Decision Support &

Executive Information
Systems:

LECTURE 8

Amare Michael Desta

1
Managing knowledge in knowledge work:
How operations are organized in “traditional”
work e.g. in manufacturing sector
 Different operations follow each others in
logical order until the task is completed

2
 Managing knowledge in knowledge work -
(Contd….)
Could the same happen in knowledge
work or is it “chaotic” or less
organized by its nature?

 What is the difference between the logistics of

 physical components
 information / knowledge components?

3
 Knowledge flow (logistic) and
utilization of knowledge resources
Available tacit Unavailable tacit
knowledge resources knowledge resources

dia transf
er me er me
transf dia

Knowledge outcomes
Knowledge acquisition
Knowledge creation & -embrained knowledge
-defining the requirements
reuse -embodied knowledge
-localizing knowledge
-skills & competencies -encultured knowledge
-accessing knowledge
-tools & methods -embedded knowledge
-absorptive capacity
-encoded knowledge

tran
sfer
m edia r m edia
sfe
tran

Unavailable explicit
Available explicit
knowledge resources
knowledge resources

4
Knowledge Management, (KM)
- the need and the reality

The move from an industrially-based

economy to a knowledge or information-
based one in the 21st Century demands a
top-notch KM System to secure a
competitive edge and a capacity for learning.

5
Knowledge Management
– the importance
 The new source of wealth is K, and
not labor, land, or financial capital. It
is the intangible, intellectual assets
that must be managed.

 The key challenge of the Knowledge

-based economy is to foster
innovation
6
 The Knowledge Economy
For several decades the world's best-known
forecasters of societal change have predicted
the emergence of a new economy in which
brainpower, not machine power, is the critical
resource.

But the future has already turned into the

present, and the era of K has arrived.
"The Learning Organization," Economist Intelligence Unit”
But do you all agree?
7
 The Knowledge Economy
– rest on THREE pillars

 The role that K plays in transactions: it

is what is being bought and sold; both
the raw material and the finished goods
 The concurrent rise in importance of K
assets, which transform and add value
to knowledge products
 The emergence of ways to manage
these materials and assets, or KM
8
Two Kinds of Knowledge

K is intangible, dynamic, & difficult to measure,

BUT without it no organization can survive.
 Tacit: or unarticulated K is more personal,

experiential, context specific, and hard to

formalize; is difficult to communicate or share
with others; and is generally embedded in
the heads of individuals and teams.
 Explicit: K can easily be written down and

codified.
9
 The main issues are – how to

 Design and install techniques and

processes to create, protect, and use
known K.
 Design and create environments and
activities to discover and release K that is
not known, or tacit K.
 Articulate the purpose and nature of
managing K as a resource & embodying it
in other initiatives and programs. 10
Do we really need KM System?

 Competitive success will be based on how

strategically intellectual capital is managed
 Capturing the knowledge residing in the
minds of employees so that it can be
easily shared across the enterprise
 Leveraging organizational knowledge is
emerging as the solution to an increasingly
fragmented and globally-dispersed
workplace
11
Do we really need KM System?
(Contd…)
 Instead of constantly reengineering and
downsizing: talented people are assets to
be developed for a global 21st Century

 The reuse of knowledge saves work,

reduces communications costs, and allows
a company to take on more projects.

12
 The Successful Managing of
Knowledge
Focus on FIVE tasks:
1. Generating knowledge
2. Accessing knowledge
3. Representing and embedding knowledge
4. Facilitating knowledge
5. Transferring knowledge
It is a process of instilling the culture and
helping the people in it find ways to share and
utilize their collective knowledge.
13
KM – the enablers

 Leadership
 Knowledge champions, such as CKOs
 Culture
 Access
 Technology
 Learning Culture

14
 More on the importance of
Corporate Culture
 Changing the culture is imperative.
 To create a climate in which employees
volunteer their creativity and expertise,
managers need to look beyond the traditional
tools at their disposal: finding ways to build
trust and develop fair process.
 That means getting the gatekeepers to
facilitate the flow of information rather than
hoard it.
 And offering rewards and incentives
15
The technological divide
 Generating organizational K invariably
means converting the tacit K of the
individual into explicit K accessible by all.

IT is most effective when it enables this

social process.
 Organizations must think through their

technological systems.
 Technology such as Intranets and

advanced collaborative software have

made KM possible. 16
Organizational Changes
 Lines between departments and operating
divisions blur
 KM even completely collapses boundaries
 A KM system cannot work through
hierarchies
 Individual and team learning process must
become the true driver of organizational
learning

17
Organizational Knowledge
- Why is it Important?
 Knowledge can be embedded in processes,
products, systems, and controls
 Knowledge can be accessed as it is needed
from sources inside or outside the firm
 It is versatile and can be transferred
formally, through training, or informally, by
way of workplace socialization
 It is the essence of the competitive edge!
18
Why KM? What’s the big deal?
 By instituting a learning organization (KM-
intensive), there is an increase in employee
satisfaction due to greater personal
development and empowerment.
 Keep your employees longer and thereby,
reduce the loss of intellectual capital from
people leaving the company.
 Save money by not reinventing the wheel for
each new project
19
 Why KM? What’s the big deal?
(Contd….)

 Reduce costs by decreasing and achieving

economies of scale in obtaining information
from external providers.
 Increase productivity by making K available
more quickly and easily.
 Provides workers with a more democratic
place to work by allowing everyone access to
K
20
 Why KM? What’s the big deal?
(Contd….)

 Learning Faster With KM

 Learning fast to stay competitive
 KM software and technological
infrastructures allow for global access to
an organization’s K, at a keystroke

21
 Successful KM programs –
the indications
 Information is widely disseminated throughout the
organization
 Accessible at a fast rate of speed.
 Virtual communities of practice share what is
known in a global fashion, independent of time
zones and other geographic limitations.
 Business without boundaries broad, often virtual
in nature.
 Collaboration to support continuous innovation
and new K creation. 22
 KM and future scenarios

 Where are we going? What are we here for?

 People need awareness of the whole: in what
direction is the organization going?
 To have a goal to reach in the future can
provide great incentive for a KM initiative.
 Effective leveraging lies within an
organization’s capacity for rethinking and
recreating. Scenario thinking can help us see
the blind spots, and help us create the future
23
 Sustainability of a KM endeavor

There are three fundamental processes that

sustain profound changes such as the
introduction of a KM system:
- developing networks of committed people
- improving business results
- enhancing personal results

To achieve sustainability, there must be a

focus on learning and learning how to harness
the learning capabilities that lead to innovation. 24
Sustainability of a KM Endeavor
(Contd….)
 For significant change to lead to
sustainability, hierarchical control must be
put aside.
 The emergence and development of
informal networks must be supported so
that people can share their tacit knowledge
and help one another.
 Managers need to surrender control.
 And mental models need to be examined.
25
KM Software Tools
 Globalserve  Imagination
 Knowcorp  Excalibur
 Hyperknowledge Technologies
 MicroStrategy  Imaging Solutions
 The Molloy Group  Grapevine
 KnowledgeX Inc. Technologies
 WebFarming.com
 Intraspect Software
 Softlab Enabling
 Milagro: The Power
Tools of Imagination
26
 Knowledge Management - the essence
 Is understanding and valuing intangible
assets over tangible.
 Understanding that human and intellectual
capital are the greatest resources
 Managing the skills and competencies that
lie within an organization, and allowing
them to blossom
 Allowing people to be the best that they can
be; optimizing performance.
27
KM & Systems – the main focus
Key questions I’d like to raise:
 What is the relationship between KM &

systems?
 Can “knowledge” serve as a unifying concept

for understanding organizations and systems?

 Can there be design principles and techniques

based on KM concepts, for designing

organizations and their systems?

28
KM as a management concept
/ approach
 A parade of management ideas
 Classical administrative theories 1940’s
 Scientific management (e.g. Taylor) 1950’s
 Human relations approach
 …
 TQM 1980’s
 BPR 1990’s
 KM !! 2000~
 … ??
 Is KM one among many approaches?
 Shouldn’t knowledge be a fundamental concept for
understanding and managing organizations?

29
 Knowledge in Computing & IS
The trend is toward (increasingly explicit)
“knowledge representation” in systems
- Programs 1960’s-
- Database schemas (data independence from programs)1970’s-
- Conceptual data modeling (domains, enterprises) 1980’s-
- Knowledge-based systems (knowledge about world separate from
inference engine) 1980’s-
- Knowledge sharing among systems (“ontologies”) 1990’s-
- Software agents 1990’s-
- Semantic web 2000’s-
The Question is: What is the role of knowledge in IS? Shouldn’t
knowledge be a fundamental concept in IS?
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 What is the role of knowledge
in IS, and IS development?
 Where is the knowledge?  There is knowledge in:
 What kinds of knowledge?  User organization

 Whose knowledge?  Developer organization

 How does knowledge get “into” the systems? 
Various artifacts
 What is change effected?
Requirements Systems Software
Analysis Design Implementation

Customer

Forms Spec
Order Product
Cu sto mer
ERD
Order Pro duct

Scheduled Scheduled
Delivery Deli ver y

Salesp er son

Salesperson

Architecture
Update
Marketing

Authorize
Credit
Order
Entry
Tables
Bill

VB Code
Customer

VC++ Code
Schedule
Delivery

Inventory

Abstractions Abstractions Operations on

about world about system system
Knowledge
about world
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 Knowledge in
organizations and systems
-Management is about achieving effectiveness through
K and action
- Info systems (development) is about converting
(organizational) K into (automated) action.

Can there be a theory of K and action to help understand,

analyze, and design organizations and their systems?

 Limited KM perspective:
 Broader perspective –
 How to manage the K as unifying concept:
knowledge in organizations  How to design effective
and systems organizations and systems?

32
KM systems as specialized classes of
systems or “applications”
e.g., [Alavi Leidner 01] [Marwick 01] [Smith Farquhar 00]

 Groupware  Taxonomies

 Data mining  Document classification

 Learning tools  Portals & metadata
 E-bulletin boards  Text search
 Knowledge repositories  Summarization
and databases, FAQs
 Relationships discovery
 Discussion forums
 Visualization
 Knowledge directories
 Expert systems  …

 Workflow systems Contrasted with more conventional

information systems
33
Five Paradigms of IT Support
- a rough typology

34
1. the “processing” paradigm
Here, the focus is on the processing (usually fixed a priori)

E.g. sales orders processing, bank account statements, teller machine

processing...
Qualities
Info. operations:
Info. structures: emphasized:
data items
 calculate  speed
lists
 transform arrays  accuracy
trees
 ...
...  correctness

 ...

35
 2. the “repository” paradigm
Here, the focus is on the storage and retrieval
E.g. document management systems, online catalogues, databases...

Qualities
Info. structures: emphasized:
Info. operations: records  persistence
 create/read/ links/  accessibility
update/delete relationships
 integrity
 lookup indexes
 security
 navigate
catalogues
...  ...
 integrate

 ...
36
 3. the “tool” paradigm
The focus is on enabling the user

E.g. spreadsheet, word processing...

Qualities
emphasized:
Info. operations: Info. structures:
 usability
 manipulation of conceptual
information  flexibility
user’s information
representations structures  extensibility
 ...
e.g., cells in
 ...
spreadsheets
...

37
 4. the “medium” paradigm
Here the focus is on communication

E.g. email, teleconferencing, groupware

Qualities
emphasized:
Info. structures:  presence
Info. operations:
message  fidelity
 send/receive
conversation  authenticity
 share
conference  privacy
 ... ...  ...

38
 5. the “agent” paradigm
Here the focus is on assisting the user

Qualities
E.g. mail filters, web crawlers, knowledge discovery...

Info. operations: Info. structures: emphasized:

Goals tasks/plans  ability
 planning & goal
conceptual structures
achievement  intelligence
interdependencies
 “understanding” among agents...  trustworthine

 delegation ss
 ...  ...

39
 How much domain knowledge
is embedded in the system?

Least
Embedded
knowledge

Most
Embedded
knowledge
 Knowledge Media? A provocative concept Suggests that we
need to span the full range
40
 Major design questions
for organizational information systems
The term “K Media” suggests that an organization’s IS
would be a mix of systems with more/less embedded K

Major design questions

- Who needs what K to achieve what objectives /
responsibilities?
- How much to embed in machines?
- Where in the organization?
- How to make tradeoffs – benefits vs. risks vulnerabilities?
E.g. speed, accuracy, economy vs. inflexibility, privacy
risks, loss of control, …
41
What design methods and
techniques are available?
 Most conventional IS analysis and design
techniques are focused on “data” & “processing”

 HCI research has strengthened design methods

especially for “media” and “tool”

The Key Question is:

 How to bring in knowledge concepts for

designing organizations and systems?

42
Modelling Strategic Actor
Relationships and Rationales
- modeling framework

 have goals, beliefs, abilities, commitments

are semi-autonomous
 freedom of action, constrained by relationships with others
 not fully knowable or controllable
 has knowledge to guide action, but only partially explicit

 depend on each other

 for goals to be achieved, tasks to be performed, resources
to be furnished 43
Modelling systems & organizations in
terms of Strategic Dependencies among actors
(Patient & Health Service provider)

44
 Strategic Dependency
Relationship
I want I can
… …

Actor A
D Car Be Repaired D Actor B

45
46
Strategic Rationales about alternative
configurations of relationships with other actors
– Why? How? How else?

[Yu AOSE01]
47
 Analysis and Design Support

 opportunities and vulnerabilities

 ability, workability, viability, believability
 insurance, assurance, enforceability
 node and loop analysis
 design support
 raising issues
 exploring alternatives
 evaluating, making tradeoffs
 justifying, settling
 based on qualitative reasoning

48
Compare:
conventional modeling
systems modeling
agents – implicit knowledge
D D
inputs
outputs
wants and
abilities

2. goals & (limited)

explicit knowledge

functional
decomposition
means-ends
alternatives
49
Premises, key concepts
D D

 Actors are semi-autonomous, partially wants and

knowable abilities
 Strategic actors, intentional dependencies
 have choice, reasons about alternate means
to ends
Intentionality
Autonomy
Sociality means-ends
Identity & Boundaries alternatives
Strategic Reflectivity
Rational Self-Interest

50
 In conclusion: Question for you
In the context of KM and systems
- What is organizational knowledge?
 Org. knowledge is in people and machines

- How is it collected, structured, and managed?

 Includes human & automated processes

- How does this impact an organization?

 Systems need to be designed in organizational
context, with attention to K & action of strategic
actors
51
 In conclusion: Contd….
In the context of KM and systems
- What tools do AI & KM provide to do the above?
 Various technologies offer different capabilities with
limitations & risks; need analysis & design tradeoffs

 Conventional systems analysis and design techniques

are ill-equipped for analyzing knowledge & action of
strategic actors

 AI and KM offer ideas for new frameworks

 How are the issues of KM related to DSS?
52
References
 R. Smith & A. Farquhar. The Road Ahead for
Knowledge management – An AI perspective. AI
Magazine. Winter 2000.
 A.D. Marwick. Knowledge Management
Technology. IBM Systems Journal. 40(4):814-830.
2001.
 M. Alavi & D.E. Leidner. Knowledge Management
& Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual
Foundations and Research Issues. MIS Quarterly.
25(1):107-136. 2001.

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