Information, Knowledge, Technologies, Concepts and Systems Management

1. Information, Knowledge, Technologies, Concepts and Systems Management Dr Sherif Kamel Department of Management School of Business, Economics and Communication

2. Outline • Characteristics of IS • Data, information and knowledge • Classifications of IS • Evolution of management support systems • Information infrastructure • Role of IS department • Knowledge management • Managerial issues

3. Characteristics of IS • Different information systems can exist in one organization (comprised of many sub-systems) • Information systems and information networks • Inter-organizational information systems involve information flow in two or more organizations • Enterprise-wide system or inter-organizational IS is composed of large and small computers hardware connected by different types of networks

4. Data, information and knowledge • One of the primary goals of IS is to economically process data into information or knowledge • Data • Items refer to an elementary description of things, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored, but not organized to convey any specific meaning • Information • Data that have been organized so that they have meaning and value to the recipient • Knowledge • Data or information that have been organized and processed to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and expertise

5. Classifications of IS • Organizational structure • Departmental information systems • Use of several application programs in one functional area or department • Enterprise information systems (EIS) • While a departmental IS is usually related to a functional area, the collection of all departmental applications when combined with other functions’ applications comprises the enterprise-wide information system • Inter-organizational systems • Some information systems connect several organizations • Functional area • Accounting information system • Finance information system • Manufacturing (operations/production) information system • Marketing information system • Human resources management information system

6. Classifications of IS • Support provided • Transaction processing system (TPS) • Management information system (MIS) • Knowledge management system (KMS) • Office automation system (OAS) • Decision support system (DSS) • Enterprise information system (EIS) • Group support system (GSS) • Intelligent support system • System architecture • A mainframe-based system • A standalone personal computer (PC) • A distributed or a networked computing system

7. Classifications of IS • Activity supported • Operational • Day-to-day operations of an organization • Managerial • Middle-management activities such as short-term planning, organizing, and control • Strategic • Decisions that significantly change the manner in which business is being done

8. Evolution of management support systems (MSS) • Early 1950sTransaction Processing System (TPS) • 1960s Management Information Systems (MIS) • Late 1960s Office Automation System (OAS) • Early 1970s Decision Support System (DSS) • Early 1980s Executive Information Systems, Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) and Group Support Systems (GSS) • Mid 1980sExpert Systems (ES), Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) • 1990s Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)

9. Transaction processing systems (TPS) • Support the monitoring, collection, storage, processing, and dissemination of the organization’s basic business transactions • Provide the input data for many applications involving other support systems • Considered critical to the success of any organization • Collects data continuously, frequently on a daily basis, or even in “real time”

10. Functional management information systems (MIS) • Ensures that business strategies add value in an efficient manner • Provides periodic information about operational efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity by extracting information from the corporate database and processing it according to the needs of the user • Can be constructed in whole or in part by end-users • Used for planning, monitoring, and control

11. New strategic systems (eCommerce) • Electronic commerce has become a new way of conducting business in the last decade… • In this new model, business transactions take place via telecommunications networks, primarily the Internet • eCommerce provides organizations with innovative and strategic advantages, such as; • Increased market share • Better ability to negotiate with suppliers • Better ability to prevent competitors from entering into their territory

12. Information systems and people

13. Information Infrastructurebuilding blocks • Information architecture • Computer hardware • Software development • Networks and communication facilities (including the Internet and intranets) • Databases • Information management personnel

14. Information architecture • High-level map or plan of the information requirements in an organization • Architecture designers require two kinds of information • Business needs of the organization • Objectives • Problems • Contribution that IT can make • IS that already exist in an organization and how they can be combined among themselves or with future systems to support the organization’s information needs

15. Types of information architecture • Mainframe environment • Processing is done by a mainframe computer • Users work with passive (or “dumb”) terminals, which are used to enter or change data and access information from the mainframe • PC environment • Only PCs form the hardware information architecture • Networked (distributed) environment • Distributed processing divides the processing work between two or more computers

16. Client/server architecture • Client/server architecture • Divides networked computing units into two major categories; clients and servers • Client is a computer such as a PC or a workstation attached to a network, which is used to access shared network resources • Server is a machine that is attached to this same network and provides clients with these services • Client/server architecture maximizes the use of computer resources • Client/server architecture gives a company as many access points to data as there are PCs on the network

17. Electronic data interchange (EDI) • The electronic movement of specially formatted standard business documents, such as orders, bills, and confirmations sent between business partners • In the past, EDI ran on expensive value-added networks (VANs) • These are private, data-only wide area networks used by multiple organization to provide high capacity, security, and economies in the cost of network service • Internet-based EDI

18. Trio-components of web-based systems • Internet is a worldwide system of computer networks - network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer • Intranet is the use of WWW technologies to create a private network, usually within one enterprise (security gateway such as a firewall is used to segregate the intranet from the Internet) • Extranet can be viewed as an external extension of the enterprise intranet

19. eCommerce and storefronts • One of the natural outcomes of the Internet and the World Wide Web has been eCommerce • Web-based systems are the engines of eCommerce • eCommerce enable business and inventory transactions to be conducted seamlessly over the Internet 24/7 • An electronic storefront is the Web-equivalent of a showroom (displaying products)

20. Electronic markets and exchanges • Electronic markets are a network of interactions and relationships over which information, products, services, and payments are exchanged • Electronic exchanges are central web-based locations where buyers and sellers interact dynamically, with buyer and sellers going back and forth on a price • Vertical exchanges position themselves as the hub for all buying, selling, and related services in a single market category • Horizontal exchanges focus on a specific function or need applicable to many different industries

21. Mobile commerce • mCommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as cellular telephone and personal digital assistants • Next-generation eCommerce, mCommerce enables users to access the Internet without a place to plug in to • Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is the emerging technology behind mCommerce • Using Bluetooth technology, WAP-enabled smart phones offer fax, eMail, and phone capabilities all in one

22. Role of an IS department • The role of the IS department is changing from purely technical to more managerial and strategic • The position of the IS department tends to be elevated from a unit reporting to a functional department, to a unit reporting to a senior vice president or to the CEO • The role of the director of the IS department is changing from a technical manager to a senior executive • IS as a function could be centralized or decentralized or a combination of the two

23. Managerial issues • Transition to networked computing is a complicated process • Migrating from a architecture to another requires human and technical resources and capacities • Information systems is at the core of strategy development in the organization • How much infrastructure is needed? • Justifying information system applications is not an easy job due to the intangible benefits and rapid changes in technologies • Role of end-users is invaluable in IS development and management • Ethical Issues (invading privacy of users or creating advantages to certain individuals at the expense of others)

24. Overview – knowledge management • Each organization processes information from the external environment in order to adapt to new circumstances • Such mechanism does not help in comprehending innovation • Innovation needs to come from within the organization and diffusing it to the external environment – the market place

25. Knowledge management definition • Knowledge management (KM) is a process that helps organizations identify, select, organize, disseminate, and transfer important information and expertise that are part of the organization’s memory • Knowledge is information that is contextual, relevant, and actionable • Tacit knowledge is usually in the domain of subjective, cognitive, and experiential learning • Explicit knowledge deals with more objective, rational, and technical knowledge

26. Innovation External Environment Solve existing problems Adapt to a changing environment Outside - In Create knowledge and information Create new environment Redefine problems and solutions Inside - Out

27. Knowledge Cycle Data Information Knowledge

28. Epistemology and Ontology • Epistemology is the Theory of Knowledge • Ontology is the Knowledge Creating Entities • Individuals • Groups • Organizations • Inter-organizations

29. Knowledge Creation Process • There are 4 modes of knowledge conversion created when tacit and explicit knowledge interact with each other • Socialization • Externalization • Combination • Internalization

30. Important Tips • Socialization leads to sympathized knowledge such as shared mental models and technical skills • Externalization outputs conceptual knowledge such as development of analogies and metaphors • Combination gives rise to systemic knowledge such as prototype and new technologies • Internalization produces operational knowledge such as focusing on a project, sharing the experience, documentation use

31. Knowledge and information Epistemological Dimension Explicit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge Ontological Dimension Individual Group Organization Inter-Organization Knowledge Level

32. Types of information Syntactic Semantic Volume of information Meaning of information More important to knowledge creation

33. Knowledge conversion • Which modes of knowledge is more truthful? • Western School: [Explicit Knowledge] • Japanese School: [Tacit Knowledge] • It is widely believed that explicit and tacit knowledge complement each other

34. Knowledge creation spiral • Organizational knowledge creation is a continuous and dynamic interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge • The interaction is shaped by different shifts between different modes of knowledge conversion

35. Knowledge creation spiral • Socialization mode • Starts with building a field for interaction • Facilitates sharing of experiences and mental models between members • Externalization mode • Triggered by meaningful dialogue or collective reflection • Help individuals using metaphors articulate hinder tacit knowledge that is otherwise difficult to communicate • Combination mode • Triggered by networking • Reflects knowledge acquisition and knowledge dissemination • Internalization mode • Triggered by learning by doing

36. Spiral of organizational knowledge creation Externalization Epistemological Dimension Combination Explicit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge Internalization Socialization Ontological Dimension Individual Group Organization Inter-Organization Knowledge Level

37. Knowledge-based economy • Rapid changes in the business environment cannot be handled in traditional ways • Firms are much larger, with higher turnover and require better tools for collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing • Firms must develop strategies to sustain competitive advantage by leveraging their intellectual assets for optimum performance • Managing knowledge is now critical for firms spread out over wide geographical areas, and for virtual organizations

38. Learning organization (culture) • The term learning organization refers to an organization’s capability of learning from its past experience • To build a learning organization, it must tackle three critical issues: • Meaning (determining a vision of the learning organization) • Management (determining how the firm is to work) • Measurement ( assessing the rate and level of learning) • Ability of an organization to learn, develop memory, and share knowledge is dependent on its culture • Over time organizations learn what works and what doe not work (organizational culture)

39. Objectives of knowledge management • Create knowledge repositories • Improve knowledge access • Enhance the knowledge environment • Manage knowledge as an asset

40. Knowledge management cycle • Create knowledge • Capture knowledge • Refine knowledge • Store knowledge • Manage knowledge • Disseminate knowledge

41. Organizational knowledge repositories • Knowledge network model • The individual who has the knowledge transfers expertise through person-to-person contacts • Knowledge repository model • Knowledge contribution and use follows a two-step transfer procedure of person-to-repository and repository-to-person • Captured knowledge is stored in a knowledge repository, a collection of both internal and external knowledge • Hybrid model • Many organizations use a hybrid of the network and repository models

42. Knowledge Repositories • Databases • It is possible to structure part of a knowledge repository as a database • Data warehouses • Large repositories of valuable data, can be used for knowledge management, especially in conjunction with customer relationship management (CRM) systems • Electronic Documents • Electronic document management systems

43. Knowledge management benefits • Reduction in loss of intellectual capital when people leave the company • Reduction in costs by decreasing the number of times the company must repeatedly solve the same problem • Economies of scale in obtaining information from external providers • Increase in productivity by making knowledge available more quickly and easily • Increase in employee satisfaction by enabling greater personal development and empowerment • Strategic competitive advantage in the marketplace

44. Chief knowledge officer (CKO) • Set knowledge management strategic priorities • Establish a knowledge repository of best practices • Gain a commitment from senior executives to support a learning environment • Teach information seekers how to ask better and smarter questions • Establish a process for managing intellectual assets • Obtain customer satisfaction information in near real time

45. Knowledge management and systems integration • Knowledge management is an enterprise system that must be integrated with other enterprise and information systems in an organization including • Decision Support Systems (DSS) • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Database Management Systems (DBMS) • Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM) • Supply Chain Management Systems (SCM) • Corporate Intranets and Extranets

46. Managerial issues • Organizational culture change and transformation • How can people contribute to knowledge acquisition and sharing? • How to measure the tangible and intangible benefits? • Implementation is a successful factor for IT • How can the organization develop a successful knowledge management system?