• Give definition of Knowledge Management (KM) and clarify difference between data, information and knowledge.
• Brief history of how knowledge management has developed – Drucker, 1970s, etc.
• Why do organisations manage knowledge? KM drivers
Organisational Profile of the Hospital Sector in Wales
Main activities
• Brief history of the Hospital Sector in Wales do?
• What are the Hospital Sector in Wales primary activities?
• What sector/industry does the Hospital Sector in Wales operate within?
Location(s) of organisation
• Where is the Hospital Sector in Wales based? One country? Multiple countries?
• Does the Hospital Sector in Wales have a head office and sites or a single location? How many sites does the Hospital Sector in Wales have?
• Do different geographical areas have different focuses? A specific activity per site/all activities across all sites.
Staff profile
• What is the demographic of the workforce? Gender, age, level of education…
• What does the organisational hierarchy look like?
Main Findings: SWOT Analysis of Amazon’s Knowledge Management System
• What are the strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats in relation to the Hospital Sector in Wales knowledge management system? FOCUS ON THE KM SYSTEM, NOT THE ORGANISAITON IN GENERAL.
• You should be comfortable with what a SWOT analysis is and be able to address what aspects of the Knowledge Management System would fit under each category by this point in your research.
• If the Hospital Sector in Wales adopts the Resource-based View (RBV), you could include this as a strength. You can demonstrate your understanding of what the RBV is and how your organisation uses knowledge strategically to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Taking the Hospital Sector in Wales Knowledge through the RBV framework, including VRIO attributes, will demonstrate how they do this.
• If the Hospital Sector in Wales does not adopt the RBV, you could include this as a weakness, and then, discuss it as an opportunity to ‘make more of their KM system’. Detail what the RBV is and try and identify whether your organisation has the potential to adopt the RBV right away by taking their knowledge through the RBV framework; identifying whether their knowledge is tangible/intangible and heterogeneous/immobile, as well as whether their knowledge has VRIO attributes, meaning knowledge can be a source of sustained competitive advantage, the ultimate goal of the RBV. If their knowledge does have this potential right now, you could then recommend they adopt the RBV; if their knowledge does not have this potential right now, you could recommend they adapt/change the type of knowledge they acquire/store/disseminate/apply, so that it does successfully meet the requirements of the RBV framework to help achieve sustained competitive advantage.
• If you are unsure whether the Hospital Sector in Wales adopts the RBV or not, you could indicate it as a weakness that it is ‘unclear whether they adopt the RBV’, and then still give a detailed discussion of this as an opportunity, as the point above.
Task 3: Critical Evaluation of the organisations Knowledge Management System
Knowledge Management Value Chain (KMVC)
Provide an explanation of the four stages of your value chain: acquisition, storage, dissemination and application – what does the Hospital Sector in Wales do at each stage? Elaborate on the points made in your presentation. Refer back to the presentation guidance for what you could include in each section.
Task 4: Compile a conclusion to the report, outlining the main areas for development in the Knowledge Management System at the Hospital Sector in Wales, then provide recommendations based on this conclusion.
• Outline the main areas of Hospital Sector Knowledge Management System they do well;
• Outline the main areas to be developed within Hospital Sector Knowledge Management System;
• Write a set of recommendations as to how Hospital Sector can improve their Knowledge Management system.
