Interactive communications for Knowledge Management Assoc Prof. Russi Marinov,
Castells wrote in his book" Internet Galaxy " in 2001 that the introduction of computerbased information and communication technologies, and particularly the Internet, enables networks to deploy their flexibility and adaptability, thus asserting their evolutionary nature. At the same time, these technologies allow the coordination of tasks, and management of complexity. This results in an unprecedented desicion-making and decentralized execution, of individualized expression and global, horizontal communication, which provide a superior form for human action.
The development of interactive, communication networks in the 21 th century resulted in the restructuring of modern organizations and societies that are transformed into"knowledge society ". Digital technologies have transformed our lives in recent years. Digital literacy has grown exponentially and digital devices have proliferated personal computers, mobile phones, laptops, smart books, Ipad, and mobile wireless devices. Electronic platforms are constructed based on knowledge-oriented and more efficient extraction, absorption and use of this knowledge. Interactive communications as part of those patterns and trends pose a challenge to the experts who are looking pragmatic approaches for integrating them into the concepts of knowledge management. Application-level type of communications that are expressed in some of the following technologies: web 2.0, I2, interactive professional networking / , semantic networks,web 3.0, active worlds, open source platforms as wikis, create interactive maps showing areas of critical concentration of knowledge and use for the business goals achievement. Models for knowledge management, for the most part, are aimed at structuring the existing "explicit" and "tacit" knowledge in the institution,
promotion and effective use of innovation. In recent years, the methods of creation, organization and management of knowledge are changing. The causes for this global transformation of knowledge dynamics are multiple, varied and complex in nature. According to Marco Quaggiotto the technological changes brought by the digital revolution in the ’80s and by ICTs in the ’90s, have transformed channels, tools and methods for the creation, diffusion and management of knowledge. The democratization of publishing, the immediate distribution of knowledge, the emergence of alternative economies for intangible goods, the proliferation of free information and the transformation of the very concept of author, revolutionize the dynamics of knowledge. Knowledge thus assumes the structure of an heterogeneous space, consisting of physical and digital resources, both textual and human, in permanent evolution. Both in the case of new digital forms (websites, blogs, databases), and in traditional formats of knowledge (libraries, books, files), authors and users interact, albeit indirectly, in the management and creation of new knowledge: they classify, link, comment, amend, edit, supplement. The purpose of this presentation is to define the essence of interactive communications as a tool for active exchange of knowledge, trends, problems with their use in practice and analyze approaches for developing web-based platform for knowledge management. Knowledge-based communication can be defined by Epler [1], considered as an interactive activity for the transmission and construction of understanding, evaluations, experience or
skills through verbal and non-verbal means. This type is intended for communication transfer of "know-how", "knowwhy" / reason for the effect as a complex phenomenon /, "know-what" / test results / and "know-who" / experience with others / via a media-based interactivity. Such kind of communication can be either synchronous or asynchronous, i.e./that is to say/ in real time or delayed, and dialogue. Communication dialogue as part of the current models, interactive style means for the exchange of knowledge [2, 97115] / Isaacs, 1997, Nonaka, 2000 /. From this perspective, knowledge-oriented communication beyond the process of sharing information / facts, figures, events, situations, developments or emotions / fears, hopes, reserves /. http://www.u21global.edu.sg/vcobam/VCOBAM_handbook .pdf Traditionally, knowledge management (KM) has been viewed as a process that involves the capture and coding of knowledge from experts within the organization, and the subsequent dissemination of that knowledge for consumption by users. Although this view has served the discipline of KM well in the past, it appears that corporate interest in KM is in the decline, and that new perspectives of KM are required. This talk introduces the notion of knowledge outsourcing as one such new perspective. Taking ideas from the field of outsourcing, organizations acquire knowledge by sourcing from providers who are able to meet their knowledge needs. Knowledge outsourcing addresses the problem of finding suitable experts within the organization who are willing and able to share their knowledge. This talk presents some formative ideas around knowledge outsourcing based on casestudy fieldwork.
Interactive applications /http://web.cba.neu.edu/~mzack/articles/kmarch/kmarch.htm are focused primarily on supporting interaction among people holding tacit knowledge. In contrast to integrative applications, the repository is a by-product of interaction and collaboration rather than the primary focus of the application. Its content is dynamic and emergent. Interactive applications vary by the level of expertise between producers and consumers and the degree of structure imposed on their interaction. Where formal training or knowledge transfer is the objective, the interaction tends to be primarily between instructor and student, or expert and novice, and structured around a discrete problem, assignment or lesson plan. I refer to these applications as distributed learning. In contrast, interaction among those performing common practices or tasks tends to be more ad hoc or emergent. I broadly refer to these applications as forums. They may take the form of a knowledge brokerage - an electronic discussion space where people may either search for knowledge (e.g., "Does anyone know‌") or advertise their expertise. The most interactive forums support ongoing, collaborative discussions. The producers and consumers comprise the same group of people, continually responding to and building on each individual’s additions to the discussion. The flow continually loops back from presentation to acquisition. With the appropriate structuring and indexing of the content, a knowledge repository can emerge. A standard categorization scheme for indexing contributions provides the ability to reapply that knowledge across the enterprise. Interactive applications play a major role in supporting integrative applications. For example, a forum can be linked to
an electronic publishing application for editors to discuss the quality of the contributions, or to offer a place for readers to react to and discuss the publication. Best practice databases typically require some degree of forum interaction, so that those attempting to adopt a practice have an opportunity to discuss its reapplication with its creators. Regarding the organizational roles for managing interactive applications, acquisition requires recruiters and facilitators to encourage and manage participation in interactive forums so that those with the appropriate expertise are contributing. The refining, structuring, and indexing of the content often is done by the communicators themselves, using guidelines and categories built into the application, supplemented by a conference moderator. Assuring the quality of the knowledge may require quality assurance personnel such as subject matter experts and reputation brokers. Managing a conference repository over its lifecycle usually falls to a conference moderator. Others may be required to work with users to help them become comfortable and skilled with accessing and using the application. Knowledge architectures exist within four primary contexts that influence the impact knowledge management will have on the organization's performance. Strategic context. Strategic context addresses an organization’s intent and ability to exploit its knowledge and learning capabilities better than the competition. It includes the extent to which the members of an organization believe that superior knowledge provides a competitive advantage, and how they explicitly link strategy, knowledge and performance.
Knowledge context. Knowledge context addresses the competitiveness of an organization’s knowledge. Existing knowledge can be compared to what an organization must know to execute its strategy. Where there are current or future gaps, knowledge management efforts should be directed toward closing them, assuring a strategic focus. Organizations must also assess the quality of their knowledge relative to their competition to determine its strategic value. Explicating and leveraging that innovative knowledge can provide the greatest competitive benefit. Organizational context. Organizational context reflects the organization roles and structure, formal and informal, as well as the socio-cultural factors affecting knowledge management such as culture, power relations, norms, reward systems, and management philosophy. Beyond the knowledge management roles proposed earlier, effective knowledge creation, sharing, and leveraging requires an organizational climate and reward system that values and encourages cooperation, trust, learning, and innovation and provides incentives for engaging in those knowledge-based roles, activities and processes. Technology context. Technology context addresses the existing information technology infrastructure and capabilities supporting the knowledge management architecture. While the adage is that knowledge management is 10% technology and 90% people, without the ability to collect, index, store, and distribute explicit knowledge electronically and seamlessly to where needed when needed, the organizational capabilities and incentives will not be fully exploited.