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I Sverige bedrivs en stor del av all forskning vid universitet. Det finns dock även forskningsinstitut; organisationer som helt inriktar sig på forskning. I takt med dagens moderna kunskapssamhälle så har kunskapshantering som ämne vuxit sedan 1990- talet. En viktig fråga inom kunskapshanteringen är hur kunskap och erfarenheter från projekt kan dokumenteras och arkiveras för att senare återanvändas i framtida arbeten. Anledningen till att vi valde kunskapshanteringen i just forskningsinstitut är att de är projektintensiva organisationer och att vi inte hittade några tidigare studier om det sambandet. Syftet med undersökningen är att analysera hur kunskapshanteringen ser ut i sex utvalda forskningsinstitut och för att lyckas så har två frågeställningar besvarats. Frågeställningarna är hur kunskap som skapas i projekt hanteras och hur instituten strukturerat sin kunskapshantering. För att svara på frågeställningarna genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med varsin anställd på sex svenska forskningsinstitut som arbetar med forskningsprojekt av olika slag. Den insamlade empirin analyserades med hjälp av kunskapsterminologi och utefter två teman: metoder och verktyg samt interaktion. En del av syftet var att undersöka om särskilda metoder och verktyg för kunskapshantering förekom i forskningsinstituten. Efter genomförd analys kan vi konstatera att typen av arbetsuppgifter spelar stor roll i kunskapshanteringen där skillnaden mellan de två samhällsvetenskapliga instituten och de övriga tekniska och naturvetenskapliga är tydlig. Förekomsten av de utvalda metoderna och verktygen för kunskapshantering skiljer sig, men de är till stor del frånvarande från de analyserade instituten där exempelvis endast hälften dokumenterar projekterfarenheter och arkiverar dem för framtida användning. De medvetna och strukturerade valen av kunskapshantering varierar mellan instituten, men den mänskliga interaktionens roll har visat sig vara väsentlig för att hantera projektrelaterad kunskap. / In Sweden, a large part of all research is conducted at universities. However, there are also research institutes; organisations wholly focused on research. Keeping up with today’s modern knowledge society, knowledge management as a subject has grown since the 1990’s. A key issue in knowledge management is how knowledge and experience from projects can be documented and archived for later use in future projects. The reason we chose knowledge management in research institutions is that they are project-intensive organizations and that we did not find any previous studies of the relationship between the two. The purpose of the study is to analyse what the knowledge management looks like in six selected research institutes and to achieve this two questions have been answered. The questions are how knowledge created in projects is managed and how the institutions have structured their knowledge management. In order to answer the questions qualitative interviews were conducted with a staff member from six Swedish research institutes of various kinds. The collected empirical data was analysed using knowledge terminology and by using two themes: methods and tools and interaction. Part of the purpose was to investigate if specific methods and tools for knowledge management were used in the research institutes. After completing the analysis, we can conclude that the type of assignment plays a major role in knowledge management where the difference between the two social science institutes and the other technical and natural sciences ones is clear. The presence of the selected methods and tools for knowledge management differs, but they are in large part absent from the analysed institutions where, for example, only half of them document project experiences and archive them for future use. The conscious and structured choices of knowledge management vary between the institutes, but the role of social interaction has shown itself to be essential for the management of project-related knowledge.

This research is based on real issues that have been recognised within the global organisation, Rolls-Royce. The first aim concerned an issue that many companies face, the difficulty that employees face in locating the knowledge and information they require, especially in larger organisations. The developed solution of an Information Map proved to be a success in providing people within the Submarines business with the location of' Configuration Management information. The concept of the Information Map is one that can be adopted by any business as the stages in the tools development have been well documented within Chapters Four, Five and Six. Analysis of the success of the Information Map led to the derivation of 10 lessons learned. These were then verified in a second case study of an intranet development. The second aim of the research was to create a Knowledge Management framework that could be adapted by companies looking to invest in Knowledge Management and provide them with a guide to use. This framework was built from the lessons learned from the Information Map and from other best practice derived from available literature and within Rolls-Royce. The work conducted within the Support business tries to fill in gaps in current research by offering companies a new approach to Knowledge Management, which was based upon the way that industries work today. The creation of the Knowledge Management framework simplifies the work conducted and offers practitioners an easy, high-level approach to the adoption of Knowledge Management by grouping the process into ten steps. This is presented in a fashion that is easy to follow and ultimately offers a guide to make the best use of the resources and budget available to Knowledge Management practitioners. Overall the research addresses the 'real' issues faced by Knowledge Management practitioners. The main contributions to the Knowledge Management domain are the Information Map, action research approach, implementation of Knowledge Management tools for the users needs and a Framework as a guide for industry.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Constructability issues cause dire repercussions in the industry and often pose as overwhelming threats to the successful delivery of projects. Constructability issues mainly arise from a design, which does not sufficiently embody the knowledge and expertise of the construction phase. Subsequently this creates a variety of negative secondary effects during project execution, which eventually manifest as time-, budget- and quality-risks to the project. The research thesis explores the status quo of constructability issues in South Africa, with specific reference to the relationship between construction and design. It is well known that close collaboration between consultants and contractors has the potential to lead to more effective construction processes, improved construction safety and to cost effective structural solutions. Not all contract forms allow sufficient collaboration between these parties at the time of conceptual design, nor at the detailed design stage. For this reason it is imperative that a designer has sufficient experience and knowledge of construction processes to produce suitably constructible designs. In principle, constructability issues can be regarded as the result of poor coherence, and thus poor communication, between construction and design. The problem therefore lies in the transfer of knowledge between project participants, which can be described as poor knowledge management, in particular, of constructability knowledge. This research aims to address the topic of constructability and to demonstrate how structural knowledge management between contractors and designers can lead to improved construction processes. The concept of constructability is defined, through the identification of technical traits to explicitly describe constructability, concurrently with input from industry expertise and professional experience in the field. Knowledge management principles are also studied in detail and the status quo of current knowledge management initiatives in the industry is investigated. The investigations are done through a series of questionnaire surveys, personal interviews and correspondences. The principle conclusions from the study are that designers do not always understand what constitutes a constructible design. Furthermore, although constructability knowledge is found to exist in complex tacit forms, some explicit guiding principles can indeed be formulated to aid designers. In addition, considering the unique characteristics of each project, these guiding principles should be supported by proposed knowledge management initiatives to facilitate structured forums of knowledge sharing between different parties to develop and transfer constructability knowledge. This will assist to accelerate the learning process towards becoming an accomplished designer, and empower the capacity of both designers and contractors to manage constructability problems. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Boubaarheidsprobleme veroorsaak ernstige gevolge in die bedryf en hou dikwels oorweldigende bedreigings in vir die suksesvolle lewering van projekte. Boubaarheidsprobleme ontstaan hoofsaaklik as gevolg van „n ontwerp wat nie genoeg kennis van die konstruksiefase behels nie. Gevolglik, word „n verskeidenheid van negatiewe sekondêre effekte geskep tydens die projek uitvoering, wat risikos uiteindelik veroorsaak in aspekte van tyd, geld en kwaliteit. Heirdie navorsing ondersoek die status quo van boubaarhiedsprobleme in Suid Afrika, met spesifieke verwysing na die verhouding tussen konstruksie en ontwerp. Dit is bekend dat geskikte samewerking tussen konsultante en kontrakteurs kan lei tot meer effektiewe bouprosesse, verbeterde bouveiligheid en goedkoper strukturele oplossings. Kontraktuele ooreenkomste laat nie altyd toe vir behoorlike samewerking tussen die partye gedurende ontwerp stadiums nie. Om hierdie rede, is dit noodsaaklik dat „n ontwerper voldoende ervaring en kennis van die konstruksie prosesse bevat, om behoorlike boubare ontwerpe te kan poduseer. In beginsel, kan boubaarheidsprobleme beskou word as „n gevolg van swak kommunikasie tussen konstruksie en ontwerp. Die problem lê dus in die oordrag van kennis tussen projek deelnemers, wat ook beskryf kan word as swak kennis-bestuur, in die geval, van boubaarheidskennis. Hierdie navorsing beoog om die onderwerp van boubaarheid aan te spreek en te demonstreer hoe strukturele kennis-bestuur tussen die kontrakteurs en ontwerpers tot verbeterde konstruksie prosesse kan lei. Die konsep van boubaarheid word gedefinieer, deur die idenfisering van tegniese eienskappe wat boubaarheid eksplisiet kan beskryf, gelyktydig met die insette van industrie kundigheid en professionele ondervinding. Kennis-bestuur beginsels word ook in diepte bestudeer en die status quo van die huidige kennis-bestuur inisiatiewe in die bedryf word ondersoek. Die ondersoeke word gedoen deur middel van vraelys opnames, persoonlike onderhoude en korrespondensies. Die algemene gevolgtrekkings uit die studie is dat ontwerpers nie altyd die implikasies van „n boubare ontwerp verstaan nie. Verder, alhoewel boubaarheidskennis bestaan in komplekse vorms in die gedagtes van konstruksie personeel, eksplsiete riglyne kan wel geformuleer word om die ontwerp prosses to steun. Aangesien projekte uniek is, moet hierdie riglyne ondersteun word deur die voorestelde kennis-bestuur inisiatiewe, om oop platforms van kennis oordrag te fasiliteer tussen verskillende partye. Dit sal help om die leer prosess te versnel en sal die kapasiteit van beide ontwerpers en kontrakteurs bemagtig, sodat hulle boubaarheidsprobleme beter te kan hanteer.

“Knowledge is the only treasure you can give entirely without running short of it (African proverb cited in IFAD, 2007).” And it has been largely recognised by organisations that knowledge is a resource that they can leverage on. As Bryan (2004) mentioned, the proprietary knowledge that resides in the minds of a company’s top professionals are a source of Competitive Advantage. Therefore, organisations that leverage on Knowledge Management to promote a Knowledge Management Strategy can achieve Competitive Advantage in a world of rapid change and growth where only organisations who keep on learning and adapting will survive. Therefore, this thesis work aims to answer the following research question: “How does leveraging on Knowledge Management promotes the delivery of Knowledge Management Strategy to achieve Competitive Advantage through the Dynamic Capabilities View?” The purpose of this research is to understand more about the practical path which aims to evolve into a dynamic path for organisations to leverage on Knowledge Management (KM) in order that its strategy consecution delivers Competitive Advantage. The authors explore the subject matter by building from existing literature on the main theoretical areas encountered, and then design the research and its approach from the research question. The research followed a qualitative approach and method by utilising semi-structured interviews done to 7 international development organisations, where 13 respondents contributed with their experiences and insights from their involvement in KM in their organisations. Moreover, secondary data was used to complement, support, compare and contrast the findings of the empirical research as the authors used qualitative documents related to the topic published by the organisations. As a result, all primary and secondary data were analysed in an inter-subjective interpretative way deriving from the theoretical framework in order to answer the research question. The research revealed that the identified gap in literature between Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Strategy is also existing in practice. It was identified that it depends on the maturity of KM in the organisation and/or the organisation’ maturity itself. But is not only restricted to that, the success of a KMS is directly linked to how the organisation articulates KM, and the importance given to it is based on the sense and utilisation of the dynamic nature of KM. Thus, it can turn its organisational capabilities into Dynamic Capabilities and achieve a Competitive Advantage, this is fundamental in international development organisations in the nonprofit sector, which is increasingly striving for resources where every organisation aims to be “the partner of choice.”

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The US Navy is embracing the principles of Knowledge Management (KM). One of the key components of KM is the Community of Practice. Communities of Practice are groups that form to share what they know, and to learn from one another regarding some aspect of their work. Organizations are strengthened through an improved network of contacts and enhanced productivity from their personnel. Personnel benefit through peer-group recognition and continuous learning. This thesis seeks to provide an understanding of how the Naval Intelligence Community, through the implementation of Communities of Practice, can reduce duplication of effort, increase collaboration between its personnel, and better support the resources in its people. In this thesis, we have provided a blueprint for building a successful unclassified Community of Practice for Naval Intelligence. This blueprint is designed to support replication on classified networks. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

O conhecimento tem se tornado um dos recursos estratégicos mais importantes no atual ambiente competitivo das empresas, fonte de vantagem competitiva sustentável. Devido a sua importância no sucesso organizacional, geri-lo adequadamente é uma das principais preocupações dos executivos. Com esse fim foram desenvolvidos modelos e metodologias para implantar a gestão do conhecimento nas companhias, trabalhos que apresentam limitações e levam às organizações a intentos falhos ou abordagens parciais do tema, limitações como a excessiva orientação sobre as tecnologias de informação, a falta de alinhamento com as estratégias da organização, a insuficiente atenção sobre os fatores humanos e culturais, o desenvolvimento de modelos sem base metodológica, e principalmente, a abordagem dividida da implantação da gestão do conhecimento. Fundamentado em uma exaustiva análise e reflexão dessas limitações, este trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um modelo integrado para a implantação e desenvolvimento da gestão do conhecimento, utilizando a metodologia de modelagem Enterprise Knowledge Development (EKD). Para a consecução do objetivo foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa bibliográfica, gerando a primeira versão do modelo, posteriormente este foi validado com especialistas em modelagem organizacional e gestão do conhecimento, obtendo-se da análise dessas apreciações uma versão aprimorada. O trabalho tem como resultado a confrontação e relação dos pareceres dos especialistas com a construção teórica, tendo como base o modelo proposto. O modelo proposto poderá orientar às organizações na prática da gestão do conhecimento e servir de referência para sua melhor compreensão. / Knowledge has become one of the most important strategic resource in the current competitive business environment, a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Due to its importance in organizational success, managing it properly is a major concern of executives. To this goal models and methodologies have been developed to implement knowledge management in companies, researches that have limitations and lead organizations to failed attempts or partial approaches, limitations as the excessive orientation on the information technologies, the lack of alignment with organizational strategy, insufficient attention on human and cultural factors, the development of models without methodological basis, and mainly, an divided approach of the implementation of knowledge management. Based on a thorough analysis and reflection of these limitations, this study aims to develop an integrated model for the implementation and development of practices of knowledge management, using the Enterprise Knowledge Management (EKD) modeling methodology. To achieve the goal it was be developed a literature search, generating the first version of the model, after that it was be validated with experts in organizational modeling and knowledge management, resulting of the analysis of these appreciations an improved version. The work has resulted in the confrontation and relation of opinions of experts with the theoretical construct, based on the model. The model proposed can guide organizations in this practice and serve as a reference for its better understanding.

As mudanças no modo pelo qual entendemos a ciência, o trabalho e a própria vida em sociedade têm acentuado a velocidade da informação e a necessidade de conhecimento em nossa época. Surge, nesse contexto, um modelo gerencial que se propõe a administrar o conhecimento organizacional por meio dos processos de identificação, criação, armazenamento, compartilhamento e utilização do conhecimento: a gestão do conhecimento (GC). O objetivo deste trabalho foi, a partir da abordagem da gestão do conhecimento, realizar estudo sobre o conhecimento organizacional do Observatório Astronômico (OA) da UFRGS conduzindo a um projeto para implantar um programa de gestão do conhecimento organizacional para a administração pública no OA. O órgão estudado faz parte da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), que é uma das Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior (IFES) do sistema federal de ensino superior. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso único com a utilização de entrevista semiestruturada, questionário e análise documental. Para análise dos dados, foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo. A análise do conhecimento organizacional do Observatório Astronômico da UFRGS, por meio do estudo de caso, indicou dados importantes para a gestão do órgão e com relevância para a comunidade acadêmica interna e externa à UFRGS. Os resultados do estudo acrescentam novos conhecimentos sobre o órgão investigado e indicam necessidade de melhorias nos processos do órgão, especialmente com relação à divulgação das atividades. Este estudo também apresentou a gestão do conhecimento como instrumento de gestão indicado ao Observatório Astronômico da UFRGS. As práticas de GC descritas por Batista e Quandt (2015) foram apresentadas como alternativa para se aumentar a eficiência de Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior. Como resultado final deste trabalho, o Projeto de Gestão do Conhecimento Organizacional do OA apresenta práticas de GC sugeridas ao Observatório Astronômico com base no referencial teórico, na análise dos dados empíricos da pesquisa e no olhar deste pesquisador, que é membro da equipe do órgão. / Changes in the way we understand science, work and life itself in society have accentuated the speed of information and the need for knowledge in our time. In this context, a managerial model is proposed that aims to manage organizational knowledge through the processes of identification, creation, storage, sharing and use of knowledge: knowledge management (KM). The objective of this work was, based on the knowledge management approach, to carry out a study about the organizational knowledge of the UFRGS Astronomical Observatory (AO) leading to a project to implement an organizational knowledge management program for public administration in AO. The body studied is part of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), which is one of the Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES) of the federal system of higher education. The methodology used was the single case study with the use of semi-structured interview, questionnaire and documentary analysis. For analysis of the data, the content analysis was used. The analysis of the organizational knowledge on UFRGS Astronomical Observatory, through the case study, indicated important data for the management of the body,with relevance to the academic community internal and external to the UFRGS. The results of the study add new knowledge about the body investigated and indicate the need for improvements in the body processes, especially in relation to the dissemination of activities. This study also presents knowledge management as a management tool indicated to the UFRGS Astronomical Observatory. The KM practices described by Batista and Quandt (2015) were presented as an alternative to increase the efficiency of Federal Institutions of Higher Education. As a final result of this work, the Project of Organizational Knowledge Management on AO presents KM practices suggested to the Astronomical Observatory based on the theoretical reference, the analysis of the empirical data of the research and the look of this researcher, who is a member of the team of the body studied.

Competitive advantage does not depend solely on the creation and storage of existing and new knowledge. Rather, it requires sustained exploitation and production. The challenge becomes driven towards maintaining some mechanisms to help in producing new, and sharing existing knowledge. Harnessing the power of managing and sharing knowledge enabled companies like Apple and IBM to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. While such challenges have been closely examined in the extant literature, the context of knowledge management and sharing in higher education institutions (HEI) has only been lightly considered. However, considering the highly unique features of HEIs context in terms of autonomy, climate, distinct leadership and role of academics as knowledge workers, it can be argued that examining knowledge-sharing in the context of higher education is greatly needed. The literature has shown fragmented nature of examining academics' KS determinants in contemporary research. Thus, the need to comprehensively examine those influencers is essential. This thesis seeks to address the research gaps and contribute to the literature by asking What antecedents influence the process of knowledge-sharing (KS) between academics in HEIs, and how can the process of KS in HEIs be improved? Through the use of a quantitative research methodology, the research has developed eleven hypotheses to investigate the above-mentioned question. The findings in this study revealed to a very great extent that academics themselves can contribute towards influencing knowledge production and management, and determine the levels to which the universities will be able to share knowledge internally. The research reveals that organizational factors (affiliation, innovativeness, fairness represented by organizational climate and HEI leadership) were stronger predictors of academics' knowledge-sharing than individual (perceived loss of knowledge power, knowledge self-efficacy, perceived reciprocal benefits and trust) or technological ones.

Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Knowledge management is an important component of any organization. It includes knowledge creation, knowledge sifting and knowledge sharing. Thus every organization has a way of creating, disseminating and preserving its own knowledge. Organizations that thrive in the 21st century are those that have realized the significance of managing knowledge and have systems in place to encourage creativity. Most organizations often overlook the aspect of putting time aside for employees to share knowledge and expertise from their different fields. Knowledge, if well managed, has a direct bearing on the growth and development of an organization. Gone are the days when organizations succeeded only on the basis of working hard; the emphasis now is on working smart. Technology has made life easy and simple and more innovative. It has, on the other hand, together with globalization made the world to be smaller. For instance, sales can take place at any place at anytime in the world. Distances, as well as meridian differences, are no longer a barrier in terms of growing a company. Hence, there are virtual companies. Companies should take it upon themselves to appoint people who are capable of uplifting their knowledge base and enhancing their organization’s intellectual property; they should appoint people who are in a position to learn fast and who can as well adjust to internal as well as to external forces of change. Thus, training and development should form part and parcel of a company that is prepared to move ahead of its competitors. Through the right channels of addressing constant changes that are taking place in the market, the company should have a special way of doing business and of possessing special knowledge that will put it ahead of its competitors. Special knowledge and expertise has a capability of generating more revenues for the company. Revenues are no longer only determined by the production factors but also by the competitive knowledge that the company possess. Therefore, this implies that for the company to do well, knowledge has to be well managed as it is used to compete in a global economy. The global economy is affected by a number of dynamics which have to be addressed by smart companies in order for them to stay in business. Knowledge at that level transforms fast, is transmitted at a high level and can quickly become obsolete. Thus companies have to keep abreast of what is taking place in the markets and also become the trendsetters in their area of operation. This is because competition in a v global market is stiff; companies face competitors from various conglomerates at local and international levels. Therefore this study focuses on how knowledge is being transformed and managed at Thuto Ke Lefa for competitive advantage and as well as for economic benefits. Thuto Ke Lefa Training Company is a national company that is based in Polokwane; it has other branches in Mpumalanga and Gauteng Province. The company specializes in providing service to the public through developing the skills of the workforce in the public as well as in the private sector. The company was founded in 2003 by Mr Mashakobo Johannes Moja and his wife Eunice Moja. Thuto Ke Lefa Training Company is a registered company which is accredited by the Education, Training and Development Practitioners Sector (ETDP SETA). A case study of Thuto Ke Lefa revealed that the company is well resourced in terms of technology even though some areas have to be beefed up. Various search engines are available for staff to access and create knowledge. However, knowledge is not well coordinated as there is no knowledge manager and there is no centralized place for dissemination and storage of knowledge. Employees do not have the resource person or office that overlooks the creation of knowledge. The fact that knowledge is not well coordinated at Thuto Ke Lefa makes the company to perform below its actual potential as some of the important knowledge can be under utilized. Therefore, this makes it difficult for the company to measure its capability and its capacity in terms of knowledge. With this being the case, knowledge is not fully used to the advantage of the company. It was therefore recommended through the research that Thuto Ke Lefa should have a knowledge management office or resource person who will coordinate and manage knowledge. This will enable the company to use its knowledge resources competitively. Literature review has also indicated that knowledge is less managed in the training sector as compared to the other sectors. It will therefore be imperative for the management of Thuto Ke Lefa to inculcate the culture of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge storage through the correct devices. Incentives and rewards should be given to those individuals who work tirelessly to create knowledge. Time should also be set aside for the sharing of knowledge. Experts in different fields should be in the position to know what is going on in the other projects of the company so as to make meaningful contributions.