Meliha Handzic

Auditing knowledge management practices: model and application

This paper proposes a knowledge management audit model to assist organisations to obtain an accurate picture of their knowledge-based assets and the strategies used to manage that knowledge across the organisations. The model also serves as a means for assessing how well the identified assets and strategies meet organisational business goals and strategies. The practical application of the model is illustrated in the local government environment. Implications of such an audit are also discussed.

Evaluating KMS Effectiveness for Decision Support: Preliminary Results

This study evaluated the effectiveness of two knowledge management systems (KMS) for supporting individual decision makers in a predictive judgment task. The systems differed with respect to the way the technology was used to assist knowledge utilisation during the judgment process. The informating white-box KMS brought together relevant know-what and know-how in the form conducive to human consumption. The automating black-box KMS embedded codified knowledge within the software and automated its application. The preliminary results obtained from two contexts are mixed and suggest the contingent nature of KMS effectiveness on organisational identification.

Global faculty learning community: a case study

This case study provides an exploratory analysis of the Faculty Learning Community (FLC) aimed at encouraging and supporting sharing of teaching experiences among faculty members at Universitas 21 Global (U21G). The analysis reveals a community in the formative stages of evolutionary development. The preliminary results indicate a prevailing pattern of knowledge sharing characterised by low intensity, variable member participation and selective topical focus. The results also point to a number of possible reasons for the exhibited behaviour including FLCs academic environment, instrumental nature of the community and its majority adjunct faculty membership. Further directions for practical actions are recommended that may help FLC to grow and mature and future research that may help to demystify contemporary learning communities.

Managing Knowledge with Technology: Current Trends in Local Government

This chapter reports on types and roles of information and communication technologies (ICT) implemented in knowledge management (KM) solutions in local governments. A sample of nine local councils were rated on usage of various generic and KM specific ICT in supporting knowledge exploitation or exploration, and codification or personalization strategies. The results indicate a marked preference for generic types of ICT, and support for knowledge exploitation and codification approaches. These findings and their implications are further interpreted in terms of three stages of KM development in organizations.

Corporate E-Learning: An Empirical Evaluation

This paper explores user views of the current e-learning practices in an organisational setting. Eighty employees of Korean Air, who were enrolled in an e-learning course, participated in the study on a voluntary basis. Data on employees perceptions of importance and satisfaction with their course portal were gathered by administering a survey questionnaire. The study revealed that employees considered all portal features as quite important and satisfying, although some more than others. They also agreed that there was scope for further improvement through adding extra functionality. These findings have important implications for improving the effectiveness of corporate e-learning.

A Survey of Knowledge Management Adoption in Public Administration

This paper reports the results of a survey of the adoption of knowledge management (KM) in the public administration organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The results indicate that these organisations have a good understanding of the value of their knowledge assets, that they are in the process of implementing some form of strategy to manage these assets, and that they face obstacles in this process that are mainly outside their control. The overall picture also shows that KM practices in BiH are being implemented at similar levels as other countries in all aspects except measurement and technology. This suggests that BiH needs to catch up with the more advanced countries by accelerating application of these two KM initiatives.