B-Modul 31831 - Knowledge Management (Kurs 41850)

Course Unit 1 - Foundations (60h)

(Authors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Olivia Hornung, M.Litt.)

The introductory course unit provides the basic definitions of knowledge, information, information object, and knowledge management. Three layers of a KM architecture are introduced and elaborated on: strategy, processes, and systems. Additionally, the four KM action fields (content, collaboration, competence, culture) as a basis for the further course units are explained. Then, basic KM processes, KM strategy, and KM success (by illustrating typical goals, critical success factors, key performance indicators as well as frameworks and models for assessment) are discussed. Eventually, the roles of culture and organization supporting successful KM are examined and an organizational model for supporting KM is presented.

Course Unit 2 - Content Management (60h)

(Authors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Olivia Hornung, M.Litt.)

The second course unit provides an introduction and the definition of content management (CM) and content management systems (CMS). It explains processes, roles and measurements of success concerning CM. Each process in the CM life cycle is introduced accordingly and the purpose behind it explained in detail. Then, roles in CM are presented and elaborated on. The first part concludes with a section on measuring CM success, including the according critical success factors and key performance indicators. The second part is dedicated to CMS and respective applications. The underlying CM architecture is explained, and functions of CMS are clustered and analyzed. Eventually, examples of CMS are presented and elucidated.

Course Unit 3 - Community Management & Collaboration (60h)

(Authors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Sven Dittes, MSc.)

The third course unit aims at providing an overview of concept and the corresponding IT in the context of community management activities and collaboration. The first part describes the background and principles of communities as a secondary organizational structure. Drawing on this, the concepts of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and Enterprise 2.0 are explained by stating the underlying principles and supported processes as well as by showcasing the differences and similarities of both paradigms. Additionally, the architecture, historical development and various types of community management systems are introduced. The final part of this course unit presents a research paper on introducing an enterprise social media platform as a community management system within an organization.

Course Unit 4 - Competence Management (60h)

(Authors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Dr. Christian Sorgenfrei)

The fourth course unit’s objective is to give students a comprehensive overview of competence management in organizations. This comprises both theoretical fundamentals as well as practical examples and recommendations. In particular, it introduces organizational core competences from a theoretical perspective and outlines different methods for an individual competence management approach. These methods are introduced along with practical examples and are therefore helpful to illustrate organizational approaches towards assessing and developing individual competences. Furthermore, the course unit provides students with an overview of the architecture and functions of competence management systems for individual competence management in organizations. It also introduces design principles for competence management systems as well as recent developments in e-learning systems. Eventually, the course unit closes with a research paper on the effectiveness of such systems and the specific role of learner control.

Course Unit 5 - Selected Technological Aspects (60h)

(Authors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik, Olivia Hornung, M.Litt.)

The objective of the fifth course unit is to provide an overview over text mining and semantic technologies used to retrieve information as well as for information structuring and classification. For both technological approaches, foundations, potential benefits, requirements, and limitations are provided and contrasted. Eventually, the methods will be evaluated and discussed. As a result, students will have a comprehensive understanding on text mining and semantic technologies, and will have an in-depth understanding of the classification and retrieval process which was introduced in course unit 2 on content management as well as selected processes of the orientation pillar introduced in course unit 1.