QUESTION 1
The elements in KMS
Basically there are six factors or elements that need to be identified before an organization implement knowledge management system successfully. There are objective, cost, build or buy, future plans, and strength and weaknesses.
First is objective. When an organization set up a program or activity, they must know what the purpose for having such project is. They must identify whether it is a big project or a pilot project and so on. Through the objective also, the organization would see their goal that must be achieved in exercising the project or activity. The objective could be a one off program or it is for continuous development or activity for the organization. Furthermore, the objective must be clearly understood by the employer and employee, so that the mission or goal of the program will be achieved.
Secondly is cost. In implementing a program, definitely cost will be the most important factor, because in order for the organization to set up a program, they must their budget especially in terms of cost efficient. This is to know and see whether the program suitable with the budget or not and to see whether the cost that have been budgeted for the program is worth enough to the outcomes of the project later on. This is important so that the organization wouldn’t waste on things that are unnecessary. They have to know whether the program that were set up involved high budget and it is reasonable, affordable and worth for the organization. Therefore this factor must be identifying.
Thirdly is build or buy. In the steps in KM road maps, the first thing that they need to do is to analyze their existing infrastructure. As a result, in order to implement the program, they must analyze their existing infrastructure whether they want to totally buy new infrastructure or facilities or build it. This also must be done through comparing with the capacity, capability and the financial constraints of the organization. If the organization cannot afford to buy new facilities, the program maker must analyze which they must build and which they have to buy. Therefore this will reduce cost but at the same time effective.
Fourth is future plan. Instead of developing a project for one time, they have also foreseen any possibilities on the project in future. They must k now in future, what is the result of such program they implemented, what are the benefits and consequences they have to bear and so on. Through foreseen the future plan also, they can see whether maybe they can re-use the same facilities or same development so that it helps them in future to see what they going to do.
Question 2
Select one firm which you are familiar with and consider the features a KMS should be for this type of business; prepare a justification for developing the system.
Knowledge Management System (KMS) refers to a system for managing knowledge in organizations for supporting creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information. KMS will enable employees to have ready access to the organization’s documented base of facts, sources of information and solutions. The Coca-Cola Company is a company which involves in beverages-based operation. They have developed the KMS to widen their knowledge sharing and also lead to ideas for new or improved equipment. The KMS features that should be for this type of business include its purpose, context, and processes.
For purpose, KMS will have an explicit Knowledge Management objective for collaboration, sharing good practice and so on. By doing this, Coca-Cola Company will have a good knowledge sharing when every employee will share valuable organizational information throughout organizational hierarchy.
As in term of context, KMS will give a better picture on how knowledge is information that is meaningfully organized. It also accumulated and embedded in a context of creation and application. Through this kind of application, Coca-Cola Company may reduce training time for new employees as the knowledge is already made known to the employees by using the KM system. The system is sufficient to give employee information that they needed.
The next feature of KMS is in term of processes. KMS are developed to support and enhance knowledge-intensive processes, tasks or projects. For example is in process of creation, construction, identification, formalization, distribution, evolution, knowledge life cycle and many more. Applying KMS in the organizational process can help Coca-Cola Company to avoid from re-inventing the same technology and also will reduce the redundant work. The company also may utilize their sources for a better development project for the company.
QUESTION 3
Explain the critical phase of the KM Road Map
KM road map is a guideline or KM principle that was created for an organization in order to assist them in implementing KM successfully. KM road map consists of four phases or ten steps. The phases are Infrastructure evaluation, Knowledge Management System (KMS) analysis, Design and Deployment, Deployment and Evaluation.
The first phase is Infrastructure Evaluation. There are two steps under this phase which are analyzing the existing infrastructure and align KM and business strategy. In the first step, the organization must analyze their existing infrastructure that will be helpful in KM strategy and technology framework. By analyzing its existing infrastructure, the organization able to identify their critical gaps in terms of infrastructure or they have to buy totally a new infrastructure in order for them to implement KM. therefore, if the organization recognize the infrastructure which are already exist, they are able to proceed to the next step. Under this step also, organization also can get a better chance of generating stronger management support especially the top level management for the KM project because it shows that eventhough they want to implement a new thing in organization, the old one or the existing system will not be abandoned. The terms of infrastructure also divide into three category or types, which are managerial, technological, and social. Firstly is managerial infrastructure. Managerial infrastructure is about the roles of the management in supporting the framework for resourcing, decision making, and innovative practices in order to implement KM successfully. Moreover, management allows the process of KM to run smoothly because they provide the leadership, and motivate knowledge effort within the organization. For an example, at CIMB, knowledge management program is supported and handled by human resource department which supervise and establish KM program and activities, rules and regulation and so on within the organization.
The second phase of KM Road Map comprises five steps that are design the KMS, audit
existing knowledge assets and systems, design the KM team, create the KM blueprint, and develop the KMS. The first step under the second phase is design the KMS which is also known as knowledge management architecture and design. This step also is the third step toward deploying KM which company must select the infrastructural components that constitute the KM system architecture. Basically, KM systems use seven-layer architecture and each layer must be build using the technology that has been designed for it. In order to integrate these components and creating the KM system model, it requires thinking in terms of an infrostucture, rather than an infrostucture. The first thing that can be considered is the collaborative platform which we will reason through the choice of the preferred collaborative platform. Then we will decide whether the Web or a proprietary platform is better suited for the company. Next is identifying and understanding components of the collaborative intelligence layer which includes artificial intelligence, data warehouse, genetic algorithms, neural networks, expert reasoning systems, rule bases, and case-based reasoning. The next thing is to examine how newer developments hold promise for corporate KM for example peer-to-peer platform. The forth step in deployment KM is audit existing knowledge assets and systems. To begin KM project, company must aware on what their company already knows. Before company could audit and analyze knowledge, they must first understand why a knowledge audit is needed. After that company may assemble an audit team representing various organizational units that will performs a preliminary assessment of knowledge assets within the company. Later they will identify those that are both critical and weak.
The third phase in KM road map is deployment which involves the process of deploying the KM system that was built by the organization in the previous stage. The phase involves two steps which are deployment of the system using results driven incremental technique and managing change, culture and reward. Through the deployment of the system, the method use are known as RDI methodology which involving the selection and implementation of the pilot project in order to guide the introduction of a full fledged KM system. The second step is cultural change, revised reward structure, in order to produce KM results. Usually many companies assume that value of KM is that it will lead to it enthusiastic adoption and use but it is wrong because knowledge is something that we can enherit and mandated. Knowledge must be gained and learned and it must be share. Therefore, the management must use their leadership to encourage the employee and support them using for example new reward structure that will motivate themand therefore contribute to the adoption of the knowledge.
The last phase in the KM Road Map is the phase of evaluation. It’s known as real-option analysis for knowledge management. The measurement of ROI must account for both financial and competitive impacts of KM on the company’s business. This will guides the company for the process of selecting an appropriate set of metrics and at the same time arriving at a lean but powerful composite. This step will evaluate many ways in which real-options data can be tracked. It also give better picture to the company on the successfulness of other company that have approached metrics, what errors they have made in the past, and the most important thing is how our company can learn from their mistakes.
QUESTION 4
Why do you think effective repository is crucial for productivity and quality?
Leveraging knowledge is the manipulation of knowledge in terms of technology. It is also very crucial in ensuring the success of knowledge management in an organization. Technology plays three key roles in knowledge management such as to facilitate communication, provide infrastructure and assisting in mapping disperse bits and pieces of tacit and explicit knowledge to establish and intricate interdependencies among them. In other words, it will be used as a medium or platform to integrate between tacit and explicit knowledge available in the organization. One of the major functions is actually to transfer and transform knowledge to be something which is tangible.
One of the tools used in leveraging is the repository system or the storage system. This repository is an easy way to arrange secondary level of data storage which can comprise of multiple and networked data storage technologies, and are based on data service level objectives and requirements. In repository, data storage resources are virtualized as composite data storage sets and operate as a united environment.
In my opinion as to why this repository is crucial for productivity and quality is that one of the main reasons for its implementation would be to reduce the maintenance workload which usually occurs in the conventional data storage. One of the ways to implement this usage is through Automated Data Management which can be accomplished via policies that can process data based on time, events, data age, and data content. Because this repository has been designed to reduce the workload of the staff, they are designed to be easy to deploy and offers flexibility.
The second reason it’s important is because organization will in time lose data and knowledge assets as their knowledge worker resign or transfer to another organization. By having this knowledge repository, it will enable the knowledge worker to transform their tacit knowledge into something which is tangible and can be easily accessible by anyone else in the company. This is important because the senior knowledge workers will be able to share their experience and knowledge with the junior workers in the organizations and this will prove to be valuable as these workers will be able to compare and contrast between what they know and later on come up with better knowledge and information.
Information repositories also often feature robust, client based data search and recovery capabilities that, based on permissions, enable end users to search the information repository, view information repository contents, including data on off-line media, and recover individual files or multiple files to either their original network computer or another network computer. Therefore, by having this knowledge repository, the company will be able to leverage any knowledge and information to the best of application and innovation for the organization especially in terms of productivity and quality.
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