knowledge management system in business
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Application Of Knowledge Management System in BusinessTRANSCRIPT
A PROJECT REPORT IN
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
PROJECT TITLE: “STUDY & ANALYSIS OF USE OF
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN BUSINESS.”
Submitted On: 22TH OCTOBER 2012
UNDER THE AEGIS OF
Submitted To: Submitted By:
Mrs. Roma Chauhan Dilip KumarPGDFS - 2011-13
Roll No. : FT-(FS)-11-319
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CONTENTS
Sr.
No.
Particulars Page No.
1. Knowledge Management 3
2. Knowledge As An Assets 4
3. Explicit and Tactic Knowledge 5
4. What Is Knowledge Management Related To 5
5. History Of Knowledge Management 6
6. Values Of Knowledge Management 7
7. Knowledge Managements Drivers & Objectives 8
8. Present & Future State Of KM 11
9. Effect of Knowledge Management On Databases 12
10. A Model Of Strategic Knowledge Management 13
11. Phases Of Knowledge Management 15
12. Five P’s Of Strategic Knowledge Management 18
13. Knowledge Management System Components 20
14. Technology Supported By KMS 22
15. The Implication Of Knowledge Management 24
16. Bibliography 25
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PROJECT TITLE: “Study & Analysis Of Use Of Knowledge
Management System In Business.”
Knowledge is the process of translating the information (such as
data) & past experience into a meaningful set of relationship which are
understood and applied by an individual. As the values of employees and
organizational data have become more crucial to organization’s outcomes
and competitiveness, the concept of knowledge management has emerged.
Knowledge Management (KM): Knowledge Management is
the process of identifying, capturing, organizing and disseminating the
intellectual assets that are critical to the long term performances of the
organizations. It comprises a range of strategies & practices used in an
organization to identify, create, distribute & enable adoption of insights &
experiences. Such insights & experiences comprises knowledge either
embodied in individuals or embedded in organizations as processes or
practices.
Knowledge Management efforts typically focus on organizational
objectives such as improved performances, competitive advantages,
innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration & continuous
improvements of the organizations. Knowledge management efforts overlap
with organizational learning, and may be distinguished from that by a
greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic assets & a
focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge .
Many large companies & non-profit organizations have resources
dedicated to the internal KM efforts, often as a part of their business
strategies, information technology, or HRM (Human Resources Management)
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departments. Several consulting companies also exist that provide strategies
and advice regarding KM to these organizations.
Business operations, changing organizational structures, new
workplace characteristics and the increasing globalization of the working
world have all encouraged a growing focus on the Knowledge Management.
Business have responded in a number of the way as their internal & external
environments became more dynamic, unpredictable and complex.
Knowledge Management may be viewed in terms of:
People – how do you increase the ability of an individual in the
organization to influence others with their knowledge
Processes – Its approach varies from organization to
organization. There is no limit on the number of processes
Technology – It needs to be chosen only after all the
requirements of a knowledge management initiative have been
established.
Or
Culture – The biggest enabler of successful knowledge-driven
organizations is the establishment of a knowledge-focused
culture
Structure – The business processes and organizational
structures that facilitate knowledge sharing
Technology – A crucial enabler rather than the solution.
Knowledge As An Assets: Each person possesses a unique set
of knowledge, drawn from experiences and sources encountered over the
years. Knowledge is generated as the various information sources are tested
and combined with past experience & learning. Thus knowledge is creative,
dynamic and adaptable. People possess various forms of knowledge. Some
of this is robust & well established, based on the firm principles which have
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been tested over the time and found to be true, and other knowledge may
be dynamic, constantly shaped by new experiences & insights.
Errors & misjudgments can be important sources of learning as people
evaluate the effectiveness of the initial & ongoing decisions on the final
performances or outcomes. Thus, knowledge is developed through the
adaptations and interpretations of information, past expertise, experiences,
errors and other influences. It draws on the individual’s personal construction
of reality and constantly reshaped and consolidated through the further
exposure & experiences.
Explicit and Tactic Knowledge: Explicit Knowledge is knowledge
that can be shared with others – it can be documented, categorized,
transmitted to others as information, & illustrated to others through
demonstrations, explanations and other forms of sharing. It is a key
organizational resources which is increasingly important as the nature of the
work evolves towards a knowledge focus. Tactic Knowledge is the
knowledge which draws on the accumulated experience and learning of a
person and which is hard to reproduce or share with others. Although tactic
knowledge is hard to document, categorize and share, organization depend
on it to ensure good quality choices and judgments.
What Is Knowledge Management Related To?
Knowledge management draws from a wide range of disciplines and
technologies:
Cognitive science
Expert systems, artificial intelligence and knowledge base
management systems (KBMS)
Computer-supported collaborative work (groupware)
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Library and information science
Technical writing
Document management
Decision support systems
Semantic networks
Relational and object databases
Simulation
Organizational science
Object-oriented information modeling
Electronic publishing technology, hypertext, and the World Wide
Web; help-desk technology
Full-text search and retrieval
Performance support systems
The History of Knowledge Management :
1. 70's,: A number of management theorists have contributed to the
evolution of knowledge management.
Peter Drucker: information and knowledge as organizational
resources.
Peter Senge: "learning organization".
Leonard-Barton: well-known case study of "Chaparral Steel ", a
company having knowledge management strategy.
2. 80's,
Knowledge (and its expression in professional competence) as a
competitive asset was apparent.
Managing knowledge that relied on work done in artificial
intelligence and expert systems.
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Knowledge management-related articles began appearing in
journals and books
3. 90's until now,
A number of management consulting firms had begun in-
house knowledge management programs.
Knowledge management was introduced in the popular press,
the most widely read work to date is Ikujiro Nonaka’s and
Hirotaka Takeuchi’s The Knowledge-Creating Company: How
Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation
(1995).
The International Knowledge Management Network (IKMN)
went online in 1994.
Knowledge management has become big business for such
major international consulting firms as Ernst & Young, Arthur
Andersen, and Booz-Allen & Hamilton.
The Value of Knowledge Management
Some benefits of KM correlate directly to bottom-line savings, while
others are more difficult to quantify. In today's information-driven economy,
companies uncover the most opportunities — and ultimately derive the most
value — from intellectual rather than physical assets. To get the most value
from a company's intellectual assets, KM practitioners maintain that
knowledge must be shared and serve as the foundation for collaboration. Yet
better collaboration is not an end in itself; without an overarching business
context, KM is meaningless at best and harmful at worst. Consequently, an
effective KM program should help a company do one or more of the
following:
Foster innovation by encouraging the free flow of ideas.
Improve decision making.
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Improve customer service by streamlining response time.
Boost revenues by getting products and services to market faster.
Enhance employee retention rates by recognizing the value of
employees' knowledge and rewarding them for it.
Streamline operations and reduce costs by eliminating redundant or
unnecessary processes.
These are the most prevalent examples. A creative approach to KM can
result in improved efficiency, higher productivity and increased revenues in
practically any business function.
Knowledge Management Today
According to a recent IDC report, knowledge management is in a state
of high growth, especially among the business and legal services industries.
As the performance metrics of early adopters are documenting the
substantial benefits of knowledge management, more organizations are
recognizing the value of leveraging organizational knowledge. As a result,
knowledge management consulting services and technologies are in high
demand, and knowledge management software is rapidly evolving.
Knowledge Management Drivers
The main drivers behind knowledge management efforts are:
Knowledge Attrition: Despite the economic slowdown, voluntary
employee turnover remains high. A recent survey by the global
consulting firm Drake Beam Morin revealed an average voluntary
employee turnover rate of 20 percent with 81 percent of
organizations citing employee turnover as a critical issue. An
estimated annual cost of employee turnover was a staggering $129
million per organization. Much of this cost is due to knowledge
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attrition, which can be effectively minimized using knowledge
management techniques.
Knowledge Merging: Since 1980, the annual value of mergers has
risen 100 fold reaching a cumulative $15 trillion in 1999. Over
32,000 deals were announced, triple the number of 10 years earlier
and more than 30 times as many as in 1981. The recent frenzy of
corporate mergers coupled with the increased need to integrate
global corporate communications requires the merging of disparate
and often conflicting knowledge models.
Content Management: The explosion of digitally stored business-
critical data is widely documented. Forester Research estimates
that online storage for Global 2,500 companies will grow from an
average of 15,000 gigabytes per company in 1999 to 153,000
gigabytes by 2003, representing a compound annual growth rate of
78%. As the volume of digital information expands, the need for its
logical organization is critical for purposes of information retrieval,
sharing and reuse.
E-Learning: As the economy becomes more global and the use of
PCs more pervasive, there has been a dramatic increase in e-
learning, also known as computer based training. E-learning is
closely linked to and overlapping with, but not equal to knowledge
management. E-learning can be an effective medium for
knowledge management deliverables.
Knowledge Management Objectives : The graph below
shows the results of a recent IDC study in which corporations cited various
objectives for knowledge management efforts:
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Activities related to these objectives include: creating knowledge
sharing networks that facilitate a corporate knowledge culture, developing
knowledge leaders, optimizing intellectual capital by producing knowledge
management solutions such as codification strategies and knowledge bases,
and estimating revenue and efficiency gains resulting from knowledge
management in terms of return on investment (ROI).
Knowledge Management Return Of Investment:
Although 65% of organizations that are currently implementing KM
initiatives have not measured the impact of their performance, large revenue
gains and efficiency improvements have been recorded by numerous major
corporations. For instance: Ford Motor Company accelerated its concept-to-
production time from 36 months to 24 months. The flow on value of this has
been estimated at US $1.25 billion, The Dow Chemical Company saved $40
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million a year in the re-use of patents, Chase Manhattan, one of the largest
banks in the US, used Customer relationship management KM initiatives to
increase its annual revenue by 15%, and Pfizer credits KM practices for
discovering the hidden benefits of the Viagra drug.
Present and Future State of KM
Currently, communities of practice such as the Knowledge
Management Network and the development of standards and best practices
are in a mature stage of development. KM curricula such as certification,
corporate training and university graduate certificate programs are on the
rise. Techniques such as data mining and text mining that use KM for
competitive intelligence and innovation are in the early stages of
development. Finally, organizations are investing heavily in ad hoc KM
software that facilitates organizational knowledge. The chart below
estimates the state of their current and future KM activities.
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The Future of Knowledge Management
In the next several years ad-hoc software will develop into
comprehensive, knowledge aware enterprise management systems. KM and
E-learning will converge into knowledge collaboration portals that will
efficiently transfer knowledge in an interdisciplinary and cross functional
environment. Information systems will evolve into artificial intelligence
systems that use intelligent agents to customize and filter relevant
information. New methods and tools will be developed for KM driven E-
intelligence and innovation.
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The Effect of Knowledge Management on Databases
Multiple corporate databases will merge into large, integrated,
multidimensional knowledge bases that are designed to support competitive
intelligence and organizational memory. These centralized knowledge
repositories will optimize information collection, organization, and retrieval.
They will offer knowledge enriching features that support the seamless
interoperability and flow of information and knowledge. These features may
include: the incorporation of video and audio clips, links to external
authoritative sources, content qualifiers in the form of source or reference
metadata, and annotation capabilities to capture tacit knowledge. Content
will be in the form of small reusable learning objects and associated
metadata that provides contextual information to assist KM reasoning and
delivery systems.
A Model Of Strategic Knowledge Management
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Strategic Knowledge Management Model consist of following phases :
1. Knowledge Influences : Strategic knowledge management
explores the key principles & methods by which knowledge
management may be linked to major strategic direction of the
organizations. The knowledge leader outlines some of the
issues relating to knowledge leadership & its enhancement in the
knowledge-intensive communities. Developing & sustaining a
knowledge culture examines some of the facets of knowledge
culture & then explores challenges associated with building a
knowledge culture, particularly where this requires significant
changes to the existing values & attitude.
2. Knowledge Foundations : Effective knowledge management
relies on strong systems, structural processes & well aligned
policies & practices. Supporting Knowledge Management
through human resources management practices examines
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Knowledge Influences
Organizational ContextStrategic KnowledgeKnowledge LeadershipKnowledge Culture
Knowledge Foundations
Human Resource ManagementKnowledge System
Knowledge Applications
Core KnowledgeKnowledge RepositoriesKnowledge ServiceLearning & Development
Knowledge Enhancement &
Review
Knowledge EvaluationsKnowledge SustainabilityIssues & Researches
the concepts of a knowledge architecture, exploring how
supportive knowledge qualities & values can be nurtured through
human resource practices. Supporting Knowledge
Management through technology identifies the system &
technologies which enables effective knowledge management.
3. Knowledge Applications : Knowledge Applications focus on
various elements related to cultivating a strong & strategic
knowledge focus in the organization, & in each individual
employee. Developing core knowledge framework &
developing and managing knowledge repositories describes
the ways strategic knowledge can be identified, shared,
protected & managed. Developing an effective knowledge
service explores the ways the knowledge users may be
encouraged to integrate knowledge into core work practices & to
seek new & improved strategies through a range of supportive
services & agencies. Learning & Development in a knowledge
setting complete the review of the ways knowledge workers can
be supported in a knowledge intensive community which needs
people to learn & continually build new expertise &
competencies.
4. Knowledge Enhancement & Review : Evaluating the
effectiveness of the knowledge strategy outlines some of the
ways knowledge management can be evaluated & reviewed.
Sustainable knowledge management shifts the focus to
examine some of the issues which needs to be considered in
different context. An overall view of strategic knowledge
management provides a comprehensive & integrated view of the
factors which influences the effective knowledge management.
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Phases Of Knowledge Management :
There are five Phases of knowledge development :
1. Knowledge Sourcing : The identification of a knowledge gap
between what is known & what needs to be known is often the
stimulus for starting the Knowledge creation process. In response
to the identification of a knowledge gap, the organization
commonly reviews existing sources of guidance held by
individuals or other organizational resources. This process of
drawing together as many informed knowledge source as
possible is called Knowledge Sourcing. It is an important stages
of knowledge creation.
2. Knowledge Abstraction : After analyzing the knowledge
sources, general principles and concepts are generated to guide
the construction of knowledge. This process is called
Knowledge Abstraction. It helps to frame the insights gained
from knowledge sourcing and to extrapolate new knowledge
from the basic guidelines & issues that have emerged. Where the
knowledge seekers are highly expert, they will rely heavily on
their own knowledge, with other sources simply validating or
enriching that knowledge. Less experienced seekers will rely
more heavily on external sources.
3. Knowledge Conversion: From abstract foundations, knowledge
converts into various forms of useful applications that can be
tested & shared with others. Knowledge conversion describes
the phases during which the various ideas & principles are
refined into
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specific outcome. Knowledge can be either codified or embodied.
Codified knowledge is knowledge that can be recorded &
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Rich & Accurate Foundation for ongoing knowledge Formation
Knowledge Sourcing
Principles, Theories & Concepts to guide Ongoing Knowledge Development
Knowledge Abstraction
Abstracts Concepts which are converted into applications & outcomes
Knowledge Conversion
Shared understanding and adoption of knowledge gained
Knowledge Diffusion
Adaptable & Flexible knowledge which accomodates changing context
Knowledge Development & Refinement
Phases: Creates:
accessed by other as required. It can be developed into
artefacts, such as models, equations & guidelines. Embodied
Knowledge is the tactic knowledge of individuals. It can be
shared through stories, metaphors or personal advice as
required. Embodied knowledge is more difficult to access without
ongoing engagement with the knowledge creators.
4. Knowledge Diffusion : Knowledge Diffusion is the spread of
knowledge of once it is codified or embodied. In organizational
settings, diffusion can occur through communication media (e.g.
the internet, news-letters, meetings, seminars or videos),
modeling of news practices, and demonstrations or coaching in
specialized procedures. The success of knowledge diffusion
depends on the level of previous knowledge held by the
audience & the effectiveness of the channels available to share
the knowledge. Diffusion occurs best when the recipients can
understand & integrate the insight into their own mental
constructs. Embodied knowledge, which draws on significant
expertise, learning & experience, may be harder to transfer to
others.
5. Knowledge Development & Refinement : Knowledge is
regularly reshaped & further tested through additional
experience and feedback. This evolutionary process of
knowledge development & refinement is one of the key
features of knowledge management, ensuring the knowledge
remains current and useful. However, this also places more
challenges on organizations that seek to capture & hold
knowledge for use by others; such organizations need to ensure
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that the created knowledge is constantly reviewed & updated to
reflect any new understanding that has been acquired.
The Five P’s Of Strategic Knowledge Management :
Knowledge management is a complex process of social change & systematic
development. It relies on the alignment of five key systems to achieve full
integration into organizational setting. These are called Five P’s of
Strategic Knowledge Management. They are:
1. Planning: Strategic Knowledge Management requires
comprehensive planning. Planning should clarify the knowledge
goals & establish effective values & processes to support those
direction. Long & short terms goals need to be clearly defined.
Planning for technological infrastructure should also reflects
knowledge management goals so that plans can be effectively
implemented. Planning process takes time and perseverance,
requiring careful consideration of the whole knowledge context.
They also need ongoing monitoring & measurement to ensure
the planned strategies were successfully implemented. Equally
important is the recognition that strategic knowledge
management requires progressive review & replanning to take
into account the changing environment.
2. People : Strategic Knowledge Management is the recognition
that strategic knowledge relies on people. People have the
knowledge. They manage the systems & processes. Their
commitment to the Strategic Knowledge is important to its
overall success. They need to convinced that Strategic
Knowledge is a valuable strategic initiative. A sharing culture
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which encourages knowledge diffusion can be developed through
effective knowledge hubs, networks, CoPs & other social
community strategies. Participants need to be convinced that
there are social, economic & logistics benefits from their
knowledge participants. This implies that the knowledge
message will be strongly supported by human resource
processes & philosophies, & by the leadership provided at all
levels of the organizations.
3. Process : Knowledge Management principles need to be put into
practices via effective workplace practices. The alignment of
strategy, principles, processes & practices needs to be carefully
managed to ensure that Knowledge Management principles
donot fracture when implemented. It need to be recognized that
messages about what is important may be perceived differently
across the organizations. If there is little tangible commitment to
the knowledge principles, they will ignore the public messages in
favor of the local reality. Thus, the actual process need to be
monitored regularly to ensure it reflects knowledge priorities. If
not, it is important to recognize that the overall knowledge
philosophy is contradicted by the social context in which the
knowledge operates.
4. Products : Each organization builds its own knowledge output or
products. These mar be provided to clients, or exist as internally
shared knowledge objects. A focus on core knowledge helps to
identify the range of knowledge products which should be
cultivated, encouraging their definition, capture, management
and distribution. Sources of embodied knowledge may need to
be identified to encourage their access by others. Explicit
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knowledge should be captured & distributed in an efficient &
timely manner, so that it is readily accessible by users.
5. Performance : Knowledge Management needs to be regularly
reviewed to ensure that the financial & social investment is
positively influencing the intellectual and social capital of the
organization. Any organization must ensure its balance long &
short term priorities to enable effective financial management &
development for future. Most companies continually battled to
find the best solution for achieving efficient and cost effective
but innovative approaches to their business challenges.
Knowledge Management System Components :
A range of technologies support knowledge management in four broad
areas of activities :
1. Business Process Management : Business Process Management
describes the process that are required to support the business
practices of the organization. Various systems operates in the firm
to ensure effective business integration is achieved. Some typical
systems are those relating to finances, human resources
management & decision making. Ideally, these should be linked to
the knowledge management practices, so that members of the
firms have access to accurate & current information on which to
build their knowledge.
2. Content Management : Content Management relates to the
intellectual context of the KMS. This ensures that users can
efficiently retrieve knowledge on particular topic or theme. Content
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Management provides a range of strategies for indexing, organizing
& storing the resources that are linked to the KMS.
3. Web Content Management : Web Content Management focuses
on the building an effective web sites framework through which
users may access the KMS. It ensures the KMS architecture is
appropriate to achieve a logical & accessible management of
context & links. A particularly important element of this aspect of
knowledge system development is the construction of the client
interface, that is the communication channel through which users
interact with the knowledge system.
4. Knowledge Applications Management : Knowledge Applications
Management ensures users are provided with the application
packages & specialist tools for creating & using their knowledge.
Applications are software which helps the user with creating
knowledge. For example word processing & emails are applications.
These products also helps with workflow management, that is, the
management of various activities which contribute to a final
product. Increasingly, these are interdependent activities which
involve a number of people. Project management relies strongly on
workflow management.
The table below shows an overview of the ways these four systems
contribute to the KMS.
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Purpose Technical Components
Typical Activities
Business Process
Management
Enables access to business knowledge within the organization.Links system to corporate policy on knowledge access & priorities
Organizational processes Organizational recordsContributor knowledgeRelated knowledge system policies, access, procedures.
Decision makingCorporate CommunicationDiscussion Boards
Content Management
Ensures valued knowledge sources are indexed, retrievable, logically arranged & securely protected.
MetadataIndexesQuality Control
Knowledge repositoriesDocument managementLibraries
Web Content Management
Provides an accessible & secure platform on which the KMS can operate.Ensures knowledge users are protected & helped while accessing knowledge sources.
Server ManagementFile sharingPortal developmentBrowser ManagementUser IdentificationSecurity system upgrades
PortalsBrowsersHuman-Computer InterfaceSystem IntegrationUser Systems
Knowledge Application
Management
Helps users with knowledge creation & workflow Management,Provides access to specialized tools & services as required
Desktop PackagesSpecialized tools
Workflow ManagementProject ManagementDocument ManagementCommunication Process
Technology Supported By Knowledge Management
Systems :
The following diagram reflects the main technologies that currently
support knowledge management systems.
These technologies roughly correlate to four main stages of the KM life cycle:
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1. Knowledge is acquired or captured using intranets, extranets,
groupware, web conferencing, and document management
systems.
2. An organizational memory is formed by refining, organizing, and
storing knowledge using structured repositories such as data
warehouses.
3. Knowledge is distributed through education, training programs,
automated knowledge based systems, expert networks.
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4. Knowledge is Applied or leveraged for further learning and
innovation via mining of the organizational memory and the
application of expert systems such as decision support systems.
All of these stages are enhanced by effective workflow and project
management.
The Implications of Knowledge Management : The
Implications of Knowledge Management For...
Database Users: From business class users to the general public,
database users will enjoy a new level of interaction with the KM system
including just-in-time knowledge that delivers precise relevant
information on demand and in context. More complex, smart systems
will translate to optimal usability and less time spent searching for
relevant information. For example, data analysts will enjoy simplified
access and more powerful tools for data exploitation. The use of
knowledge bases can reduce customer service costs by providing
customers with easy access to 24/7 self service via smart systems that
reduce the need to contact customer service or technical support staff.
Database users may even create customized views of knowledge
bases that support their needs.
Database Developers: The design and development of knowledge
based systems will be considerably more complex than current
database development methods. Developers must consider the overall
technical architecture of the corporation to ensure seamless
interoperability. The use of standardized metadata and methods will
also facilitate both intra-corporate and inter-corporate interoperability.
Making effective physical storage and platform choices will be equally
more complex. Both knowledge base developers and administrators
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must understand the role of the knowledge base in the overall KM
system.
Database Administrators: Database Administrators will evolve into
Knowledge Managers. The knowledge base will store and maintain
corporate memory and Knowledge Managers will become the
gatekeepers of corporate knowledge. The lines between technical
roles such as Web Developer, Data Analyst or Systems Administrator
will blur as these systems merge into and overlap with KM systems.
DBAs will need to have some knowledge about each of these
disciplines.
General Public: Even if they are not interacting directly with a
knowledge base, the general public will benefit from the secondary
effects of improved customer service due to faster access to more
accurate information by service providers.
Bibliography :
Management Information System By James A O’Brien, Ramesh Bhel, &
George M Marakas
https://www.google.co.in/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KMS
Knowledge Management By Shelda Debowski
http://www.cioinsight.com
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