knowledge management education
DESCRIPTION
Presents a framework for facilitating the development of graduate programs in knowledge management. Paper presented at KSS 2004, the 5th International Symposium on Knowledge and Systems Sciences, Ishikawa, Japan.TRANSCRIPT
Knowledge Management Education:A Framework towards the Development of a Comprehensive Degree Program
André Saito [email protected]ç Medeni [email protected]
Marcelo Machado [email protected] Umemoto [email protected]
KSS 2004The 5th International Symposium on Knowledge and Systems Sciences
November 10-12, 2004, Ishikawa, Japan
Ver 2.2 – 2004-11-09
School of Knowledge ScienceJapan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
KSS 2004 - Saito, Medeni, Machado, Umemoto 2
Background
Emergence of the knowledge society Knowledge as economic resource Explosion of publications, activities, institutions, products
Establishment of KM as an academic discipline Knowledge workers vs. “knowledge managers” KM: from practice to research to education
Diversity of perspectives in KM Many contributing fields: economics, management science,
computer science, systems science, etc. Roughly two main approaches: people-oriented and technology-oriented
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Goal
To build a framework that facilitated the development of KM programs and courses. The framework should:
Present a comprehensive perspective to KM e.g. integrating the main contributing fields, and the people- and
the technology-oriented approaches
Serve the educational needs of a wide audience e.g. senior executives, middle managers and entry-level
professionals.
Allow programs/courses with different structures and formats e.g. graduate degree programs, short diploma programs, individual
courses.
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Methodology
1. Survey of existing KM programs
2. Content analysis of course descriptions
3. Design of the framework
4. Verification of the framework by analyzing existing courses and programs
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Regularlyoffered
29
Not regular7
Not available17
Master’s23
Certificate/Diploma
4
Doctoral2
Findings Survey of KM programs
Focus on 23 KM master’s programs:
Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering 9Library and Information Science, Communication 8Management, Public Policy, Economics 6
Initial list of 53 KM programs
29 programs offered regularly
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Findings Analysis of courses’ descriptions
Standardizing the names of the courses
0 5 10 15 20
Knowledge Management Foundations
Knowledge Management Technologies
Organization of Information
Organizational Learning
Information Storage and Retrieval
Competitive Intelligence
Management of Information Organizations
Communities of Practice
Most frequent courses (in 21 programs):
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Findings Analysis of courses’ descriptions (cont.)
Listing and categorizing topics
Business
Context
People
Organization
Information
Knowledge
Technology
Competitive intelligence Business value of KM Competitive advantage Knowledge strategy The information society Information economics Knowledge work Ethics and legal issues Power and leadership Communities of practice Team management KM roles Organizational behavior Change management
Organizational learning Organization of information Information retrieval Information policy Information architecture Types of knowledge Knowledge life-cycle Knowledge processes Knowledge representation Corporate portals Document management Decision support systems IT infrastructure Etc.
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Developing the framework The Contents part
List of topics, grouped into four perspectivesBusiness
Knowledge economy/ society Innovation, competitive advantage Knowledge strategy Competitive intelligence Inter-organizational KM Intellectual capital Etc.
Knowledge Types of knowledge Organization of knowledge Knowledge life-cycle Knowledge processes/ activities Knowledge architecture Taxonomies Etc.
Organization Organizational learning Communities of practice Power and leadership Organizational behavior and culture Change management Knowledge professionals Etc.
Technology Knowledge repositories Corporate portals Knowledge discovery, data mining Decision support systems Artificial intelligence Collaborative environments Etc.
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B
Developing the framework The Proficiency Levels part
Three levels of expected proficiency
1. Awareness: getting acquainted, recalling topics
2. Comprehension: understanding, dealing with topics
3. Application: applying topics actively in real situations
TO
K
Awareness
Comprehension
Application
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TO
KB
Developing the framework The Profile chart
Contents and Proficiency Levels combine to show the Profile of a program or course.
TO
KB
Competitive Intelligence (B2K2T1O1)
Leadership and Management (B1K1T0O2)
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Implications Analyzing existing programs
Common core
Required courses:
• Knowledge Management• Organizational Analysis and Design• Management Information Systems• Knowledge Technologies• Information Policy• Organization of Knowledge• Capstone Course/ Practicum
Specialization
Required courses:
• Database Management• Information Systems Analysis & Design
Electives:
• Information Storage and Retrieval• Searching Electronic Databases• Metadata for Internet Resources• Internet Fundamentals and Design
Example: MSc. in KM, specializing in Information Systems
Individual courses can be analyzed and combined to assess segments of a program or the whole program
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Implications Analyzing existing programs (cont.)
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Common core
Specialization TO
KBProgram as a whole
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Common core
Specialization
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Implications Developing programs and courses
1. Define general profile according to learning needs of intended audience
2. Design individual courses, assigning topics according to general profile
TO
KB
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Profile of the programas a whole
Profiles of individual courses
TO
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KM Foundations Knowledge Strategy
Change Management Knowledge Technologies
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Summary
Proposed framework for developing knowledge management programs Contents: Business, Knowledge, Technology, and
Organization perspectives Proficiency Levels: awareness, comprehension, or
application of content Profile chart
The framework can be used for: Assessing existing courses and programs Developing new programs and courses according to
learning needs