The Role of Internet in Knowledge Management

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The effect of globalisation
Changes in labor demand
The use of knowledge systems
Effect of technology on organizational behaviour
Recommendations
Conclusion

Introduction

Topics that revolve around management science, economics and information systems focus on knowledge as the most valuable asset for the organization, in the knowledge based economy. Information systems are regarded as tools for converting knowledge into valuable industrial commodities.

The adoption of the internet technologies towards the end of the twentieth century sent local networks into a global network, making up the infrastructure of information society. The Web is one of the main driving forces of the Internet. The internet is widely used by large and small businesses, by private citizens, in schools and by consumers.

The internet is a harmonizing factor for the enhancement of open and simple standards that are necessary in setting the agenda for the development of commercial software. Public and private organisations recognise that they need to have an opinion about how the technology affects their business.

The Internet as global infrastructure plays an increasingly vital role in both information systems practice and research. The ability of Internet as a common platform to build services upon also creates expectations. Stand alone information systems are expected to integrate with the global network.

Internet technology supports horizontal solutions involving a variety of actors both those behind the service, and those using the service. Thus, these systems become large heterogeneous networks that need to be aligned with an installed-base of existing systems as well as practices. In this way, Internet serves as an important integrating technology.

The effect of globalisation

Globalisation can be described as the increased level of time-space distansiation, which affects the relation between local and distant social forms, and events become correspondingly stretched. Globalisation is seen as constituent of modernization, and it leads to increased interdependency, and decreased control.

More knowledge and better technology result in increased control. Changes such as the introduction of new technologies, organisational structures and work procedures have side-effects on those interacting with processes being involved in the change.

Information technology is essential in ensuring the smooth functioning of the various departments within an organization, including the human resource department, finance department, manufacturing department, as well as the security related purposes. Information systems are beneficial to organizations in that they help to erase errors or mistakes in the proper functioning of the tools used for designing and manufacturing purposes.

Changes in labor demand

Before the development of information systems, the demand for labor favoured more skilled and educated workers. Technical progress has resulted in a shift of labor that is in demand, toward more highly skilled workers relative to the less skilled. The introduction of computers or telecommunications equipment in organizations requires organizational redesign.

Organizations need to make substantial changes to their service or output mix. This raises the possibility that computers affect labor demand both directly and indirectly, through firm-level changes. IT is embedded in a cluster of related innovations, notably organizational changes and product innovation, which taken together call for a higher-skilled labor mix.

The use of knowledge systems

Computer business systems are most effective in automating routine and well-defined work tasks. That permits substitution out of certain kinds of human effort. Especially in record keeping, remembering, simple calculating, and similar tasks, IT use has led firms to systematically substitute computer decision-making for human decision-making in clerical work.

Advances in artificial intelligence notwithstanding, the scope of this substitution have been limited. Adaptation to IT-based change may be a standing requirement of the modern firm, resulting in a lasting shift in labor demands.

Effect of technology on organizational behaviour

The present technologies fall into two broad categories; technologies related to manufacturing and technologies related to administration. The role of information technology in an organization includes information: capture, storage, manipulation and distribution.

There are different organizational issues associated with IT, including: ergonomics; psychology, which looks at employee attitudes; and sociology, which looks at the effect of technology on social structure, conflict and the relationship between operators/users and managers.

Technological change and advances may have two possible effects on an organization: firstly, the skill and the knowledge requirements of employees may change as new devices and programs are introduced. Secondly, to the extent that information technologies replace people then some people loses their jobs. New technology adaptation results in stress amongst the member of organizations.

When knowledge is viewed as a product of social interaction, instead of as an object such as a report or software program, then culture becomes even more central for understanding how to leverage knowledge because it creates the context for interaction in which knowledge is created and used.

For example, a company where it is not normal to share lessons learned across projects or sites does not provide a behavioral context where one groups valuable experiences are likely to be passed on to others in the firm, even if the technology makes it possible to do so. Thus, the added value of the knowledge for the organization is lost.

Recommendations

New IT technology diffuses best if introduced with simple reconfigurable objects, allowing the organization to adopt and explore the secondary effects of the technology, and find niches for the technology that fits the current corporate culture. Research has indicated that early growth in a sub-section of the organization might not be sustainable but can contribute to the diffusion.

Effective introduction of IT requires not only technical expertise but also managers who appreciate these changes and support them. Successful IT implementation requires changes to the way in which work is organized and in workers jobs. The changes needed and the effects of the IT are not determined exclusively by the nature of the technology, but also by the way that it is implemented.

Conclusion

Although computers have many positive effects on an organization, they have some negative ones as well. First of all, the possible reduction in the number of employees could decrease motivation in the organization, especially at the beginning of the computer technology introduction program. In addition, computer systems could increase task complexity, the number of sub-problems, and the degree of routine in tasks.

During the adaptation process not only the production methods or procedures of these organizations is affected but also the social procedures and nature of the organizations are affected. These effects can be positive and negative for both organizations and employees. Researches also showed that these effects can depend on many different factors interactions such as social, economical, cultural, and even geographical.

The management of an organization must be aware of all these factors and the interactions between them and deal with them before or concurrently they create a problem. In fact, the key role of a manager is to use these technological adaptations as an opportunity to rearrange the positions, procedures, relationships and tasks in the organization for better performance results.

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