Knowledge management system is a cluster of technologies that aid the collection, arrangement, transmission and circulation of knowledge in an organisation.
Some aspects of systems and technology that relate to knowledge management include intranets, data warehouses and data mining tools, applications for brainstorming and help desk, push technologies, workflow systems, document management systems and information retrieval engines (Maier 2004).
First, intranets offer a perfect avenue for circulation of information. Nevertheless, most organisations present too much information on the intranet, thus creating data accumulation, which makes it hard for both employees and managers to access information swiftly.
This incidence has attracted attention from scholars. While some academicians propose that organisations should convey their entire knowledge to the intranet, others are of the contrary opinion (Tsui 2005). These scholars feel that the intranet should be separated into the webserver and the technological infrastructure.
This separation can boost the pace of integration for application developers and enhance access to data for various clusters of knowledge personnel. These proponents of intranet separation argue that imposing all knowledge assets onto the webserver cannot be compared with letting users obtain the entire business knowledge, via a web browser.
Second, document management systems act as stores of crucial company records and are thus central stores of explicit information (Schwartz et al. 2000). Besides, document management systems are useful instruments for crafting and processing intricate documents (Wiggins, 2000). These systems thrive in controlling the course of document formation, processing and evaluation.
A number of organisations are using document management to manage enterprise knowledge (Davis et al. 2005). Nevertheless, most users never take part in intricate document formation directly and thus, do not obtain sufficient value from these systems because they never take time to learn how they should be used.
While most organisations do not use document management systems in knowledge management systems, they act as essential knowledge silos that should be incorporated into the business knowledge network.
Third, most organisations use technology to retrieve information comprising legacy matter (Tsui 2005). Such technology can either be in the form of intranet services or business repositories. Dealers of information retrieval continue to add aspects like natural language inquiries and relevancy ranks, which augments the rate and accuracy of finding data, in order to gratify the wants of information searchers.
Forth, companies utilise groupware systems for communication among users in units or workgroups (Housel, 1999). This system enables formal and impromptu communications in situations where instant communication is impossible. Hence, groupware is a crucial technology since it facilitates the exchange of implicit information.
Nevertheless, groupware databases must be incorporated into the enterprise knowledge construction (Tsui 2005). Processes of knowledge transfer usually happen on an impromptu basis when the call for knowledge crops up somewhere in the business, although, businesses also have many formalized procedures that control information flow (Stankosky 2005).
For instance, procedures of creating proposals usually oblige the writer to gather preceding knowledge assets and obtain endorsement on the whole proposal (Stankosky 2005). These procedures require controlled and prearranged information review (Awad, 2007).
Fifth, technologies that facilitate transmission of data to end-users have obtained substantial attention. While e-mail has played this role for long, novel web-based technologies, have provided an enhanced structure that offers instant information as well as the capacity to push content and applications.
Capacities of agents are usually significant in settings that have intense knowledge, where personnel lacks sufficient time to supervise resources with discreet information frequently. Systems of knowledge management must offer a method for users to obtain the precise forms of knowledge assets, which they require to examine, without obliging them to know complicated methods of searching.
Also, most institutions utilise help-desk technology to react to both external and internal needs for information (Maier 2004). Nevertheless, the knowledge accrued in these systems can contain many, full applications than responding to certain queries. So as, to obtain this potentially useful information, organisations must amalgamate their help-desk technologies with their knowledge management system.
Further, use of brainstorming instruments instigates creative thinking. Such end-user applications facilitate classification and systematisation of knowledge resources.
Hence these applications are valuable for knowledge construction. A Company’s knowledge management system should offer a straightforward method for users of these applications to recognize, capture and distribute the outcomes of these activities with others in the industry.
Lastly, most organisations have adopted data mining tools and data warehouses because of the need to formulate decisions from complex data collections (Stankosky 2005). Companies have created data warehouses in order to exploit current relationships and establish new relationships amid distributors, consumers and internal practices.
Hence, KM systems should offer significant access to data warehouses through using typical protocols (Thierauf 1999). Besides, organisations with KM systems should offer a method to describe and offer access to general reports to enable users who are not familiar with data mining procedures find and use reports on fields of research (Rollett, 2003).
This section reveals that knowledge management should start by choosing knowledge that requires management. It does not make sense amass lots of knowledge in one area, as this will only make it difficult for such knowledge to be assessed.
This is so for organisations that present too much information on the intranet, thus creating data accumulation and making it hard for both employees and managers to access information swiftly. A consideration that should be made in knowledge management systems is the nature of the working group, as well as, information that should be conveyed to the working group.
Besides, organisations that use document management to manage enterprise knowledge should offer training on how such systems should be used. Also, users who are not familiar with data mining procedures experience difficulties while using reports in fields of research.
Hence, systems of knowledge management must offer a method for users to obtain the precise forms of knowledge assets they require to examine without obliging them to know complicated methods of searching.
Similarly, organizations with data mining procedures should offer a method to describe and offer access to general reports to enable users who are not familiar with data mining procedures find and use reports on fields of research.
Use of technology and systems enhance the competence of management processes in organisations and offer new ways of improving the ability of reaction to environmental necessities (Jashapara 2004). Technology systems play various roles including making data accessible to persons, storing vast amounts of data, offering communication modes, creating records of transactions and communications, as well as, computerising activities (Olivera 2000).
Use of information systems in order to create knowledge may assume two shapes. The first shape is the ability to integrate knowledge from external sources. The second shape is the capacity to generate new knowledge from the restructuring and reexamination of existing and lately obtained information. Similarly, Information Technology (IT) aids the procedure of knowledge transmission.
Technology allows people to synchronize the logistics of face to face conferences. Technology may also be used to record proficiency of members in an organization, thus, promoting knowledge sharing and ensuring access to the right personnel (Barnes 2002).
Some systems like groupware offer a virtual space where members can process knowledge and information immediately, providing increased chances of interaction (Lee & Choi 2003).
Spaces of exchange grow to be the ideal situations to create innovative and ingenious behaviours surrounding issues and circumstances. An essential trait of these virtual communities and exchange spaces is that they depend on the democratisation of information. Therefore, they allow the manifestation of natural flows of the association s and transference, which in turn supports inventiveness and novelty (Narayanan 2001).
Further, technology facilitates the process of knowledge organisation and preservation. Technology supports the standardisation and computerisation of some tasks, aiding conversion of implicit information into explicit data (Anand et al.1998).
Equally, technology offers the required systems to organise and keep the knowledge. Nevertheless, knowledge stores should be available to organisation members and should be in a shape that will allow every member to make identical interpretations, thus, becoming a component of the knowledge base for the entire organisation.
Technology, together with its practices and platform principles, offers an ideal system for connecting dispersed persons through a common system and allowing members in an organisation to have easy access to information that is vestiges in memory bins. This allows new knowledge to be construed and combined with existing information (Tippins & Sohi 2003).
First, a knowledge management program should be open and distributed. By description, a knowledge management system connects available knowledge silos. Preset procedures and application programming interfaces allow incorporation amid applications like e-mail, groupware and document management services (Tsui 2005).
While applying unifying structure, organisations should make sure that the information construction is supple enough to cater for the growing needs of entity organizations. Besides, knowledge management systems must enable system management from every location through using ActiveX, HTML and Javascript that can be accessed through every attuned web browser (Barnes 2002).
Second, a knowledge management program should be customisable. Organizations should have a customizable knowledge management system. This system must provide user interfaces through templates for customization by users (Tsui 2005). A well-built knowledge management system must facilitate easy amalgamation of new and available applications.
It should have documented APIs that enable the organisation to connect systems. For example, when the system manager connects a screening system to a technical documentation store, he can push the right technical documentation straight to a repair expert in case the screening system discovers that a system is faulty.
Third, a knowledge management program, should be measurable. Measurement is a vital feature of any knowledge management endeavor to hit the correct balance between technological and organisational transformations. Organisations can establish whether the systems are producing the preferred outcome, by computing and processing the outcomes.
Every knowledge management system must have instruments that enable managers to quantify and confirm usage to obtain an image of how the system gets utilised, establish performance obstructions and, most significantly, utilise the information to develop the process of organisational knowledge transmission.
Lastly, a knowledge management program should be secure. Whereas conventional applications require the manager to offer access to those who require specific information, applications of knowledge management center on exploiting access to information.
Hence, knowledge management applications are apt to necessitate the manager to bar access to certain content parts to staff members or administrators who should not have access.
A knowledge management program must protect repositories and safeguard security models that are evident in current knowledge silos, while enabling access to those who require them in the organisation. Generating and controlling the enterprise security construction is a difficult issue.
Nevertheless, new principles like Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) seek to fuse distinct systems and abridge their administration (Barnes 2002). LDAP enables the knowledge management system to obtain user rights, without obliging anyone to reconstruct and uphold user directories in the knowledge management system, and all the accessible knowledge bases (Barnes 2002).
The Role of Systems and Technology in Knowledge Management
There exist different opinions when it comes to the role of systems and technology in knowledge management. Those who denounce the role of technology and systems in knowledge management see this perspective as a disruption from customs, administration and change management (Ruggles 1997).
These scholars argue that individual socialisation and organisational conduct stipulate the quantity of knowledge which transfers among individuals and thus, do not see technology as a solution to knowledge management (Stankosky 2005).
On the same note, some scholars argue that real knowledge becomes generated and used in the course of externalisation, internalisation and amalgamation, which are outside the sphere of knowledge management technologies (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995).
Similarly, Ruggles (1997) bases his argument upon an examination of many corporations and stresses that what counts is the activities that people perform with computers and not the computers themselves. He also stresses the role of users’ inspiration and dedication in IT performance.
On the other hand, there are information technology proponents who view technology as the answer to the knowledge management problem. These proponents argue that technology offers the required systems to organise and keep the knowledge.
For instance, Olivera (2000) asserts that technology systems play various roles in making data accessible to persons, storing vast amounts of data, offering communication modes, creating records of transactions and communications, as well as, computerising activities.
Similarly, Stankosky (2005) claims that technology allows people to synchronise the logistics of face to face conferences, and it may also be used to record proficiency of members in an organisation, thus, promoting knowledge sharing and ensuring access to the right personnel.
Besides, technology together with its practices and platform principles offers an ideal system for connecting broadly, dispersing persons through a common system and allowing members in an organisation to have easy access to information that is vestiges in memory bins (Tippins & Sohi 2003).
Regardless of all these arguments, I believe that an efficient knowledge management program necessitates an adjustment in both technology infrastructure and organisational behaviour. While technology facilitates an organisation’s knowledge management processes, it is not the answer to an organisation’s knowledge management requirements.
That is to say proficient knowledge management programs necessitate both social and technical skills. Besides, the use of intranets or groupware is not sufficient to provide business performance. Such technologies have to be accepted and operated by humans, incorporated in their work contexts and efficiently employed while getting motivated by the performance results of the business.
Most proponents of knowledge management systems concentrate on technology and not how people in organizations obtain distribute and generate new knowledge for the gain of the entire organisation. For instance, Ahmed and Lim (2012) reveal that human aspect of organisational knowledge construction obtains little focus in knowledge management.
Proponents of knowledge management systems view technology and systems as vital in an organisation’s capacity to manage knowledge (Ahmed & Lim 2012). They see use of intranet technologies as one way that has reduced obstacles to sharing knowledge.
Besides, they argue that Information technology has a vital role in facilitating knowledge transfer processes across many organisations. However, organisations should know that Knowledge management does not just involve setting up new software or modifying a diminutive feature of the business.
While this study focuses on the fourth dimension of knowledge management, other dimensions of knowledge management such as learning and culture cannot be ignored, since knowledge management is an integrated topic. The fourth dimension of knowledge relates to learning since it is through learning that humans can be able to operate and share information using technology.
Besides, culture relates to the fourth dimension in that it is only through human relationships that use of technology in knowledge management can be possible. Also, Individuals must be flexible and willing to accommodate change In order to embrace the use of new technology. Hence, all dimensions of knowledge management relate to the fourth dimension.
In conclusion, knowledge management entails sharing knowledge amid people in the organisation, as well as, using technologies and systems to aid the sharing and distribution of knowledge. Failure to acknowledge this fact has caused many incidences of knowledge management systems failure.
For instance, some organisations use document management to manage enterprise knowledge without learning how such systems should be used. Also, users who are not familiar with data mining procedures experience difficulties while using reports in fields of research.
Hence, systems of knowledge management must offer a method for users to obtain the precise forms of knowledge assets they require to examine without obliging them to know complicated methods of searching.
Also, organizations with data mining procedures should offer a method to describe and offer access to general reports to enable users who are not familiar with data mining procedures find and use reports on fields of research. This is because an effective knowledge management system must exploit both technology efficiencies and affluence of human interaction, in order to create a business application that is knowledge-intensive.
In other words, knowledge management can only be effective when it involves technology and human integration.
Also, technology together with its systems offers an ideal system for connecting broadly dispersed persons through a common system and allowing members in an organisation to have easy access to information. However, knowledge management systems must only contain relevant information. It makes little sense amass lots of knowledge in one area, as this will only make it difficult for such knowledge to be assessed.
This is particularly so for organisations, which present lots of information on the intranet, thus creating data accumulation and making it hard for both employees and managers to access information swiftly.
This paper further demonstrates that knowledge management is a multidimensional issue that has some elements of interpersonal relations and culture.
Hence, while technology and systems offer an ideal system for connecting broadly, an efficient knowledge management program necessitates an adjustment in both technology infrastructure and organisational behaviour. This is because proficient knowledge management programs necessitate both social and technical skills.
Lastly, use of technology and systems enhance the competence of management processes in organisations and offer new ways of enhancing the ability of reaction to environmental necessities.
Technology systems play various roles including making data accessible to persons, storing vast amounts of data, offering communication modes, creating records of transactions and communications, as well as, computerising activities.
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