Page 223 - DCAP208_Management Support Systems

Management Support Systems

Notes Knowledge extraction from texts: Knowledge extraction from texts (Text Mining) is the
discovery of useful information from hidden patterns buried in large corpus of texts
(sometimes called non structured or semi-structured information). Research engines now
process those types or texts, more and more abundant, included web pages that are a
growing source of knowledge.

Supporting Technologies for Explicit (Elicited) Knowledge Management

After having elicited a part of the knowledge capital, one has an informational corpus susceptible
to be used for transferring or operating knowledge. To put this corpus in action, on can elaborate
two kinds of systems:
Knowledge servers: These are systems, usually included in the intranet of the company,
from which one can browse (in the most possible intelligent and ergonomic manner) the
elicited knowledge. These systems don’t solve problems directly for the users, but give
means, in a rich and flexible way, for retrieving knowledge that may be useful to solve an
operational problem.
Knowledge based systems: These are computer-based systems which operate the elicited
knowledge, as, for example, expert systems. They use the elicited data and structures to
sole a precise high level problem: decision support, process supervision, diagnostic,
resource planning, design support.

Task Analyze the uses of knowledge servers.
13.2.2 Tacit Knowledge Management

Knowledge elicitation is an approach that may be not chosen by some organisations, for various
reasons: difficulties to set up such processes that may be long and time consuming, direct cost
too high, confidentiality problems, problems with people, with the knowledge networks.
Another possible approach can be derived from the way in which knowledge is produced in
organisations, more precisely from the different forms of groups and functions which participate:
networks, communities … Knowledge is there seen as the result of a cooperative process in a
collective action. The problem is then not to elicit this knowledge, but to foster its creation, its
sharing by managing the cooperative work of a community of people. One then don’t manage
knowledge, but the community which creates it. This knowledge may then remain tacit within
the community, while being shared and operational. One may then talk of “cooperative
Knowledge Management”.

The tacit/explicit approaches are not opposed but complementary. It is, for instance, useful that
a knowledge community which manages its own knowledge produces visible and tangible
records; and on the other hand, an elicited corpus of knowledge needs a knowledge community
to operate it and make it evolve.
Cooperative Knowledge Management requires four key points:

Identification of knowledge communities
Exchange mechanisms that allows knowledge transfer in knowledge communities
Principles of managing and supervising cooperation

Technologies supporting cooperative Knowledge Management

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