Part B: NearOptimizing Knowledge and Power Flows

1
Part B Near-Optimizing Knowledge and Power Flows

• Doug MacKinnon
• Ray Levitt

2
Agenda

• Motivation
• Insights from Inventory Theory
• Literature Search
• Research Question
• Timeline
• Contributions

3
Motivation

• Consider inventory theory as a means to inform
  knowledge and power flows
• Inventory Theory
• Known mathematical constructs
• Knowledge Inventory
• Skill set with contextual experience

4
Inventory Theory Analysis and Insights
Logistics Managers Perspective

• Consider a supply chain of perishable goods,
  managers gain insights considering
• Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
• holding cost (h)
• set up cost (K)
• unit cost (c)
• demand per unit time (m)
• Reordering point
• Known demand
• Stock on-hand
• Make/Buy decisions
• Inventory policies of
• Just-in-time
• Just-in-case

5
Perishable Goods in a Supply Chain vs. Knowledge
in an Organization

• Similarities
• Knowledge is a critical resource
• Knowledge can be bought or made (created)
• Knowledge can be lost
• personnel transfer
• lack of usage
• knowledge obsolescence
• A goods shelf-life is like knowledge decay
• Transportation of people is a knowledge flow
• Lead time is required to obtain both

6
Perishable Goods in a Supply Chain vs. Knowledge
in an Organization

• Differences
• Knowledge holding costs may be negligible
• Knowledge is difficult to quantify
• Knowledge demand is difficult to forecast
• Effects just-in-time policy

7
Potential Testing

• Create a knowledge inventory tool to measure
  quantity
• Create a tool to measure knowledge decay
• Consider making vs. buying knowledge
• On the job training vs. outsourcing
• Consider just-in-time vs. just-in-case
• Training vs. formal education
• Potentially a time critical issue

8
Literature Search

• Primary Areas
• Inventory Theory
• Knowledge Theory
• Organizational Power
• Intriguing Areas
• Optimization
• Decision Making
• Search Theory
• Trust
• Culture

9
Research Question(so far)

• How can MS Inventory Theory help to inform our
  understanding of knowledge flows in Edge
  Organizations?

10
Timeline

• Literature review underway
• Edge Workshop Consider inventory theory and its
  effect on knowledge and power flows in Edge
  organizations
• Review literature and ethnographic data
• Provide initial parameters
• Develop enhancements to POW-ER (March 05)
• 10th ICCRTS
• Paper submission 15 March 05
• Conference 13 June 05
• Discuss findings at 2nd Edge workshop (4th qtr
  2005)

11
Contributions

• New knowledge concerning how inventory theory
  could inform knowledge and power flows in Edge
  organizations
• Extend the capability of computational modeling
  to reflect knowledge flow in Edge organizations

12
Part B Near-Optimizing Knowledge and Power Flows

• Doug MacKinnon
• Ray Levitt