Organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the latent potential of their workforces that, if accessed, could enhance the operations in all functions and at all levels. To tap into this employee knowledge pool, the organisation’s managers must equip themselves with the necessary management techniques and tools.
This module is designed to provide an introduction to such tools and frameworks to assist students to understand knowledge management and its importance within the modern organisation.
Knowledge management is an interdisciplinary subject dealing with the hierarchy of data, information, knowledge and wisdom. It focuses on the transfer of information into knowledge, treating the knowledge component of activities as a core concern reflected in strategy, policy and practice at all levels.
It makes a direct connection between an organisation’s intellectual assets, both explicit (recorded) and tacit (personal know-how) and positive organisational results. Therefore the focus of this module is on Knowledge Development and Identification, taking a humanistic approach, where technology is viewed as a facilitator for sharing knowledge once identified.
- The module provides a rigorous education in general management skills with a focus on the development, identification, capture and sharing of knowledge. This module begins with an examination of the historical context which leads to the development of Knowledge Management. The substantive issues include; basic philosophy of knowledge management; definitions, developing a knowledge culture, individual learning, co-operation vs collaboration, culture and change, enabling technology, limitations and distortions. In each session the focus will be on those elements which reflect the interests of the students as individual members of a wider society.
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