Representing knowledge: instances of management information (original) (raw)
Related papers
Working with knowledge: how information professionals help organisations manage what they know
Library Management, 2000
In order to manage knowledge, we need to understand the nature of knowledge in organisations. It is helpful to distinguish between three categories of organisational knowledge: tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, and cultural knowledge. Tacit knowledge is personal knowledge, explicit knowledge is codified knowledge, and cultural knowledge is based on shared beliefs. We use this framework to discuss the role of the information professional with respect to each category of knowledge. Knowledge management initiatives led by information professionals in three organisations are then examined. An analysis of these experiences suggests many opportunities for information professionals to make important contributions in managing an organisation's knowledge for growth and innovation.
This is what the fuss is about: a systemic modelling for organisational knowing
Journal of Knowledge Management, 2005
Purpose -This paper presents a system-based approach to action-directed knowledge management. This approach, known as system-based knowledge management (SBKM), allows one to respond to the observations made by previous writers that knowledge management should be cognisant of the complexity of knowledge in organisations and of the limitations of codification of that knowledge. Starts with a taxonomic analysis of the nature of organisational knowledge, dividing this critical resource into four: knowing what, knowing how, knowing why, and knowing who. Each of these requires recognition of the system in which it is created and used.
The significance of the context for managing organisational knowledge
The traditional realm of information systems has been the management of data and information. For the past few years information systems researchers and practitioners have been increasingly concerned with the management of knowledge. Knowledge management, however is not the sole concern of the information systems community but is also the concern of management and accounting researchers. According to much of the literature on knowledge management a conducive organisational culture is a prerequisite for the effective management of knowledge. In particular, organisations which emphasise the role and importance of the individual, often in a competitive arena, are less likely to foster sharing of knowledge.
The Dynamics of AX – An ethnography of knowledge-sharing and the use of information systems
This case study discusses recent studies within the multidisciplinary field of humans and technology in theorizing information technologies such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems as part of socio-material reality. Drawing on ethnographic research about Microsoft Dynamics AX from two Danish and two American production companies, I argue that ERP systems are not merely objective tools for formal sharing of work information. Instead, ERP systems are active actors that determinate, propose, and challenge existing practices and which are challenged and rejected daily through these same work practices. Consequently, a new sensibility towards work practice and a more dynamic understanding of knowledge-sharing through technological artifacts is proposed. This case study is theoretically and empirically guided by two central concepts: “practice” and “relations”. I also suggest that usage of the same ERP system differs according to context and is part of collective, individual, and organizational stories about work that are daily enacted, but also because of diverse implementation strategies, particularly where the presence of the so-called “middleman” negotiates the position of the technological artifacts as a knowledge-sharing entity in companies
Co-ordinating Distributed Knowledge: A Study into the Use of an Organisational Memory
Cognition, Technology & Work, 1999
This paper presents an ethnographically informed investigation into the use of an organisational memory, focusing in particular on how information was used in the performance of work. We argue that understanding how people make use of distributed knowledge is crucial to the design of an organisational memory. However, we take the perspective that an 'organisational memory' is not technology dependant, but is an emergent property of group interaction. In this sense, the technology does not form the organisational memory, but provides a novel means of augmenting the coordination of collaborative action. The study examines the generation, development and maintenance of knowledge repositories and archives. The knowledge and information captured in the organisational memory enabled the team members to establish a common understanding of the design and to gain an appreciation of the issues and concerns of the other disciplines. The study demonstrates why technology should not be thought of in isolation from its contexts of use, but also how designers can make use of the creative flexibility that people employ in their everyday activities. The findings of the study are therefore of direct relevance to both the design of knowledge archives and to the management of this information within organisations.
2002
The existing mechanistic view of Knowledge Management (KM) pursued by most IT initiatives in this stream, perceiving knowledge as a commodity has proven inadequate to support the highly knowledge-intensive workplace contexts. Drawn from the generic ideas of "technologies-in-practice", as suggested by Orlikowski , we emphasize the necessity of attaching a more situated character in the technical propositions for KM. In the center of our perspective stand the notions of activities and work practices, as the explanatory tools for interpreting roles and experiences of actors. Work practices serve not only as the context to knowledge, but also as the anchoring point for the enactment of collective learning and thus the support of communities of practice. Our work is substantiated with recommendations for technical approaches to KM. We ground our propositions on the experience of implementing a KM solution for the support of a newly employed and strategically important (e-)banking role, the "Front-line Customer Service".
2017
The existing mechanistic view of Knowledge Management (KM) pursued by most IT initiatives in this stream, perceiving knowledge as a commodity has proven inadequate to support the highly knowledge-intensive workplace contexts. Drawn from the generic ideas of “technologies-in-practice”, as suggested by Orlikowski (2000), we emphasize the necessity of attaching a more situated character in the technical propositions for KM. In the center of our perspective stand the notions of activities and work practices, as the explanatory tools for interpreting roles and experiences of actors. Work practices serve not only as the context to knowledge, but also as the anchoring point for the enactment of collective learning and thus the support of communities of practice. Our work is substantiated with recommendations for technical approaches to KM. We ground our propositions on the experience of implementing a KM solution for the support of a newly employed and strategically important (e-)banking r...
The existing mechanistic view of Knowledge Management (KM) pursued by most IT initiatives in this stream, perceiving knowledge as a commodity has proven inadequate to support the highly knowledge-intensive workplace contexts. Drawn from the generic ideas of "technologies-in-practice", as suggested by Orlikowski , we emphasize the necessity of attaching a more situated character in the technical propositions for KM. In the center of our perspective stand the notions of activities and work practices, as the explanatory tools for interpreting roles and experiences of actors. Work practices serve not only as the context to knowledge, but also as the anchoring point for the enactment of collective learning and thus the support of communities of practice. Our work is substantiated with recommendations for technical approaches to KM. We ground our propositions on the experience of implementing a KM solution for the support of a newly employed and strategically important (e-)banking role, the "Front-line Customer Service".