Knowledge management: issues, challenges and opportunities for governments in the new economy
07 Jan 2002-Vol. 6, pp 129
TL;DR: Examining some US government early practices, the paper advocates for "communities of practice", cautions on "best practices" and concludes with recommendations on a suggested implementation approach.
Abstract: Throughout history, knowledge has always been viewed from multiple perspectives-abstract, philosophical, religious and practical. This paper focuses on the practical perspective and how governments can capitalize on it as they attempt to come to terms with the forces being unleashed by what is being described as the "new economy." To deliver more innovative services to a demanding public, governments must be involved in the deployment of such new services as e-government and e-commerce. Active management of their knowledge assets is mandatory for success. Drawing from reported private sector experiences, some issues, challenges and opportunities for government services provision are examined. A suggested implementation approach highlights leadership, culture, technology, and measurement as critical success factors. Examining some US government early practices, the paper advocates for "communities of practice", cautions on "best practices" and concludes with recommendations.
Citations
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TL;DR: A methodology for comparing a firm's knowledge management performance with its major rivals using the Analytical Network Process (ANP) to obtain a clear direction of the effort required to gain or maintain a competitive advantage is proposed.
Abstract: The single most important task of knowledge management (KM) performance measurement is comparing your company with its main rivals. Most of the metrics and methods of knowledge measurement that have been developed are concentrated on measuring the knowledge within the organization, which may be nice to know, but is not critical. In this paper, we propose a methodology for comparing a firm's knowledge management performance with its major rivals using the Analytical Network Process (ANP) to obtain a clear direction of the effort required to gain or maintain a competitive advantage. The ANP approach employed in the present study is a theory of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM), and is good at dealing with tangible and intangible information. Our methodology is designed to make a detailed comparison of a firm's KM performance with that of its main rivals, in order to be able to provide effective information for improving its KM and to increase its decision-making quality. This paper makes three important contributions: (1) it develops a comprehensive model, which incorporates a variety of issues for conducting KM performance measurements in comparison with major rivals; (2) case experience is provided to help us understand the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology for KM performance measurement from a practical point of view, and (3) the results obtained from exploring the case firm present changes that the case firm can make, implying that the case firm must reinforce its knowledge creation and internalization so as to improve its position in comparison with its most competitive rivals. The method proposed by this paper is generic in nature and is applicable to benefit any firm.
41 citations
Cites background from "Knowledge management: issues, chall..."
...…evaluation Hasan and Gould, 2001 [30] External performance analysis Benchmarking Marr, 2004 [31]; Pemberton et al., 2001 [32] Best practices Asoh et al., 2002 [33] Project-orientated analysis Social patterns Bresnena et al., 2003 [34] KM project management Model Kasvi et al., 2003…...
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TL;DR: This study was undertaken to establish a set of criteria to assess the effectiveness of KM for different types of organisations, and how to expand these criteria to develop measures is discussed.
Abstract: Criteria for Knowledge Management (KM) help determine results. Our research indicated that widely accepted criteria and performance measures have not been developed for KM. This study was undertaken to establish a set of criteria to assess the effectiveness of KM for different types of organisations. Subsequently, we will discuss how to expand these criteria to develop measures. Our methodology/approach is based on a literature review to determine a list of KM outcomes followed by the Delphi Technique and survey questionnaire methods. The findings of the Delphi Technique were used to supplement literature review findings. We used both these results to develop the survey questionnaire, which was aimed at establishing criteria for assessing KM success. Future research should focus on translating the soft measures of KM into detailed metrics.
31 citations
Book•
31 Aug 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a brief review of e-banking services especially in the developing economies, highlighting the major challenges of E-Banking with a guideline or recommendations to address those challenges.
Abstract: The objective of the chapter is to present a brief review of E-banking services especially in the developing economies, highlighting the major challenges of E-banking with a guideline or recommendations to address those challenges. Technology has introduced new ways of delivering banking to the customer. Developed countries (DC) customers of the E-Banking services are fully aware of the services but the customer’s in the developing economies still lag behind. It is clearly seen that delivery channels are lacking in meeting the demands of the customer by not making them aware of e-banking and using obsolete or not too up-to-date technology. I would thus conclude that banks in the developing countries should drown themselves in all the intricacies regarding e-banking to determine ways that will affect the customers in and use it to their maximum benefit. The other issue is that there are very few or no banking facilities in the rural areas and furthermore, access to the internet is close to impossible in these areas therefore awareness and utilization of these services is very little or none at all. At last but not the least is that Banks must adapt to the electronics age. Consumers demand it. Economics drives it. Banks must exploit it. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-635-3.ch003
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the level of KM practices in MSC status organizations are at medium level and there are significant differences in KM practices with respect to age of respondents and job designation.
Abstract: Knowledge management (KM) has emerged as a new discipline in managing organization. It plays important roles in establishing long term internal strength and supporting external competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to gauge the level of KM practices in MSC status organizations. It also shows relationship between demography of respondents with KM influential factors in those organizations. Survey question which consists of 4 main KM influential factors were distributed. Results of 121 data sets have been collected from 4 MSC-status organizations. Mean score and One Way ANOVA are applied to identify the level of KM practices. This also identifies the relation between the demography and KM factors. It is found out that KM practices in MSC status organizations are at medium level. There are significant differences in KM practices with respect to age of respondents and job designation. It can be concluded that sufficient attention should be given to culture, information technology, organization structure and people to achieve success in KM practices.
20 citations
Cites background from "Knowledge management: issues, chall..."
...- Leadership Issue Asoh et al. (2002) concluded that the success of any organization depends on leadership and the success of any leader depends on his/her assigned roles and how the roles are performed....
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Dissertation•
01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between change inertia and knowledge management adoption in public sector organizations and found that organisational culture and senior executives' skills and capabilities moderate the impact of change inertia on adoption.
Abstract: Purpose: Organisational research shows that an organisation can maintain its performance and drive value by implementing knowledge management (KM) practices adoption. However, the literature also shows that organisational change inertia1 inhibits KM practices adoption within an organisation. Hence, this research thesis will empirically investigate the nature of the relationship between change inertia and KM practices adoption. It further examines if organisational culture and senior executives’ skills and capabilities moderate the impact of change inertia on KM practices adoption. The empirical study is based on an educational organisation within the UAE public sector.
Methodology/approach: In order to achieve the purpose stated above, semi-structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data. Interviews participants included top- and middle-level managers from operational, management and strategic levels. The total number of participants included in the study was 17, equally representing three managerial levels of the organisation. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data; the interview data was coded in (Nvivo11) qualitative data analysis computer software.
Findings: The results reveal an empirical confirmation of the relationships between KM practices adoption in public sector organisations, organisational change inertia, organisational culture, and senior executives’ skills and capabilities. This study suggests that organisational culture and senior executives' skills could be an intervening mechanism between change inertia and KM practices adoption in public sector organisations.
In addition, the data from the interviews suggests that integrating the KM practices requires a higher level of support from the public sector policy makers who are in charge of developing the public sector national culture, producers and policies. This will support the senior executives’ power to drive change inside the public sector organisations, and reduce change inertia and bureaucratic culture procedures. With regard to the KM practices, the researcher suggests that KM practices adoption should be assigned as one of the senior executive's responsibilities and duties. The results also highlight the importance of KM practices adoption in driving efficiency and performance. Adopting knowledge practices inside an organisation is a first step toward developing a knowledge-based organisation, which views knowledge as shared resources for all individuals in an organisation to drive organisational
effectiveness. The researcher concludes, although both culture and senior executives may have an influence over the impact of change inertia to the public sector KM practices adoption, this influence remains limited without any real commitment towards developing a national culture at the higher level of the government in order to foster change of culture towards knowledge-based organisations.
Research contributions: The study results provide new insights into the relationships between the various study constraints. The research contributions were evident in both the managerial and theoretical contributions. By applying these models to appropriate field situations, both practitioners and academics may be able to improve current practices relating to how knowledge is adopted within public sector organisations. Finally, like any other research undertaking, this study identified a list of limitations related to sample size, study settings and the range of the variables covered in the study.
18 citations
Cites background from "Knowledge management: issues, chall..."
...Asoh et al. (2002) found that organisational culture plays an important role in influencing knowledge sharing. Berce (2003) pointed to organisational culture as the main factor in building a knowledgebased public sector. Taylor and Wright (2004) observed that organisational culture is an...
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...and responsive to the global market changes (Asoh et al., 2002)....
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...Asoh et al. (2002) found that organisational culture plays an important role in influencing knowledge sharing....
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...Asoh et al. (2002) found that organisational culture plays an important role in influencing knowledge sharing. Berce (2003) pointed to organisational culture as the main factor in building a knowledgebased public sector....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: Identity in practice, modes of belonging, participation and non-participation, and learning communities: a guide to understanding identity in practice.
Abstract: This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal 'communities of practice' that people form as they pursue shared enterprises over time. To give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. The result is a broad framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. This ambitious but thoroughly accessible framework has relevance for the practitioner as well as the theoretician, presented with all the breadth, depth, and rigor necessary to address such a complex and yet profoundly human topic.
30,397 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation as mentioned in this paper The Knowledge creating company is a knowledge-creating company that creates the dynamism of the Japanese economy.
Abstract: เมอพดถงหนงสอท เกยวกบการจดการความรแลวนน คนทอยแวดวง การจดการความรยอมตองรจกหนงสอเลมหนงซงนบไดวาเปนหนงสอคลาสสคทม ผอานและอางองเปนจานวนมาก หนงสอเลมนมชอวา The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation ซงเขยนโดย Ikujiro Nonaka และ Hirotaka Takeuchi สองนกเขยนชาวแดนอาทตย อทย แมวาจะเขยนตงแตป 2538 แตกนบไดวาเปนหนงสอทมคณคาทางวชาการและ มความนาสนใจมากเลมหนง Nonaka และ Takeuchi นนไดกลาวเกยวกบการสรางความรในองคกร ธรกจโดยยกตวอยางบรษทในญปนหลายบรษท เชน ฮอนดา มตซชตะ แคนนอน นสสน เอนอซ เปนตน ในหนงสอเลมนพวกเขาไดเรมจากการกลาวถงความรในฐานะ ทเปนทรพยากรทสาคญตอการสรางความไดเปรยบในการแขงขนขององคกร มการ อางองถงการนยามความหมายของคาวาความรทนกวชาการตางๆ ไดกาหนดไว นอกจากนยงมการนาเสนอทฤษฎการสรางความรองคกร การสรางความรองคกรใน อดศร ณ อบล * Adisorn Na Ubon The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation
13,312 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: The definitive primer on knowledge management, this book will establish the enduring vocabulary and concepts and serve as the hands-on resource of choice for fast companies that recognize knowledge as the only sustainable source of competitive advantage.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
The definitive primer on knowledge management, this book will establish the enduring vocabulary and concepts and serve as the hands-on resource of choice for fast companies that recognize knowledge as the only sustainable source of competitive advantage. Drawing on their work with more than 30 knowledge-rich firms, the authors-experienced consultants with a track record of success-examine how all types of companies can effectively understand, analyze, measure, and manage their intellectual assets, turning corporate knowledge into market value. They consider such questions as: What key cultural and behavioral issues must managers address to use knowledge effectively?; What are the best ways to incorporate technology into knowledge work?; What does a successful knowledge project look like-and how do you know when it has succeeded? In the end, say the authors, the human qualities of knowledge-experience, intuition, and beliefs-are the most valuable and the most difficult to manage. Applying the insights of Working Knowledge is every manager's first step on that rewarding road to long-term success. A Library Journal Best Business Book of the Year. "For an entire company...to have knowledge, that information must be coordinated and made accessible. Thomas H. Davenport...and Laurence Prusak... offer an elegantly simple overview of the 'knowledge market' aimed at fulfilling that goal.... Working Knowledge provides practical advice about implementing a knowledge-management system....A solid dose of common sense for any company looking to acquire -- or maintain -- a competitive edge."--Upside, June 1998
10,791 citations
"Knowledge management: issues, chall..." refers background in this paper
...Perhaps the most important distinguishing feature of the new economy, however, is that it has become a knowledge economy where “knowledge, not labor or raw material or capital, is the key resource” of production [1]....
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Book•
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, Nonaka and Takeuchi argue that Japanese firms are successful precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies, and they reveal how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge.
Abstract: How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.
7,448 citations
Proceedings Article•
01 Jan 20151,370 citations