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Presenting a Framework for Evaluation of Knowledge Management Development Level in Inter-Organization Perspective

Afzali, Hamidreza | 2010

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 44026 (44)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Management and Economics
  6. Advisor(s): Isai, Mohammad Taghi
  7. Abstract:
  8. In accomplishment of knowledge management in real world, organization can be in different processes of awareness about importance of knowledge management and its achievements. Recognition of strength and weakness points of organization helps to logical planning and success in performance of knowledge management. For avoiding from failing in knowledge management projects, it is necessary that before stating for project performance, evaluate development level of organization from viewpoint of knowledge management, and determine some approaches for control of general problems of knowledge management, like abundance of information, work complexities, knowledge Storage.
    In literature of knowledge management there are more than 15 methods for evaluation of organizations from viewpoint of development level and amount of readiness for using knowledge management that all of them evaluate amount of development in an organization. Theses evaluation models determine some success key factors and define difference levels of development and at the end design questionnaire for measuring key factors with pay attention to difference levels of development.
    Propounded issues in scale of one organization are very different with scale of inter-organizational. In inter-organizational scale, needs and requirement of each organization is different with requirement and goals of other organizations. Personnel of organizations do not tend for participation in related programs of knowledge management because perhaps these programs do not have effective role in their occupation future. Sharing of some information requires permission of organization master management because of security issues. Cultural differences between organizations and their viewpoints are another problem. (Egger, 2005) In this research amount of readiness of organization in performance of knowledge management determine in 5 levels: firs, no readiness and critical situation; Second, initial and success with individual efforts; third, repeatable and existence of regularity for repeating of past experiences; fourth, defined with standard and documentary activities; fifth, managed and consideration and control of quantitative indexes.
    After review literature and related concepts with development level and evaluation models of knowledge management, we determine key factors of important and effective in evaluation of development level for performance of knowledge management in inter-organizational scale and then study related field and their measurement in environmental.
    This research was considered amount of readiness of organization before starting performance of knowledge management in inter-organizational scale. So, it is better to consider cultural aspects of variation instead of processes aspects of knowledge management like exploration, Storage, Retrieval and etc. Naturally performance of knowledge management, making variation in way of thinking of managers and personnel, their manner of working and work processes. Since existence readiness for making variation is equal to readiness for performance of knowledge management; in selecting factors, we paid attention to changing management. For making variation in an environment, 5 general factors require: 1) cultural readiness of society 2) individual readiness (individual ability) 3) organizational/environmental readiness 4) requirement/ tendency feeling for variation 5) having goal and path for variation
    And then we obtain opinions of experts about correctness and importance of this factor by Delfi method.Delfi method is use in future research. Utilizing of Delfi method usually is with purpose of discovering of creativity and trusty opinions or providing of proper information for decision making. Delfi method is structured process for collecting and categorization of available knowledge of a group of experts that is performed by distribute of questionnaires between these persons and feedback of received opinions and answers. (Adler & Ziglio; 1996)
    Analysis of data and results:Common analysis: Alpha Keronbakh indicates percentage of questionnaire trusty. For receive ideas in first and second course amount of Alpha Keronbakh is 0.854, 0.855. Because amount of Alpha Keronbakh in both of course is more than 0.7, so questionnaire is trusty and we can provide required questions for measurement of amount of readiness in Bam rebuilding based on success key factors of this questionnaire.For testing of interrelation coefficient between questions, test of H0: P=0, (P is interrelation index) are used. For testing of said test, if amount of P-value be less than 0.05, hypothesis H0, which is no interrelation, are rejected, it means that there is interrelation between variables, if amount of P-value be more than 0.05, hypothesis H0 is accepted, it means that there is not interrelation between variables. Of course existence of interrelation between success key factors is natural and do not have negative effect on next processes.Designing of questionnaire and field studies The goal of these studies is investigation of amount of readiness of the involved organizations in the reconstruction project of Bam from the aspect of performance of knowledge management in the inter-organizational scale. The questions of the questionnaires has been designed and extracted from the essays and the models of the evaluations of the knowledge management and based on the key factors of the tested success in the previous part and with pay attention to variation of evaluation scale was modified from inter-organizational to intra-organizational.Difference of opinion was performed by master directors of the small companies and the middle directors of the big companies and the involved organization units in the reconstruction of Bam. The number of these directors and in the other word the number of the whole population of the statistical society was estimates about fifty persons. Of course, with pay attention to this fact that the reconstruction was ending at the time of the research case; therefore, some of those directors are not available. This questionnaire was sent for about thirty persons, that fifteen of them have respond. The average of experience of the answerers is 19 years, with criterion deviation of 8.5 year, that shows these persons are with experiences. The focus of educations is on the Bachelor's degree that with pay attention to the amount of experience, this education is proper.They have been scored the questionnaire from Zero means No readiness and critical situation up to four means managed situation.Analysis of field studies Factors Analysis: the amount of Alpha Keronbakh is 0.912. And since, it is more than 0.7; therefore, the questionnaire is trusty. According to answerers' idea (based on obtained averages) , the highest readiness for performance of knowledge management in the factors are “benefit” , “discordant” , and oral/auditory skill” , respectively. This shows that employed people believe to the beneficence of the performing the knowledge management and they feel the problem existence , the discordant between the existent and nice condition and need to changing .mean while , they have the communicative skills and abilities for changing. Less readiness for performance of knowledge management is in the factors of “ availability to the information technology( IT) infrastructures ”, “ sampling from the similar situations”, “common programs and projects ”, “ specialized society / experts network ” and “ the policies , goals ,and intents of the same knowledge management “. This shows the lack of readiness of the IT infrastructure that it is partly normal because of being specific the reconstructed time, and so, it is easy to resolve by the obtained developments in the ambulatory networks and flexible programming technique. For solving the second نقص and in order to sampling the similar cases, it is necessary that potential factors of related with reconstruction have more communication with active international organization in this area. Performing the common programs and projects and creating the specialized society and experts networks is easily improvable, and in order to have the policies, goals, and intents of the same knowledge management, and in order to have goal/purpose/ policies of same knowledge management, it is necessary to compile these cases by helping of the every involved organizations and to get the consensus. Of course, it has been emphasized more on the weakness points for their improvement while performing the knowledge management
  9. Keywords:
  10. Knowledge Management ; Interorganizational Level ; Bam Reconstruction ; Framework ; Maturity Level Model

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