The Rise Of The Enlightenment - 1577 Words

In the midst of darkness, the people of France saw a beacon of hope when the Enlightenment gave them a glimpse of how great their life could be. The Enlightenment was a collection of ideas from various philosophers in Europe to question old views of society and use reason to create a better society. The enlightenment ideas focused on the people and their needs, prompting for governments to protect people’s basic rights to liberty, life, and equality. France, at the time, was suffering under the weak leadership of King Louis XVI, which created turmoil in all of France. In addition, there was bad blood between the three estates due to the fact that the top two estates held the most power despite only making up three percent of the population. Fed up with the monarchy and the disparity between the different estates, the people of France joined together in a revolution to create a better country that fulfilled their needs and demands. To achieve success, the people of France neede d to stay true to their cause throughout the revolution and not infringe the basic rights of others. The French Revolution hoped to change the political and social status of France through enlightened ideas but failed to do so in every aspect. The French Revolution was influenced by John Locke’s enlightened idea of creating a society where the decisions are made by the people and not one authoritative leader, however they failed in achieving that goal. When the three Estates joined together to form theShow MoreRelatedRise of Nazism and Enlightenment Thought2086 Words   |  9 PagesHIST215 – Later Modern Europe,1789-1939 Assessment Task One Research Essay The rise and subsequent take-over of power in Germany by Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early 1930s was the culmination and continuation not of Enlightenment thought from the 18th and 19th century but the logical conclusion of unstable and cultural conditions that pre-existed in Germany. Hitler’s Nazi Party’s clear manipulation of the weak state of the Weimar Republic through its continued failure economically and sociallyRead Morefactors that contributed to the rise and development of sociology1511 Words   |  7 PagesThis essay serves to outline the factors that contributed to the rise of sociology and the latter`s development. In simply terms, sociology is the scientific study of the society and human behavior. The emergence of sociology traces back to the eighteenth century up to present day. Johnson (1998) suggests that in summary, the rise and development of sociology is based on political, economic, demographic, social and scientific changes. Ritzer (2008) asserts that the immediate cause for the beginningRead MoreThe Theory Of Human Rights1582 Words   |  7 PagesWhile the concept of human rights was not first developed during the Enlightenment period it made great advances during this time due to the change in thinking that took place. According to Kocchar online, â€Å"The thinkers of the Enlightenment believed that human reason could discover the natural laws of the universe, determine the natural rights of humankind, and thereby achieve continuous progress in human knowledge, technology, and society.† (Lesson I) This description of the change in thought isRead MoreMontetesquieu And Voltaire And The Enlightenment844 Words   |  4 Pagesthe continent throughout the eighteenth century. This development of new thinking was known as the Enlightenment. Philosophers of the time, commonly known as philosophes, sought to bring new information and ideas to the people of Europe and the world. Ultimately, these ideas pertained to all parts of society, including the government, economic policies, and religion. The continuation of Enlightenment attitudes reinforced faith in the ideas of change and progress through entertaining completely newRead MoreThe Enlightenment And The Enlightenment During The Scientific Revolution1686 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"Have the courage to use your own intelligence! Is therefore the motto of the Enlightenment,† (Kant). The Enlightenment consisted of the ideas of nature, reason, progress, and optimism. Sir Isaac Newton, a scientist during the Scientific Revolution, greatly influenced the Enlightenment due to his stance on natural law. The idea of a social contract, where the power to govern came from the consent of the governed, was a major force during this time period. Adam Smith, a physiocrat from Great BritainRead More Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment Essay1272 Words   |  6 PagesNeoclassicism and the Enlightenment The Enlightenment was a time of great innovation and evolution. One of the most significant movements which owes at least the majority of its beginnings to the Enlightenment is the architectural and artistic movement of Neoclassicism. This Neoclassicism of the mid eighteenth to mid nineteenth centuries is one that valued ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan artistic ideals. These ideals, including order, symmetry, and balance, were considered by manyRead MoreRadicalism and Revolutions Essay1112 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout history, revolutions have started because of new ideas that change thinking and disrupt what has come to be considered normal. During 1700s, the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions were no exception. The Enlightenment ideas that were spreading around this time lead people of these three nations to question their ruling elites, and to begin considering breaking free. Of these three, though, no one revolt can be seen as more radical when compared to the other two. Each was faced withRead MoreEnlightenment Was A Period Of Intellectual And Social Growth Around The Atlantic World1163 Words   |  5 PagesEnlightenment Essay Outline The Enlightenment was a period of intellectual and social growth around the Atlantic world, in places like Europe, Africa, and North and South America from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. The way people viewed their world changed. They no longer thought just for themselves, but how they could make things better. During the Enlightenment, people started to believe that men were equal and free people. People were beginning to believe that all actions should tryRead MoreThe Significance Of The Enlightenment And Modern Judaism1420 Words   |  6 PagesQns 2. Explain and critically evaluate the significance of the Enlightenment to the development of modern Judaism. The Enlightenment and Modern Judaism Sapere aude! The Rise of the Enlightened man. The Enlightenment also known as the Haskalah movement began in the 18th century. In his 1784 essay entitled: â€Å"Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?†, Immanuel Kant (1959) described the Enlightenment as ‘‘man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man’s inability to make useRead MoreFranklin: Puritan or Enlightenment? Essay868 Words   |  4 PagesIs Franklin a Puritan or Enlightenment Thinker About Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin came from a very simple Calvinist background. Ha dad little formal education, but he made it through his own efforts and became a rare genius in human history. Everything seems to meet in this one man, mind and will, talent and art, strength and ease, wit and grace and he became almost everything: a printer, essayist, scientist, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador, etc.-#161;#176;Jack

Importance of Moral Science Free Essays

In today’s rat race values are eroding fast. There is a total decadence in social and moral values. Children go to schools daily thinking how to scale heights they will reach. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Moral Science or any similar topic only for you Order Now How rich education can make them. In today’s cut throat competition even the parents instruct their wards that they should top in the class. The parents want their money back for the investments in schools. The criteria for promotion in schools are marks in sciences and social sciences, but not moral science. But childhood is a very impressionable age. The mind is like soft wax, so whatever one is taught at a tender age it leaves a deep impression. Therefore Moral science must be made a compulsory in school curriculum. Isn’t it? It is also a science of human soul; it’s a mirror of one’s inward mind, one’s ethics. Moral science inculcates values in mankind and value education is very vital from childhood. Coming to Values It means estimating any person any object any animal. How many of us do so? In affluent families if children lose their belongings like a small pencil box or a lunch box they are quickly replaced by their parents. The parents think their little darlings will feel inconvenient without those things. My advice to those parents are let your little feel uncomfortable without their lunch or pencil box , then only they will learn And I promise you, next time they would be careful not to misplace them or even prize them no matter what those cost. Moral science helps every child to learn values. If diamonds were found in plentiful like pebbles on sea shore would we have cared to pick them? School is our ALMA MATER, which means My Mother. Just as a mother instructs her toddlers hoe to value family, schools should preach the pupils HONESTI IS THE BEST POLICY, CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. Through moral science classes, Children spend so much of their precious time in schools. So schools shoulder the responsibility of imparting moral values to them. Temptations lure us just like the FORBIDDEN FRUIT had seduced Adam. As a result Garden of Eden was confiscated from Adam by God. Our life is also a paradise on Earth. Moral science can channelize us through spiritual crisis â€Å" His goodness shall follow mw always to the end of my days† Moral science protects us from the corrosive influences, else every one of us would someday turn into Dr Faustus. To make the children self-reliant, confident and responsible citizens we have to give them value-based education, which only moral science can do. After all â€Å"Today’s child is tomorrow’s citizen†. Moral science is not a religion-based subject. Rather it eliminates fanaticism, superstition and violence. It preaches LOVE ALL SERVE ALL. This value is lacking in today’s generation. It helps a child to pay heed to his conscience. Not to be led away by worldly show. Theoretical knowledge is not enough. Teachers should make their life exemplary to their students. The lives of great patriots or spiritual leaders must be brought to the forefront Only Moral science can stem the tide of rapid value erosion and motivate the students towards a healthier life. A child is then trained emotionally, mentally, and physically how to be a responsible citizen or a good son or a daughter. They can resist wrong peer pressure intolerance and through right conduct lead forward their nation Who knows among these pupils are tomorrow’s leaders or even a spiritual Guru. With the help of schools , the pressure on the parents is also reduced. Thus to all the schools of the modern days it’s my hearty advice that before preparing a new syllabus for the new term please make Moral science as part of the curriculum. Let the light of spirituality shine through the eyes of the little ones. How to cite Importance of Moral Science, Essay examples

Business Law Marketing Act Free Samplesâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Questions: Bob Beech is a scallop fisherman and involved in commercial scallop fishing in the coastalwater of Jervis Bay in New South Wales. The stock of scallops in this water is limited andsubject to protective legislation to ensure regeneration. Hence, the Scallop Fishing andMarketing Act provides for a quota system. Under the quota system, a person must applyfor a quota which will permit him or her to catch 50 tonnes of scallops in a calendar year.Further, the Scallop Marketing Authority will purchase any scallops up to the quota limit foreach person.The Act also provides for a number of offences. It provides that it is an offence to sellscallops caught in New South Wales waters to any person other than the Scallop MarketingAuthority and it further provides that it is an offence to catch more than the quota limit.Each offence carries a fine of up to $100,000.Bob has the physical capacity to catch more than 50 tonnes of scallops in a year and wishes to make more money from his business. His daughter Alice tells him that by incorporating acompany he could double his catch.Is she correct?2. New Nirvana Ltd is a company controlled by the members of the hard rock band, N/N. Anumber of wholly owned subsidiaries of New Nirvana Ltd are involved in setting up andrunning the bands concerts. One of the subsidiary companies, Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty Ltd,is responsible for setting up the sound equipment at N/N concerts in Australia. At a recentN/N concert in Sydney, Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty Ltd negligently set the sound levels too 2high with the result that five audience members suffered permanent hearing loss. Unfortunately for those audience members, Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty Ltd had no negligenceinsurance and cannot pay the likely damages claims.Advise the injured audience members whether they can make New Nirvana Ltd liable for Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty Ltds negligence.3. Simon, Michael and Don set up a project management company called Millennium Pty Ltd. Don is a solicitor and the constitution of Millennium Pty Ltd nominates that Don will be thesolicitor for any land purchases or sales made by the company. The articles also provide thatany disputes which arise between the company and its members should be first referred toan arbitrator before there are any court proceedings.After a number of years, Simon and Michael meet another solicitor who they think is moreefficient than Don and they appoint him as solicitor for Millennium Pty Ltd.Don brings legal action against Millennium Pty Ltd over the matter.Advise the company as to their legal position Answers: 1. Alice, daughter of Bob, is aware of the potentiality of his father and suggests that if incorporates a firm he makes more profit. She also described that Bob can catch scallops enough that can double the unit of scallops, usually a single fisherman caught in a year. However, as per the Scallop Fishing and Marketing Act, each fisherman can catch 50 tons of scallops in a year. That is why Alice mentioned the fact that incorporation of his father in a company must be viewed as a different entity of the law and he should be given the privilege of catching more scallops so that he can earn more money. Consideration is required to sort out the above-mentioned issue; revision of the doctrine that allows the application of separate entity is important to avoid any confusion and complication. As per the court statement of Salomon v Salomon, it can be considered as the separate entity if one duly registered corporation has different members from the founder members. Usually, this kind of corporate veil is an internal matter of the company and its members. On the contrary, Latimer (2016), mentioned that legal authorities are required to lift up the curtains from the corporate internal matters to disclose the actual scenario and truth of different corporations. This step is also important to impose the liability on the employees. The actual reason behind this statement is to clear the fact that courts can put effort to make it certain that no company is violating the laws taking the advantage of corporate veil. Due to this power of the court, it can reveal the truth of any corporation that is misusing the corporate veil has been conducted by the founders. Hence, it is clear that court can dismiss the opinion of the separate legitimate identity like the one provided in case of Salomon. Corporation law states that it is usually believed that, a separate legal entity is formed at the time of registration of any corporation. However, the court can disregard this in the concern of revealing the liability of the members responsible for the corporate veil. The court can also reconsider the concept of separate legal subsistence in this case and can discharge this advantage as the court has that power. As mentioned by, Graw (2011), these incidents can be termed as the piercing of the corporate veil. Availing the facility of the distinct legal attributes for a corporation can be restricted by the application of this action and actual nature of the company activities are disclosed by the court. After taking the decision of impaling the corporate veil, court gets the authority to look into the structure so that they can understand the liabilities of the member who has formed the corporation and enjoying the advantage of corporate veil; even court has the ultimate power of imp osition of accountability for the members of an organization when the doctrine of separate legal entities are not restricted such steps (Lipton P, Herzberg A and Welsh, 2016) Bob Beech is capable of catching more scallops than normal rate, allowed for a fisherman to catch the scallops. Scallop Fishing and Marketing Act does not allow catching scallops more than 50 ton per year for a single fisherman; hence, Bob is looking for strategies that can help him to escape the legal provisions and earning more money. In this regard, Bob's daughter Alice has suggested his father incorporate a firm of his own; so that he is allowed to catch more scallops than the allocated quota. As per her understanding, law allows possessing distinct legal attributes for any company; thus, there will be no legal breaching if Bob catches 50 tons of scallops from his personal quota and another 50 ton as per the company quota. Alice has overlooked the concept of piercing the corporate veil. Bob wants to incorporate his own company so that he can avoid the statements of the act of Scallop Fishing and Marketing. However, liabilities can be put by the court on Bob if it considers going through the organizational structure and decides to lift the corporate veil. After revising the situation, it can be concluded that Alice has given improper advice to his father that can result in a serious legal complication. 2. This question represents an issue on whether the parent company New Nirvana Ltd. Should be held liable for the activities of its subsidiary company, Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty. Ltd.; that has been accused of the negligence. Nuclear Blast Sounds provides the service of the sound system for the rock N/N in concerts. In this case, the sound was set in such a high decibel that it affected hearing ability of some audience permanently. The main concern here is whether the audience can claim money from the parent company New Nirvana, over the issue of negligence by the company or not, as they have come to know that Nuclear Blast Sounds Pty Ltd. does not have any insurance facility for negligence; moreover, they do not possess financial security enough to compensated the affected audience. As per the corporation law, usually it is applied in incidents like this one, parent companies cannot be stated liable for any offensive acts of its subsidiary company. Hence, it is clear that audience cannot claim money from the New Nirvana over the negligence issue of Nuclear Blast Sounds. However, there is also exception present in this rule in case of certain incidents. This exception can occur when the court decides to pierce the corporate veil for a particular company. On this note, parent companies can also be declared liable for the activities of their subsidiary companies. According to, Vermeesch and Lindgren (2011), a plaintiff is required for the establishment of fact that the corporation has disregarded the corporate entity intentionally so that it can avoid the duties, bounded to be done to the plaintiff. As per the law statement, the court is allowed to identify group companies as partners during the unveiling of a corporate entity. An instance on this scenario can be presented by reflecting the case of DHN Ltd. v Tower Hamlet. DHN is the parent company that has two subsidiary company. Both the subsidiaries are fully owned by DHN. DHN used to use the land and cars, owned by its subsidiary companies, for the business purpose. The problem raised when there was an issue regarding the purchasing of the land. DHN claimed compensation as the business was affected by this compulsory purchase. Considering the case, court stated that DHN and its two subsidiaries should be considered as the partners. They are not supposed to be identified as distinct corporate entities. This statement entitled DHN as eligible for the compensation. Hence, it is clear that court dismissed the concept of separate corporate body in this particular case. However, it is required to make clear that this kind of excep tion are allowed when the subsidiaries are entirely controlled by the parent company and own share in the properties of the parent company. Regarding the question here, it can be concluded that court can lift the corporate veil resulting New Nirvana liable for the incident and make it pay the compensation on behalf of its subsidiary. 3. The issue in this question can be revised allowing the Corporation Act, 2001, section 140. Section 140(1) declares that organizations can consider their constitution while there is complication regarding any contract that in turn involves agreement between a company and its member of the company (s140(1)(a); between the directors of the company, company and secretary of the corporation, (s140(1)(b): and finally, a member of a company and other members, (s140(1)(c). Thus, a statutory body is formed with the help of positioning the rules and constitution of a company. This statutory contract is valid for the organization and its employees including te senior authorities and directors. In case of Hickman v Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep-breeders Association [1915] 1 Ch D 881, the court stated that the constitutional provision can be enforced by the company against its member. However, in case of Eley v positive life insurance Co (1875) 1 EX D 20, the court announce that members of the company are not allowed to enforce any provision of the constitution. This has appeared as conferring the rights of the members to some other capacity than the capacity as the employees of the corporation. It has to be mentioned that replaceable rules and constitutional contract are only valid regarding this kind of situation as mentioned above. There is provision of no law under the general law that gives the right to any person with another capacity. To understand the situation better the case of Eley v Positive Life Insurance can be reviewed. In this case, the company hired Mr. Eley as the solicitor of the company. Later Eley also got the position of a member in the corporation. the appointment details were clearly stated in the company article, including the fact that he will be the solicitor of the company for the lifetime. However, Eley was tried to deposition from by the company that resulted in starting of legal action against the company. Eley claimed that the company has breached the contract. The court stated that Eley was not conferred any rights from the aspect of any otter capacity except the capacity of a member of the firm; hence, the legal action, taken by Eley, could not succeed as court announced that no breaching of the contract has been committed by the company. Regarding the role of common law, the case of Hickman v Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep-breeders Association [1915] 1 Ch D 881can also be revised where the company article declared to take help of an arbitrator before proceeding any legal action if any dispute occurs between the company and its members. Hickman ignored the article stamen and directly went for the court proceedings before referring the dispute to an arbitrator. This step taken by Hickman had given the company advantage of posing stay order from the court in his legal action. This situation can also occur in the case mentioned in the question. It might not be possible for Don to sue Millennium Pty Ltd. on the ground of breaching company articles by removing him from the position of solicitor of the company. Millennium Pty. Ltd. can hold stay order on the legal proceedings, initiated by Don as he has directly gone with legal action before referring to an arbitrator. Reference List: Graw, S. 2011, An Introduction to the Law of Contract, 7th Ed., Thomson Reuters Latimer, P, 2016, Australian Business Law CC, 2016 Edition Lipton P, Herzberg A and Welsh, M, 2016, Understanding Company Law, 18th edition, Thomson Reuters Vermeesch, R B, Lindgren, K E, 2011, Business Law of Australia Butterworths, 12th Edition Case Law Adams v Cape Industries plc [1990] Ch 433 DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council [1976] 1 WLR 852 Eley v Positive Life Assurance Co Ltd [1876] 1 Ex D 88 Hickman v Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep-breeders Association [1915] 1 Ch D 881 Salomon v Salomon Co [1897] AC 22

Organizational Knowledge Essay Example

Organizational Knowledge Essay We live in an information economy in which the major source of wealth and prosperity is the production and distribution of information and knowledge. An era in which the key economic resource is knowledge is startlingly different from an era in which the key resources were capital, raw materials, land and labor. Emerging service economy trend lead many organizations towards the information base strategies to face and fight with the current business competitions. In that case knowledge plays a major role in every organization. In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of lasting competitive advantage is knowledge. (Harvard Business Review) Therefore an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs. The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization. In this case, Knowledge can be recognized as an important weapon for sustaining competitive advantage in organizations and many companies are beginning to manage organizational knowledge. Any organization that dynamically deals with a changing environment ought not only to process information efficiently but also create information and knowledge. (Lee Choi, 2003) 3 Organizational Knowledge It is often said that an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization than can be quantified with respect to how that knowledge is applied each day to save time, reduce costs, and advance the organization? s initiatives. How can an organization capitalize on individual knowledge? How do individuals contribute to subunits or groups within the organization to build and perpetuate group knowledge? How does individual and group knowledge become organizational knowledge that can be captured, reused, and applied to achieve measurable positive effects for the organization? When might extraorganizational knowledge be used to further increase or enhance the capabilities of an organization? In line with the topic; Organizational knowledge, we have to explores these questions, first by defining each knowledge type, then by examining how knowledge moves through an organization and becomes valuable organizational intellectual capital. Defining Knowledge Knowledge is a cognitive, a spiritual, event that take place inside people? s heads. There are two primary definitions of the knowledge as the Tacit Knowledge and the Explicit Knowledge. In simply knowledge residing in the minds of employees that has not been documented is called tacit knowledge, whereas knowledge that has been documented is called explicit knowledge. Tacit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge can be defined as knowledge that has not yet been codified from the outside the individual? s mind. On another words, knowledge that comes from experience and is difficult or impossible to communicate. It is intangible and consists of knowledge which is difficult to express and to communicate to other people. Also it is more difficult to transmit than codified knowledge and hard to formalize due to belonged personal qualities. Examples for tacit knowledge are; Awareness Mental models Wisdom Skills Expertise Corporate memory 4 Explicit Knowledge Explicit knowledge, in contrast, is the knowledge that can be codified and is transmittable in formal systematic language. (Nonaka 1994) It consists of knowledge which can be expressed in symbols, and which can be communicated through these symbols to other people. Knowledge can reside in e-mail, unstructured documents, hand books, manuals can be listed under this category. Examples for explicit knowledge are; Databases, statistics, collections Books, publications, reports, documents, correspondence Photographs, diagrams, illustrations Computer code, expert systems, decision support systems Presentations, speeches, lectures Recorded experiences, stories Materials for education, teaching and training Laws, regulations, procedures, rules, policies Individual Knowledge Individual knowledge can be defined simply as knowledge possessed by the individual. This knowledge is most often tacit unless the individual possesses explicit knowledge that is not shared with anyone or any organization other than the individual. A private journal or private blog might be considered explicit individual knowledge. Individual knowledge can be acquired through experiences, and at times it can be acquired without language. When an individual is acquiring knowledge from observing another person? s actions, and once the individual applies his or her own experiences and background to what is learned it becomes individual knowledge. The creation of new „individual? knowledge derived from observation, imitation and practice is called socialization, or tacit to tacit knowledge sharing. Individual knowledge can certainly develop from explicit knowledge. What a person reads, for example, can contribute to new thoughts and ideas in the mind of the individual. This method of knowledge creation is referred to as internalization – turning explicit knowledge into 5 tacit knowledge. By reading or acquiring explicit knowledge, independent thought and analysis can develop into new, individual knowledge. An individual can make a greater contribution to the knowledge sharing and creation process by allowing their knowledge to be internalized by others or socializing their knowledge with others, which leads to the creation of group knowledge. Group Knowledge Group knowledge might be defined as individual knowledge that multiple individuals rely upon as truth, share and understand. Group knowledge is â€Å"broadcast information† (Correa da Silva Cullell, 56), but is not necessarily information shared „publicly? (i. e. â€Å"common knowledge†). Group knowledge can be generated and disseminated through socialization and often results in the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, or externalization. When groups come together and exchange ideas, â€Å"individual knowledge is synthesized to arrive at group knowledge, which eventually becomes routing at the organizational level. Thus, the transformation of individual knowledge into organizational routines leads to complex and embodied organizational knowledge. When group knowledge from several subunits or groups is combined and used to create new knowledge, the resulting tacit and explicit knowledge can be called organizational knowledge. 6 Important Dimensions of Knowledge Knowledge is a firm asset Knowledge is an intangible asset. Knowledge is not subject to the law of diminishing returns as physical assets, but its value increases as more people share it. Knowledge has different forms Knowledge can be either tacit or explicit (codified) Knowledge involves know-how, craft and skill Knowledge involves knowing how to follow procedures Knowledge has a location Knowledge is a cognitive event involving mental models and maps of individuals There is both a social and an individual basis of knowledge Knowledge is sticky, situated, and contextual Knowledge is situational Knowledge is conditional: Knowing when to apply a procedure is just as important as knowing the procedure Knowledge is related to context SOURCE: Laudon and Laudon, 2008. Management Information Systems Knowledge Creation New knowledge always begins with the individual. Making personal knowledge available to others is the central activity of the knowledge creating company. It takes place continuously and at all levels of the organization. Organizational knowledge creation may be explicated by the interchange between tacit and explicit knowledge. According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), â€Å"tacit knowledge is highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate or to share with others. Subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches fall into this category of knowledge†. On the other 7 hand, explicit knowledge is more easily transmitted as it is characteristically codified. As such, explicit knowledge is more easily processed and shared with others. According to the theory, the process of knowledge conversion proceeds through four different modes: 1. Socialization (the conversion of tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge) 2. Combination (the conversion of explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge) 3. Externalization (the conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge) and 4. Internalization (the conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge) Socialization During the socialization mode, tacit knowledge is transferred through interactions between individuals, which may also be accomplished in the absence of language; individuals may learn and gain a sense of competence by observing behavior modeled by others. For example, mentoring and apprenticeships instruct tacitly through observation, imitation, and practice. Combination The combination mode of knowledge conversion embodies the aggregation of multiple examples of explicit knowledge (Nonaka, 1994). Explicit knowledge may be exchanged during meetings or conferences in which a diversity of knowledge sources combines to shape a new and enhanced conception. Externalization The externalization mode of the knowledge conversion spiral references the translation of tacit knowledge into explicit. Metaphors are recommended as a way to facilitate this translation (Nonaka, 1994). Metaphors assist individuals in explaining concealed (i. e. , tacit) concepts that are otherwise difficult to articulate by assisting individuals in forming impressions based on â€Å"imagination and intuitive learning through symbols†. Internalization The conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge, i. e. , the internalization mode occurs through a series of iterations in which concepts become concrete and ultimately absorbed as an integral 8 belief or value. Where externalization utilizes metaphors to facilitate knowledge conversion, internalization represents an active process of learning. Nonaka (1994) describes this as â€Å"participants†¦.. sharing explicit knowledge that is gradually translated, through interaction and a process of trial-and-error, into different aspects of tacit knowledge. It is found most commonly at highly successful Japanese companies such as Honda, Canon, Matushita and Sharp are in focusing to the knowledge creation. Managers in these companies recognize that creating new knowledge is not simply a matter of mechanistically â€Å"Processing† objective information. The knowledge creation process The mutual exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge that describes the knowledge creation process is initiated at the level of the individual employee or organizational member. Because individuals are an integral component of this conversion process, their commitment to knowledge creation is critical. According to Nonaka (1994), knowledge creation may be activated when organizational members have freedom and sufficient purpose to pursue new knowledge. A continuous process of questioning and reconsidering existing premises by individual members of the organization fosters organizational knowledge creation† (Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge Management For hundreds of years, owners of family businesses have passed their commercial wisdom on to their children, master artificer have taught their trades to followers, and workers have exchanged their knowledge on the job. Therefore knowledge management is nothing new, but until the 1990s that managers were not talking about knowledge management. (Harvard Business Review) When the industrialized economies have shifted from natural resources to intellectual assets, managers have been constrained to censor the knowledge underlying their businesses and how that knowledge is used. At that same time rice of technological devices using; mainly computers has made it possible to codify, store, and share certain kind of knowledge more easily than ever. In current business environment, Knowledge management has become an important theme at many large business firms as managers realize that much of their firm? s value depends on firm? s ability to create and manage knowledge. (Laudon Laudon). Studies have found that a substantial part of a firm? s stock market value is related to its intangible assets, of which knowledge is one important component, along with brands, reputations, and unique business processes (Gu and Lev, 2001). Well executed knowledge-based projects have been known to produce extra ordinary returns on investment, although knowledge-based investments are difficult to measure (Blair and Wallman, 2001). Knowledge Management is the process of leveraging organizational knowledge to deliver longterm advantage to a business. This, in turn, requires technology to capture, codify, store, disseminate and reuse the knowledge. Any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth. This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition. The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs. In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy. The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Value Chain Knowledge management increases the ability of the organization to learn from its environment and to incorporate knowledge into its business processes. Knowledge value is very difficult to measure and it is extracted when knowledge is used. Knowledge sharing increases the value of knowledge with abundance. Knowledge management value chain is a sequence of intellectual tasks by which knowledge workers build their employer? s unique competitive advantage and social and environmental benefits. There are four main value adding steps in the knowledge 10 management value chain; each stage adds value to raw data and information as they are transformed into usable knowledge. Acquisition Storage Dissemination Application Figure 02: Knowledge Management value chain Knowledge acquisition Organizations acquire knowledge in a number of ways, depending on the type of knowledge they seek. In a way, organizations acquire knowledge by developing online expert networks so that employees can â€Å"find the expert† in the company who has the knowledge in his or her head. Other than that firms have to create new knowledge by discovering patterns in corporate data or by using knowledge work stations where engineers can discover new knowledge. A coherent and organized knowledge system also requires systematic data from the firm? transaction processing systems (sales, payments, inventory, customers etc. ), news feeds, industry reports, legal opinions, scientific research and government statistics as well. Knowledge storage Knowledge storage generally involves the creation of a database. Expert systems also help corporations preserve the knowledge that is acquired by incorporating that knowledge into organiza tional process and culture. Management must support the development of planned knowledge storage systems to update and store documents properly. 11 Knowledge Dissemination Portal, e-mail, instant messaging and search engine technology have added to the existing technologies for sharing documents, data and graphics. Training programmes, informal networks and shared management experience communicated through a supportive culture help managers focus their attention on the important knowledge and information which is really important for their decisions and their work. Knowledge Application Knowledge that is not shared and applied to the practical problems facing firms and managers does not add business value. To provide a return on investment, organizational knowledge must become a systematic part of management decision making and become situated in decision support systems. An organizations can do this is to build online information databases that employees can access which works as an online knowledge bank. Other than this some knowledge management experts have suggest that organizations create â€Å"communities of practice†, which are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis. Out of the four steps in knowledge management value chain, knowledge sharing is considered to be the most important one, and it is said â€Å"Knowledge sharing is the power† instead of â€Å"Knowledge is the Power†. In order to do this an organization must have a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing. In line with that perfect human resource management is a prior functional area in an organization. Top management provides employees with a sense of direction by setting the standards for justifying the value of knowledge that is constantly being developed by the organization? members. Deciding which efforts to support and develop is a strategic task. (Harvard business review on Knowledge management, 2008) 12 Knowledge Applications in the Technological Aspect Business Problems ? ? ? Monitor service levels and costs Develop document access rules Management ? Document intensive business Fragmented information in legacy s ystems and manual processes ? ? ? Coordinate Documents and maintenance data Develop Document Access procedures Revise repair and maintenance procedures Organization Information systems Business solution ? ? Reduce time Reduse cost ? ? ? ? Implement oracle database Deploy laptops Technology Immediately access Equipment maintenance information Figure 03: Use of Technology in Knowledge Management Process The diagram shows how organizations can use technology in solving business problems and how an organization can reduce the time consumption and the cost by using information systems. These information systems would include transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, expert systems and intelligent systems etc. Knowledge Management Strategies There are mainly two types of knowledge management strategies. In some companies, the strategy centered on the computer. In that c knowledge is carefully codified and stored in databases, where it can be easily accessed and used by anyone in the company. This is called Codification Strategy. 13 Codification Strategy Codification strategy implies the theme; â€Å"people to documents†, pointing to develop an electronic document system that codifies, stores, disseminates, and allows reuse of knowledge. The companies that follow codification strategy rely on the† economics of reuse†. Once an organization invests in knowledge asset; they can reuse it many times. The reuse of knowledge saves work, reduces communication costs and allows a company to take on more projects. And the strategy focuses on generating large overall revenues. And also the organizations always think in the point of human resource management to hire new graduates who are suited to reuse knowledge and the implementation of solutions, to train people in groups and through computer based learning, to reward people for using and contributing to document databases. Earnest Young is an organization which uses this strategy as their knowledge management strategy. In other companies, knowledge is closely bounded to the person who developed it and is shared mainly through direct person to person contacts. In those companies main purpose of the computers is to help people to communicate knowledge, not to store it. This is called Personalization Strategy. Personalization Strategy And this strategy implies that â€Å"person to person† fact which points to develop networks for linking people so that tacit knowledge can be shared. In contrast to the codification strategy, the personalization strategy relies on the logic of â€Å"expert economics†. It focuses on maintaining high profit margins. But on the other hand the process of sharing deep knowledge is time consuming, expensive and slow. It can? t be made much efficient. The companies that applied this strategy as their knowledge management strategy; wish to hire people who like problem solving and can tolerate ambiguity and to reward people for directly sharing knowledge with others. Choosing the knowledge management strategy is not an arbitrary thing, it depends on the economics of the company, the way it serves its clients and the people it hires. Experts believe that the choice between codification and personalization is the central one facing virtually all 14 companies in the era of knowledge management. However an organization? s strategy for knowledge management reflects its competitive strategy; it creates value for customers; how that value support for customers; how that value supports an economic model and how the company? s people deliver on the value, because it is the leading fact and the base of all other functional areas in the organization for gaining the competitive advantage in the dynamic economy. Types of Knowledge Management systems in an Organization There are essentially three major types of knowledge management systems namely; enterprisewide knowledge management systems, knowledge work systems and intelligent techniques. Figure 3 shows the knowledge management system applications for each of these major categories. Enterprise-Wide Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Work Systems Intelligent Techniques Structured knowledge systems Semi structured knowledge systems Knowledge network systems Computer aided design (CAD) Data mining 3 D Visualization Virtual reality -Neural networks Expert systems Intelligent Agents 1. Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems are general purpose firm wide efforts to collect, store, distribute and apply digital content and knowledge. They provide databases and tools for organizing and storing structured and unstructured documents and other knowledge objects for locating employees with expertise in a particular area including web based tools for collaboration and communication. Structu red knowledge systems: These systems perform the function of implementing the tagging, interface with corporate databases where the documents are stored and 15 reating an enterprise portal environment for employees to use when searching for corporate knowledge. Semi structured knowledge systems: These systems track, store and organize semi structured documents (folders, messages, proposals, e mails, slide presentations etc) Knowledge network systems: Knowledge network system addresses the problem that arises when the appropriate knowledge is tacit knowledge residing in the memory of expert individuals in the firm. Because such knowledge cannot be conveniently found, employees expend significant resources rediscovering knowledge. Knowledge network systems provide an online directory of corporate experts in well-defined knowledge domains and use communication technologies to make it easy for employees to find the appropriate expert in a company. 02. Knowledge work systems (KWS) are specialized systems built for professionals and other knowledge workers charged with discovering and creating new knowledge for an organization. The development of powerful networked work stations and software in the discovery of new knowledge has led to the creation of knowledge work systems. 03. Intelligent techniques have different objectives from a focus on discovering knowledge (through data mining and neural networks) to distilling knowledge (through expert systems and fuzzy logic) in the form of rules for a computer programme in order to discover optimal solutions for problems. Knowledge Portals Many organizations have integrated their content and document management capabilities with powerful portals and these will provide access to external sources of information, such as news feeds and research, as well as to internal knowledge resources along with capabilities for e mail, chat, discussion groups and video conferencing. Organizations are now using blogs, wikis and social book marking for internal use to facilitate the exchange of information between individuals and teams within organizations. 16 A learning Organization In more recent times, managers seem to be searching for new approaches to management. Fuelling this search is a range of new issues that modern managers face but that their historical counterparts did not. These issues include a concern about the competitive decline of western firms, the accelerating pace of technological change, the sophistication of customers, and an increasing emphasize on globalization. A new approach to management that is evolving to handle this new range of issues can e called as the learning organization approach. Organizational learning means the process of improving actions through better knowledge and understanding. Therefore under the organizational knowledge title organizational learning is another important fact which can be identified as a supportive term for the organizational knowledge. A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. Learning organizations emphasize systematic problem solving, experimentation, learning from their own experience and past history, transferring knowledge. These activities leading the organizations towards the fact of gaining competitive advantage by relying on the scientific method and data rather than assumptions, searching for and testing of new knowledge, reviewing their successes and failures, learning from others; specially from immediate environment, and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization quickly and efficiently. Actually the most important thing is that the using and sharing the knowledge which has collected. Otherwise there is no any created benefit from the knowledge to the organization, peculiarly learning from others and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization is become more important in this case. Learning occurs in two forms, those are single-loop and double-loop. Single loop learning asks a one dimensional question to expose one dimensional answer. Double loop learning takes an additional step or several additional steps. It might also ask why the current setting was chosen at the first place. In other words, it asks questions not only about objective facts but also reasons behind those facts. 17 A learning organization is focusing to create, acquire and transfer knowledge continuously from the environment and there by modify its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. This involves mainly three areas. An organization has to follow ongoing programmes, designed to produce incremental gains in knowledge. An example to indicate that an organization can import new ideas from outside and apply it to daily operations; a case study, General Electric’s impact program originally sent manufacturing managers to Japan to study factory innovations, such as quality circles and kanban cards, and then apply them in their own organizations. This program was one of the major reasons that General Electric recorded productivity gains averaging nearly 5 % over the last four years. (Harvard business review on Knowledge Management, 2008) Successful ongoing programmes also require an incentive system that favors risk taking. Employees must feel that the benefits of experimentation exceeds the costs; if not they will not participate. This is challenging for managers, since they must maintain accountability and control over experiments without stifling creativity by unduly penalizing employees for failures. Companies must learn from past experiences and should review their successes and failures, assess them systematically and record the lessons in a form that employees find open and accessible. 18 Learning and the Knowledge Management The knowledge continuum shows the process of transforming data in to knowledge and wisdom. The knowledge continuum In this continuous process organizations acquire knowledge throughout its life cycle. Therefore learning plays very important role in the knowledge management process. Its probably appropriate to develop some perspective regarding this stuff called knowledge, which there seems to be such a desire to manage, really is. Consider this as a basis for thought relating to the following diagram. ? ? ? ? A collection of data is not information. A collection of information is not knowledge. A collection of knowledge is not wisdom. A collection of wisdom is not truth. The idea is that information, knowledge, and wisdom are more than simply collections. Rather, the whole represents more than the sum of its parts and has a synergy of its own. 19 8 Average Time (Hours) 4 6 Learning curve 2 10 20 quantity 60 30 40 120 180 240 Figure 07 – Learning Curve 20 Conclusion Organizations can achieve competitive advantage by focusing their knowledge Management efforts in harnessing their assets and competences in their core areas of operation, which can be identified by the value chain analysis approach. An organization progressively discover that value creating activities change over a period of time, and helps to identify value-creating activities faster thereby providing a strategic direction. As organizations evolve into more effective and efficient knowledge creators and knowledge consumers, the effects of knowledge management efforts should be measurable as knowledge management itself requires an investment of time, resources and manpower. Perhaps organizations will continue to create their own frameworks for valuation or be able to rely on a common methodology for such measurement regardless of the type of organization doing the evaluating. On the other hand, any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth. This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition. The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs. In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy. The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. In short, today? s organizations act with the theme of â€Å"Knowledge sharing is the power† instead of â€Å"Knowledge is the Power†, in order gain competitive advantages, by keeping a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing, maintaining a perfect human resource policy which lead to minimize the employee turnover for the purpose of securing organizational memory in the organization. Organizational Knowledge Essay Example Organizational Knowledge Essay We live in an information economy in which the major source of wealth and prosperity is the production and distribution of information and knowledge. An era in which the key economic resource is knowledge is startlingly different from an era in which the key resources were capital, raw materials, land and labor. Emerging service economy trend lead many organizations towards the information base strategies to face and fight with the current business competitions. In that case knowledge plays a major role in every organization. In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of lasting competitive advantage is knowledge. (Harvard Business Review) Therefore an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs. The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization. In this case, Knowledge can be recognized as an important weapon for sustaining competitive advantage in organizations and many companies are beginning to manage organizational knowledge. Any organization that dynamically deals with a changing environment ought not only to process information efficiently but also create information and knowledge. (Lee Choi, 2003) 3 Organizational Knowledge It is often said that an organization? s most valuable assets are the people it employs. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Knowledge specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The ideas, experiences, expertise and knowledge contained in the mind of an individual may be worth more to an organization than can be quantified with respect to how that knowledge is applied each day to save time, reduce costs, and advance the organization? s initiatives. How can an organization capitalize on individual knowledge? How do individuals contribute to subunits or groups within the organization to build and perpetuate group knowledge? How does individual and group knowledge become organizational knowledge that can be captured, reused, and applied to achieve measurable positive effects for the organization? When might extraorganizational knowledge be used to further increase or enhance the capabilities of an organization? In line with the topic; Organizational knowledge, we have to explores these questions, first by defining each knowledge type, then by examining how knowledge moves through an organization and becomes valuable organizational intellectual capital. Defining Knowledge Knowledge is a cognitive, a spiritual, event that take place inside people? s heads. There are two primary definitions of the knowledge as the Tacit Knowledge and the Explicit Knowledge. In simply knowledge residing in the minds of employees that has not been documented is called tacit knowledge, whereas knowledge that has been documented is called explicit knowledge. Tacit Knowledge Tacit Knowledge can be defined as knowledge that has not yet been codified from the outside the individual? s mind. On another words, knowledge that comes from experience and is difficult or impossible to communicate. It is intangible and consists of knowledge which is difficult to express and to communicate to other people. Also it is more difficult to transmit than codified knowledge and hard to formalize due to belonged personal qualities. Examples for tacit knowledge are; Awareness Mental models Wisdom Skills Expertise Corporate memory 4 Explicit Knowledge Explicit knowledge, in contrast, is the knowledge that can be codified and is transmittable in formal systematic language. (Nonaka 1994) It consists of knowledge which can be expressed in symbols, and which can be communicated through these symbols to other people. Knowledge can reside in e-mail, unstructured documents, hand books, manuals can be listed under this category. Examples for explicit knowledge are; Databases, statistics, collections Books, publications, reports, documents, correspondence Photographs, diagrams, illustrations Computer code, expert systems, decision support systems Presentations, speeches, lectures Recorded experiences, stories Materials for education, teaching and training Laws, regulations, procedures, rules, policies Individual Knowledge Individual knowledge can be defined simply as knowledge possessed by the individual. This knowledge is most often tacit unless the individual possesses explicit knowledge that is not shared with anyone or any organization other than the individual. A private journal or private blog might be considered explicit individual knowledge. Individual knowledge can be acquired through experiences, and at times it can be acquired without language. When an individual is acquiring knowledge from observing another person? s actions, and once the individual applies his or her own experiences and background to what is learned it becomes individual knowledge. The creation of new „individual? knowledge derived from observation, imitation and practice is called socialization, or tacit to tacit knowledge sharing. Individual knowledge can certainly develop from explicit knowledge. What a person reads, for example, can contribute to new thoughts and ideas in the mind of the individual. This method of knowledge creation is referred to as internalization – turning explicit knowledge into 5 tacit knowledge. By reading or acquiring explicit knowledge, independent thought and analysis can develop into new, individual knowledge. An individual can make a greater contribution to the knowledge sharing and creation process by allowing their knowledge to be internalized by others or socializing their knowledge with others, which leads to the creation of group knowledge. Group Knowledge Group knowledge might be defined as individual knowledge that multiple individuals rely upon as truth, share and understand. Group knowledge is â€Å"broadcast information† (Correa da Silva Cullell, 56), but is not necessarily information shared „publicly? (i. e. â€Å"common knowledge†). Group knowledge can be generated and disseminated through socialization and often results in the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, or externalization. When groups come together and exchange ideas, â€Å"individual knowledge is synthesized to arrive at group knowledge, which eventually becomes routing at the organizational level. Thus, the transformation of individual knowledge into organizational routines leads to complex and embodied organizational knowledge. When group knowledge from several subunits or groups is combined and used to create new knowledge, the resulting tacit and explicit knowledge can be called organizational knowledge. 6 Important Dimensions of Knowledge Knowledge is a firm asset Knowledge is an intangible asset. Knowledge is not subject to the law of diminishing returns as physical assets, but its value increases as more people share it. Knowledge has different forms Knowledge can be either tacit or explicit (codified) Knowledge involves know-how, craft and skill Knowledge involves knowing how to follow procedures Knowledge has a location Knowledge is a cognitive event involving mental models and maps of individuals There is both a social and an individual basis of knowledge Knowledge is sticky, situated, and contextual Knowledge is situational Knowledge is conditional: Knowing when to apply a procedure is just as important as knowing the procedure Knowledge is related to context SOURCE: Laudon and Laudon, 2008. Management Information Systems Knowledge Creation New knowledge always begins with the individual. Making personal knowledge available to others is the central activity of the knowledge creating company. It takes place continuously and at all levels of the organization. Organizational knowledge creation may be explicated by the interchange between tacit and explicit knowledge. According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), â€Å"tacit knowledge is highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to communicate or to share with others. Subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches fall into this category of knowledge†. On the other 7 hand, explicit knowledge is more easily transmitted as it is characteristically codified. As such, explicit knowledge is more easily processed and shared with others. According to the theory, the process of knowledge conversion proceeds through four different modes: 1. Socialization (the conversion of tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge) 2. Combination (the conversion of explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge) 3. Externalization (the conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge) and 4. Internalization (the conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge) Socialization During the socialization mode, tacit knowledge is transferred through interactions between individuals, which may also be accomplished in the absence of language; individuals may learn and gain a sense of competence by observing behavior modeled by others. For example, mentoring and apprenticeships instruct tacitly through observation, imitation, and practice. Combination The combination mode of knowledge conversion embodies the aggregation of multiple examples of explicit knowledge (Nonaka, 1994). Explicit knowledge may be exchanged during meetings or conferences in which a diversity of knowledge sources combines to shape a new and enhanced conception. Externalization The externalization mode of the knowledge conversion spiral references the translation of tacit knowledge into explicit. Metaphors are recommended as a way to facilitate this translation (Nonaka, 1994). Metaphors assist individuals in explaining concealed (i. e. , tacit) concepts that are otherwise difficult to articulate by assisting individuals in forming impressions based on â€Å"imagination and intuitive learning through symbols†. Internalization The conversion of explicit to tacit knowledge, i. e. , the internalization mode occurs through a series of iterations in which concepts become concrete and ultimately absorbed as an integral 8 belief or value. Where externalization utilizes metaphors to facilitate knowledge conversion, internalization represents an active process of learning. Nonaka (1994) describes this as â€Å"participants†¦.. sharing explicit knowledge that is gradually translated, through interaction and a process of trial-and-error, into different aspects of tacit knowledge. It is found most commonly at highly successful Japanese companies such as Honda, Canon, Matushita and Sharp are in focusing to the knowledge creation. Managers in these companies recognize that creating new knowledge is not simply a matter of mechanistically â€Å"Processing† objective information. The knowledge creation process The mutual exchange of tacit and explicit knowledge that describes the knowledge creation process is initiated at the level of the individual employee or organizational member. Because individuals are an integral component of this conversion process, their commitment to knowledge creation is critical. According to Nonaka (1994), knowledge creation may be activated when organizational members have freedom and sufficient purpose to pursue new knowledge. A continuous process of questioning and reconsidering existing premises by individual members of the organization fosters organizational knowledge creation† (Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge Management For hundreds of years, owners of family businesses have passed their commercial wisdom on to their children, master artificer have taught their trades to followers, and workers have exchanged their knowledge on the job. Therefore knowledge management is nothing new, but until the 1990s that managers were not talking about knowledge management. (Harvard Business Review) When the industrialized economies have shifted from natural resources to intellectual assets, managers have been constrained to censor the knowledge underlying their businesses and how that knowledge is used. At that same time rice of technological devices using; mainly computers has made it possible to codify, store, and share certain kind of knowledge more easily than ever. In current business environment, Knowledge management has become an important theme at many large business firms as managers realize that much of their firm? s value depends on firm? s ability to create and manage knowledge. (Laudon Laudon). Studies have found that a substantial part of a firm? s stock market value is related to its intangible assets, of which knowledge is one important component, along with brands, reputations, and unique business processes (Gu and Lev, 2001). Well executed knowledge-based projects have been known to produce extra ordinary returns on investment, although knowledge-based investments are difficult to measure (Blair and Wallman, 2001). Knowledge Management is the process of leveraging organizational knowledge to deliver longterm advantage to a business. This, in turn, requires technology to capture, codify, store, disseminate and reuse the knowledge. Any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth. This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition. The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs. In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy. The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Value Chain Knowledge management increases the ability of the organization to learn from its environment and to incorporate knowledge into its business processes. Knowledge value is very difficult to measure and it is extracted when knowledge is used. Knowledge sharing increases the value of knowledge with abundance. Knowledge management value chain is a sequence of intellectual tasks by which knowledge workers build their employer? s unique competitive advantage and social and environmental benefits. There are four main value adding steps in the knowledge 10 management value chain; each stage adds value to raw data and information as they are transformed into usable knowledge. Acquisition Storage Dissemination Application Figure 02: Knowledge Management value chain Knowledge acquisition Organizations acquire knowledge in a number of ways, depending on the type of knowledge they seek. In a way, organizations acquire knowledge by developing online expert networks so that employees can â€Å"find the expert† in the company who has the knowledge in his or her head. Other than that firms have to create new knowledge by discovering patterns in corporate data or by using knowledge work stations where engineers can discover new knowledge. A coherent and organized knowledge system also requires systematic data from the firm? transaction processing systems (sales, payments, inventory, customers etc. ), news feeds, industry reports, legal opinions, scientific research and government statistics as well. Knowledge storage Knowledge storage generally involves the creation of a database. Expert systems also help corporations preserve the knowledge that is acquired by incorporating that knowledge into organiza tional process and culture. Management must support the development of planned knowledge storage systems to update and store documents properly. 11 Knowledge Dissemination Portal, e-mail, instant messaging and search engine technology have added to the existing technologies for sharing documents, data and graphics. Training programmes, informal networks and shared management experience communicated through a supportive culture help managers focus their attention on the important knowledge and information which is really important for their decisions and their work. Knowledge Application Knowledge that is not shared and applied to the practical problems facing firms and managers does not add business value. To provide a return on investment, organizational knowledge must become a systematic part of management decision making and become situated in decision support systems. An organizations can do this is to build online information databases that employees can access which works as an online knowledge bank. Other than this some knowledge management experts have suggest that organizations create â€Å"communities of practice†, which are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis. Out of the four steps in knowledge management value chain, knowledge sharing is considered to be the most important one, and it is said â€Å"Knowledge sharing is the power† instead of â€Å"Knowledge is the Power†. In order to do this an organization must have a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing. In line with that perfect human resource management is a prior functional area in an organization. Top management provides employees with a sense of direction by setting the standards for justifying the value of knowledge that is constantly being developed by the organization? members. Deciding which efforts to support and develop is a strategic task. (Harvard business review on Knowledge management, 2008) 12 Knowledge Applications in the Technological Aspect Business Problems ? ? ? Monitor service levels and costs Develop document access rules Management ? Document intensive business Fragmented information in legacy s ystems and manual processes ? ? ? Coordinate Documents and maintenance data Develop Document Access procedures Revise repair and maintenance procedures Organization Information systems Business solution ? ? Reduce time Reduse cost ? ? ? ? Implement oracle database Deploy laptops Technology Immediately access Equipment maintenance information Figure 03: Use of Technology in Knowledge Management Process The diagram shows how organizations can use technology in solving business problems and how an organization can reduce the time consumption and the cost by using information systems. These information systems would include transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, expert systems and intelligent systems etc. Knowledge Management Strategies There are mainly two types of knowledge management strategies. In some companies, the strategy centered on the computer. In that c knowledge is carefully codified and stored in databases, where it can be easily accessed and used by anyone in the company. This is called Codification Strategy. 13 Codification Strategy Codification strategy implies the theme; â€Å"people to documents†, pointing to develop an electronic document system that codifies, stores, disseminates, and allows reuse of knowledge. The companies that follow codification strategy rely on the† economics of reuse†. Once an organization invests in knowledge asset; they can reuse it many times. The reuse of knowledge saves work, reduces communication costs and allows a company to take on more projects. And the strategy focuses on generating large overall revenues. And also the organizations always think in the point of human resource management to hire new graduates who are suited to reuse knowledge and the implementation of solutions, to train people in groups and through computer based learning, to reward people for using and contributing to document databases. Earnest Young is an organization which uses this strategy as their knowledge management strategy. In other companies, knowledge is closely bounded to the person who developed it and is shared mainly through direct person to person contacts. In those companies main purpose of the computers is to help people to communicate knowledge, not to store it. This is called Personalization Strategy. Personalization Strategy And this strategy implies that â€Å"person to person† fact which points to develop networks for linking people so that tacit knowledge can be shared. In contrast to the codification strategy, the personalization strategy relies on the logic of â€Å"expert economics†. It focuses on maintaining high profit margins. But on the other hand the process of sharing deep knowledge is time consuming, expensive and slow. It can? t be made much efficient. The companies that applied this strategy as their knowledge management strategy; wish to hire people who like problem solving and can tolerate ambiguity and to reward people for directly sharing knowledge with others. Choosing the knowledge management strategy is not an arbitrary thing, it depends on the economics of the company, the way it serves its clients and the people it hires. Experts believe that the choice between codification and personalization is the central one facing virtually all 14 companies in the era of knowledge management. However an organization? s strategy for knowledge management reflects its competitive strategy; it creates value for customers; how that value support for customers; how that value supports an economic model and how the company? s people deliver on the value, because it is the leading fact and the base of all other functional areas in the organization for gaining the competitive advantage in the dynamic economy. Types of Knowledge Management systems in an Organization There are essentially three major types of knowledge management systems namely; enterprisewide knowledge management systems, knowledge work systems and intelligent techniques. Figure 3 shows the knowledge management system applications for each of these major categories. Enterprise-Wide Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Work Systems Intelligent Techniques Structured knowledge systems Semi structured knowledge systems Knowledge network systems Computer aided design (CAD) Data mining 3 D Visualization Virtual reality -Neural networks Expert systems Intelligent Agents 1. Enterprise-wide knowledge management systems are general purpose firm wide efforts to collect, store, distribute and apply digital content and knowledge. They provide databases and tools for organizing and storing structured and unstructured documents and other knowledge objects for locating employees with expertise in a particular area including web based tools for collaboration and communication. Structu red knowledge systems: These systems perform the function of implementing the tagging, interface with corporate databases where the documents are stored and 15 reating an enterprise portal environment for employees to use when searching for corporate knowledge. Semi structured knowledge systems: These systems track, store and organize semi structured documents (folders, messages, proposals, e mails, slide presentations etc) Knowledge network systems: Knowledge network system addresses the problem that arises when the appropriate knowledge is tacit knowledge residing in the memory of expert individuals in the firm. Because such knowledge cannot be conveniently found, employees expend significant resources rediscovering knowledge. Knowledge network systems provide an online directory of corporate experts in well-defined knowledge domains and use communication technologies to make it easy for employees to find the appropriate expert in a company. 02. Knowledge work systems (KWS) are specialized systems built for professionals and other knowledge workers charged with discovering and creating new knowledge for an organization. The development of powerful networked work stations and software in the discovery of new knowledge has led to the creation of knowledge work systems. 03. Intelligent techniques have different objectives from a focus on discovering knowledge (through data mining and neural networks) to distilling knowledge (through expert systems and fuzzy logic) in the form of rules for a computer programme in order to discover optimal solutions for problems. Knowledge Portals Many organizations have integrated their content and document management capabilities with powerful portals and these will provide access to external sources of information, such as news feeds and research, as well as to internal knowledge resources along with capabilities for e mail, chat, discussion groups and video conferencing. Organizations are now using blogs, wikis and social book marking for internal use to facilitate the exchange of information between individuals and teams within organizations. 16 A learning Organization In more recent times, managers seem to be searching for new approaches to management. Fuelling this search is a range of new issues that modern managers face but that their historical counterparts did not. These issues include a concern about the competitive decline of western firms, the accelerating pace of technological change, the sophistication of customers, and an increasing emphasize on globalization. A new approach to management that is evolving to handle this new range of issues can e called as the learning organization approach. Organizational learning means the process of improving actions through better knowledge and understanding. Therefore under the organizational knowledge title organizational learning is another important fact which can be identified as a supportive term for the organizational knowledge. A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. Learning organizations emphasize systematic problem solving, experimentation, learning from their own experience and past history, transferring knowledge. These activities leading the organizations towards the fact of gaining competitive advantage by relying on the scientific method and data rather than assumptions, searching for and testing of new knowledge, reviewing their successes and failures, learning from others; specially from immediate environment, and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization quickly and efficiently. Actually the most important thing is that the using and sharing the knowledge which has collected. Otherwise there is no any created benefit from the knowledge to the organization, peculiarly learning from others and spreading the knowledge throughout the organization is become more important in this case. Learning occurs in two forms, those are single-loop and double-loop. Single loop learning asks a one dimensional question to expose one dimensional answer. Double loop learning takes an additional step or several additional steps. It might also ask why the current setting was chosen at the first place. In other words, it asks questions not only about objective facts but also reasons behind those facts. 17 A learning organization is focusing to create, acquire and transfer knowledge continuously from the environment and there by modify its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. This involves mainly three areas. An organization has to follow ongoing programmes, designed to produce incremental gains in knowledge. An example to indicate that an organization can import new ideas from outside and apply it to daily operations; a case study, General Electric’s impact program originally sent manufacturing managers to Japan to study factory innovations, such as quality circles and kanban cards, and then apply them in their own organizations. This program was one of the major reasons that General Electric recorded productivity gains averaging nearly 5 % over the last four years. (Harvard business review on Knowledge Management, 2008) Successful ongoing programmes also require an incentive system that favors risk taking. Employees must feel that the benefits of experimentation exceeds the costs; if not they will not participate. This is challenging for managers, since they must maintain accountability and control over experiments without stifling creativity by unduly penalizing employees for failures. Companies must learn from past experiences and should review their successes and failures, assess them systematically and record the lessons in a form that employees find open and accessible. 18 Learning and the Knowledge Management The knowledge continuum shows the process of transforming data in to knowledge and wisdom. The knowledge continuum In this continuous process organizations acquire knowledge throughout its life cycle. Therefore learning plays very important role in the knowledge management process. Its probably appropriate to develop some perspective regarding this stuff called knowledge, which there seems to be such a desire to manage, really is. Consider this as a basis for thought relating to the following diagram. ? ? ? ? A collection of data is not information. A collection of information is not knowledge. A collection of knowledge is not wisdom. A collection of wisdom is not truth. The idea is that information, knowledge, and wisdom are more than simply collections. Rather, the whole represents more than the sum of its parts and has a synergy of its own. 19 8 Average Time (Hours) 4 6 Learning curve 2 10 20 quantity 60 30 40 120 180 240 Figure 07 – Learning Curve 20 Conclusion Organizations can achieve competitive advantage by focusing their knowledge Management efforts in harnessing their assets and competences in their core areas of operation, which can be identified by the value chain analysis approach. An organization progressively discover that value creating activities change over a period of time, and helps to identify value-creating activities faster thereby providing a strategic direction. As organizations evolve into more effective and efficient knowledge creators and knowledge consumers, the effects of knowledge management efforts should be measurable as knowledge management itself requires an investment of time, resources and manpower. Perhaps organizations will continue to create their own frameworks for valuation or be able to rely on a common methodology for such measurement regardless of the type of organization doing the evaluating. On the other hand, any organization, before framing a strategy, should analyze the industry and should understand all relevant parameters of industry growth. This analysis would yield results on the industry parameters like growth/ recession buyer/supplier power leading to determining the attractiveness of competition. The competitor analysis would reveal the strategy adopted by the competitors and identify the possible future movements of the competitors and to predict the strategies that are likely to be adopted by them. An organization can gain competitive advantage and sustain it only if it is able to understand the needs of the customer and track the changes in the customer needs. In this context, the analysis of the needs of customer gains importance. An organization should assess the resources and capabilities, before formulating a strategy, since the resources and capabilities should aid the operationalization of the chosen strategy. The right combination of resources and capabilities in the context of a strategy can be discovered through the process of knowledge management. In short, today? s organizations act with the theme of â€Å"Knowledge sharing is the power† instead of â€Å"Knowledge is the Power†, in order gain competitive advantages, by keeping a knowledge supporting culture, that management can support the knowledge creation and sharing, maintaining a perfect human resource policy which lead to minimize the employee turnover for the purpose of securing organizational memory in the organization.

Free Essays on John Updikes Separating

There were many different aspects of John Updike’s â€Å"Separating† that I enjoyed. The focus on what a modern day family is like, the character development of Richard, and the reversal of male and female stereotypes to name a few. However, I decided to focus my paper on the three different conflicts Richard, the protagonist of the story, encounters. The first conflict is between Richard and his wife Joan. Their marriage has been falling apart and they don’t seem to even enjoy each other’s company anymore. The whole basis of the story is around this couple’s separation. It is never made clear the exact reason for the dissolution of the marriage. IT is hinted that Richard might have been having an affair. But, whatever the reason, it is made known that it is Richard’s decision to leave. After the blowout at the dinner table, where three out of the four children learn about the separation, Joan says that â€Å"it really wasn’t fair. It’s your idea, and you make it look as though I was kicking you out† (p 833). The second conflict is between Richard and his children. He is faced with the responsibility of telling his kids about his decision to leave. Him and his wife decide that its best to wait until school has ended and they were all home in one place. They had also decided to tell them one-by-one instead of in a large group because, as Joan puts it, â€Å"they’re each individuals, you know, not just some corporate obstacle to your freedom† (p 830). However, the plan falls apart when Richard starts crying uncontrollably during dinner. His younger son, John, asks his mother in the kitchen why his dad had been crying and she admits to the separation. The girls take the news fairly well and do not have any problems accepting it. John, on the other hand, makes a scene by eating a cigarette and lighting matches in his mother’s face. The oldest son Dickie was absent from dinner that night, so Richard was st... Free Essays on John Updike's Separating Free Essays on John Updike's Separating There were many different aspects of John Updike’s â€Å"Separating† that I enjoyed. The focus on what a modern day family is like, the character development of Richard, and the reversal of male and female stereotypes to name a few. However, I decided to focus my paper on the three different conflicts Richard, the protagonist of the story, encounters. The first conflict is between Richard and his wife Joan. Their marriage has been falling apart and they don’t seem to even enjoy each other’s company anymore. The whole basis of the story is around this couple’s separation. It is never made clear the exact reason for the dissolution of the marriage. IT is hinted that Richard might have been having an affair. But, whatever the reason, it is made known that it is Richard’s decision to leave. After the blowout at the dinner table, where three out of the four children learn about the separation, Joan says that â€Å"it really wasn’t fair. It’s your idea, and you make it look as though I was kicking you out† (p 833). The second conflict is between Richard and his children. He is faced with the responsibility of telling his kids about his decision to leave. Him and his wife decide that its best to wait until school has ended and they were all home in one place. They had also decided to tell them one-by-one instead of in a large group because, as Joan puts it, â€Å"they’re each individuals, you know, not just some corporate obstacle to your freedom† (p 830). However, the plan falls apart when Richard starts crying uncontrollably during dinner. His younger son, John, asks his mother in the kitchen why his dad had been crying and she admits to the separation. The girls take the news fairly well and do not have any problems accepting it. John, on the other hand, makes a scene by eating a cigarette and lighting matches in his mother’s face. The oldest son Dickie was absent from dinner that night, so Richard was st...

An In-Depth Review of Star Reading Assessment Program

An In-Depth Review of Star Reading Assessment Program Star Reading is an online assessment program developed by Renaissance Learning for students typically in grades K-12. The program uses a combination of the cloze method and traditional reading comprehension passages to assess forty-six reading skills across eleven domains. The program is used to determine a student’s overall reading level as well as identify a students individual strengths and weaknesses. The program is designed to provide teachers with individual student data, quickly and accurately. It typically takes a student 10–15 minutes to complete an assessment, and reports are available immediately upon completion. The assessment consists of approximately thirty questions. Students are tested on foundational reading skills, literature components, reading informational text, and language. Students have one minute to answer each question before the program automatically moves them to the next question. The program is adaptive, so the difficulty will increase or decrease based on how a student performs. Features of Star Reading It is easy to set up and use. Star Reading is a Renaissance Learning program. This is important because if you have Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, or any of the other Star assessments, you only have to do the set up one time. Adding students and building classes is quick and easy. You can add a class of about twenty students and have them ready to be assessed in about 15 minutes.It correlates with Accelerated Reader. Many schools across the country use Accelerated Reader. To maximize the effect of Accelerated Reader, students should be limited to books that correlate to their specific Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Star Reading provides teachers with each student’s individual ZPD that can then be entered into the Accelerated Reader program to limit students to books that will not be too easy or too difficult for them to read.It is easy for students to use. The interface is plain and straightforward. This minimizes the chances for a student to be distracted. Student s have two choices when answering the multiple-choice-style questions. They can use their mouse and click on the correct choice, or they can use the A, B, C, D keys that correlate to the correct answer. Students are not locked into their answer until they click next or push the Enter key. Each question is on a one-minute timer. When a student has fifteen seconds remaining, a small clock will begin to flash at the top of the screen, letting them know that time is about to expire for that question. It provides teachers with a tool to easily screen and progress monitor students who need reading intervention. Star Reading comes with a screening and progress monitor tool that allows teachers to set goals and monitor a student’s progress as they move throughout the year. This easy-to-use feature allows teachers to quickly and accurately decide whether they need to change their approach with a particular student or continue doing what they are doing.It has an adaptable assessment bank. The program has an extensive assessment bank that allows students to be assessed multiple times without seeing the same question. In addition, the program adapts to the student as they answer questions. If a student is performing well, then the questions will increasingly become more difficult. If they are struggling, the questions will become easier. The program will eventually zero in on the student’s correct level. Useful Reports Star Reading is designed to provide teachers with useful information that will drive their instructional practices. It provides teachers with several useful reports designed to assist in targeting which students need intervention and what areas they need assistance in. Here are four key reports available through the program and a brief explanation of each: Diagnostic: This report provides the most information about an individual student. It offers information such as the student’s grade equivalent, percentile rank, estimated oral reading fluency, scaled score, instructional reading level, and zone of proximal development. It also provides tips to maximize that individual’s reading growth.Growth: This report shows the growth of a group of students over a specific period of time. This period of time is customizable from a few weeks to months, to even growth over the course of several years.Screening: This report provides teachers with a graph that details whether they are above or below their benchmark as they are assessed throughout the year. This report is useful because if students are falling below the mark, then the teacher needs to change their approach ​with that student.Summary: This report provides teachers with whole group test results for a specific test date or range. This is very useful for comparing mul tiple students at one time. Relevant Terminology Scaled Score (SS)  - The scaled score is figured based on the difficulty of the questions as well of the number of questions that were correct. Star Reading uses a scale range of 0–1400. This score can be used to compare students to each other as well as themselves over time.Percentile Rank (PR) - The percentile rank allows students to be compared to other students nationally that are in the same grade. For example, a student who scores in the 77th percentile scores better than 76% of students in their grade but lower than 23% of students in their grade.Grade Equivalent (GE) - The grade equivalent represents how a student performs compared to other students nationally. For example, a fifth-grade student who scores a grade equivalent of 8.3 scores as well as a student who is in the eighth grade and third month.Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - This is the range of readability which a student should be required to select books. Reading in this range provides students with t he optimal opportunity to maximize reading growth. Books at this level are not too easy or too difficult for the student to read. ATOS  - A readability formula that uses average sentence length, average word length, vocabulary grade level, and the number of words to calculate the overall difficulty of a book. Overall Star Reading is a very good reading assessment program, especially if you already use the Accelerated Reader program. Its best features are that it is quick and easy to use for teachers and students, and reports can be generated in seconds. The assessment does rely too much on cloze reading passages. A truly accurate reading assessment would use a more balanced and comprehensive approach. However, Star is a great quick screening tool to identify struggling readers or individual reading strengths. There are better assessments available in terms of in-depth diagnostic assessments, but Star reading will give you a quick snapshot of where a student is at any given point.  Overall, we give this program 3.5 out of 5 stars, primarily because the assessment itself isn’t broad enough and there are times where consistency and accuracy are of concern.