& Knowledge Management System: Beyond the Traditional Systems Sheikh Mohd Imran Research Scholar bilalgreen1@gmail.com Department of Library & Science, AMU-Aligarh Abstract and Communication Technology (ICT) have become ubiquitous with the overall social development in communication, information transfer, information and knowledge management and role of these technologies is significant in National Development. As the impact of ICT in developed countries is apparent, it has become critically important for developing countries to embrace these technologies. Most extant knowledge management systems are constrained by their rational, static and out-of-context view of knowledge. The prevailing information and knowledge management paradigm limits itself by its emphasis on convergence and consensus-oriented processing of information. The authors here outlined an & Knowledge management system for Library and centres along with various technological implications for efficient handling, preservation and retrieval of knowledge. It also illustrates the differential effects of ICT on the motivation for knowledge sharing in different settings. Keywords: transfer, motivation, knowledge sharing, tools, barriers, modules. 1. Introduction The Communication Technology (ICT) has been the driving force behind the economic growth period of the last decade. It provided the infrastructure for economic development, helped create the knowledge society, contributed to innovation and created value for the economy. More importantly, it brought the world closer together by improving the dissemination of knowledge, accelerating research, stimulating innovation and facilitating collaboration. and communication technology (ICT) has now become one of the basic building blocks of modern society. ICT has now become a core concept of education and there is a need to master the basic skills and concepts alongside reading, writing and numeracy (Anderson, 2002). Due to the impact of ICT, various competencies are gaining importance viz.:
(a) Directorial competencies. (b) Critical analysis and thinking competencies. (c) Expert Work competencies. (d) Situational competencies. (e) Decision making competencies. (f) Communication competencies. (g) Centralization of the work, and (h) Disciplinary competencies. Technological developments in ICT are gaining speed. Technology quickly becomes obsolete requiring new skills and knowledge to be mastered frequently. Adaptation is only possible when based on a sound understanding of the principles and concepts of ICT. Rapid developments in ICT are difficult to manage and it also enhances the competencies for information and knowledge management. Knowledge could be defined as information that has been combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection, while as information is the data that has been organized and communicated. The current conceptualization of ICT and knowledge management suffers in fulfilling the needs of contemporary organisations and institutions. Traditional information and knowledge management systems were modeled to ensure adherence to organisational routines but a paradigm shift to these traditional models is the need of the hour. However, the model presented here tried to overcome all those incompetencies which were apparent in traditional ones. 2.1 and Knowledge Management Process: Flow of and knowledge is a continuous process and the latter being dependent on the former one. Success of information management is achieved when the preservation and the retrieval of information is certain while the success of a KM program depends on the sharing of knowledge.
Collect Create Examine Apply Process Acquire Store Retrieve Fig. 1 Knowledge Management Process is observable, sovereign from action and decision, different in format after processing, physical product, independent from existing environment, easily transferable and duplicate. creation and flow process is very complex and involves critical examination of the perceived data, organisation of data, inference of facts, identification of false and missing links, processing of data, storage of data and ultimately when shared becomes knowledge. The cycle of information flow is as under:
Identification of Discovery of existing Acquisition of Creation of new Storage and organisation of Sharing of Use and Application of Fig. 2 Management Process 2.2 Knowledge sharing and Motivation: Major focus areas of information and knowledge management are sharing and motivation. In knowledge management efforts, it is an important pillar, but at times, it acts as an impediment to effective management. Various factors identified as the barriers are insufficient and derisory organizational structures, sharing of non-friendly organizational cultures and denominational segregation. Now the issue to ponder over is whether the knowledge workers are motivated to share their knowledge with others or not. Some of the related problems do arise when information systems such as intranets, distributed libraries and information centers, document management systems, groupware utilities and applications, are introduced to support knowledge sharing. However, reports have shown that the introduction of these systems do not always result in significant improvements in information and knowledge
sharing as there are many instances, when these systems are not being used to their full potential (DeLong, 1996). Also individuals need to be motivated to use various tools facilitating sharing of information and knowledge. But how do ICT relate to motivation for information and knowledge sharing? Let us presume for a while that intranet facility is introduced in an organization to further information and knowledge sharing, we will find the significant improvement because of the ease in the use of tools and efforts are reduced, in turn reducing stress on the information and knowledge workers. The potential role of ICT in supporting knowledge sharing, however, goes beyond the facilities of an intranet, although many of these functions may be bundled through the common interface of the intranet. Due to the development of ICT enabled information and knowledge management systems, there has been an improvement in motivation for using these systems to their maximum potential. This novel view of organizations should definitely help investors to make their choices in a more informed way by basing them on a sound, systematic ground. Moreover, it should support managers to identify the real weaknesses and strengths of the organizations they run, and to set up the priorities in order to make them grow. By this way, information and knowledge could be managed and shared over time, distance and social constraints. Intranet/ Extranet Motivation factors ICT tools Group wares Helpdesk Metadata & Ontology Knowledge sharing Fig. 3 Key concepts and statements
3. Modules of and Knowledge Management: The eight vital modules on which information and knowledge management system is based are as under: 1. : the most important entity which acts as an instant access to update and customize knowledge. 2. Expertise: connects in real time experts in an organisation to members who yearn assistance and even the tacit knowledge can made explicit. 3. Collaboration: plays an important role to facilitate on line brain storming session and preserves information. 4. Team: ensures efficient and systematic management among shares skills. 5. Learning: abridges gap with the help of on line sessions. 6. Intelligence: deals mainly with the explicit knowledge rise. 7. Knowledge Transfer: William Saffady relates to (1) machine readable data files, (2) various online databases and CD-ROM information product, (3) computer storage devices in which information resides in the shape of optical discs, juke boxes or magnetic tape auto loaders, (4) computers and network systems. 8. Knowledge mapping: identifies the body of knowledge within the organisation, which is primarily concerned with mute knowledge base and makes a repository of all skills and expertise in the organisation. Expertise Collaboration Team Module s of Informa tion and Knowle dge Manage ment Learning Intelligence I & K. Transfer I & K. Mapping Fig. 4 Modules of & Knowledge Management
4. Role of Professionals in I & K Management: To keep pace in the rapidly changing information environment, information professionals have to play an important role. In every type of organisations, Knowledge & Management has emerged as a key concern. Due to emergence of knowledge and information management systems, information professionals have to take an additional participative role in expert systems, artificial intelligence and knowledge based management system. and Knowledge management system requires professionals with skills and strategies to handle the emerging situation. professional should view this emerging phenomenon through focused attention on the process of information and knowledge management. They have to extend their expertise selecting, organising, preserving information to new forms. They will work with users in collecting and analyzing strategic intelligence and act as trainers and consultants to transfer knowledge throughout the organisation. In this new role they will act as: and Knowledge Management developers- working more closely with faculty and students to design, organise and maintain a broader range of digital assets. and Knowledge Management Integrators- having a more active role in education and research mission of university, integrating information resources and services in course and research projects. and Knowledge Management Educator- teaching and training students and faculty information literacy and how to organise, preserve and share their own information resources. and Knowledge Management Researcher- applying new digital technology to create new organisational (metadata), retrieval and storage (preservation) options. The organisations and institutions for being successful and competitive in the present scenario need to continually reinvent information and update their knowledge. The system given as under overcomes the traditional scenario of information and knowledge management.
and Knowledge Management System Tools Role of IP Intranet/Extranet Helpdesk Barriers KM Developers Groupware IR Tools Workflow MS CBT Geographic IS Metadata Ignorance Lack of time Lack of relationship Denominatio nal segregation Integrators Educator Researcher Data Ware Ontology Agent Tech. Data Analysis Fig. 5 I/K Management System
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