Principles of Business Information Systems Chapter 4

Knowledge Management Systems

• A knowledge management system (KMS) is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to create, store, share, and use the organization's knowledge and experience
• Types of knowledge in a KMS:
  • Explicit knowledge: objective; can be measured and documented in reports, papers, and rules (e.g., knowing the best route from point A to B, can be documented in a report)
  • Tacit knowledge: hard to measure and document; typically, not objective or formalized (e.g., knowing how to negotiate a hostage situation, is difficult to describe in a set of rules)

Technology to Support Knowledge Management

• Effective KMS is based on learning new knowledge and changing procedures and approaches as a result
• Organizational learning and change are key aspects of a KMS
• Groupware can help capture, store, and use knowledge
• Hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, and the Internet are needed to support most KMS
• Examples of knowledge management products and services: IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino, Microsoft's Digital Dashboard, Web Store Technology, and Access Workflow Designer

Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial intelligence (AI): ability of computers to mimic or duplicate functions of the human brain
• AI applications:
  • Medical diagnoses
  • Exploration for natural resources
  • Determining what is wrong with mechanical devices
  • Assisting in designing and developing other computer systems
• Characteristics of intelligent behavior:
  • Learn from experiences and apply knowledge acquired from experience
  • Handle complex situations
  • Solve problems when important information is missing
  • Determine what is important
  • React quickly and correctly to new situations
  • Understand visual images
  • Process and manipulate symbols
  • Be creative and imaginative
  • Use heuristics

Major Branches in AI

• Expert systems: hardware and software that stores knowledge and makes inferences similar to a human expert
• Robotics: mechanical or computer devices that perform tasks requiring a high degree of precision or that are tedious or hazardous for humans
• Vision systems: computer system that permits computers to capture, store, and manipulate visual images and pictures
• Natural language processing and voice recognition: computer system that understands and reacts to statements and commands made in a "natural" language
• Learning systems: computer system that allows computer to change how it functions or reacts to situations based on feedback it receives
• Neural networks: computer system that simulates the functioning of a human brain

Expert Systems

• Expert systems: computer system that stores knowledge and makes inferences similar to a human expert
• Used in many business applications
• Behave similarly to a human expert in a particular field
• Use heuristics to arrive at conclusions or make suggestions
• Explore new business possibilities, increase overall profitability, reduce costs, and provide superior service to customers and clients

Virtual Reality

• Virtual reality system: enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment
• Immersive virtual reality: user becomes fully immersed in an artificial, three-dimensional world that is completely generated by a computer
• Interface devices:
  • Head-mounted display (HMD)
  • CAVE (projects stereo images on walls and floor of a room-sized cube)
  • Earphones
  • Haptic interface (relays sense of touch and other sensations in a virtual world)

Summary

• Knowledge management system (KMS): organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to create, store, share, and use the organization's knowledge and experience

• Artificial intelligence (AI): ability of computers to mimic or duplicate functions of the human brain

• Expert systems: computer system that stores knowledge and makes inferences similar to a human expert

• Robotics: mechanical or computer devices that perform tasks requiring a high degree of precision or that are tedious or hazardous for humans

• Virtual reality system: enables users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment### Knowledge Creation

• Knowledge can be created in four ways:

  • Through direct learning from another individual, creating tacit knowledge from tacit knowledge
  • By combining two pieces of explicit knowledge, such as creating a website mash-up
  • When an expert writes a book, creating explicit knowledge from tacit knowledge
  • When someone reads a book and becomes an expert, creating tacit knowledge from explicit knowledge

Obtaining, Storing, Sharing, and Using Knowledge

• Knowledge workers create, use, and disseminate knowledge, often in teams
  • Examples of knowledge workers include metrologists, who create mathematical models to predict hurricane intensities, and medical researchers, who create knowledge on cures for diseases

Storing Knowledge

• Created knowledge is often stored in a knowledge repository, which includes:
  • Documents
  • Reports
  • Files
  • Databases

Sharing Knowledge

• Knowledge workers use collaborative work software and group support systems to share knowledge
• Nontechnical approaches to sharing knowledge are also used in group settings