Knowledge Management

Report: A proposed solution to a knowledge management problem

We have now covered many different concepts relating to knowledge management over the course of this unit, from individual methods and techniques to organisation-wide strategies and practices. The purpose of this assignment is for you to apply what you have learned to a specific organisational issue that you are acquainted with, using the case study of a real organisation.

This assignment addresses the following unit learning outcomes:

LO 1. Critically discuss the role and importance of knowledge management in today’s organisations

LO 2. Critically evaluate relevant literature in the field of knowledge management

LO 3. Explain how the approach to knowledge management practice is influenced by the underlying epistemology and source discipline

LO 4. Describe the main features of several different approaches to knowledge management theory and practice

Details are provided in the sections on the following pages

You will be marked on:

• Description and justification of problem to be addressed
• Demonstrated understanding of KM principles in your identification of the problem and potential solution
• Application of KM approaches to the solution
• Use of appropriate literature to support your discussion
• Quality of research and referencing
• Structure, quality of writing and presentation of report

WHAT TO DO

As part of the first workshop this semester, you were asked to reflect upon an organisation of which you have been part of, either as an employee or as another participant, such as student or volunteer. Later on in Topic 7, you also undertook an evaluation of the organisation.

During your time with the organisation, you probably noticed that there were situations where knowledge wasn’t used effectively, wasn’t captured, or was even lost. This may have had a negative impact on the organisation, or it may have prevented it from reaching its potential in some area.

In this report you are to identify one of these situations and examine it in detail from a KM perspective. Suppose that management, knowing that you have done this unit, have asked you to bring your expertise to bear on the problem to propose a solution.

To do this you will need to

• Provide a background to the organisation, describing the issues that are relevant to the KM problem you are addressing.
• Describe the problem you are addressing. Remember that it can also be an opportunity that is being missed, or a directive from outside (such as a compliance issue). You will need to discuss the scope of the problem, its severity, urgency, and so on.
• Describe the benefits that a solution to the problem could provide (in other words, why it is worth doing something about it).
• Describe how you would go about addressing the problem. Here, you will describe and justify the appropriate approach you will take, and the specific steps. Discuss the need for any specialist expertise or technology. Discuss the difficulties or issues you might expect to encounter, and what you would do about them.
• Explain what expected outcome you anticipate from implementing your proposal.
• Refer to the KM literature where appropriate to support your discussion.