Chapter 11 - Managing Knowledge

11.1 The knowledge management landscape

11.2 Enterprise-wide knowledge management system

11.3 Knowledge work systems

11.4 Intelligent techniques

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES :

1. Knowledge - physiological or cognitive event that takes place inside peoples head

2. tacit knowledge - its in the minds of the employees that has not been documented

3. Explicit knowledge - has been documented

4. Organizational learning - Organizations that learn adjust their behavior to reflect that learning by
creating new business processes and by changing patterns of management decision making.

5. Knowledge management refers to the set of business processes developed in an organization to create,
store, transfer, and apply knowledge.

6. Communities of practice (COPs) are informal social networks of professionals and employees within and
outside the firm who have similar work-related activities and interests.

7. Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems are general-purpose firmwide efforts to collect,

store, distribute, and apply digital content and knowledge.

8. Knowledge work systems (KWS) are specialized systems built for engineers, scientists, and other
knowledge workers charged with discovering and creating new knowledge for a company.

9. Intelligent Techniques - techniques have different objectives, from a focus on discovering knowledge
(data mining and neural networks), to distilling knowledge in the form of rules for a computer program
(expert systems and fuzzy logic), to discovering optimal solutions for problems (genetic algorithms).

10. Structured knowledge is explicit knowledge that exists in formal documents, as well as in formal rules
that organizations derive by observing experts and their decision-making behaviors.

11. Enterprise content management systems help organizations manage both types of information. They
have capabilities for knowledge capture, storage, retrieval, distribution, and preservation to help firms
improve their business processes and decisions.

12. taxonomy, to organize information into meaningful categories so that it can be easily accessed.
 13. Digital asset management systems help companies classify, store, and distribute these digital objects.

14. learning management system (LMS) provides tools for the management, delivery, tracking, and
assessment of various types of employee learning and training.

15. massive open online courses (MOOCs) to educate their employees. A MOOC is an online course made
available via the Web to very large numbers of participants.

16. Computer- aided design (CAD) automates the creation and revision of designs, using computers and
sophisticated graphics software.

17. 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, which uses machines to make solid objects, layer by
layer, from specifications in a digital file.

18. Virtual reality systems have visualization, rendering, and simulation capabilities that go far beyond
those of conventional CAD systems.

19. Augmented reality (AR) is a related technology for enhancing visualization. AR provides a live direct or
indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-
generated imagery.

20. Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). - set of specifications for interactive, 3-D modeling on the
World Wide Web that can organize multiple media types, including animation, images, and audio to put
users in a simulated real-world environment.

21. investment workstations industries use specialized stations such as Bloomberg Terminals to leverage
the knowledge and time of its brokers, traders, and portfolio managers.

22. artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which consists of computer-based systems (both hardware and
software) that attempt to emulate human behavior.

23. Expert systems are an intelligent technique for capturing tacit knowledge in a very specific and limited
domain of human expertise. Expert systems model human knowledge as a set of rules that collectively
are called the knowledge base.

24. inference engine - The strategy used to search through the knowledge base. Two strategies are
commonly used: forward chaining and backward chaining

a. forward chaining, the inference engine begins with the information entered by the user and searches the
rule base to arrive at a conclusion.

b. backward chaining, the strategy for searching the rule base starts with a hypothesis and proceeds by
asking the user questions about selected facts until the hypothesis is either confirmed or disproved.

25. case-based reasoning (CBR), descriptions of past experiences of human specialists, represented as
cases, are documented and stored in a database for later retrieval when the user encounters a new case
with similar parameters.

26. Fuzzy logic is a rule-based technology that can represent such imprecision by creating rules that use
approximate or subjective values.
 27. Machine learning is the study of how computer programs can improve their performance without
explicit programming.

28. Neural networks are used for solving complex, poorly understood problems for which large amounts of
data have been collected.

29. Genetic algorithms are useful for finding the optimal solution for a specific problem by examining a very
large number of possible solutions for that problem.

30. Intelligent agents are software programs that work without direct human intervention to carry out
specific tasks for an individual user, business process, or software application.

31. Agent-based modeling applications have been developed to model the behavior of consumers, stock
markets, and supply chains and to predict the spread of epidemics.

32. hybrid AI systems - Genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and expert systems can be
integrated into a single application to take advantage of the best features of these technologies.

Important Diagram :
 Chapter 12 - Enhancing Decision Making

12.1 Decision making and information systems

12.2 Business intelligence in the enterprize

12.3 Business intelligence constituencies

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES :

1. Unstructured decisions are those in which the decision maker must provide judgment, evaluation, and insight to
solve the problem.

2. Structured decisions, by contrast, are repetitive and routine, and they involve a definite procedure for handling
them so that they do not have to be treated each time as if they were new.

3. semistructured, where only part of the problem has a clear-cut answer provided by an accepted procedure.

4. Intelligence consists of discovering, identifying, and understanding the problems occurring in the organization—
why a problem exists, where, and what effects it is having on the firm.

5. Design involves identifying and exploring various solutions to the problem.

6. Choice consists of choosing among solution alternatives.

7. Implementation involves making the chosen alternative work and continuing to monitor how well the solution is
working.

8. classical model of management- described the five classical functions of managers as planning, organizing,
coordinating, deciding, and controlling.

9. Behavioral models state that the actual behavior of managers appears to be less systematic, more informal, less
reflective, more reactive, and less well organized than the classical model would have us believe.

10. Managerial roles are expectations of the activities that managers should perform in an organization.

11. Informational Roles. In their informational role, managers act as the nerve centers of their organizations,
receiving the most concrete, up-to-date information and redistributing it to those who need to be aware of it.
Managers are therefore information disseminators and spokespersons for their organizations.

12. Decisional Roles. Managers make decisions. In their decisional role, they act as entrepreneurs by initiating new
kinds of activities; they handle disturbances arising in the organization; they allocate resources to staff members
who need them; and they negotiate conflicts and mediate between conflicting groups.

13. Information Quality. High-quality decisions require high-quality information.

14. Management Filters. Even with timely, accurate information, some managers make bad decisions.

15. Organizational Inertia and Politics. Organizations are bureaucracies with limited capabilities and competencies
for acting decisively.

16. The Business Intelligence Environment

a. Data from the business environment

b. Business intelligence infrastructure - captures all relevant data to operate business

c. Business analytical toolset - software tools

 d. Managerial users and methods - business performance management and balanced scorecard approaches
focusing on key performance indicators and industry strategic analyses focusing on changes in the general
business environment, with special attention to competitors.

e. Delivery platforms - MIS, DSS, ESS

f. User Interface - data visualization

17. Business Intelligence and ANalytics Capabilities

a. Production reports - predefined reports based on specific req by industry

b. Parameterized reports - put in pivot tables to filter data and isolate impacts of parameters

c. dashboards/scorecards - visual tools for presenting performance data

d. Ad hoc query/search/report reaction - create own reports based on queries

e. Drill down - move from high level summary to detailed view

f. forecasts/scenarios/models - ability to perform linear forecasting, what if scenario analysis

18. Predictive analytics use statistical analysis, data mining techniques, historical data, and assumptions about
future conditions to predict future trends and behavior patterns.

19. location analytics, the ability to gain business insight from the location (geographic) component of data,
including location data from mobile phones, output from sensors or scanning devices, and data from maps.

20. geographic information systems (GIS). provide tools to help decision makers visualize problems that benefit
from mapping. - ties location data about distribution of people or areas on map

21. Sensitivity analysis models ask what-if questions repeatedly to predict a range of outcomes when one or more
variables are changed multiple times

22. pivot table - spreadsheet which are used by manager “super users” and analysts employ to identify and
understand patterns in business information that may be useful for semistructured decision making.

23. The balanced score card is a framework for operationalizing a firm’s strategic plan by focusing on measurable
outcomes on four dimensions of firm performance: financial, business process, customer, and learning and
growth

24. key performance indicators (KPIs), which are the measures proposed by senior management for understanding
how well the firm is performing along any given dimension.

25. Business performance management (BPM). Originally defined by an industry group in 2004 (led by the same
companies that sell enterprise and database systems like Oracle, SAP, and IBM), BPM attempts to systematically
translate a firm’s strategies (e.g., differentiation, low-cost producer, market share growth, and scope of
operation) into operational targets.
26. group decision-support systems (GDSS) -interactive computer-based system for facilitating the solution of
unstructured problems by a set of decision makers working together as a group in the same location or in
different locations.

Important Diagram :
 Chapter 13 - Building Information Systems

13.1 Systems as planned organizational change

13.2 Overview of systems development

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES :

1. Automation - common form of IT-enabled organizational change

2. Rationalization of procedures - deeper form of organizational change

3. Total quality management (TQM) makes achieving quality an end in itself and the responsibility of all people and
functions within an organization.
4. Six sigma is a specific measure of quality, representing 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

5. Business process redesign reorganizes workflows, combining steps to cut waste and eliminate repetitive, paper-
intensive tasks.

6. A paradigm shift involves rethinking the nature of the business and the nature of the organization.

7. Business process management (BPM) provides a variety of tools and methodologies to analyze existing
processes, design new processes, and optimize those processes.

8. Business Process Redesign:

a. Identify processes for change - managers are to identify which are important and how improve these will
improve overall performance

b. Analyze existing processes - process design team must identify redundant steps, paper-intensive tasks,
bottlenecks etc

c. Design the new process - document and model the new process and compare it with the old one

d. Implement the new process - analyze the new process for any problems or improvements

e. Continuous measurement - to ensure employees don't fall back to old routine or the process loses
effectiveness if there are other changes in the business

9. systems development - activities that go into producing an information system solution to an organizational
problem or opportunity

10. Systems analysis is the analysis of a problem that a firm tries to solve with an information system. It consists of
defining the problem, identifying its causes, specifying the solution, and identifying the information requirements
that must be met by a system solution.

11. The feasibility study determines whether the proposed system is expected to be a good investment, whether the
technology needed for the system is available and can be handled by the firm’s information systems specialists,
and whether the organization can handle the changes introduced by the system.

12. Information requirements of a new system involve identifying who needs what information, where, when, how.

13. systems design shows how the system will fulfill the needs to meet information requirements .

14. the programming stage, system specifications that were prepared during the design stage are translated into
software program code.

15. Exhaustive and thorough testing must be conducted to ascertain whether the system produces the right results.

a. Unit testing, or program testing, consists of testing each program separately in the system.

b. System testing tests the functioning of the information system as a whole. It tries to determine whether
discrete modules will function together as planned and whether discrepancies exist between the way the
system actually works and the way it was conceived.
 c. Acceptance testing provides the final certification that the system is ready to be used in a production
setting. Systems tests are evaluated by users and reviewed by management.

d. The test plan includes all of the preparations for the series of tests we have just described.

16. Conversion is the process of changing from the old system to the new system.

a. parallel strategy, both the old system and its potential replacement are run together for a time until
everyone is assured that the new one functions correctly.

b. direct cutover strategy replaces the old system entirely with the new system on an appointed day.

c. pilot study strategy introduces the new system to only a limited area of the organization, such as a single
department or operating unit.

d. phased approach strategy introduces the new system in stages, either by functions or by organizational
units.

17. documentation showing how the system works from both a technical and end-user standpoint is finalized during
conversion time for use in training and everyday operations.

18. Production - the system will be reviewed by both users and technical specialists to determine how well it has met
its original objectives and to decide whether any revisions or modifications are in order.

19. post-implementation audit - maintained while it is in production to correct errors, meet requirements, or
improve processing efficiency.

20. Maintenance - Changes in hardware, software, documentation, or procedures to a production system to correct
errors, meet new requirements, or improve processing efficiency

21. Structured refers to the fact that the techniques are step by step, with each step building on the previous one.

22. The data flow diagram (DFD) offers a logical graphic model of information flow, partitioning a system into
modules that show manageable levels of detail.

23. Process specifications describe the transformation occurring within the lowest level of the data flow diagrams.

24. structure chart is a top-down chart, showing each level of design, its relationship to other levels, and its place in
the overall design structure.

25. Object-oriented development uses the object as the basic unit of systems analysis and design.

26. Computer-aided software engineering (CASE)—sometimes called computer-aided systems engineering—

provides software tools to automate the methodologies we have just described to reduce the amount of
repetitive work the developer needs to do.

27. CASE tools provide automated graphics facilities for producing charts and diagrams etc:

a. Enforcing a standard development methodology and design discipline

b. Improving communication between users and technical specialists

 c. Organizing and correlating design components and providing rapid access to them using a design repository

d. Automating tedious and error-prone portions of analysis and design

e. Automating code generation and testing and control rollout

28. System life cycle methodology is a phased approach to building a system, dividing systems development into
formal stages

29. Prototyping consists of building an experimental system rapidly and inexpensively for end users to evaluate.

30. Prototype - working version of an information system or part of the system, but it is meant to be only a
preliminary model.

31. iterative process - process of building a preliminary design, trying it out, refining it, and trying again

32. Steps in Prototyping

a. Identify the user’s basic requirements

b. Develop an initial prototype

c. Use the prototype

d. Revise and enhance the prototype

33. end-user interface (the part of the system with which end users interact, such as online display and data entry
screens, reports, or Web pages).

34. End-user development allows end users, with little or no formal assistance from technical specialists, to create
simple information systems, reducing the time and steps required to produce a finished application.

35. query language is a software tool that provides immediate online answers to questions that are not predefined

36. Customization features allow a software package to be modified to meet an organization’s unique requirements
without destroying the integrity of the packaged software.

37. Request for Proposal (RFP), which is a detailed list of questions submitted to packaged-software vendors.

38. offshore outsourcing, the decision tends to be much more cost-driven.

39. rapid application development (RAD) is used to describe this process of creating workable systems in a very
short period of time.

40. joint application design (JAD) is used to accelerate the generation of information requirements and to develop
the initial systems design.

41. Agile development focuses on rapid delivery of working software by breaking a large project into a series of small
subprojects that are completed in short periods of time using iteration and continuous feedback.

42. component-based development - it enables a system to be built by assembling and integrating existing software
components.
43. mobile Web site is a version of a regular Web site that is scaled down in content and navigation for easy access
and search on a small mobile screen.

44. mobile Web app is an Internet-enabled app with specific functionality for mobile devices.

45. A native app is a standalone application designed to run on a specific platform and device.

46. Responsive Web design enables Web sites to automatically change layouts according to the visitor’s screen
resolution, whether on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Important Diagram :