نقشه برداری مدیریت دانش و یادگیری سازمانی در پشتیبانی از حافظه سازمانی

The normative literature within the field of knowledge management has concentrated on techniques and methodologies for allowing knowledge to be codified and made available to individuals and groups within organizations. The literature on organizational learning, however, has tended to focus on aspects of knowledge that are pertinent at the macro-organizational level (i.e. the overall business). The authors attempt in this paper to address a relative void in the literature, aiming to demonstrate the inter-locking factors within an enterprise information system that relate knowledge management and organizational learning, via a model that highlights key factors within such an inter-relationship. This is achieved by extrapolating data from a manufacturing organization using a case study, with these data then modeled using a cognitive mapping technique (fuzzy cognitive mapping, FCM). The empirical enquiry explores an interpretivist view of knowledge, within an information systems evaluation (ISE) process, through the associated classification of structural, interpretive and evaluative knowledge. This is achieved by visualizing inter-relationships within the ISE decision-making approach in the case organization. A number of decision paths within the cognitive map are then identified such that a greater understanding of ISE can be sought. The authors therefore present a model that defines a relationship between knowledge management (KM) and organizational learning (OL), and highlights factors that can lead a firm to develop itself towards a learning organization.

Dynamic theory of organizational knowledge introduced by Nonaka (1994), explains that organizational knowledge is created through a continuous dialogue between tacit and explicit knowledge. Such interaction takes place through four touch-points, namely, socialization, combination, internalization and externalization. Such interaction is transcendental, and as Sorensen and Kakihara (2002) explain, simply encoding data in itself, does not provide a context for using information and the harnessing of knowledge, effectively. There is a pressing need to understand the manner by which one uses and can learn from such information (i.e. the sublimation of information into useful data, or knowledge) codified and made accessible via an information system (IS). This need is often motivated by the desire to exploit data and its opportunity to craft information and thus knowledge. It is postulated that whilst organizational learning (OL) might be the ideal that organizations want to accomplish, knowledge management (KM) is the reality of what can be achieved. Indeed, King et al. (2002) note the results of a survey conducted by senior knowledge managers that reports the vast majority of practitioners focus their attention on the strategic management of learning, and harnessing of knowledge. In furtherance of such findings, there remains a need to not only define the contingent difference between knowledge management and organizational learning but also to provide an insight into those organizational factors that can support a business towards becoming a learning organization; where people at all levels within the business, individually and collectively, increasing their capacity to improve their personal and professional performance. This paper derives its impetus and motivation through an established void in the literature that supports the need for an integrated model for KM and its relationship with OL, which in doing so, highlights behavioral and process issues surrounding information systems evaluation (ISE). The authors present the development of a model that highlights the factors for such an inter-relationship, which evolves from a case study research strategy that exploits qualitative information that is then modeled using FCM. While previous research showed that experience and intuition often served as the primary evaluation criteria (Kaplan, 1986; Lohse et al., 1995; Irani and Love, 2001), this empirical enquiry explores an interpretivist view of knowledge, within an IT/IS investment evaluation decision-making process. Through a classification of knowledge into three forms, structural, interpretive and evaluative, the given case attempts to elucidate the inherent, underlying explicit/tacit knowledge relationships that define key KM to OL factors. The authors seek to establish such relationships through the application of a cognitive mapping technique; fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM), to visualize aspects of the organization's decision-making approach, which leads to the identification of contingent knowledge factors and dependencies. In doing so, examining the dynamics of knowledge and the role that knowledge plays within the maturity of a learning organization. The authors seek to analyze the nature of explicit and tacit knowledge inter-relationships that exist within the ISE process, as a result of the FCM and case data. Such lucid tacit knowledge flows will, in turn, give way to the exploration of those aspects that may give rise to organizational learning within the context of a manufacturing firm. The conclusions are not seeking to offer generality but to allow others to draw parallels in constants and processes and thus, be supportive of decision-making processes.

In interpreting the case data, an interplay of sociological, behavioral and ISE knowledge factors have been highlighted—for which the inherent, tacit relationship and pattern of inference resulting from the application of an FCM has presented management commitment and project management as key driving issues. In light of these observations and analyses, the authors were able to formulate a model that showed the relationship between those knowledge management and organizational learning concepts within SME-UK. The model developed showed that a relationship does exist between KM and OL and in this case, each knowledge concept engenders/fosters realization of the other. A consistent involvement and balancing of systematic and behavioral issues can only allow the ideal of organizational learning to be realized. As has been shown, however, there may be many tacit as opposed to explicit factors that may achieve this (the FCM being used as a tool to facilitate this discovery). The proposed model not only highlights those factors included in the particular ISE but, also subsequently defines a potential basis for creating a learning organization. The decision-making approach used by SME-UK was abstracted, with interdependencies then modeled. Simulation results were generated that provided an insight to the interplay between KM and OL, when contextualized through human and organizational factors within the information systems evaluation process. These results presented demonstrate: • The MD FCM shows project management, vendor support and training and education as being implicit (tacit) knowledge factors for the ISE process. The former underlying factors likewise provided a causal relationship to the training and education, management and employee commitment concepts. • The PD FCM shows that project management was an important facet of this case but noted that a combination of consistent management commitment produced a stabilizing effect on the eventual outcome of the ERP implementation. This highlights the importance of management intervention, responsibility, and governance (although at the expense of training and education). It appears from the FCM results, that issues that were experienced and seemed to inhibit implementation success (management commitment and project management) were in fact inherent, and tacit to the actual outcome of the EPR project. This was, however, implicitly recognized by the company, who also realized later that the involvement of people (at management, employee or even vendor level) was crucial to the outcome of investment in technology. As a result, it appears that SME-UK itself recognized in retrospect, that: • Training and education are vital to the continuing success of the company, at both employee level as well as managerial level and should be strategically planned in advance of but with respect to, any change program. • Tacit issues were not made explicit (employee commitment and cultural issues festered; initial management decision-making, responsibility and commitment was lacking)—the result of which, inhibited project success. • Organizational culture needs to develop to encompass a diverse and rich communication channel between management and employees (and likewise, feedback and response relating to technology initiatives should not be ignored). • Management commitment to any company-wide programs, needs to be consistent, clear and have the appropriate governance and ownership structures in place in order to avoid conflicts of authority and responsibility (and the avoidance of a “blame culture”).