Knowledge management system encompasses the effective handling of organizations’ information with the purpose of creating value and meeting the needs and requirements of the organization. It will assist the leaners in transferring data and information (Maler, 71). This paper seeks to come up with a knowledge management system that will be used by Southern Cross School of Business to make all the learning units and material available online. There is a discussion on the aims and objective of coming up with the knowledge management system. Then follows the identification of the staff and the training requirements for each, in order to assist in running the system. Finally, there is the discussion on the resources required to set up and run the system as well as the contingencies likely to face the system.
Aims and Objectives
A knowledge managing system is generally developed by organizations to store and retrieve information, locate sources, as well as serve as a source of hidden information where users capture and manage the information. The development of this project on Knowledge Management aims to achieve the following objectives;
➢ To create a platform where the business organization can share information concerning the different services that they offer.
➢ To develop an easy and efficient way of using the available resources and knowledge within the organization by both internal and external stakeholders.
➢ To provide the staff with the necessary resources needed to develop a culture of learning and self-appraisal.
➢ To create an online resource centre where different users can be able to access information.
Purpose for Knowledge Management
The primary reason why organizations have Knowledge Management systems is to provide a platform where the users can share information, ideas and experience. This project seeks to address all these needs in one place, as this improves efficiency and provides the management with timely information to help in decision making. The plan also will give a suggestion on how internal users are able to share critical information with the management in their respective areas of concern (Wang, Hjelmervik and Bremdal, 11). The external user would also be able give an unbiased suggestion on how to improve the organization from an outside perspective.
The major advantage accrued from using the system is that it helps the organization to increase the speed with which concerns are acted upon, through providing an easy and effective way of sharing the information. This report will also provide the necessary resources needed to conduct research before decisions are made. This segment makes it easier for acquisition of information through readily available data. The other merit that this KM will have is to create a provision where information will be shared in a controlled manner for particular audiences. This sieving of information will save the organization the agony of having various stakeholders access uncredited information from different sources. Furthermore, the cost of sharing information will also be reduced.
The ease of accessing information is made through this report because it integrates both online platform and offline platform. An online platform will ensure that different users are able to access information in different places at a low cost. Also, it becomes possible to achieve the ease of service delivery and receipt. Notably, such ease is attributable to the provision of a readily available portal for communication with the firm’s customer care department. Therefore customers can ask questions with ease, buoyed by the effective and timely responses.
Whenever service delivery meets the customer expectations, there is a resultant customer satisfaction. For instance, customers expect that services provision is within their preferred duration or earlier. The KM proposal aims to improve on service delivery. The information about the product and services will be readily available, thus saving the customers the time needed to look for that particular information. Once an order is made, the online customer service is faster. Additionally, it also gives room for the customer to contribute to the development of the preferred services, which are tailored for the different demands.
Knowledge Creation
This is a platform for learning. Therefore, the knowledge created within should be used to assist the clients who are students in this case to improve on their learning ability. Notably, giving the learners an opportunity to discuss among themselves is a vital area that needs special consideration in developing this Knowledge Management system. The plan accommodates the interaction of different users. The proposed system should be flexible to the extent that the members can increase or decrease the number of those they want to engage in a discussion. Moreover, the platform should have an online library where a number of learning resources can be uploaded and be made available for the leaners to use for their research. Assistance from tutors is also essential to learners. Thus, one on one interaction between the learner and the tutor will also be an essential element of the platform.
Knowledge Management is an essential part of the learning process and therefore the learning institution should be able to employ different personnel to manage the system. One of the employees who will be important will be a customer care who will assist the students who have difficulty in suing the platform. The secretary assistant to tutors will also have a limited access to the platform to assist some students in the absence of the tutor in cases where the inquiry is general in nature. An online manager is also the other integral human resource personnel that will be handy in this platform. He will be tasked to ensure that the platform is always functional and always looking at where improvements can be made.
Knowledge Harnessing and Sharing
The knowledge Management identifies the kind of information that needs to be shared and to the people that particular information is shared with. The most essential information that the plan should be able to share is the leaning material between the learners. This should be placed at a central platform where each and every authorised user is able to have access. The credentials for the students should also be shared in this platform albeit confidentially and with limited access. Those accessing this information should also be with the permission of the said students (Jennex, 54). Also important to share is the description of the college to and important reviews. This is to attract other outside stakeholders that may be interested in joining the institution.
The most efficient ways of sharing this information is to create online portals where the different stakeholders are able to log in and access information within their reach. Within the platform a provision of sharing the available information can be made and be put to use among the participants. Restrictions on the use of the available resources and information should be put in place so that the users do not share the same information to external users. This is important in safeguarding intellectual property.
TASK TWO
Staff Leaning and Development Needs
The knowledge management system serves a critical purpose within the organization and as such needs expert staff to carry out the management and maintenance practices to ensure that it serves the intended purpose in the best way possible. The staff employed in the project will therefore need to be assessed to ensure that they possess the prerequisite knowledge in running the system. The kind of knowledge required by the staff is divided into either tangible knowledge or intangible knowledge. Knowledge is considered to be tangle when lack of it weighs financially upon the organization. Tangible knowledge is the skill which can only be obtained through the proper process of training the employees. It can also be referred to as the technical knowhow. Lack of tangible knowledge in any sector of the organization will be felt. The organization should therefore hire those qualified and possess such information or train their own staff to possess such knowledge (Hertog, 501). On the other hand, intangible knowledge is important but its absence does not affect the organization adversely. In the proposed knowledge management system, there will be need for the staff responsible to have tangible knowledge and much of intangible knowledge such as the soft skills.
The employees need to be trained on the Information Technology skills to be order to have an easy time in making use of the system since it has online aspects. Communication skills are another training need that the employees will need to undergo because a knowledge management system entails communication between the organization and the clients as well as other stakeholder outside the organization. In recognition of the need to have the employees trained on, the organization needs to take into consideration a number of factors. The use of Moodle online platform is another training area that the employees would need to be abreast with.
The organizational needs are a key factor to consider in determining what aspects of training the employees. The need to improve on the learning experience of the students by through the use of the proposed knowledge management system integrated through Moodle is the primary need of the Southern Cross School of Business. Additionally, the practical tasks that will be carried out on the platform is another consideration to be made in identifying the training needs. This will assist the organization to save on the cost of hiring external experts to assist in running the platform on behalf of the employees. The employees’ individual needs should also be taken into account before assigning them particular form of training. The organization should focus on the improving on the areas that an individual has weaknesses in. On the whole, there is need for a thorough SWOT analysis within the organization among the employees so that they make a determination on the areas that there is major weakness to give more focus when carrying out the training exercise.
The frequency with which evaluation of the needs for training is done should be based on the results obtained from employees. When elements of ineffectiveness are shown, the employees in the said area need to be equipped with new skills to keep up to the dynamic market place that has kept on changing over time. The organization should also make an annual training program for all the employees in different areas. This will be useful in avoiding redundancy as well as diversifying the skills of the employees.
Knowledge Management Resources
Knowledge Management Resources are tools and techniques that can be used by the users of the knowledge management to support the practices that the organization engages in. The resources needed to develop this KM will be both technical and non-technical resources. The human resources will be essential in ensuring the success of the project. The knowledge system needs different personnel both technical, which will ensure the platform runs up on a day to day basis, through various maintenance practices. The non-technical personnel who will also need training are like the tutors. The members of the organization who will be using the system on a daily basis are also part of the human resource that will be responsible for the success of the platform.
Financial resources will be needed in this whole process especially when hiring the experts in training the employees in different aspects of the knowledge management system. The acquisition of the KM tools especially the electronic ones will also require financial resources in order to make it a success. The organization should therefore set aside an estimated cost to effectively run the project.
TASK 3
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
When an organization makes the investment in the knowledge management system, there is need to take a look into the future to see the possible contingencies that may arise when using the system so that measures can be put in place to curb the effects. One of the challenges come with the use of Knowledge management system is security. The knowledge management system is going to have information belong to student users and their respective tutors some of which are confidential. Information should be shielded from other users and just give access to particular people with access. Insecurity of information is one of the risks are associated with this KM.
In addition to security, the ability to keep the available information on the system to constantly be accurate is another contingency that the organization will have to deal with (Hang et.,al 260). The relevance of the information in the portal is also a need that
The organization should therefore employ and train a specialist in managing the KM in order to overcome the challenges that are posed in the system. A technical writer and documentation specialist can be employed to take care of what is written for the consumption of the external users. A publications editor is also essential so as to go through the publications that are made by different users so as to ensure only the right items are released for the general public. This will also assist to sieve the information given out to ensure the accuracy of the information placed on the system. Moreover, an IT specialist should also be employed to constantly improve the features of the system to improve on the security features of the system.
In addressing some of the risks and contingencies, a number of challenges may be faced. One of the challenges that may come with the system is failure to connect with the users of the system. The users of this system are so many and connecting with all of them may be a challenge. Besides, if the need to manage the content of the system is not identified in time, this may be a challenge once the content of the system has been distorted. These challenges should be identified and addressed in time.
Works Cited.
Hahn, Jungpil, and Mani R. Subramani. "A framework of knowledge management systems: issues and challenges for theory and practice." Proceedings of the twenty first international conference on Information systems. Association for Information Systems, 2000.
Hertog, Pim den. "Knowledge-intensive business services as co-producers of innovation." International journal of innovation management 4.04 (2000): 491-528.
Jennex, Murray E. Current Issues in Knowledge Management. Hershey, Pa: IGI Global, 2008. Print.
Maier, Ronald. Knowledge Management Systems: Information and Communication Technologies for Knowledge Management. Berlin: Springer Berlin, 2007. Internet resource.
Wang, Kesheng, Ove R. Hjelmervik, and Bernt Bremdal. Introduction to Knowledge Management: Principles and Practice. Trondheim, [Norway: Tapir Academic Press, 2001. Print.
