Teaching:
Knowledge Management, master students business
administration, February – March, 6 ects
Course objectives:
1)
Learn about theoretical aspects concerning knowledge and organizations.
2) Gain hands-on experience with
academic research (interviews and statistics) and consultancy practices
(writing and presenting a report with findings and recommendations).
Content
Knowledge
management is a relatively new field within organizations, both in practice as
in terms of theory. Knowledge management is about ways to manage knowledge
processes such that organizations are better able to learn. It is a
multi-disciplinary field, using and contributing to theories on organizational
strategy (e.g. ideas taken from the resource based theories of the firm) human
resource management and development (e.g. addressing ways individuals and
communities share knowledge and learn from each other) and from the field of
information systems (how to support knowledge sharing and development with IT,
such as intranets, expert finding systems).
Part I of the course concentrates on the theory of knowledge management.
Students are asked to read various research articles on organizational
learning; intellectual, human and social capital; critical aspects of managing
knowledge; IT to support knowledge sharing and knowledge creations; social
network analysis. This literature will be discussed in relation with various
practical cases on knowledge management. This part of the course will be
concluded with the writing of a theoretical paper in which the literature is
combined.
Part
II of the course concentrates on bringing the theory into practice by
conducting knowledge management research at a company. Central to this research
is a knowledge
management scan. The scan is a research instrument that is used
to analyse formal and informal knowledge management practices in organizations.
By means of interviews and questionnaires, students are asked to analyse the
present knowledge processes within an organization. Qualitative and
quantitative (SPSS) analyses methods are used to diagnose the current
practices. Students are asked to write a research report based on their
findings and give recommendations for the future. In the end, students will
present these findings and recommendations to the organization.
Compulsory: Reader with scientific
articles
Recommended reading: Huysman, M.H. and
D. De Wit (2002) Knowledge sharing in practice,
Individual case assignments (3) in
total: 30%
Individual theory paper: 20%
Individual participation: 10%
End report 40%
Students are expected to come to class prepared.
Preparation includes: hand in a completed assignment; familiarization with
required readings and readiness to participate in class discussions. Non-attendance
during part I of the course is only allowed once.
C Capita Selecta:
Master
Business Administration April – May 6ects:
Individual research projects on Knowledge and Organization. This can be
combined with the Master Thesis.
D Supervision Bachelor theses and Master theses:
On
topics related to Knowledge and Organization, IS and qualitative research,
social dynamics of IS
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