...A Theory-Based Approach to the Relationship between Social Capital and Communities of Practice El-Sayed Abou-Zeid John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada el-sayed@jmsb.concordia.ca Abstract: There is almost a consensus that tacit component of organisational knowledge is of critical strategic importance because, unlike explicit knowledge, it is both inimitable and appropriable. Because of its characteristics, organisational tacit knowledge is usually created and shared through highly interactive conversation and shared experience, i.e., through a socialisation process. At the firm’s level, the effectiveness of the socialisation process depends on the firm’s social capital. At group level, it has been argued that communities of practice form the basis of a firm's ability to create and share tacit knowledge. Therefore, investigating the relationship between social capital, communities of practice and individual human action is crucial in understanding the dynamic of cross level knowledge creation and utilisation and in understanding organisational learning process. In order to study this relationship Giddens’ theory of structuration is used as it provides an integrating meta-theory that recognises social reality as constituted by both subjective human actors and by objective institutional properties and attempts to articulate a process-oriented approach that relates the realm of human action and institutional realm. Based on Giddens’ theory a model...
Words: 5749 - Pages: 23
...Knowledge Management & Information Systems Wordcount: 1,971 As ‘by virtue of its tacitness, inimitability and immobility’ (Scarbrough & Shan, 1999, p.359) knowledge is increasingly considered to give a competitive advantage. We can identify two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge refers to the ‘know what’ that can be codified hence, that can be communicated and diffused (Scarbrough, 2011). Tacit knowledge, on the other hand is ‘The know-how’s’. They are ‘hard to verbalize because they are expressed through action-based skills and cannot be reduced to rules and recipes.’ (Scarbrough, 2012). Due to it’s context specific and personal nature, tacit knowledge, is perceived as more useful but harder to manage than explicit knowledge (Boddy et al., 2008). It is widely believed that tacit knowledge can only be fully shared and understood by live contact and by contrast that technology and information systems are useful to communicate explicit knowledge as they can be codified and can then be regrouped on a database. But lately, firms have been attempting to develop IT solutions to capture tacit knowledge notably through Communities of Practice (CoP), online networks or video communication (Marwick, 2001). This essay will attempt to define the role played by information systems in capturing knowledge before taking an insight into how information systems have developed in different organizations and different knowledge...
Words: 2352 - Pages: 10
...second is knowledge management. In my research I focused on BP when Lord Bowne was CEO. BP was first adopter of Knowledge Management, a scheme that collects all data gathered across an organization. Using this structure engineers and managers at every level have admission to, and may learn from, experiences of each other. Knowledge Management (KM) is the method in which a corporate like BP can take the knowledge of its experts and employees across the world and carry it all together to form a competitive advantage and best practice. BP began using of KM principles in the mid-1990s when Lord Browne was CEO (under his leadership) and has sustained until now with the implementation and development of KM Guidelines for Production and Exploration. "The simple minimum for Knowledge Management is to make KM strategy a actuality: to confirm that people are out there relating the best knowledge which BP has, in a constant manner all over the world," says Houston- BP consultant Wendy C Valot. "Knowledge Management holds all disciplines connected to E&P, from engineering to drilling to task management, with the creation of the best performs." According to E&P, best training is available as either technical or drilling practices (industrial) or regulation notes (task management) for all the 100 or more sub-categories and disciplines of work which BP assumes. Groups of practice are, then, key for confirming that KM is effective and survives. Groups of practice allow persons...
Words: 3625 - Pages: 15
...KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT BBA111 – Report (2012) Leon Chen “Knowledge is experience. Everything else is just information” – Albert Einstein To remain competitive in the 21st century, organizations must efficiently and effectively create, locate, capture, and share their organization’s knowledge and expertise. Organizations must then utilize this knowledge in a manner that adds value to the company and its stakeholders. This process of acquiring, sharing and using knowledge is referred to as knowledge management. Contents Introduction 2 Knowledge acquisition 3 Tacit and Explicit Knowledge 3 Knowledge Acquisition Strategies 3 Knowledge Sharing 4 Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) 4 Communities of Practice 5 Individual knowledge Sharing 6 Utilization of Knowledge 6 Conclusion 7 Bibliography 8 Introduction Knowledge Management (KM) is the process and ability of acquiring, sharing and utilising knowledge that will benefit the organization. With new knowledge, organizations can grow and learn. Knowledge is constantly being developed by individual minds and it is the organization that plays a critical role in articulating and amplifying that knowledge . (Wiig, 1997) stated that the purpose of KM, from an organizational perspective, is to aid in utilizing internal and external knowledge resources in order to achieve stated goals and sustain competitive advantage. Although KM is now becoming widely accepted and utilized, with increased...
Words: 2169 - Pages: 9
...infrastructures and practices. New best practices, business models, innovations, and strategies are emerging, including new ways to acquire, assimilate, and share knowledge. Using technologies that are already developed or that will be deployed over the next five years, best practices in knowledge sharing not only are diffusing rapidly but will be substantially reinvented in all settings: educational institutions, corporations, government organizations, associations, and nonprofits. But institutions of learning are in a unique position to benefit from an added opportunity: providing leadership in e-knowledge. T A REVOLUTION IN Donald M. Norris is President, Strategic Initiatives, Inc. Jon Mason is Executive Consultant, education.au limited, and Assistant Director, Educational Technology Standards Australia. Robby Robson is President and Senior Partner, Eduworks Corporation, and chair of the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee. Paul Lefrere is Executive Director E-learning, Microsoft EMEA, and Professor of E-learning, University of Tampere, Finland. Geoff Collier is CFO and Senior Partner, Eduworks Corporation. KNOWLEDGE SHARING By Donald M. Norris, Jon Mason, Robby Robson, Paul Lefrere, and Geoff Collier 14 EDUCAUSE r eview September/October 2003 © 2003 Donald M. Norris, Jon Mason, Robby Robson, Paul Lefrere, and Geoff Collier Photo by Garry Landsman, © 2003 September/October 2003 EDUCAUSE r eview 15 E-knowledge finds expression...
Words: 6533 - Pages: 27
...Principles of Knowledge Engineering and Management (ISE531) Managing Knowledge Processes Prof. Benny Cheung Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering 1 Principles of Knowledge Engineering and Management (ISE531) Learning Objectives •To familiarize with knowledge processes such as knowledge creation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer, sharing and retention •Knowledge transfer methods and how to support effective knowledge sharing •To understand how to develop culture for knowledge transfer •Various techniques for knowledge retention such as after action review, etc. •To understand knowledge validation process •Metrics for measuring the outcome of knowledge processes 2 Benny Cheung Principles of Knowledge Engineering and Management (ISE531) The Knowledge Processes •Knowledge consists of patterns of information in form of rules, applicable to explain or predict phenomenon (e.g. apple drops due to gravity). •Knowledge processes are what individual and collective use to produce, transmit, acquire, store and use knowledge. •Knowledge management deals with knowledge processes and a knowledge environment. •There are a number of primary knowledge processes which are: •knowledge production (or creation or generation) •knowledge acquisition •knowledge sharing •knowledge retention •knowledge validation •knowledge transfer (or diffusion). Benny Cheung 3 Principles of Knowledge Engineering and Management (ISE531) Knowledge Production •Knowledge production...
Words: 3833 - Pages: 16
...Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter wants to provide important thoughts, ideas and findings from different researchers and authors. This chapter also cites other related studies relating to the problem of household financial management. It discusses the relationship between mothers spending behavior and their knowledge in financial management. Related literature According to Lusardi and Mitchell, 2009 financial knowledge is Increasing knowledge about the financial matters that enhances an individual’s ability to make informed decisions about how to control and manage their finances. Financial knowledge has implications for how individuals spend, save and invest money, as well as how they budget and set monetary goals. Research shows that lack of financial knowledge is related to debt (Norvilitis et al., 2006) and increased knowledge can lead to individuals engaging in positive financial practices and fewer risky ones (Borden et al., 2008; Hilgert, Hogarth, & Beverly, 2003). Adults with better financial knowledge are more likely to plan for retirement and engage in financial practices that lead to asset accumulation. Normally, gains in financial knowledge can be tested immediately upon completion of the program, by asking participants a set of questions that cover a range of personal finance topics. Ideally, both pre and post-tests should be implemented to effectively assess a program’s impact on individuals’ financial knowledge, assuming that participants...
Words: 1378 - Pages: 6
...CultuLessons Learned in Cross-Cultural Knowledge Sharing Reid G. Smith March 16, 2006 © 2006 R.G. Smith & Associates Presented at American University Intercultural Management Institute Annual Conference – Best Practices and New Directions in Intercultural Relations: A Forum for Business, Education, and Training Professionals. Washington, DC, 16 March, 2006. http://www.imi.american.edu/conf2006.htm In the fast-paced world of today, organizations must take full advantage of the collective knowledge of their people. This demands the creation of a new work environment in which communities of practice can share knowledge and work together to solve problems, to learn, to invent new methods, and overcome physical barriers of time and distance. In this session, we first discuss our experiences with transnational organizations, where cultural diversity leads not only to more difficult knowledge-sharing challenges, but also to greater opportunities for success. This is followed by an interactive workshop where the participants consider how to apply the lessons learned to their own business, non-profit, multilateral institution, and government settings. Culture: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation; the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization. For purposes of this session...
Words: 2855 - Pages: 12
...psychological and social impact to the patient and financial problem to the health system. Most leg ulcers are managed in the community and the community health nurses should have adequate knowledge about appropriate management and best outcome for the patient. Healing and recurrence is difficult for venous leg ulcers (Todd, 2011). Compression bandaging is the best method for management of leg ulcer and healing occurs in effective, timely manner (Annells,O”Neill&Flowers,2008). This paper will focus on qualitative research critique on a study conducted in Australia in one of the community health centers on “Compression bandaging for venous leg ulcers: the essentialness of a willing patient” Research problem and purpose Venous leg ulcers cause undesirable experiences such as pain, limited mobility and social seclusion. Long term care requirements increase health care economic burden (Annells, O”Neill & Flowers, 2008). Compression bandaging is the best practice for the management of venous ulcers. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on appropriate dressing done in timely manner. Community health nurses often use compression bandaging with little knowledge about why it is done. The study purpose was to explain and discover why do or why do not community nurses use compression bandaging as an element of the management of venous ulcers? The study pursued to recognize both enablers and limitations ( Annells, O’Neill & Flowers,2008)...
Words: 1161 - Pages: 5
...Knowledge Management (KM) refers to practices used by organizations to find, create, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness, and learning across the organization. Knowledge Management programs are typically tied to organizational objectives and are intended to lead to the achievement of specific outcomes such as shared intelligence, improved performance, or higher levels of innovation. Role of knowledge management The goal of Knowledge Management is not to capture all knowledge, but rather manage the knowledge that is most important to the organization. It involves applying the collective knowledge and abilities of the entire workforce to achieve specific organizational objectives. * Increases customer service-responding to customer’s faster with more relevant and complete information gains sales and retains clients. * Compliance with regulations- effective knowledge management will reduce the cost of audits and assist in complying with regulations such as health and safety. * Reducing administration labour cost-less movement of information around and outside the company saves staff time and cost of labour. * Better collaboration- projects requiring content and information from different departments and external parties benefit from easy access allows greater team work and competition. * Reduce wastage of time and mistake-Access to constantly updated information from an easy to locate source prevents repetition of work on out of dated documents...
Words: 1842 - Pages: 8
...Web 2.0 Use and Knowledge Transfer: How Social Media Technologies Can Lead to Organizational Innovation Namjoo Choi1, Kuang-Yuan Huang2 Aaron Palmer1 and Lenore Horowitz3 1 School of Library and Information Science, College of Communication and Information, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA 2 Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada 3 Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Schenectady County Community College, Schenectady, NY, USA namjoo.choi@uky.edu kh799292@albany.edu aaron.palmer@uky.edu horowilg@sunysccc.edu Abstract: The concept of Web 2.0 has gained widespread prominence in recent years. The use of Web 2.0 applications on an individual level is currently extensive, and such applications have begun to be implemented by organizations in hopes of boosting collaboration and driving innovation. Despite this growing trend, only a small number of theoretical perspectives are available in the literature that discuss how such applications could be utilized to assist in innovation. In this paper, we propose a theoretical model explicating this phenomenon. We argue that organizational Web 2.0 use fosters the emergence and enhancement of informal networks, weak ties, boundary spanners, organizational absorptive capacity, which are reflected in three dimensions of social capital, structural, relational, and cognitive. The generation of social capital enables organizational knowledge transfer, which in turn leads...
Words: 7855 - Pages: 32
...Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Why Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management System Matter …………3 1.1.1 Definition of Knowledge, Knowledge Assets, Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management System ……………………………………………………………………………….3-6- 1.1.2 Evolution of Knowledge Management and milestone …………………………………………6 2. Contents 2.1 Managing Knowledge in the Digital World and organization is a vital task ………………… …7 2.1.1 Benefits and motivations of leading organizations under-taking of KMS ……………… 7-9 2.1.2 Challenges of organizations under-taking KMS …………………………………………….9-10- 2.2 Strategies of Utilizing Knowledge Management …………………………………………………10-14 2.3 Management Systems 2.3.1 Management System Structures ……………………. ………………………………………. 14-17 3. Real Case Study ……………………………………………………………. 18-22 4. Conclusion ..……………………………………………………………………23 5. Reference ………………………………………………………………………24 1. Introduction 1.1 Why Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management System Matter ______________________________________________________________________________ To open KM topic, we have a few questions want to ask you: (1) Do you have a KM system? What is Knowledge Management (2) How to start a sharing culture? (3) Is the KM system aligned with the business strategy? (4) Is there a KM solution for my organization? From the following, we will try to find out the answers for your reference. __________________________...
Words: 3580 - Pages: 15
...Abstract: Aim: To search and critically review research literature, concerning management and technique of compression bandaging. Background: Compression bandaging is required for venous leg ulcers, which is due to damage and loss of skin above the ankle that is the result of a problem with the veins in the leg. Although leg ulcers are not a life-threatening condition, it can have considerable effects, not only on health, but also on the quality of life, self-esteem and healthcare cost. Method: Extended literature review, to extrapolate best available evidence, in order to address the focus question. Computerised and manual searches of previous literature were used; refining searches by means of constantly re-evaluating inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Eight (8) articles were decided upon, seven (7) of which were quantitative and one (1) which was qualitative in design. Two main themes emerged from these articles, that of management strategies for leg ulcers and technique of applying compression bandages. Recommendations: Episodes of venous ulceration can be reduced with management strategies, such as graduated compression therapy with comprehensive technique. However, without further education for nurses and patients towards compression therapy, venous ulceration will prolong and management strategies will fail. Conclusion: Knowledge of compression bandaging technique needs to be increased through further training/education. ...
Words: 10246 - Pages: 41
...Challenges of Knowledge Management Initiatives A central knowledge management (KM) group created a major initiative that they called knowledge currency unit (KCU). They considered that this system would help and start contributions to the Kshop. The system organized for Infosys employees, which has a power to control knowledge for provide corporation, to contribute to Kshop. Therefore, Kshop would be awarded KCUs and exchanged into monetary rewards or prizes. On the other hand, this system caused an information load and higher search costs for returnable knowledge so that it became successful and extreme growth. However, this system also caused degradation of the quality knowledge and also a heavy burden for the limited number of volunteers reviewers. Knowledge Management group implemented KCU a monetary reward in exchange for reviews in the Kshop. By this way, Kshop would increase employee visibility and also their standing. And this action improved employee performance. However, one of the biggest implementation was that the employees the lack of new system the knowledge. Knowledge management group decided to follow important steps, such as they shared valuable information with community to explain the perception of benefit Kshop. And also they also wanted to show tangible proofs to increase the high ratings of the reviewers. Thus, knowledge management group became successful its initiatives, and this action lead employees became more intelligent and want to share knowledge. The...
Words: 403 - Pages: 2
...Human Factors of Knowledge-Sharing Intention among Taiwanese Enterprises: A Model of Hypotheses Cheng-Wu Chen,1,4 Min-Li Chang,2 and Chun-Pin Tseng3 1 Institute of Maritime Information and Technology, National Kaohsiung Marine University, Kaohsiung 80543, Taiwan 2 University of Maryland University College, College Park, Maryland 3 Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Armaments Bureau, Taoyuan, Taiwan 4 Global Earth Observation and Data Analysis Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan 701 R.O.C. Abstract Knowledge management (KM) is very important in the business world of today. The Taiwanese government has recognized the importance of KM in helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate through both their internal core competencies and external resources. This study combines the concept of social capital and motivation–opportunity–ability models by both social and technological dimensions to investigate the human factors that characterize knowledge sharing and the motivational elements that can encourage investment in it. In addition, this study also proposes some possible perspective suggestions for implementing KM initiatives to reinvigorate Taiwanese SMEs. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: Knowledge management; Knowledge sharing; Human factor; Taiwanese Enterprises; Small and medium enterprises 1. INTRODUCTION Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) serve as the key economic players in many countries. Davenport, De Long, and Beers...
Words: 6069 - Pages: 25
