Main aim(s) of the module:
- To examine central issues in the management of information and knowledge from a strategic perspective.
- To contrast differing ways of looking at information, knowledge and strategy with a particular focus on the opposition between a systems-control perspective and a process / relational perspective.
- To explore a number of contrasts - information and knowledge, technology and people, global and local cultures, information and business strategies - that shape the agenda in contemporary organisations.
- To encourage participants to apply these ideas to their own organisations and to critically challenge them on the basis of their developing understanding.
Main topics of study:
- Adding value in the knowledge economy - delineating the contemporary business environment.
- Data, information and knowledge - contemporary debates; Managing data as a product contrasted to data quality processes; Information for performance management (e.g. balanced scorecard) versus an ecological approach; Knowledge as commodity versus knowledge as learning.
- The role of technology and culture; The properties of technology; Global versus local cultures; Managing knowledge in a diverse world.
- Information, information systems, and information technology strategies compared and contrasted; Strategic alignment or bricolage?
Learning Outcomes for the module:
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Identify, define and debate key terms in the subject area.
2. Select and apply appropriate theories to their own working environment.
3. Discriminate between the nature of information and knowledge from a strategic perspective.
4. Give a critically balanced account of the role of technology in the construction of information and knowledge.
5. Justify placing theories of the strategic use of knowledge and information in the context of a diverse world.
6. Evaluate and present the application of ideas to practical contexts in a critical fashion.
In the business world, there is much greater agreement about the form of knowledge that yields the greatest (potential) business value, is uncodified (or tacit in nature). Lots of valuable knowledge "falls through the cracks" within business organizations, never finding its way into databases, process diagrams, or corporate libraries. In organizations, such hidden tacit knowledge can take one of two forms:
(i) Knowledge embodied in people and social networks:
People know more than they can say. That is, they are guided by knowledge that they do not know they have or that they find difficult to articulate. These may not reside in a single person's head but, rather, may be distributed across a group of people and we may say that such knowledge is "embodied" in groups, teams, or communities. As a group, they know how to get tasks performed and things accomplished within the organization more effectively and efficiently.
Coursework Question:
(ii) Knowledge embedded in the processes and products that people create:
Embedded knowledge resides in the products that people have produced. Knowledge may be embedded in products or product prototypes, in processes, as well as in documents. Prototypes allow individuals and groups to externalize their tacit knowledge
- in the form of ideas, assumptions, and value judgments - so that these can be reconciled and incorporated into subsequent versions of the prototype.
Embedded knowledge that resides in processes, reflect the learning that went into their development and that this form of tacit knowledge represents an untapped resource in many companies.
You are required to produce a strong report to the management of your chosen company to convince them to implement a suitable knowledge management system (KMS) for managing the organization's tacit knowledge and supporting the overall objectives of the organization. As part of the report you will need to identify and discuss this type of knowledge and its business value to the organization.
Include an assessment framework that will be used to monitor progress toward and successful attainment of the organizational objectives.
Instructions for the Coursework:
Your report (not exceeding 4,000 words) should incorporate the following:
(a) Executive Summary
200-300 words, not to be included in the word count.
(b) Introduction and Background of your chosen company
- Build the background of your company and the type of products/services that it sells.
- Students can use this assignment to do a study on their companies based on their work experience.
(c) Main Body
- For knowledge sharing to be valuable to your organization, student should focus on and discuss issues and the scope of its tacit knowledge and an appropriate KMS in supporting/enhancing its business value and the overall objectives of the organization.
- To extract more business value from its tacit knowledge, you can discuss how your organization can find ways to penetrate and extract the sticky, opaque character of such knowledge - its tacitness.
- Remember to focus your discussion on the type of business your chosen company (not a general discussion applicable to any organization) is in and how managing its tacit knowledge will increase its business value. Your job is to convince management to implement a KMS to manage its knowledge, in particular its tacit knowledge.
(d) Conclusion
- Include a range of possible alternative solutions so as to assess the student's ability to apply newly acquired knowledge to effectively convince and gain buy-in from senior management for a KMS.
(e) References [5 marks] Harvard-style reference list.
Have a minimum of 15 references.
Criteria for the Coursework:
Your work should be word processed in accordance with the following:
- Font style, Gill Sans MT, font size 12
- 1.5 line spacing.
- The page orientation should be ‘portrait'
- Margins on both sides of the page should be no less than 2.5 cm
- Pages should be numbered
- Your student number should be included on every page.
- You should provide your word count at the end of your report.
Word count
- Your word count should not include your reference list. You should provide your word count at the end of your report.
- Exceeding the word count by more than 10% will result in a penalty of 10% of your marks for your work.
- If your work is significantly shorter, then you will probably have failed to provide the level of detail required.
Assessment for course work
- Critically evaluate the approaches to manage tacit knowledge from both the business strategic and business value viewpoints.
- Develop and justify the business case, based on tacit knowledge, of a KMS for an organization.
- Evaluate the transformations required to change the information and knowledge management operations philosophy of an organization.