Summary:
The complex decision-making process in the field of Libraries deserves to be supported by instruments that make it possible to increase the rationality, coherence and consistency of decisions in relation to institutional purposes. The main objective of this article is to present concepts about a new way of managing organizations: Management for Knowledge. Being its greatest strategic strength, the management of intangible assets, such as the intellectual capital and information of the institution itself.
For this new mode of administration, we have tools that DSS systems offer us, which become the complement of human decision-making capacities, using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for this.
Summary:
The complex process of take decisions in the libraries, deserve the support for the instruments that permit developed the rationality, the coherence and the consistence in relation whit the institutional purpose. This article has like principal objective show the concepts in a new way of the organizations management: the Knowledge Management. In this concept, the strongest point in the strategy: the untouchables actives, the intellectual capital and the information in the institution.
For this new concept of management we count whit tools give for the same system DSS, that transform us in the capacities of decision complement for the human been, for that we using the information technologies and communication.
The management knowledge is a modelizadora stream processing organizations introducing the consideration of another resource (knowledge), to meet the new demands of change and improvement, and in order to maintain competitive positions using intensively capabilities of people and information technology.
Knowledge management is another way of responding to the same phenomenon, but emphasizing the value of knowledge as a strategic element that conditions and configures the organization and its model, the management and development of the company, its products and services, and the network of its collaborators, as key criteria in the mission and vision of the business value, in the contribution of people and their responsibilities, in the organization of work teams, and in the development of the strategy aimed at exploring and exploiting the knowledge.
Knowledge management tends to configure the most dynamic, intelligent and effective development and exploitation of the non-material resources of an organization, at a time when human resources, as sole agents that operate knowledge, constitute the fundamental substrate of organizational development. intelligent.
Using organizational knowledge as a key to development
The knowledge is being introduced into systems and processes, which imbibe them and make them practical for the external users of the organization, largely unaware of its essence. (In the case of a Library, users know little or nothing about the technical processing of information, but not Librarians) A knowledge that does not become embedded in systems (Technicians, IT, training, etc.) is just a potential without exploitation, it is a good candidate but it lacks the distribution route and the mechanism that makes its use possible and, therefore, gives it value as a creator of wealth.
In turn, the maturation cycle in the dissemination of knowledge depends largely on the nature of the knowledge: technical, humanistic, sociological. Knowledge management is certainly advancing the knowledge employability cycle, through systems that support it, and people who use it in an intelligent way for the destinies of the community in which they are developed. The intelligence of a collective, organized to be effective in the face of external and internal events, both anticipated and unforeseen.
Those related to the assimilation and transmission of knowledge, that is, those related to learning and motivation. Transparency in knowledge, the acquisition of new knowledge and its collective application require a personal effort to learn that goes beyond what we understand work as action of execution of tasks, more or less simple and predetermined. The exploitation of organizational intelligence is the result of good knowledge management and continuous development of them. This intelligence is applied to the environment in which the Library is inserted (institutional and social), technology, internal systems, management of material resources, in the form of practices of all kinds,that coherently articulated constitute formal and informal processes that collaborating with each other give highly competitive results.
For the use of Information Technologies, which can be considered, the means for the possible exploitation of knowledge; it is necessary to make possible the development of a better organization, considering; the types of information within the information unit, the data analysis systems, the storage of structured and semi-structured content, powerful agents that help users to search for specific knowledge, and better communication systems and cooperative training.
We require more qualification, training and talent to create a paradigm of the predictable and thus manage the unexpected. Responses to the exterior, to changes, and to competition are the keys to evolve. That is why it is important to exploit information, knowledge, intelligence and talent, and for this there is no other way than to work, from the existence of the knowledge of the organizations themselves.
Why think about technological management
We could define technological management by saying that it is the organizational activity through which the necessary technology is defined and implemented, to achieve the objectives and goals of an organization (2). Technological management can be summarized as: applied knowledge.
Many Libraries suffer from the so-called technological stagnation, which occurs when the acquired technology is not assimilated, through the purchase of equipment or technical assistance received. The degree of assimilation of a specific technology in an organization is simply the degree of knowledge and understanding that its employees achieve about it. In large part, this depends on the degree of staff training, the attitude of the Information Unit Management, the acceptance of new ideas, the communication schemes used in the organization, etc.
Within technological management, some activities are normally mentioned such as:
- Prospecting - Selection - Negotiation - Acquisition –Adaptation - Modification - Generation (Innovation).
Implicit in each of them is learning by the organization's employees. When investments in "technology" are approved, without taking into account that they must be accompanied by investments not less important, in the process of assimilation of the same. This implies creating the appropriate conditions so that the personnel know, understand and learn to use it in the most productive way.
In defining both the management of knowledge as in the technology management, concordance observed that both activities seek to achieve the objectives, managing knowledge or technology, which requires the organization to be competitive.
The reasons why both knowledge management and technology management have been developed are the same: the organization must be competitive and face the pressures of a changing and globalized environment. Libraries should not be removed from this challenge.
DSS Decision Support Systems
The new options offered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have a direct impact on the direction of any organization, demanding a different way of acting if it wishes to continue being effective and efficient. Organizations should replace their traditional system of thinking (focused on solving short-term problems and forecasting the future based on the past) and make way for another more strategic system.
The organization's strategy must contemplate, as an essential requirement for its success, the creation and maintenance of an adequate technological base that supports the decision-making process, allowing it to achieve the desired competitive advantages, as well as creating the greatest synergies favorable to the organization. That Libraries do not incorporate this concept would be a serious error, which could even affect the same profession as Librarian.
Decision support systems (DSS) are the third generation of computer-based applications. The most frequent use of the first generation was transaction processing, decision-making assistance, was left to management scientists and operational researchers who generated structured models, using computers only as powerful calculation aids
What are DSS Systems?
DSS systems become the complement of human decision-making capabilities, using the power that computing adopts for data processing. We believe that it would be useful to define what a decision support system could be before starting to create it in detail.
Freyenfeld (3), which determines the help system for the Decision Theme (DSS's) as:
“An interactive data process and a visual representation system (graphical environment) that is used to aid in the decision-making process and must have the following characteristics ”
- Be simple enough for the person who must decide in person to use it. It must display the information in familiar format and terminology for the user. Be selective in its provision of information (avoiding overloading the user
The use of DSS must allow in an organization:
- Improve the decision-making process, providing information that does not currently exist, as well as improved access. The display the analysis of the information. On the other hand, improvements in deductive procedures are provided based on the information we have and offering a better explanation to third parties about the decisions made. DSS should be as “specialized” about the user problem as possible. The DSS must take into account the problems surrounding potential users. This
problem can be basically summarized in two points: its lack of computer culture and the absence of systematization in the approaches to problems to be solved by management positions.The DSS must be managed by "experts " who understand what the Librarian wants to see and how he should do it. The DSS must be controllable by the Librarian: he must be able to specify: what reports he needs, with priority he wants them., and how the data should be made. The DSS should be able to use any data, model, discipline, tool or technique of visual presentation and ultimately everything that facilitates the decision of the human being.
The storage of the Information.
The organizational culture is basically based on the stored information. From the diffusion and massive use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), databases have been created and maintained, some of which deserve the name of Data Warehouse or “Data Warehouse” (4)
Within the framework of these definitions, it is possible to determine a classification of these Data Warehouses:
- The Data Warehouse of integral type that supports the decision-making process of the general management of the organization, is suitable for the general vision of the organization.The Data Warehouse oriented to processes, supports the decisions of each and every Documentary processes and their relationship with the external environment.The Data Warehouse oriented to the areas of the Library, which provides support to the decision-making process of any and all, as well as to the interaction between them and with the external world.
Data mining
To obtain useful information that is not explicitly represented in the data, data mining combines artificial intelligence techniques, statistical analysis, databases, and graphical visualization.
Data mining techniques are the result of a long process of product research and development, which began when organizations' data was first stored on computers. Continuing with improvements in data access, and more recently with technologies generated to allow users to navigate through the data in real time.
Franco Jean-Michel says that “data mining takes this process of evolution beyond retrospective data access and navigation, towards the delivery of prospective and proactive information, supported by three technologies that are already mature enough: mass collection data, the existence of powerful computers with multiprocessors and data mining algorithms "(5)
Data mining is an idea based on a simple analogy. The growth of data warehouses has created mountains of data, which represent an invaluable resource for the organization. However to extract the valuable from the mountain you must dig, or practice mining, to reach the precious metal 'nuggets', in our case knowledge.
In any organization, as well as in Libraries, databases are built with great enthusiasm, however there is no consensus about the meaning of data mining or what this process entails, or what the result of process, or what tools it uses.
One of the acceptable definitions of data mining claims that it is a traditional data analysis methodology enriched with the most advanced techniques applied to discovering unknown patterns.
It is a concept of exploitation radically different in nature from that of management information systems, since it is not based on management indicators or highly aggregated information, but rather on the detailed information contained in the database.
Data mining, consisting of extracting hidden and predictable information from large databases, is a powerful technology with great potential to help organizations focus on the most important information in their databases.
The data mining processes generate different models, from each one, it can be verified if the conclusions that they throw are valid and satisfactory enough to represent in a model the information provided by the Librarians.
Conclusions
Libraries must pay attention to the dissemination and conversion of knowledge. They act as bridges to convert the results of knowledge innovation into truly productive forces. Knowledge management in libraries seeks to promote relationships between the library and the user, to reinforce the knowledge working in a network and streamline the flow of knowledge itself.
In the era of the knowledge economy, libraries will have to research the development and application of information resources, build virtual libraries, protect intellectual property rights in the electronic age, define documentary products and services according to time. Thus establishing the bases for knowledge innovation.
The consideration of knowledge as an essential strategic resource and the ability of the education organization to create it as a fundamental capacity, represents an important advance in the evolution of the strategic direction.
Libraries are a direct part of the scientific research process. Library work is one more component of knowledge innovation. In the components of Knowledge Management, there are the advantages of its application to documentary systems, let's consider some favorable points:
- The meeting of a strategic differentiation Be able to produce new knowledge through experience, skills and change of attitudes within the organizational culture of the information unit Improve communication between areas Identify and qualify the sources of knowledge and be able to transfer it effectively. able to measure the results from the data, information and knowledge inside and outside the organization. Shorten the time in planning projects. Optimize processes, increasing productivity in services and documentary products. Use existing resources to a greater degree. within the Library. To enable the creation of a virtuous circle between individual and organizational learning.Value the work of Professionals and Assistants Create a bond of belonging between employees with the Library Define systems and supports for decision-making
The possibilities of establishing these mechanisms are possible in information systems. Today, a good level Library is the sum of the user's knowledge plus the capacity to absorb knowledge from the environment, multiplied by the responsiveness and raised to confidence. And to achieve this, we must focus on managing for knowledge.
Quotes:
Well Eduardo
Hernando Zorrilla. The Knowledge Management and Technological Management
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Franco Jean-Michel and Eds-Institut Prométhéus. “The Data Warehouse. The Data Mining ”Editions Gestión 2000. 1997
Basic Bibliographic References for the subject of knowledge management
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Basic bibliographic references for the subject of TECHNOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
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Francisco Javier Mejía, Technological Management Model for Manufacturing and Service Companies, Technological Management Program, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, April 18
Bibliographic references for the DSS topic
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