja obuhvaća online pristup osnovnim podacima o kolegiju, nastavnim materijalima te uspostavljanje elementarne elektroničke komunikacije nastavnika sa studentima. Što se tiče funkcionalnosti sustava, tj. promiče li sustav kvalitetu e-obrazovanja, može se zaključiti da su pokazatelji procijenjeni od strane nastavnika vezani uz kvalitetu sadržaja i informacija, kvalitetu usluga i zadovoljstvo korisnika zadovoljavajući, tj. u najvećoj mjeri su realizirani, dok su pokazatelji vezani uz obrazovnu kvalitetu djelomično realizirani, što se može povezati s činjenicom da je u potpunosti realizirana samo prva razina primjene tehnologija e-učenja. U odnosu na promatrane procese učenja, razvoja, podrške, evaluacije i organizacije vezane uz e-obrazovanje ostvarenost pojedinih procesa najčešća je u dimenzijama isporuke i planiranja što upućuje na početne aktivnosti u postupcima promicanja kvalitete e-obrazovanja.Na osnovu standarda, literature te uzimajući u obzir rezultate istraživanja kreiran je model za upravljanje kvalitetom e-obrazovanja na visokim učilištima u Republici Hrvatskoj.A research carried out in this doctoral thesis makes its contribution to the process of identifying and applying critical success factors of e-learning processes in assessing the quality of e-learning. On the basis of many scientific and expert resources that include a variety of approaches to e-learning quality, such as quality standards for e-learning, quality models, methodologies, systems evaluation and a number of European projects on the quality of e-learning, a set of indicators that promote quality of e-learning has been identified. Given criteria, that is indicators can be grouped into the following categories: institutional factors , technological factors, educational factors, instructional design factors, teacher factors, student factors, evaluation factors and motivational factors . Furthermore, the results of the study showed that teachers mostly do not have the competencies defined by quality literacy model since on the initial informative dimension most teachers lack the necessary knowledge about the quality of e.learning. Also, within the level of implementation of e.learning technologies mostly satisfied is only the first level, which includes online access to basic information about the course, teaching materials and the establishment of basic electronic communication between teachers and students . As far as the functionality of the system, that is whether a system promotes the quality of e-learning it can be concluded that the indicators assessed by teachers related to the quality of content and information, quality of service and customer satisfaction are satisfactory that is they have been mostly realized while the indicators related to educational quality are just partially implemented which can be attributed to the fact that only the first level of e-learning technologies implementation is fully realized. Considering the observed processes of learning, development, support, evaluation and organization related to e-learning the most common achievement of certain processes is within dimensions of delivery and planning which refers to initial acitivities of procedures to promote the quality of e-learning. Based on the standards, literature review and considering the research results the model for quality management of e-learning in the Republic of Croatia has been created

Quality assessment of the e-learning processes at higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia

Istraživanje koje je provedeno u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji daje svoj doprinos u procesu identificiranja i primjene kritičnih činitelja kvalitete procesa e-obrazovanja u procjeni kvalitete e-obrazovanja. Na osnovi mnogih znanstvenih i stručnih izvora koji obuhvaćaju raznolike pristupe kvaliteti e-obrazovanja, kao što su standardi kvalitete e-obrazovanja, modeli kvalitete, metodologije, sustavi vrednovanja i niza europskih projekata o kvaliteti e-obrazovanja, identificiran je skup pokazatelja koji promiču kvalitetu e-obrazovanja. Dani kriteriji, tj. pokazatelji mogu se grupirati u sljedeće kategorije: institucijski činitelji, tehnološki činitelji, pedagoški činitelji, činitelji instrukcijskog dizajna, nastavnički činitelji, studentski činitelji, evaluacijski činitelji i motivacijski činitelji. Nadalje, rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako nastavnici uglavnom nemaju kompetencije definirane modelom 'pismenosti kvalitete' obzirom da na inicijalnoj informativnoj dimenziji većina nastavnika nema potrebna znanja o kvaliteti e-obrazovanja. Također, u okviru razine primjene tehnologijâ e-učenja, u potpunosti je zadovoljena samo prva razina koja obuhvaća online pristup osnovnim podacima o kolegiju, nastavnim materijalima te uspostavljanje elementarne elektroničke komunikacije nastavnika sa studentima. Što se tiče funkcionalnosti sustava, tj. promiče li sustav kvalitetu e-obrazovanja, može se zaključiti da su pokazatelji procijenjeni od strane nastavnika vezani uz kvalitetu sadržaja i informacija, kvalitetu usluga i zadovoljstvo korisnika zadovoljavajući, tj. u najvećoj mjeri su realizirani, dok su pokazatelji vezani uz obrazovnu kvalitetu djelomično realizirani, što se može povezati s činjenicom da je u potpunosti realizirana samo prva razina primjene tehnologija e-učenja. U odnosu na promatrane procese učenja, razvoja, podrške, evaluacije i organizacije vezane uz e-obrazovanje ostvarenost pojedinih procesa najčešća je u dimenzijama isporuke i planiranja što upućuje na početne aktivnosti u postupcima promicanja kvalitete e-obrazovanja.Na osnovu standarda, literature te uzimajući u obzir rezultate istraživanja kreiran je model za upravljanje kvalitetom e-obrazovanja na visokim učilištima u Republici Hrvatskoj.A research carried out in this doctoral thesis makes its contribution to the process of identifying and applying critical success factors of e-learning processes in assessing the quality of e-learning. On the basis of many scientific and expert resources that include a variety of approaches to e-learning quality, such as quality standards for e-learning, quality models, methodologies, systems evaluation and a number of European projects on the quality of e-learning, a set of indicators that promote quality of e-learning has been identified. Given criteria, that is indicators can be grouped into the following categories: institutional factors , technological factors, educational factors, instructional design factors, teacher factors, student factors, evaluation factors and motivational factors . Furthermore, the results of the study showed that teachers mostly do not have the competencies defined by quality literacy model since on the initial informative dimension most teachers lack the necessary knowledge about the quality of e.learning. Also, within the level of implementation of e.learning technologies mostly satisfied is only the first level, which includes online access to basic information about the course, teaching materials and the establishment of basic electronic communication between teachers and students . As far as the functionality of the system, that is whether a system promotes the quality of e-learning it can be concluded that the indicators assessed by teachers related to the quality of content and information, quality of service and customer satisfaction are satisfactory that is they have been mostly realized while the indicators related to educational quality are just partially implemented which can be attributed to the fact that only the first level of e-learning technologies implementation is fully realized. Considering the observed processes of learning, development, support, evaluation and organization related to e-learning the most common achievement of certain processes is within dimensions of delivery and planning which refers to initial acitivities of procedures to promote the quality of e-learning. Based on the standards, literature review and considering the research results the model for quality management of e-learning in the Republic of Croatia has been created

Metadata quality issues in learning repositories

Metadata lies at the heart of every digital repository project in the sense that it defines and drives the description of digital content stored in the repositories. Metadata allows content to be successfully stored, managed and retrieved but also preserved in the long-term. Despite the enormous importance of metadata in digital repositories, one that is widely recognized, studies indicate that what is defined as metadata quality, is relatively low in most cases of digital repositories. Metadata quality is loosely defined as "fitness for purpose" meaning that low quality of metadata means that metadata cannot fulfill its purpose which is to allow for the successful storage, management and retrieval of resources. In practice, low metadata quality leads to ineffective searches for content, ones that recall the wrong resources or even worse, no resources which makes them invisible to the intended user, that is the "client" of each digital repository. The present dissertation approaches this problem by proposing a comprehensive metadata quality assurance method, namely the Metadata Quality Assurance Certification Process (MQACP). The basic idea of this dissertation is to propose a set of methods that can be deployed throughout the lifecycle of a repository to ensure that metadata generated from content providers are of high quality. These methods have to be straightforward, simple to apply with measurable results. They also have to be adaptable with minimum effort so that they can be used in different contexts easily. This set of methods was described analytically, taking into account the actors needed to apply them, describing the tools needed and defining the anticipated outcomes. In order to test our proposal, we applied it on a Learning Federation of repositories, from day 1 of its existence until it reached its maturity and regular operation. We supported the metadata creation process throughout the different phases of the repositories involved by setting up specific experiments using the methods and tools of the MQACP. Throughout each phase, we measured the resulting metadata quality to certify that the anticipated improvement in metadata quality actually took place. Lastly, through these different phases, the cost of the MQACP application was measured to provide a comparison basis for future applications. Based on the success of this first application, we decided to validate the MQACP approach by applying it on another two cases of a Cultural and a Research Federation of repositories. This would allow us to prove the transferability of the approach to other cases the present some similarities with the initial one but mainly significant differences. The results showed that the MQACP was successfully adapted to the new contexts, with minimum adaptations needed, with similar results produced and also with comparable costs. In addition, looking closer at the common experiments carried out in each phase of each use case, we were able to identify interesting patterns in the behavior of content providers that can be further researched. The dissertation is completed with a set of future research directions that came out of the cases examined. These research directions can be explored in order to support the next version of the MQACP in terms of the methods deployed, the tools used to assess metadata quality as well as the cost analysis of the MQACP methods

Metadata quality issues in learning repositories

Metadata lies at the heart of every digital repository project in the sense that it defines and drives the description of digital content stored in the repositories. Metadata allows content to be successfully stored, managed and retrieved but also preserved in the long-term. Despite the enormous importance of metadata in digital repositories, one that is widely recognized, studies indicate that what is defined as metadata quality, is relatively low in most cases of digital repositories. Metadata quality is loosely defined as "fitness for purpose" meaning that low quality of metadata means that metadata cannot fulfill its purpose which is to allow for the successful storage, management and retrieval of resources. In practice, low metadata quality leads to ineffective searches for content, ones that recall the wrong resources or even worse, no resources which makes them invisible to the intended user, that is the "client" of each digital repository. The present dissertation approaches this problem by proposing a comprehensive metadata quality assurance method, namely the Metadata Quality Assurance Certification Process (MQACP). The basic idea of this dissertation is to propose a set of methods that can be deployed throughout the lifecycle of a repository to ensure that metadata generated from content providers are of high quality. These methods have to be straightforward, simple to apply with measurable results. They also have to be adaptable with minimum effort so that they can be used in different contexts easily. This set of methods was described analytically, taking into account the actors needed to apply them, describing the tools needed and defining the anticipated outcomes. In order to test our proposal, we applied it on a Learning Federation of repositories, from day 1 of its existence until it reached its maturity and regular operation. We supported the metadata creation process throughout the different phases of the repositories involved by setting up specific experiments using the methods and tools of the MQACP. Throughout each phase, we measured the resulting metadata quality to certify that the anticipated improvement in metadata quality actually took place. Lastly, through these different phases, the cost of the MQACP application was measured to provide a comparison basis for future applications. Based on the success of this first application, we decided to validate the MQACP approach by applying it on another two cases of a Cultural and a Research Federation of repositories. This would allow us to prove the transferability of the approach to other cases the present some similarities with the initial one but mainly significant differences. The results showed that the MQACP was successfully adapted to the new contexts, with minimum adaptations needed, with similar results produced and also with comparable costs. In addition, looking closer at the common experiments carried out in each phase of each use case, we were able to identify interesting patterns in the behavior of content providers that can be further researched. The dissertation is completed with a set of future research directions that came out of the cases examined. These research directions can be explored in order to support the next version of the MQACP in terms of the methods deployed, the tools used to assess metadata quality as well as the cost analysis of the MQACP methods