21229 Management Knowledge

UTS: Business: Management
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level: Undergraduate

Result Type: Grade and marks

Handbook description

The basis for the global momentum of implementing knowledge management is the need to understand the real value of knowledge, to create new management philosophies, standards and practices and to establish new models of success. The subject examines the movement away from the traditional paradigm of 'hoarding knowledge' to a structured approach, which creates the incentive for sharing knowledge and establishes a knowledge management framework. Students are introduced to management initiatives of implementation, technology strategies, planning organisational transformation and a general understanding of the future environment for managing knowledge within the organisation.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

understand different perspectives on management thinking, knowledge creation processes and decision-making
identify and understand the benefits, concepts and techniques of knowledge management
understand the impact upon enterprise stakeholders, organisational design and processes, and organisational culture and relationships of the increasing significance of knowledge
identify and understand knowledge management infrastructures, implementation strategies and the initiatives to meet different business needs based on creating a knowledge environment that supports business goals and understand the appropriate role of supporting technology
understand and identify technologies (such as the internet, intranets, groupware, and expert systems) that support workflow management and knowledge sharing objectives.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject provides a foundation for the understanding of organisational knowledge and the application of knowledge management for the Management major and sub major. It contributes to the objectives of the major by focusing on the fundamentals of knowledge management; the processes of implementation, which establishes an understanding of the strategies and organisational issues, associated with the development of e-Business management; and an understanding of the environment for the establishment of e-business relationships.

Teaching and learning strategies

Interactive sessions will include workshop discussions, presenting progress and brief summaries of their case analysis, use of collaborative communication software products. Web based information, communication and feedback will complement group meetings to discuss the content and progress of group work.

Content

An introduction to knowledge management
Organisational strategy and knowledge
Organising knowledge work flows
Designing the knowledge infrastructure
Learning and sharing knowledge
The reality of knowledge management projects.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Online notes and contributions (Individual)

Objective(s):	1, 2
Weighting:	30%
Task:	Methodology: Library search; interview or analysis of your own experience. Tasks include writing online notes, UTS online debate and presentations. This proposal allows students to demonstrate that they have met objectives 1 and 2.

Assessment item 2: Research Report (Individual)

Objective(s):	1, 5
Weighting:	40%
Task:	Write a research report (2,000 words maximum). Topic: From a business perspective how can an organisation optimally structure knowledge flow to maximise the impact of knowledge? This proposal allows students to demonstrate that they have met objectives 1 and 5.

Assessment item 3: Case Study (Group)

Objective(s):	2-4
Weighting:	30%
Task:	Students are required to write one case study report (1,500 words maximum) and present one 15-minute seminar. Present a case analysis of the application of knowledge management in a manufacturing or primary industry company. Methodology: Library search; Internet search, use of collaborative communication software products, interviews and analysis of material. This proposal allows students to demonstrate that they have met objectives 2-4.

Required text(s)

Housel, TJ and Bell, AH, (2001, Measuring and Managing Knowledge, McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Davenport, TH and Prusak, L, 1998, Working Knowledge, Boston, Massachusetts: Havard Business School Press

Rollo,C and Clarke, T, 2001, International Best Practice: Case Studies in Knowledge Management, Standards Australia, HB 275 Supplement 1

Indicative references

Articles

California Management Review (1998) Special Issue on Knowledge and the Firm, Volume 40, Number 3

Harvard Business Review (1998) Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management

Books

Allee, Verna (1997) The Knowledge Evolution, Butterworth Heinemann

Allee, Verna (2003) The Future of Knowledge: Increasing Prosperity through Value Networks, Butterworth Heinemann

Argyris, C. & Schön, DA (1974) Theory in practice: increasing professional effectiveness, Jossey-Bass

Burton-Jones, A. (1999) Knowledge Capitalism: Business, Work and Learning in the New Economy, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Davenport, T. (1997) Information Ecology, New York: Oxford University Press

Denning, S., (2001) The Springboard : How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations Butterworth Heinemann

Huseman, RC and Goodman, JP (1999) Leading with Knowledge: The Nature of

Competition in the 21st Century, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Klein, D.A. (1998) The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, Boston: Butterworth Heinemann

Koulopoulos, T., Spinello, R. and Toms, W. (1997) Corporate Instinct, New York: Van Nostrand, Reinhold

Leonard-Barton, D. (1995) Wellsprings of Knowledge, Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Lesser, E.L. (2000) Knowledge and Social Capital: Foundations and Applications, Boston: Butterworth Heinemann

Martin, J. (1996) Cybercorp, New York: AMACOM

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation New York: Oxford Press

Probst, G., Raub, S. and Romhardt, K. (2000) Managing Knowledge, Chichester: John Wiley

Rickards, T. (1999) Creativity and the Management of Change, Oxford: Blackwell

Rosenberg, M. J. (2001) E-Learning; Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age, McGraw-Hill

Seely Brown, J. and Duguid, P., (2000) The Social Life of Information Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Stewart, T.A., (1997) Intellectual Capital: The New wealth of Organisations Doubleday / Currency

Sveiby, K.E. (1997) The New Organisational Wealth: Managing and Measuring Knowledge Based Assets Berrett-Koehler

Tapscott, D., (1996) The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence McGraw Hill

Tobin, D. (1997) Knowledge-Enabled Organization, New York: AMACOM

Tiwana, A., (1999) The Knowledge Management Toolkit: Practical Techniques for Building a Knowledge Management System Prentice Hall

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., Snyder, W.M. (2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice, Harvard Business School Press

World Bank (1998) World Development Report: Knowledge for Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., and Nonaka, I., (2000) Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release the Power of Innovation Oxford University Press