ucu 403business management information systems | Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Knowledge Work Systems | By: | Andrew Otieno BML/00018/1/2012Stanley Mwangi BML/000StellaDavid |

Knowledge Management (KM)
Knowledge Management involves developing and managing integrated, well-configured knowledge systems and increasingly embedding work systems within these knowledge systems. It involves systematically & actively managing and leveraging stores of knowledge in an organization. To do this, an organization needs to put in place; * Knowledge Work Systems (KWS) – to create knowledge * Office Automation Systems (OAS) – to distribute knowledge * Group Collaboration Systems (GCS) – to share knowledge * Artificial Intelligence Applications (AI) – to capture and codify knowledge
Knowledge work systems (KWS)
Knowledge work systems, such as scientific or engineering design workstations, promote the creation of new knowledge and ensure that new knowledge and technical expertise are properly integrated into the business. Knowledge work systems (KWS) serve the information needs at the knowledge level of the organization. Knowledge work systems can be defined as the information systems that aid knowledge workers to create and integrate new knowledge into the organization. A knowledge worker is a professional that intensely applies/generates knowledge at work. Their jobs consist primarily of creating new information and knowledge, like engineers, doctors and lawyers. Knowledge workers perform three key roles that are critical to the organization and to the managers who work within the organization: * Keeping the organization current in knowledge * Serving as internal consultants regarding the areas of their knowledge * Acting as change agents - Evaluating; initiating; promoting change projects
Knowledge workers rely on traditional