A Framework for Managing Knowledge in Requirements Identification

This chapter reflects on experiences when traditional IT approaches were used to design large IT systems and ended in failure (Etheridge, 2001). The main reflections focus on the reasons for system failure and how they relate to the diversity of knowledge, managing knowledge, and the understanding gaps that may exist between the business and the system developers. The study reveals that the understanding gaps mainly result from lack of knowledge of business operations on the developer side, matched by lack of technical appreciation and knowledge on the user side. To help address the knowledge gap problem, a Knowledge Requirement Framework (KRF), employing soft-systems, diagramming and set mapping techniques, is proposed and d

Opportunities for Data Mining and Customer Knowledge Management for Shopping Centres

Shopping centers are an important part of the UK economy and have been the subject of considerable research. Relying on complex interdependencies between shoppers, retailers and owners, shopping centers are ideal for knowledge management study. Nevertheless, although retailers have been in the forefront of data mining, little has been written on customer knowledge management for shopping centers. In this chapter, the authors aim to demonstrate the possibilities and draw attention to the possible implications of improving customer satisfaction. Aspects of customer knowledge management for shopping centers are considered using analogies drawn from an exploratory questionnaire survey. The objectives of a customer knowledge management system could include increasing rental incomes and bringing new life back into shopping centers and towns.

Knowledge Management

Although the debate on the nature of ‘knowledge’ and ‘information’ is far from settled, it is now taken for granted throughout the academic world that the two notions are related but fundamentally distinct. This result, and its significant consequences, still need to be realised and understood by the great majority of the business world. In the first section of this chapter, we briefly comment on some characteristic views of ‘knowledge’ and ‘knowledge management,’ and subsequently we analyse in-depth the core constituent notion of the latter, that is, knowledge. In section two, we outline three major consequences of our analysis. The first concerns the limits of management for a certain class of activities involving knowledge. The second concerns the scope and limits of technology for the same class of activities. The third concerns the issue of knowledge market. The thesis we develop is that knowledge cannot be taken as a commodity; in other words, the notion of a knowledge market is not implementable.

Directions and Trends in Knowledge Management Research

Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) has existed as a separate field of scientific research for almost a decade. It is therefore surprising that very few studies to date have been concerned with the identification of the scope and boundaries of the field, as well as the sub-topics and research themes that constitute it. This chapter reports on the results of an empirical analysis of more than 200 research projects in Knowledge and Information Management. Using an inductive methodology of pattern matching analysis, a more accurate definition of knowledge management is attempted, and an innovative taxonomy of research sub-themes within the ‘umbrella’ area of Knowledge and Information Management is proposed. Furthermore, a trend towards a gradual maturation of the presently prevailing research paradigm is identified, indicating a need for a ‘paradigm shift’ that will provide a new direction and vision for future research in the area. We suggest that targeted future research efforts in the area of knowledge technologies will contribute to the development of the ‘next generation’ knowledge management systems that will transform the existing ‘passive’ knowledge repositories into ‘active’ learning environments.

The Impact of the Knowledge Economy on Leadership in Organisations

The world economy is in transition. It is moving from the industrial age to a new set of rules — that of the “Information Society” or knowledge economy. This will change everybody’s work, affecting the flow of new ideas into enterprises, their management, organisation and procedures. These changes have major impacts on the roles leaders need to play, and on the skills they need. The focus of a leader has shifted towards more intangible issues, being a visionary, a storyteller and a change agent. Leaders need to change and to keep reinventing themselves, they have to be ready to adapt, to move, to forget yesterday, to forgive, and to structure new roles and new relationships for themselves, their teams and their ever-shifting portfolio of partners, and they need to have the capacity to employ more than one style of leadership. The chapter reviews the literature on the skills and abilities leaders need to be successful in the knowledge economy, and describes the way in which they need to manage their organisations by managing the organisation’s business model, creating a risk-encouraging culture and by playing different roles.

Knowledge Economy

The dramatic development of information and communications technology, the increased speed of scientific and technological progress, and the increased global competition led to the growing importance of knowledge and technology for economy. Modern economy, therefore, increasingly includes features of knowledge economy, an economy based on production, distribution and use of knowledge. Also, more and more the growth of companies depends on innovation, and innovation is based on knowledge. This chapter presents an overview of knowledge economy. It describes the categorisation and a characteristic of knowledge, analyses features of knowledge assets, describes the reasons for the importance of information and communications technology for knowledge economy, and the economic aspects of knowledge assets. Finally, it describes the production, transmission and dissemination of knowledge, as well as the measurement of knowledge required for providing adequate economic indicators for the new economy.

The Role of Teams in Business Process Change

The concept of reengineering teams is not new to business process change practice and research. However, frameworks that describe the organisational changes that have to be undertaken in order to establish reengineering teams, in particular, are novel. By having such a framework, practitioners and academics alike can determine beforehand what to expect before the actual team is formed. This in turn allows organisations to prevent disastrous consequences, something that can occur if information is not available. Additionally, the chapter describes the characteristics that surround the planning and design of reengineering teams. This can be used as a suggestion for organisations in order to decide if they do have the appropriate numbers of individuals within a team. From these explanations it can then be stated that this chapter can serve as a directive that organisations undertaking business process change in the future can use as guiding information.

Designing Organisational Memory in Knowledge-Intensive Companies

Organisational memory refers to the storage of a company’s collective expertise and experience that is cultivated through human and technological networks for improving organisational performance. A knowledge-sharing environment gives employees access to the most innovative and creative ideas that exist within the company and translates into significant business opportunities for the organisation. In this chapter, the issues related to designing organisational memory in knowledge-intensive companies are investigated using a case study example. Key findings of the case study are outlined, and a framework is proposed to assist knowledge-intensive organisations in implementing and managing a corporate knowledge base.

Intelligent Agents for Knowledge Management in E-Commerce

E-commerce has become a key aspect of the global business environment, causing fundamental changes in markets and organisational structures. This chapter considers how knowledge management, the latest management approach aimed at improving business performance, can create new business opportunities in the new business environment that is defined by electronic commerce. Knowledge management deals with the systematic generation, codification and transfer of knowledge and can be supported by a number of technologies, known as knowledge management tools. It has been argued that intelligent systems can offer additional capabilities and advantages in comparison with more traditional information technologies. This chapter investigates the potential of intelligent agent-based software for more effective knowledge management in the context of e-commerce, adopting the perspective of an SME involved in development of intelligent agents-based knowledge management software. The chapter concludes with a research agenda for knowledge management research in e-commerce.

Simulation Modelling

Although change management approaches have been widely discussed in the business and management literature for several decades, not many publications address the role of simulation modelling in supporting these approaches. This chapter investigates several management innovation and change programs, including TQM, JIT, BPR, Process Innovation and Knowledge Management, and discusses how simulation modelling could increase their effectiveness. These change management approaches are compared and contrasted, and the applicability of simulation modelling to support the principles of these methods is investigated. It is argued that simulation could be viewed as a missing link between these approaches.