The Design Stage of the KMS, Essay Example

The design stage of the KMS and e-systems processes determines the fundamental architecture that they will employ. Turban et al. (2010) explained design in terms of types of virtual communities, and the purposes to which they might be put. Companies might use virtual communities, not only to promote their products and services, but also as ways of collecting feedback: thus, “IBM, GE, and other companies have communities of employees and business partners who contribute to knowledge creation” (p. 324). Moreover, the design can promote knowledge sharing with interested parties, and even brainstorming to overcome difficult problems (p. 325). Design architectures might also be classified by type: for example, there are social media sites, “such as MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo, in which millions of members can express themselves, find friends,” and exchange content; there are also communities for various associations, affinity portals organized by interest, sites that target particular demographics, communities of practice, and virtual worlds (pp. 390-391).

Davenport and Prusak (2000) differentiated knowledge architectures by type. For example, the authors gave an excellent example of knowledge architecture design by the automobile manufacturer Chrysler (p. 132). Chrysler, as a manufacturer of automobiles, wanted a way to store information pertaining to the processes of engineering for various car components. The solution was Lotus Notes, an e-system that can be used to create one’s own knowledge architecture. Using Lotus Notes, Chrysler created the “’Engineering Book of Knowledge,’” which contains notes about the steps for the processes employed to manufacture its automobile components (p. 132). Case-based reasoning (CBR) systems are another example of the design of a knowledge architecture: CBR systems use cases, bodies of knowledge created by humans, to inform their own knowledge (p. 127). CBR systems, at their best, can approximate some of the “fluid thinking” of the human mind (p. 127).