Data, Information, And Knowledge Management: Understanding The Basics (Essay).

1.Consider five decisions you have made today. (Those decisions could be simple such as, taking a turn while driving or even choosing books at a library.) In each case determine the data, information, or knowledge that were involved in the decision. Now consider how those decisions would have been influenced by the lack of pre-existing data, information, or knowledge.

2.Consider a high school with which you are familiar. How can Knowledge Management (KM) at this high school benefit from information technologies (KM technologies)? What kinds of KM technologies does it currently use, and how could they be improved? Note: KM technologies are information technologies that can be used to facilitate knowledge management.

3.Tacit knowledge could be transferred from one person to another in two distinct ways. One possibility is to transfer it directly through socialisation. The other possibility is to convert it into explicit form (through externalisation), then transfer it in explicit form to the recipient (through exchange), who then converts it into tacit form (through internalisation). What are the pros and cons of each approach? If the purpose is to transfer knowledge from one person to one other person, which approach would you recommend? Why? If the purpose is to transfer knowledge from one person to 100 other individuals in different parts of the world, which approach would you recommend? Why?

4.Critique the following analysis: “Our investment on knowledge management seems to be unsuccessful. The return on investment (ROI) decreased from 10 percent to 5 percent at the year of system implementation. Since direct measure of organizational performance decreased, we need to uninstall the knowledge management system right away.” Hints: Is the analysis correct or incorrect? In your critique, you may explain the problem, identify the strengths and weaknesses and consider any possible corrective measures.
 

What is Data?

1.Data is collection of figures and facts

Information is data in context

Information enclosed with beliefs, skills, values constitute knowledge 

Attend Event

Data

Date, Venue and Attendees’ List

Information

The event is on week day and 3 miles away. Names of Students

Knowledge

Venue has good reviews. Friends are invited so I will attend

Selling old books

Data

• Name and author of Books
• Buyers’ Options

Information

Books on Stats, Marketing etc. Sell to Library or Shopkeepers

Knowledge

These are management books. Libraries are far so sell at shops

Decide ice-cream Flavor

Data

Catalogue

Personal Budget

Information

Flavors, offers, pricing, budget

Knowledge

The brand is reliable. I like coconut flavor. Loyalty points increase discounts

Choose book from Library

Data

Own Requirements and Books’ list

Information

Requirement is fiction mystery novel .4 books are available

Knowledge

The librarian has recommended Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown’s books are good so I chose it.

Select Route

Data

Google Map of location

Information

2 routes available. Route 2 is shorter but shows red paths i.e. high traffic.

Knowledge

Route 2 is near to offices. Route 1 is by-pass. I chose route 1

Data is pre-requisite to make decisions. Without google map optimal route can’t be selected. If I cannot segregate data, I may be issuing the wrong book. Making the data in structured form is necessary. Knowledge gives value addition. In selling books, If I am not aware that these are management books then I could have wasted my time

2.Knowledge management are set of activities performed to discover, capture, share and apply knowledge in order to attain different goals like competitive edge, cost minimization, long term profit and increasing market share (Martín-de Castro, 2015).

Information Technologies supports the Knowledge Management. Examples are AI i.e. Artificial Intelligence, ERP i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning, databases, Web browsers, portals, web communities, MIS (Management Information System), Decision support tools (DSS), lesson learned tools. 

Let’s consider my own high school.

• Knowledge Management is supported by school database. The database has records of teachers, students, books on the bases of classes (Kasemsap, 2015).
• The high school has a web page. Here either college authorities or students have access.
• Students upload their assignments directly on the drives and can give access to their teachers to evaluate it.
• The authorities through MIS report and dashboards evaluate the overall performance of students and teachers.
• Feedback system for students to evaluate teachers. It is also used by students to share their lessons learned from the course.
• Students have counsellor available through bot and video conferencing.

The above technology is currently used by high school. This further can be improved by using new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IOT.

High school can use data mining to understand the sentiment of students and teachers. This can help in counselling session (George, Haas & Pentland, 2014).

Many students and teachers do not know the importance of these tools. So it is necessary to communicate the advantage of using these tools.

The databases should be updated with the latest version regularly.

3.Explicit knowledge is codified and stored in databases, documents etc.

What is Information?

Tacit Knowledge is personal non-codified knowledge (Donate & Pablo, 2015).

Socialization shares tacit knowledge i.e. personal knowledge through observation, informal networks etc.

Externalization converts personal knowledge into explicit form.

Internalization converts explicit knowledge into personal.

Tacit knowledge is transferred through socialization

Pros

• Provides personal experience i.e. facial expression, sentiment analysis etc.
• Encourages innovation, experimentation and creativity.
• Difficult to replicate so personalization or customization can be done.

Cons

• Difficult to monitor it.
• Conductive culture is needed in the organization.

Tacit knowledge is externalized and then through internalization imbibed by others

Pros

• Easy to identify, store and retrieve using IT.
• Easy to transfer.

Cons

• Ability of appropriate documentation.
• Awareness of the availability of knowledge and its access.

To transfer knowledge from one person to one other person, Socialization is recommended because it is more in richness. The persons can indulge in informal discussion. It leads to clarity in thoughts, resolving doubts etc. It is unnecessary to waste time and cost by using IT only for one person (Donate & Pablo, 2015).

In order to transfer knowledge from one person to 100 other individuals in different parts of the world then it is difficult to use socialization. Even if video conferencing is used, it is difficult to ensure that knowledge is acquired by everyone (Meihami & Meihami, 2014). It is difficult to monitor. It is difficult to address the queries. Instead, the knowledge should be documented in a standard format (explicit form). Then through internalization all 100 individuals should acquire it into tacit form.

4.Knowledge management systems (KMS) are IT systems used by organization to store, retrieve, share and use knowledge. Examples: Intranet, Data warehouses (DW), Decision support system (DSS), Semantic tools etc.

The analysis is often perceived by organizations. KMS are always point of debate or discussion in organizations. The poor performance is because the type and effect of technology is not given much consideration prior to implementation. These systems are designed by one person and used by others. So, there is gap (George, Haas & Pentland, 2014). Organization practices play an important role to implement these IT technologies. Implementing these technologies does not mean that employee will use them. There is lack of management support. Organization culture is important factor. Sometimes IT system is fit with one department but not with other department of company. Tacit Knowledge is difficult to transfer using these systems.

KMS helps in locating knowledge sources. It makes transfer of knowledge easy, promote collaboration and enhances the processes (Wang, Noe & Wang, 2014). Implementing KMS properly can yield good profits. The key measures are

• Analyze the characteristics of technology, organization culture, existing systems, cost benefit analysis to understand the kind of systems required.
• It is necessary to promote acceptance of these systems. Involve users and employees during designing and implementation of systems. Systems should be user friendly. Provide adequate support needed (Wang, Noe & Wang, 2014).
• It is necessary to take in and digest the systems fully. The content should be updated regularly and stay relevant. Management should regularly communicate the importance of using these systems. There should be proper planning and implementation. 

References

Donate, M.J. and de Pablo, J.D.S., 2015. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), pp.360-370.

George, G., Haas, M.R. and Pentland, A., 2014. Big data and management. Academy of management Journal, 57(2), pp.321-326.

Kasemsap, K., 2015. The role of data mining for business intelligence in knowledge management. Integration of data mining in business intelligence systems, pp.12-33.

Martín-de Castro, G., 2015. Knowledge management and innovation in knowledge-based and high-tech industrial markets: The role of openness and absorptive capacity. Industrial Marketing Management, 47, pp.143-146.

Meihami, B. and Meihami, H., 2014. Knowledge Management a way to gain a competitive advantage in firms (evidence of manufacturing companies). International letters of social and humanistic sciences, 3, pp.80-91.

Wang, S., Noe, R.A. and Wang, Z.M., 2014. Motivating knowledge sharing in knowledge management systems: A quasi–field experiment. Journal of Management, 40(4), pp.978-1009.