A possible journey to an Australian knowledge management framework

World wide there is a transition towards knowledge-based economies In order to foster them, many economies have built frameworks in conjunction with world forums that promote international cooperation. Our research focuses on Australia, an economy that has been named by the OECD as knowledge-based. Specifically, the paper appraises the transition towards knowledge economies in general. We then examine the Australian context through the implemented eEurope framework with the intent of providing suggestions to Australia in its transition towards building its knowledge management
framework.

Fuzzy-neuro web-based multilingual knowledge management

This paper presents new methodology towards the automatic development of multilingual Web portal for multilingual knowledge discovery and management. It aims to provide an efficient and effective framework for selecting and organizing knowledge from voluminous linguistically diverse Web contents. To achieve this, a concept-based approach that incorporates text mining and Web content mining using neural network and fuzzy techniques is proposed. First, a concept-based taxonomy of themes, which will act as the hierarchical backbone of the Web portal, is automatically generated. Second, a concept-based multilingual Web crawler is developed to intelligently harvest relevant multilingual documents from the Web. Finally, a concept-based multilingual text categorization technique is proposed to organize multilingual documents by concepts. As such, correlated multilingual Web documents can be gathered/filtered/organised/ based on their semantic content to facilitate high-performance multilingual information access.

Supporting knowledge management infrastructure : a multi-agent approach

Knowledge management has by now exerted a large influence over industrial practice. We propose a multi-agent based system to provide infrastructure service to meet various requirements of knowledge management in view of the complex nature of the task, i.e., covering science and technologies across different disciplines. The paper discusses the use of a multi-agent system to support the knowledge management infrastructure. It will also discuss the design rational and implementation details as well as an application to the problem of feature extraction in weather prediction.

Using knowledge management processes to develop and implement organisational training strategies for virtual teams : an action learning approach

This paper develops a conceptual model of a knowledge management system that could be used to develop and implement organizational training strategies for virtual teams. An action research-based case is presented to support and illustrate the contention that action-learning methods can be effectively used to enable and tap into the knowledge generated by virtual teams. Virtual teams are an increasingly common response to changing organizational needs. However, the use of virtual teams has outpaced our understanding of their dynamics and unique characteristics. Practitioners are now offering virtual team training, but few organizations are making the effort to offer in-house training. Moreover, they are missing out on the opportunity to systematically capture the knowledge produced by virtual teams and cycle it back into virtual team training and support systems.

Cases in management

This text is distinguished by its choice of case studies with Australian settings. The book is presented in two parts: the first part discusses case study methodology, addressing both teacher and student; the second part offers a selection of cases covering major areas in management.

The interdependency between knowledge management and quality

In this paper, the authors seek to examine the link between Knowledge Management (KM) and Quality. They propose that as KM reaches its maturity in terms of acceptance as an important part of doing business in the modern world, that Quality will again become the mantra of successful companies. A national survey of 1000 Quality certified organisations in Australia was distributed with a 25% response rate. The survey asked questions pertaining to their use of KM, their Quality culture as well as their Quality performance measures. As a result of preliminary analysis of the data, the authors suggest that in order to survive in such a dynamic environment, organisations will have to embrace KM as a fundamental component of delivering a Quality culture.

Knowledge management : the fundamental component for delivery

This paper seeks to examine the link between Knowledge Management (KM) and Quality Management (QM) with a particular focus on the role of a Quality Culture. The authors propose that as Knowledge Management reaches its maturity in terms of acceptance as an important part of doing business in the modern world, that quality will again become the mantra of successful companies. This time, however, quality will not only be defined in terms of the properties of the product and/or services that the organisation provides, but in a more holistic manner that is subject to rapid change and shifting customer preferences. This increasingly dynamic knowledge-driven environment will require companies to pay close adherence to quality in order to satisfy demand and stay ahead of the competition. A national survey of 1000 quality certified organisations in Australia was distributed with a 23% response rate. The survey asked questions pertaining to the organisations' use of Knowledge Management, their quality culture, as well as their quality performance measures. As a result of an analysis of the data, the authors suggest that, in order to survive in such a dynamic environment, organisations will have to embrace Knowledge Management as a fundamental component of delivery of a quality culture.

Knowledge management as perceived by quality practitioners

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the relationship between knowledge management and quality management with a particular focus on the role of quality culture. The paper also aims to address the assumption that as knowledge management reaches its maturity, in terms of acceptance as an important part of doing business in the modern world, quality will again become the mantra of successful companies.

Design/methodology/approach – A total of 1,000 quality managers from Australian organisations were surveyed for their perspectives on current and future knowledge management and quality management approaches. The questionnaire utilised both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The questionnaire was broken into three sections: respondent profile, current knowledge management and quality management practices, and future predictions for both knowledge management and quality management.

Findings – The key finding of the paper was that organisations would have to embrace a quality culture as a fundamental component of implementing knowledge management in order to compete successfully in such a dynamic business environment. The responses from this survey assist in identifying the relationship between knowledge and quality management, and the importance and future of both knowledge and quality management.

Originality/value – This paper is based upon the assumption that quality is in fact, resurging. It has identified quality culture as the significant link between knowledge management and quality management that leads to successful competitive advantage. Organisations are urged to recognise knowledge management as a vehicle for success not a stand-alone process. It is the first time that such a survey has been designed, and the first time a paper has produced an explanation to the current situation.

Toward a synergy between simulation and knowledge management for business intelligence

The adoption of simulation as a powerful enabling method for knowledge management is hampered by the relatively high cost of model construction and maintenance. A two-step procedure, based on a divide and conquer strategy, is proposed in this paper. First, a simulation program is partitioned based on a reinterpretation of the model-view-controller architecture. Individual parts are then connected, in terms of abstraction, to guard against possible changes that resulted from shifting user requirements. We explore the applicability of these design principles through a detailed discussion of an industry case study. The knowledge-based perspective guides the design of architecture to accommodate the need of emulation without compromising the integrity of the simulation program. The synergy between simulation and a knowledge management perspective, as shown in the case study, has the potential to achieve the objectives of rapid development of models, with low maintenance cost. This could, in turn, facilitate an extension of the use of simulation in the knowledge management domain.

Categorisation of knowledge management processes in the development of sustainable enterprises

Sustainable development is a growing area of interest in organisations. Particularly those that have large energy demands for processing, use dwindling raw materials or produce a great deal of waste through production. Knowing those processes that can contribute to making an organisation more sustainable provides a great advantage both in terms of project implementation success and in measurable Triple Bottom Line returns.

In previous research we identified that many of the Information Technology processes used to assist organisations in developing sustainable practices were more clearly suited as Knowledge Management processes (Van Der Meer and Sinnappan, 2008), however less empirical study has been done to categorise them meaningfully.

In this study we have taken these Knowledge Management processes and categorised them according to the sustainable development practice where we identify they can be of service based on Waage et al (2003). Through this we are hoping to develop a framework for organisations to determine what Knowledge Management processes are needed to achieve the particular sustainable development. We may also be able to judge what steps an organisation needs to take to develop further sustainable practices in other areas.

Development of a framework for knowledge management tools in sustainable development would assist industries in determining the best processes for these sustainable projects. This framework also contributes to the body of knowledge on sustainable development and Information Technology.