Intelligent Business Systems

1
Intelligent Business Systems

• Revision

2
Lecture 1The Learning Organisation
3
Environmental Progression

• Science and Technology
• Global Competition
• Changing Aspirations of the workforce
• Increasing educational aims of developing
  countries
• Decrease in the life expectancy of an industrial
  enterprise
• Reduction in cycle times

4

• Systems Thinking
• Peter M. Senge The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook
• Value Chain
• Michael Porter (1985) Competitive Advantage
  Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance

5
BPR Objectives

• Organisations must think in terms of
  comprehensive processes
• Processes needed to be conceptualised as
  complete, comprehensive entities that stretched
  from initial order to the delivery of the product
• I.T. needed to be used to integrate these
  comprehensive processes

6
BPR Shortsighted

• Theorists underestimated difficulties of
  integrating corporate systems with I.T.
  technologies available at that time
• Failed to appreciate problems involved in scaling
  up some of the solutions they recommended
• People resisted major change
• Costs involved

7
The Learning Organisation

• Where people continually expand their
  capability to create the results they truly
  desire, where new and expansive patterns of
  thinking are nurtured, where collective
  aspiration is set free, and where people are
  continually learning to learn together
• Senge, 1990

8
The Learning Company

• an organisation which facilitates the learning
  of all its members and continuously transforms
  itself
• Pedler et al, 1988
• an organisation that facilitates the learning
  of all its members and consciously transforms
  itself and its context
• Pedler et al, 1997

9
Disciplines of the Learning Organisation

• Systems Thinking
• Personal Mastery
• Mental Models
• Building Shared Vision
• Team Building

10
Focus

• Efficiency
• Improving efficiency (closing gaps)
• Productivity
• Lower costs, higher revenues
• Short-term, operative

• Proficiency
• Culture shift (learning org)
• Processual
• Changes in behaviour attitudes
• Long-term, strategic

11
Lecture 2 Introduction to Knowledge
Management
12
Why Focus on Knowledge

• The modern world is swept by change. New
  technologies are emerging constantly, new markets
  are opening up. There are new competitors but
  also great new opportunities. Our success
  depends on how well we exploit our most valuable
  assets knowledge, skills and creativity. These
  are the key to designing high value goods and
  services and advanced business practices. They
  are at the heart of a modern knowledge driven
  economy
• Tony Blair, PM

13
Why Knowledge Management?

• Most organisations do not manage their knowledge
  well
• They lose knowledge through downsizing and staff
  turnover
• They buy in expertise they already possess
• They do not know what they know

14
The KM Journey

• Knowledge Management is a journey. It is not
  new. Managing knowledge has taken place ever
  since a cave person passed a tool to their
  partner.
• Whats different today is that were starting to
  develop a language to talk about this fuzzy and
  intangible stuff. We need to develop visual
  frameworks to help people build this language.
  If we can visualise, we can measure and if we can
  measure, we can manage
• Gordon Petrash, Dow Chemical

15
Knowledge Hierarchy

• Wisdom
• Knowledge
• Information
• Data

16

• Knowledge Management is the process of creating
  new mindsets, models, skills and technologies
  that capture, organise and employ information,
  experience and knowledge application, to gain
  collective expertise across the organisation,
  which in turn facilitates competitive advantage
• Moffett, 2000

17
Knowledge Management Models

• 3 broad categories of KM models
• Knowledge Category Models
• Social Constructionist Model
• Intellectual Capital Models

18
MeCTIP Model (Moffett, 2001)
External
Internal
Process
P3
Orgnal Climate
Technical
P1
P4
Macro Environment
P5
P6
Internal Technical Climate
Informational
P2
P7
P8
Personal
Organisation Environment
P9
19
Lecture 3 Changing the Culture
20
Two ways of approaching KM

• As an ASSET
• Knowledge can be extracted from wherever it
  resides and put onto a system as a discrete asset
  to be managed
• As a way of DOING things
• Using knowledge as a means of judgement - this
  approach has the most value and derives the
  fastest benefits, however this approach is more
  difficult to achieve

21
Knowledge-based Organisational Structure

• Scientific and Social knowledge recognised
• Consider themselves as brokers of knowledge
• Emphasise decentralisation and virtualisation
• Exhibit network structure
• Flexible boundaries

22
Organisation Strategy

• Managers need to reject the temptation to look
  for one dimensional external answers and need to
  look within the organisation where the answers
  lie in learning and insight, skills and
  perspectives
• Noer, 1997
• Considers organisational and operational
  compatibility, symbolised by shared philosophies,
  strategies, end-goals across the whole
  organisation
• Everyone aware of organisation mission and the
  contribution their role makes
• Everyone singing from same song sheet

23
Culture in the Knowledge-based Organisation

• hire smart people and let them talk to each
  other
• Davenport Prusak, 1998
• Dedicate resources to knowledge programme
• Encourage knowledge sharing and social
  interaction
• Build a culture of trust, confidence, mutual
  respect and support
• Encourage risk-taking, a no-blame culture

24
Collaborative Practices

• If HP knew what HP knows, we would be three
  times as profitable
• Platt, CEO Hewlett-Packard
• CONK - Cost of Not Knowing
• Reduction of Knowledge Silos Offsey, 1997
• Create Corporate Memory Quintas et al., 1997
• Eliminate Re-invention of the Wheel
• Record lessons learned not glory stories
• Facilitate ceaseless innovation Demerest,
  1997

25
Cultural Blockers

• Not Invented Here (N.I.H.)
• Time is money
• Knowledge is Power
• Technophobia
• Valuing Intangibles
• Information Overload

26
New Challenges for Business Leaders

• Take on the Intangibles
• Put people first, technology second
• Audit your knowledge base
• Reward knowledge-sharing
• Build on success

27
KM Strategy

• Intentional Strategy Create a Knowledge Vision
• Develop a Knowledge Crew
• High Density interaction field
• Piggyback new product development
• Adapt middle-up-down management
• Switch to a hypertext organisation
• Construct external knowledge network
• Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995

28
Lecture 4 Managing Professional Intellect
29
Four levels of Prof Intellect

• Cognitive knowledge (know-what) is the basic
  mastery of a discipline that professionals
  achieve through extensive training and
  certification.
• Advanced skills (know-how) translate book
  learning into effective execution. The ability
  to apply the rules of a discipline to complex
  real-world problems is the most widespread
  value-creating professional skill level.

30

• Systems understanding (know-why) is deep
  knowledge of the web of cause-and-effect
  relationships underlying a discipline. It
  permits professionals to move beyond the
  execution of tasks to solve larger and more
  complex problems.
• Self-motivated creativity (care-why) consists of
  will, motivation and adaptability for success.
  Highly motivated and creative groups often
  outperform groups with greater physical or
  financial resources. Without self-motivated
  creativity, intellectual leaders can lose their
  knowledge advantage through complacency.

31
Knowledge Roles

• Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)
• Chief Learning Officer (CLO)
• Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Knowledge Officer/Analyst/author
• Technological Support Consultants
• Web Masters
• Multimedia Designers

32
Lecture 5Technology and Information
33
Confusion !?!

• Repackaging of existing software applications
  under the KM label
• Quandary between knowledge and information
• Publicity that investment in I.T. will result in
  improved business performance
• How much technological involvement is required
  for successful Knowledge Management?

34
Informational Processes

• Internal and External information
• Increased volume of information Information
  Fatique IF Unlig, 1996, Vulliany, 1996
• Information overload Infoglut Offsey, 1997
• Information access Knowledge silos Offsey,
  1997
• Perceived lack of information Infofamine
  Offsey, 1997

35
Technological Tools for KM

• Knowledge Management technology is a broad
  concept, encompassing much more than Notes and
  the Web. Firms can apply a wide variety of
  technologies to the objectives of managing
  knowledge, some of which have been available for
  many years
• Davenport Prusak, 1998
• Collaboration
• Content Management
• Business Intelligence

36
Lecture 6Collaborative Tools
37
Collaborative Tools

• Calender
• Bulletin board
• Chat
• Whiteboard
• Audio
• Video
• Newsgroups (discussion groups_
• File sharing tools
• Presentation tools
• Instant messaging
• Text tools , etc.

• Groupware Technology
• Electronic Mail
• Meeting Support Systems
• Knowledge Directories
• Intranets/Extranets

38
Lecture 7Content Management
39
Website Challenges

• Establishing TRUST
• Keeping ATTENTION
• IMPATIENT on-line readers

40
10 Rules for Web Writing

• 1. Know your reader
• 2. Take a publishing approach
• 3. Keep content short and simple
• 4. Write active content
• 5. Put content in context
• 6. Write for how people search
• 7. Write great headings
• 8. Write great summaries
• 9. Write great metadata
• 10. Edit. Edit. Edit

41
Lecture 8Business Intelligence
42
AI FAMILY
43
Expert Systems Group

• Knowledge-intensive systems capture human
  expertise in limited domains of knowledge
• Knowledge-based expert system model of human
  knowledge
• Rule-based system AI system based on IF THEN
  statements (Bifurcation) Rule-base collection
  of IF THEN knowledge
• Knowledge Frames knowledge organised in chunks
  based on shared relationships

44
Other Approaches

• Neural Networks
• Bayesian Belief Networks
• Fuzzy Logic
• Genetic Algorithms
• Intelligent Agents
• Hybrid AI Systems

45
Business Interests in AI

• Preserve Expertise
• Create and/or enhance Knowledge Base
• Mechanism not subject to feelings, fatique,
  worry, crisis
• Eliminate routine/unsatisfying jobs

46
AI marries KM

• KM encourages organisations to broaden use of BI
  tools to equip employees to quickly spot trends
  within business, financial and market data
  applied to enable better decision-making.
• Four key areas
• Data Mining
• Intelligent Support Systems
• Knowledge-based Systems
• Workflow

47

• The organisations that are best at knowledge
  sharing are not necessarily those with the best
  technology infrastructure. But they do have a
  culture of teamwork and trust. If you have that
  culture and put in tools to help knowledge flow
  quickly around the organisation, you have a
  hugely powerful combination
• Lank, 1997

48
Lecture 9Electronic Commerce
49
Benefits of EC

• I.T. Infrastructure information flows
  seamlessly throughout
• Direct communication between trading partners
  disintermediation (removes intermediate layers,
  streamlines processes)
• Vendors can provide information 24 hours a day
• Can extend distribution channels
• Can reduce transaction costs
• Reduces information asymmetry asymmetry exists
  when one party has more information that the
  other
• Increases richness, depth and detail of
  information
• Increases reach, number of people contacted

50
Types of EC

• Business-to-business (B2B) most EC is of this
  type electronic market transactions between
  organisations
• Business-to-consumer (B2C) retailing
  transactions with individual shoppers
  (amazon.com)
• Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) eg selling in
  classified ads (www.classified2000.com)
• Consumer-to-business (C2B) individuals who sell
  to organisations, individuals who seek sellers,
  interact with them and conclude a transaction
• Nonbusiness EC academic institutions,
  not-for-profit orgns, religious orgns, social
  orgns, government agencies to reduce expenses
  (eg improve purchasing) or improve operations and
  customer service
• Intrabusiness EC all internal organisational
  activities usually performed on intranets (see
  later slides)

51
Functions of Intranet/Extranet

• Corporate/department/individual web pages
• Database access web-based DB
• Search engines and directories assist key-word
  searches
• Interactive communication chatting, audio and
  video-conferences
• Document distribution and workflow web-based
  download and routing of documents
• Groupware e-mail and bulletin board
• Telephony- intranets are perfect conduit for
  computer-based telephony
• Integration with EC interface with
  Internet-based electronic sales and purchasing
• Extranet linking geographically dispersed
  branches, customers and suppliers to authorised
  sections of intranets happier customers, more
  efficient suppliers and reduced staff costs

52
Intranet/Extranet Benefits

• E-Commerce sales and purchasing done online
• Customer service information about product
  available at touch of button
• Reduced time to market
• Enhanced knowledge sharing
• Enhanced group decision and business process
  web-based groupware and workflow systems
• Empowerment everyone has right to know
• Virtual organisations web technology at both
  ends removes barrier of incompatible technology
  between businesses

53
Intranet/Extranet Benefits (2)

• Software distribution networked
• Document management open environment
• Project management share and check progress
• Training knowledge to novices
• Facilitate transaction processing data entered
  only once via web, internal control can be
  applied consistently throughout system
• Eliminate paper-based information delivery
  resulting in lower cost, easier accessibility and
  greater efficiency
• Administrative process support all operational
  functions seamlessly integrated with
  inter-organisational extranets

54
Intranet Deployment Considerations
Evaluation Criteria of Intranet Platform (Turban
et al., 2000)
55
Lecture 10Measurement
56
Evolution of Measures
Throughout the evolution, Understanding
improves Skyrme, 1998
4 Value
3 Management
2 Metrics
1 Language
Roos, quoted in Skyrme, 1998
57
Viewpoint 1 Just Do It

• Management energy is better spent creating and
  using the forces that will drive overall
  performance and deliver value to the companys
  key constituencies
• Knowledge is only relevant when it is used it
  has no intrinsic value. This is why initiatives
  to assign value to a companys inventories of
  knowledge are so misguided
• Pasternack Viscio, Booz Allen, 1998

58
Viewpoint 2 Do It and Measure

• What you can measure, you can manage, and what
  you can manage, you can measure
• We see intellectual capital as a language for
  thinking, talking and doing something about the
  drivers of companies future earnings
• Intellectual capital is concerned with managing
  and measuring knowledge and other intangibles

59
Making Knowledge Visible

• Knowledge Activities Networks, communities,
  symbols, signals
• Knowledge Outcomes Cycle time, product
  development, patents
• Knowledge Investments Training, RD, Knowledge
  oriented technologies
• Prusak, 1999

60
How Do I Select Pilot Projects?

• Choose those which
• Advance your business performance
• Have a high probability of success
• Can explore emerging technologies
• Can build credibility
• ODell Grayson, 1998

61
Some Measurement Methods

• Brand Equity Valuation
• Colorised Reporting
• Benchmarking KM Tool

• Balanced Scorecard
• Competency Models
• Benchmarking
• Business Worth

62
Guest Speakers

• Ian Wilson Lisburn City Council
• Derek Johnston Centre for Competitiveness