Knowledge Management: A Primer

Knowledge Management is an expanding field of study. In this paper we clarify and explain some of the terms and concepts that underlie this field. In particular we discuss knowledge and its related philosophies; how the sociotechnical aspects of organizations can assist in knowledge management and how communities of practice can thus be supported; how knowledge can be valued in an organization; and the idea of intellectual capital. We conclude that knowledge management is not an easy \u27fix\u27 to an organisation\u27s problems. Implemented well it can increase productivity, improve worker collaboration, and shorten product development times. Implemented badly it may incur significant costs without delivering these benefits

Strategic planning for information systems: A sociotechnical view of boundary and stakeholder insufficiencies

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 12/11/2002.The thesis proposes that Strategic Planning for Information Systems (SPIS) has become ineffective through a tendency to focus on the information technologies involved. The thesis argues that the dominant rational, reductionist epistemology of SPIS methods, tools and techniques limits the effectiveness of SPIS through methodological impoverishment. The thesis proposes that a humanistic, sociotechnical perspective of SPIS accommodates the use of complementary tools and techniques that improve the process. This thesis advances a new Framework to improve the process of SPIS based on the propositions; first that the lack of sufficient knowledge of both the internal and external environment is a root cause of many of these insufficiencies, and second that this knowledge is held within the stakeholders of this process. An ernancipatory information systems research programme (Klein and Hirschheim, 1987) is used to advance a framework that overcomes the insufficiency and inadequacy of the process of strategic planning for information systems in organisations that permits information systems to fail. The framework is tested on two organisations and shows that the proposed Framework has significant potential to improve the SPIS process. The case research investigates the role of stakeholders, knowledge, and boundaries in the process of SPIS in order to develop more sufficient methods for the process of SPIS that address the perceived inadequacies in current processes, and thus provide an improved strategic planning process for information systems. Two novel tools are introduced: the Stakeholder Web and the Interaction Matrix. Their evolution is a major contribution of this research. The collection of tools presents a practical research contribution for the SPIS process and as generic (methodological) research tools. A new definition for the term 'stakeholder' is formulated and used to supply clarity in understanding for this study - and would prove useful for the field of IS

Focus Issue on Legacy Information Systems and Business Process Change:The Role of Stakeholders in Managing Change

To manage organisational change in the context of legacy information systems, which may need replacement or revision, the strategy process should respond to corporate opportunity rather than past internal difficulties. Steering groups are often used to guide the strategy process. An important problem is the identification of appropriate stakeholders that need to be represented on the steering group. A related problem is to establish the boundary of the new information system. Computer Information Systems development often focuses on direct users and affected internal departments as the exclusive stakeholders. However these groups may present too narrow a perspective. To improve the effectiveness of the development process, a wider constituency should be considered that includes organisational partners in the wider business environment. This paper presents a method, the stakeholder web, that identifies appropriate stakeholders and their viewpoints. It illustrates the concepts with a large-scale university information systems project. The stakeholder web is used to analyse the relationships between the activities and membership of a university information systems steering group over a five-year period. The results demonstrate the dynamic nature of the project and the associated changes in membership of the steering group

Knowledge Archetype: Facilitating Cross Cultural Knowledge Sharing

Studies have indicated that national culture may impact the choice of who shares knowledge with whom. This paper considers the problem of tacit knowledge sharing in multi-cultural environments and the issues that relate to trust, language, and culture that could impact on tacit knowledge sharing choices. A study was conducted in an international and multi-cultural Business School to discover if the theoretical research relating to a potential tacit and implicit knowledge sharing archetype had validity. The study which was conducted with 70 students from 28 nations speaking 24 languages, discovered that the variables that impacted who students chose to ask for indicated that the longer that students spent in the Business School; the longer they were in London and the UK; and the older they were, the less they were concerned about the nationality, ethnicity, and language of the person they asked. Additionally, testing the knowledge archetype module it was found that there were no moderating factors. This indicates that a knowledge archetype that is common to all nationalities can be developed

406 Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 14, 2004)406-489 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT – A PRIMER

Knowledge Management is an expanding field of study. In this paper we clarify and explain some of the terms and concepts that underlie this field. In particular we discuss knowledge and its related philosophies; how the sociotechnical aspects of organizations can assist in knowledge management and how communities of practice can thus be supported; how knowledge can be valued in an organization; and the idea of intellectual capital. We conclude that knowledge management is not an easy ‘fix ’ to an organisation’s problems. Implemented well it can increase productivity, improve worker collaboration, and shorten product development times. Implemented badly it may incur significant costs without delivering these benefits