Knowledge Management from the Perspective of Systems Theory and Cybernetics (original) (raw)
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Conceptions of 'knowledge management' abound. Although, they differ considerably and in some cases fundamentally -e.g., over the issue of knowledge vs. information-they all share the belief that management of knowledge is possible. Gelepithis and Parillon [2002] have argued that such a conception is mistaken and outlined some of the major consequences of this result. In this brief position paper we take a different route. We introduce the idea of knowledge enablement and present a number of principles that should characterise organisations in the 21 st century. These principles require the development of a new frame of mind based on the fundamental ideas of systems science and cybernetics.
Knowledge, management, and knowledge management in business operations
Journal of Knowledge Management, 2008
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to help knowledge managers systematically grasp “knowledge about management knowledge” and get a “deep and full” understanding of the nature, scope and methodologies of knowledge management.Design/methodology/approachThrough presenting a variety of perspectives on knowledge, management, and knowledge management, the article explores the essence of knowledge management in organizations from a perspective of critical systems thinking.FindingsKnowledge management in business organizations has the task of managing the activities of knowledge workers or the transformation and interaction of organizational “static substance knowledge” and “dynamic process knowledge” for “products, services, and practical process innovation” and, at the same time, “creating new or justifying existing organizational systematic knowledge”. Knowledge management is not simply about recording and manipulating explicit knowledge, but needs to address that which is implicit,...
Management Of Knowledge And System - Evolution Of Knowledge
International journal of scientific and technology research, 2016
The study of knowledge is one of the most fundamental and necessary components in today's world. A claim to knowledge should be evaluated to determine whether or not it is knowledge in its real sense. To conduct this sort of evaluation, understanding of what knowledge is and how much knowledge is possible is required. This paper provides an overview of the important aspects of knowledge, and with the help of epistemology tries to answer the most fundamental questions of what is knowledge? Moreover, how do we know what we know? The paper attempts to show the effect of culture on organizations and how foundational knowledge can help us develop logical decisions in a fluctuating environment. To manage an organization within evolving paradigm, knowledge of variation acts as a necessary requirement. As Deming defined management as a prediction, a leader must have skills to predict and adapt to its external environment. Most of the time organizations fail to observe the paradigm shift and couldn't adjust to the changing environment. The paper also discusses the effect of diverse culture and their respective interpretation of language. Thus, the paper highlights the necessity of understanding human psychology, attaining foundational knowledge and ability to validate the knowledge to establish a successful organization.
Development of a Knowledge Management Framework Within the Systems Context
Effectiveness of knowledge management depends on how knowledge management processes are aligned with an organisation's infrastructure and processes, in a manner that supports the achievement of an organisation's goals. To understand and represent theses relationships a simple list of elements and processes is inadequate. We need a holistic framework where all are integrated into a dynamic coherent whole. The proposed framework is particularly focused on dividing the identified organisational building blocks into their constituent elements along both time and content dimensions so as to define characteristics that these elements, and the relationships between them need to have to form a social ecology in which people effectively create, share and use knowledge. In this way the developed framework can assist management to understand the true nature of the relationships that exist between an organisation and knowledge management processes, and to exploit them for an organisatio...
Organisations as Complex Systems: An Introduction to Knowledge Cybernetics
This book is about social collectives, their behaviors, structures, processes, cultures, their ability to manifest and manage information, knowledge, and their capacity to communicate meaningfully. It is therefore a book on the theory of social knowledge. Some of the theory is evidenced, while some is postulated and therefore contributes to a research agenda. Overall my approach will hopefully provide a convincing frame of reference through which to examine social communities and their sociality, behaviour, properties and attributes of coherence. Its conceptual base sits on that of my earlier cybernetically oriented book on Management Systems, published in 1999. As such it also adopts a cybernetic perspective through its exploration of viable complex systems. My cybernetic interest lies in viable systems, and my concerns here are with the management of autonomous human activity systems. While following the constructivist approach in systems (sometimes referred to as soft systems) I will take the system as a metaphor for the phenomenal dimension of the social collective. However, there is more to the social collective than its phenomena, suggesting that this terminology is inadequate. After Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine published in 1967, I will use the term holon to represent metaphorically other dimensions that are relevant to the study of social collectives. My study of autonomous human activity holons, then, is the place where sociology converges at least with social psychology, organisational theory and business studies. Another concern here is with practice, important to all social communities, because it is through practice (a pseudonym for behaviour) that autonomous organisations behave and survive. Connected with this is the way that collectives control their own behaviours, which is ultimately a function of their cognitive processes and their intelligence. I am also substantively interested here with knowledge and knowledge processes, because if autonomous social collectives are to be seen as intelligent, then they must maintain an awareness of their own knowledge and the use of that knowledge to direct themselves and maintain their viability.
Knowledge Management for Perspectives and Prospects, 2022
The assessment of a knowledge managing (or learning) organisation is complicated. Some common elements though can be drawn from Morey, Maybury and Thuraisingham (1995). Their work makes explicit the forms of leverage along the value chain discussed. The key point about much of this work is that knowledge is not an exogenous variable: – it can be influenced by the project manager and more generally by lead nodes in a network who choose where and how to distribute knowledge. The work represented by Morey, Maybury and Thuraisingham provides an excellent evaluation framework for several reasons. - First, the model(s) are popular and comprehensive. Harvard uses the text in many of its faculties, and each chapter represents a classic work from knowledge management which - when taken together - form a relatively complete picture of the state of knowledge management. - Second, other models which focus on “core competencies” (another popular field in management) do not perform as well. This literature has encouraged organisations to create “value networks” through “business concept innovation” for “continuous innovation” by exercising “strategic foresight.” Removing the jargon, this approach encourages organisations to learn how to do things collectively better than competitors. Yet, the literature does not explain how these “core competencies” are developed and, in any case, the development of these collective competencies forms the heart of knowledge management. T - Third, information technology (IT) management has also become a major area of focus among organisations. The main focus of this approach though is on increasing information dissemination and improving business processes (the reduction of cycle times and better input allocations). However, this literature does not address the creation of knowledge which is considered the most important, value added input in modern production.