IMS5027 Knowledge Management Principles , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

Students will have knowledge and understanding of:

C1. The meanings applied to the terms knowledge and knowledge management

C2. A range of approaches that may support knowledge management

C3. The stages and processes that define good knowledge management practice

C4. The techniques from artificial intelligence for representing and manipulating knowledge

C5. The techniques from document management for evaluating procedural knowledge and representing this in workflow controls

C6. The concepts from records management to support evaluating ownership of knowledge and validity of knowledge processes

C7. The extent to with modern technology can support knowledge management processes

Students will develop attitudes which allow them to:

A1. Work productively individually and as a team

A2. Be able to communicate effectively knowledge management perspectives to associated business and professional groups

Students will have the skills to:

P1. Evaluate the sources and potential value of knowledge within an organisation

P2. Critically analyse the state and current organizational requirements for recommending appropriate knowledge management solution

P3. Identify possible technological solution to satisfy the knowledge management requirements of the organisation

IMS5027 is a core unit in the KM specialisaiton of the MIMS and MIMS(Pro).

Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed IMS9049 or equivalent

Required text(s)

Tiwana, A. (2000). The Knowledge Management Toolkit: practical techniques for building a knowledge management system. Prentice-Hall International.

Electronic resources will be available from the subject website or directly through the MUSO site for IMS5027

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Software requirements:

The Monash KM Laboratory resourses will be used for illustrating the current technology used for KM implementation. You can access it from L http://km-svr.sims.monash.edu.au/

Hardware requirements:

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access.

On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 9 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for reading web-based material and contributing to the discussion groups.

Throughout the semester, reference will be made to a wide variety of sources—books, journal articles, websites and online resources

http://www.agimo.gov.au/practice/delivery/checklists These cover a range of topics, eg intranet design, selecting and implementing a content management system, information architecture for websites, metadata, and knowledge management. AGIMO’s KM best practice checklist is at: http://www.agimo.gov.au/__data/assets/file/31720/BPC13.pdf

http://www.knowledge.standards.com.au/

http://www.stevedenning.com/

http://www.gurteen.com/ Also check out his Gurteen Knowledge-Letter (KM Newsletter) http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/(Views)/WebNewsList?open

http://www.skyrme.com/

http://ww.sveiby.com

http://www.actkm.com/

http://www.kmtool.net/

Study resources for IMS5027 are:

The IMS5027 web site on MUSO, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary material will be posted.

Newsgroups/discussion groups that is linked to the Unit Homepage.

Weekly lecture recordings will be posted onto the MULO website.

The timetable for on-campus classes for this unit can be viewed in Allocate+

Assessment for the unit consists of one major case study assignment with a weighting of 40%. Participation in class including contribution to the discussion database will be assessed up to 10% and a class test with a weighting of 50% in week 14. Read this section VERY carefully.

To pass this unit you must:

gain all of the following:
· at least 40% of the marks available for the examination component, if any: i.e. the final examination and any tests performed under exam conditions, taken as a whole
· at least 40% of the marks available for the assignment component: i.e. the assignments and any other assessment tasks (such as presentations) taken as a whole
· at least 50% of the total marks for the unit
Where a student gains less than 40% for either the examination or assignment component, the final result for the unit will be no greater than ‘44-N’.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

adding up your mark for all the assessment components proportionate to the wights allocated to these in the unit guide.

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available on the VISTA/MUSO unit wbsite. Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

Assignments can be submitted by electronically via VISTA/MUSO unit website, or as paper submission. On-campus Students Submit the assignment to your tutor's mail box on level 7 of H block by Friday, April 28 with the appropriate cover sheet correctly filled out and attached. Off Campus (OCL) students wishing to submit paper copies of their assignments can mail the assignment to the Off-Campus Learning Centre with the cover sheet attached. Do not email submissions. The due date is the date by which the submission must be received/the date by which the the submission is to be posted.

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% deduction for every day late. Assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted.

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. 

Requests for extensions must be made in writing to the unit lecturer at least two (2) days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Email is a preferred method of communication. Electronic discussion group is set up through MUSO site and will be used for communication between the students, tutors and the lecturer about the subject matter as well as other related subjects.

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Notices Newsgroup in the Unit Website. Check this regularly. Failure to read the Notices newsgroup is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

The lecturer can be contacted 3-4pm on Monday or any other time via email.

You need to set an appointment if you wish to meet the lecturer for consultation.

Tutors will set up consultation hours for their respective groups.

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

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All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.