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Knowledge Management Tools 305

• Groupware and other collaboration tools are essential enablers of knowledge fl ow
and knowledge sharing activities among personnel.
• Data mining and knowledge discovery techniques can be used to discover or identify
emergent patterns that could not have otherwise been detected. Some of these may
provide valuable insights.
• Intelligent fi ltering agents are a KM technology that can help address the challenges
of information overload by selecting relevant content and delivering this in a just-in-
time and just-enough format.
• A knowledge repository will often be the most used and most visible aspect of a KM
technology. What is important is not so much the containers but the content and
how this content will be managed.
• Knowledge management technologies help support emergent phenomena involved
in the creation, sharing, and application of valuable knowledge assets.

Discussion Points

1. Discuss the pros and cons of the major technologies used in:
a. The knowledge creation and capture phase.
b. The knowledge sharing and dissemination phase.
c. The knowledge acquisition and application phase.
2. Data mining technologies can be used on a number of different types of knowledge
content. What are the major categories and what sorts of patterns would this technol-
ogy detect?
3. Describe an application of blog technology within an organization. What potential
benefi ts would accrue to the individual, the community of practice, and to the orga-
nization as a whole if blogs were implemented?
4. How would you categorize the different forms of groupware or collaboration tech-
nologies? What sort of criteria would you make use of in order to determine when
and where each type would be the best means of sharing and disseminating knowl-
edge? How would you adopt a cost-benefi t approach to such a technology selection
decision?
5. What role can a wiki play in promoting group collaboration? What advantages does
a wiki offer when compared to a discussion forum?
6. What role is played by e-learning tools in knowledge management?