Ryan Zammit | Middlesex University (original) (raw)

Papers by Ryan Zammit

There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). Dur... more There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). During the twenty-plus years of KMS there have been many criticisms of the use of repositories and the KM initiatives giving rise to them. Such repositories have been used by a range of company types and sizes and in a number of sectors. However, many of the initiatives have failed to achieve their expected benefits, as evident in the literature, which obscured any real benefits. There may have been misguided expectations arising from the capacity to remember ‘knowledge’ that ‘information’ systems (IS) provide, and from the ease with which old or mislaid knowledge may be found using them. Such expectations weren’t aligned to the goals of KM initiatives and the organizational needs that led to them. We perceive two issues. The first is that many scholars and practitioners still view KMS as a category of IS. Secondly, KMS are implemented retrospectively – they are designed and built to meet c...

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents' usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related pr...

This research enquires into how social networking technologies can help knowledge creation and sh... more This research enquires into how social networking technologies can help knowledge creation and sharing in IT-based knowledge management systems. Social networking technologies have changed the way people connect and collaborate allowing users to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers alike. Despite technology having been used in a variety of ways to support knowledge management systems, the use of social networking technology has been little explored. The famous SECI model highlights socialisation as an important aspect in transferring knowledge, yet IT-based knowledge management systems seem to miss out on this element. This research argues that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology bridges this gap. Social software is becoming part of a commonplace set of tools available for organisations that may help IT-based knowledge management systems. Evidence is presented from a case study conducted in practice at an organisa...

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents’ usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related practi...

SOTICS 2013, The Third International Conference on Social Eco-Informatics, Nov 18, 2013

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents’ usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related practices. It shows that personal networks are often used as a medium to seek knowledge for personal and for organisational motives. The results confirm that online social networks, and their enterprise counterparts, are aiding knowledge management initiatives. Knowledge appears to be flowing through online social networks. Findings also include the confirmation of Dunbar’s number, and reaffirming the strength of “weak ties” as originally proposed by Granovetter. The paper proposes the new concept of temporary ties that are aided through social networks. It also describes the work in progress and findings so far on the use of social networking technology and habits for aiding knowledge management initiatives.

There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). Dur... more There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). During the twenty-plus years of KMS there have been many criticisms of the use of repositories and the KM initiatives giving rise to them. Such repositories have been used by a range of company types and sizes and in a number of sectors. However, many of the initiatives have failed to achieve their expected benefits, as evident in the literature, which obscured any real benefits. There may have been misguided expectations arising from the capacity to remember ‘knowledge’ that ‘information’ systems (IS) provide, and from the ease with which old or mislaid knowledge may be found using them. Such expectations weren’t aligned to the goals of KM initiatives and the organizational needs that led to them. We perceive two issues. The first is that many scholars and practitioners still view KMS as a category of IS. Secondly, KMS are implemented retrospectively – they are designed and built to meet current needs as informed by past challenges which may orientate a KMS towards tackling past issues and make KMS inflexible. KMS need to be less rigid and more adaptable to the constantly evolving needs of an organization. We report on a KM project with a company that delivered a successfully flexible and adaptable KMS based on a standard IS repository. The project was carried out based on an action research approach within a knowledge-intensive service provider which had been experiencing problems it believed could be addressable through KM. By adopting the socio-technical perspective of KMS and a hybrid strategy between personalisation and codification a KMS was built, evaluated, and modified through action research within the customer service department of the Firm. The paper represents a work-in-progress report and describes the R & D approach including findings from the relevant literature in knowledge management and change management. In our findings we put forward a new perspective into how knowledge repositories could be viewed and put into practice mainly through the removal of a rigid structure, which arguably hinders participation in KM. We argue that our approach empowers the users and produces greater trust enhancing collaboration. We contend that these well-established aspirations of KM have not yet been thoroughly or widely explored with traditional repository-based KMS. Through our findings we consolidate a number of good/best practices previously documented. These show that by empowering and trusting the end user, and through the introduction of a flexible design of a KMS and its repository, help motivating the users. The paper describes how this has been observed within the situation of an IT customer service department. A side effect of the research is a set of new insights into tacit knowledge.

Talks by Ryan Zammit

There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). Dur... more There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). During the twenty-plus years of KMS there have been many criticisms of the use of repositories and the KM initiatives giving rise to them. Such repositories have been used by a range of company types and sizes and in a number of sectors. However, many of the initiatives have failed to achieve their expected benefits, as evident in the literature, which obscured any real benefits. There may have been misguided expectations arising from the capacity to remember ‘knowledge’ that ‘information’ systems (IS) provide, and from the ease with which old or mislaid knowledge may be found using them. Such expectations weren’t aligned to the goals of KM initiatives and the organizational needs that led to them. We perceive two issues. The first is that many scholars and practitioners still view KMS as a category of IS. Secondly, KMS are implemented retrospectively – they are designed and built to meet c...

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents' usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related pr...

This research enquires into how social networking technologies can help knowledge creation and sh... more This research enquires into how social networking technologies can help knowledge creation and sharing in IT-based knowledge management systems. Social networking technologies have changed the way people connect and collaborate allowing users to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers alike. Despite technology having been used in a variety of ways to support knowledge management systems, the use of social networking technology has been little explored. The famous SECI model highlights socialisation as an important aspect in transferring knowledge, yet IT-based knowledge management systems seem to miss out on this element. This research argues that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology bridges this gap. Social software is becoming part of a commonplace set of tools available for organisations that may help IT-based knowledge management systems. Evidence is presented from a case study conducted in practice at an organisa...

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents’ usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related practi...

SOTICS 2013, The Third International Conference on Social Eco-Informatics, Nov 18, 2013

Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private indiv... more Online social networks have changed the way many people communicate and interact as private individuals and employees. Sharing and communication through this medium has become, for many, a daily habit. Many of these networks provide a simple way to seek and find knowledge and expertise from both friends and strangers. Information technology has been used in many ways to support knowledge management initiatives. However the use of social networking technology has been little explored. It is thus argued that combining knowledge management systems with social networking technology would bridge this gap. Social software is becoming part of a standard arsenal of tools deployed within companies, tools that may help knowledge management. Evidence is presented from a review of relevant literature and through a survey, conducted via online social networks, asking respondents’ usage of social networking for knowledge management purposes in both their private lives and also work-related practices. It shows that personal networks are often used as a medium to seek knowledge for personal and for organisational motives. The results confirm that online social networks, and their enterprise counterparts, are aiding knowledge management initiatives. Knowledge appears to be flowing through online social networks. Findings also include the confirmation of Dunbar’s number, and reaffirming the strength of “weak ties” as originally proposed by Granovetter. The paper proposes the new concept of temporary ties that are aided through social networks. It also describes the work in progress and findings so far on the use of social networking technology and habits for aiding knowledge management initiatives.

There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). Dur... more There appears to be several problems with repositories in knowledge management systems (KMS). During the twenty-plus years of KMS there have been many criticisms of the use of repositories and the KM initiatives giving rise to them. Such repositories have been used by a range of company types and sizes and in a number of sectors. However, many of the initiatives have failed to achieve their expected benefits, as evident in the literature, which obscured any real benefits. There may have been misguided expectations arising from the capacity to remember ‘knowledge’ that ‘information’ systems (IS) provide, and from the ease with which old or mislaid knowledge may be found using them. Such expectations weren’t aligned to the goals of KM initiatives and the organizational needs that led to them. We perceive two issues. The first is that many scholars and practitioners still view KMS as a category of IS. Secondly, KMS are implemented retrospectively – they are designed and built to meet current needs as informed by past challenges which may orientate a KMS towards tackling past issues and make KMS inflexible. KMS need to be less rigid and more adaptable to the constantly evolving needs of an organization. We report on a KM project with a company that delivered a successfully flexible and adaptable KMS based on a standard IS repository. The project was carried out based on an action research approach within a knowledge-intensive service provider which had been experiencing problems it believed could be addressable through KM. By adopting the socio-technical perspective of KMS and a hybrid strategy between personalisation and codification a KMS was built, evaluated, and modified through action research within the customer service department of the Firm. The paper represents a work-in-progress report and describes the R & D approach including findings from the relevant literature in knowledge management and change management. In our findings we put forward a new perspective into how knowledge repositories could be viewed and put into practice mainly through the removal of a rigid structure, which arguably hinders participation in KM. We argue that our approach empowers the users and produces greater trust enhancing collaboration. We contend that these well-established aspirations of KM have not yet been thoroughly or widely explored with traditional repository-based KMS. Through our findings we consolidate a number of good/best practices previously documented. These show that by empowering and trusting the end user, and through the introduction of a flexible design of a KMS and its repository, help motivating the users. The paper describes how this has been observed within the situation of an IT customer service department. A side effect of the research is a set of new insights into tacit knowledge.