IMS3012 Knowledge management - Semester 1 , 2007 unit guide

Semester 1, 2007

Chief Examiner

Frada Burstein

Lecturers

Caulfield : Associate Professor F. Burstein

Outline

At the completion of this subject, students will know about the role of personal and organisational knowledge management in addressing organisational efficiency. They will have an understanding of the methods and approaches for implementing knowledge management in the organisation. They will have developed skills in evaluating the sources and potential value of knowledge within an organisation, and have developed attitudes, which will allow them to participate confidently as a team member in the analysis and design of a knowledge management system development project.

Objectives

To build a basic understanding of knowledge management through a range of techniques for utilising personal and organisational knowledge for the purpose of addressing organisational efficiency.

On completion of this subject students should

have knowledge of:

  • the meanings applied to the terms knowledge and knowledge management in organisational context;
  • a range of approaches that may support knowledge management activities;
  • have an understanding of:

  • the methods and approaches for implementing knowledge management in the organisation;
  • the techniques from information systems, artificial intelligence, documents and records management for representing and manipulating knowledge;
  • the concept of ownership of knowledge and the validity of knowledge processes;
  • have the skills to:

  • evaluate the sources and potential value of knowledge within an organisation;
  • have developed attitudes which allow you to:

  • work productively individually and within a team;
  • be able to effectively communicate knowledge management perspectives to associated business and professional groups.
  • Prerequisites

    Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed IMS1002, CSE1205, IMS2805 or equivalent.

    Some basic understanding of the process and techniques for systems analysis, design and implementation is assumed.

    Unit relationships

    IMS3012 is an elective unit in the I/KM major of the BITS degree.

    Texts and software

    Required text(s)

    Recommended Text:

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

    Electronic KM resources are available from the subject website or directly through the KM Laboratory website

    Textbook availability

    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 software resourses from the Monash KM Laboratory will be used.

    See http://km-svr.sims.monash.edu.au/ for details

    Software may be:

    • downloaded from http://km-svr.sims.monash.edu.au/

    Hardware requirements

    Students 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 n hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

    Recommended reading

    1. Awad, Elias M and Ghaziri, Hassan M., (2003) Knowledge Management, ISBN:0-1303-4820-1, Pearson International
    2. Jashapara, A. (2004), "Knowledge Management an Integrated Approach", FT Prentice Hall, Pearson Education
    3. Groff, Todd and Jones, Thomas (2003) Introduction to Knowledge Management : KM in Business; ISBN: 0750677287; Butterworth-Heinemann.
    4. Davenport, T. H. (2005). Thinking for a Living: How to Get Better Performance and Results from Knowledge Workers. Boston, MA.: Harvard Business School Press.
    5. Dalkir, K.(2005) Knowledge Management in Thory and Practice, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. onaka (2005) The knowledge creating company, Oxford University Press.
    6. Becerra-Fernandez, I., Gonzalez, A., & Sabherwal, R. (2004). Knowledge Management: challenges, solutions and technologies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
    7. Debowski, Shelda (2006) Knowledge Management, Wiley. 
    8. Prusak, L. and Matson, E. (eds) (2006) Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning: A Reader, Oxford Management Readers, Paperback.Knowledge Management

    Library access

    You may need to access the Monash library either personally to be able to satisfactorily complete the subject.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

    Study resources

    Study resources for IMS3012 are:

    described in this Unit Information Guide outlining the administrative information for the unit, assessment and other rules

    Unit website

    http://muso.monash.edu.au/

    Structure and organisation

    Week Topics
    1 Introduction
    2 From Information to Knowledge Systems, Organisational and people issues
    3 Business process management with knowledge management system
    4 The Knowledge Management life cycle
    5 KM Systems Analysis and Design: Designing the KM Infrastructure
    6 KM Systems Analysis and Design: Knowledge Assets Audit
    Non teaching week
    7 KM Systems Analysis and Design: Assembling the KM team
    8 KM Systems Analysis and Design:Creating KM blueprint
    9 KM System Development
    10 Guest lecture
    11 KM Deployment:Change and Risk management
    12 Evaluating the KM initiative
    13 Summary and revision

    Timetable

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

    Assessment

    Assessment weighting

    Practical work (assignments and tutorial excercises) (40% weighting) and a three hour examination (60% weighting) will be used to assess whether you have achieved the objectives of this unit.

    Minimum performance requirements will be applied based on the  40% rule

    Read this section VERY carefully.

    Assessment Policy

    To pass this unit you must:

    • gain at least 40% of the marks available for the examination component: i.e. the final examination and any tests performed under exam conditions, taken as a whole

    The 40% rule applies to this unit and determines the final result where a student's performance in either the examination or assignment component of the unit is unsatisfactory. Students need to be aware of the 40% rule.

    Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

    Your score for the unit will be calculated as an aggregate of your practical and examination marks, taking into consideration their relative weighting (40% and 60% respectively)

    Assessment Requirements

    Assessment Due Date Weighting
    Tutorial exercises week 11 10%
    Written assignment and a prototype week 10 30 %
    Examination 60 %

    Assignment specifications will be made available via MUSO site.

    Assignment Submission

    Assignments will be submitted by hard copy submission to your tutor. You can submit electronic version of the report via MUSO site.  The due date is the date by which the submission must be received/the date by which the the submission is to be posted.

    Extensions and late submissions

    Late submission of assignments

    Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% for every extra working day

    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 by email to the unit lecturer at least two 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:

    Grade Percentage/description
    HD High Distinction - very high levels of achievement, demonstrated knowledge and understanding, skills in application and high standards of work encompassing all aspects of the tasks.
    In the 80+% range of marks for the assignment.
    D Distinction - high levels of achievement, but not of the same standards. May have a weakness in one particular aspect, or overall standards may not be quite as high.
    In the 70-79% range.
    C Credit - sound pass displaying good knowledge or application skills, but some weaknesses in the quality, range or demonstration of understanding.
    In the 60-69% range.
    P Pass acceptable standard, showing an adequate basic knowledge, understanding or skills, but with definite limitations on the extent of such understanding or application. Some parts may be incomplete.
    In the 50-59% range.
    N Not satisfactory failure to meet the basic requirements of the assessment.
    Below 50%.

    Assignment return

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

    Feedback

    Feedback to you

    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.

    Feedback from you

    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.

    And if you are having problems

    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

    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.

    Communication

    Communication methods

    The preferred communication method is via email. 

    Notices

    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 consultation times for this unit are every week after the lecture

    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:

    Associate Professor Frada Burstein
    Associate Professor
    Phone +61 3 990 32011

    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.

    Last updated: Feb 6, 2007