1. Knowledge Management, Decision Support, and the TPA Case
Brian Mennecke

2. How can IT be used to support decision makers?
By supporting various individual and team activities and roles:
Communication and team interaction
The assimilation and filtering of data
Assist with problem recognition
Assist with problem solving
Putting together the results into a cohesive package

3. Data is turned into information, but the decision maker also needs Knowledge to make decisions
Types of knowledge:
Descriptive Knowledge
Procedural Knowledge
Reasoning Knowledge
Forms of Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge

5. Examples of technologies that can support or enhance the transformation of knowledge (IBM Systems Journal)
Tacit to Tacit
Tacit to Explicit
E-meetings
Answering questions
Synchronous collaboration (chat)
Annotation
Explicit to Tacit
Explicit to Explicit
Visualization
Text search
Browsable video/audio of presentations
Document categorization

6. Knowledge Management Tools
Text and Forms management
Database and Reporting management
Spreadsheet, Solvers and Charts management
Programming management.
Rules management

7. Knowledge Management Processes
Source: DENNIS, Alan R. and Iris VESSEY (2005). “Three Knowledge Management Strategies: Knowledge Hierarchies, Knowledge Markets, and Knowledge Communities,” MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 4, No. 4, p

8. Knowledge Management Strategies
Source: DENNIS, Alan R. and Iris VESSEY (2005). “Three Knowledge Management Strategies: Knowledge Hierarchies, Knowledge Markets, and Knowledge Communities,” MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 4, No. 4, p

9. Knowledge Delivery Approaches
Source: DENNIS, Alan R. and Iris VESSEY (2005). “Three Knowledge Management Strategies: Knowledge Hierarchies, Knowledge Markets, and Knowledge Communities,” MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 4, No. 4, p

10. Decision Support Systems (DSS)
DSS can be classified as
data-oriented
provide tools for the manipulation and analysis of data
model-based
generally have some kind of mathematical model of the decision being supported

11. A model of a DSS

12. A model of a Spatial DSS

13. So, how does a DSS benefit decision makers
Supplements the decision maker
Allows improved intelligence, decision, and choice activities
Facilitates problem solving
Provides assistance with non-structures decisions
Assists with knowledge management

14. Knowledge Management at TPA
What are the general characteristics of…
The organizational environment at TPA
The SharePointProject system as a kind of knowledge management system
The adoption process of SharePointProject

15. Knowledge Management at TPA
Where is the initiative for knowledge management coming from?
What impact does this have on the implementation of the initiative
How was the initiative handled?

16. Knowledge Management at TPA
Where is the initiative for knowledge management coming from?
What impact does this have on the implementation of the initiative
How was the initiative handled?
How would you characterize this strategy?
How well is IT aligned with this strategy?

17. Knowledge Management at TPA
What is wrong with their initiative?
They want to be sharing knowledge… why isn’t it working?
How would you characterize the organization in terms of business processes and general IT structure?

18. Knowledge Management at TPA
One way to understand their efforts is to think about the stages of IT implementation and architectures
application silo architecture: a number of individual applications
standardized technology architecture: enterprise wide TECH standards
rationalized data architecture: enterprise wide DATA and PROCESS standards
modular architecture: Global standards with loosely coupled applications, data, and technology, but enabling local customization

19. Ross’ Model of IT Implementation

20. Knowledge Management at TPA
So, where is TPA?
In the end, their IT implementation is misaligned with the organizations strategy.
But, where is this misalignment coming from?
IT?
Processes?
Incentives?

21. Aligning IT
Henderson and Venkatraman’s Strategic Alignment Model

22. Aligning IT?
The challenge for TPA is that processes are not aligned with IT
The strategy is defined and feasible
The IT strategy fits the organization’s strategy
The IT implementation and processes are aligned with both strategies
What about the organizational processes?

23. What to do? Activity! Break into your teams and discuss this problem
Where/What is the problem? IT
Elsewhere?
How do you suggest TPA address this problem?