<p>How can a multi project organisation use Wiki to support improvement of knowledge management and project evaluation to become a learning organisation? The main purpose of this thesis is to give management and employees a better understanding of how Wiki supports knowledge management and project evaluation. The second purpose is to illustrate possible difficulties and pit falls that comes with the implementation of Wiki based learning. The theoretical framework initiates by explaining multi project organizations, then describes Argyris and Schöns theories about organizational learning and learning organizations. The second half of the theory chapter brings up theories about important areas for a learning organization. We have used a qualitative approach to gather profound data for the study. The empirical framework presents the fallout of the interviews we had with the studied company. Our study demonstrates how Wikis can be a great support to improve knowledge management and project evaluation. A Wiki functions as a knowledge repository that integrates divisions in an organization and facilitates to take part of, document and share knowledge. The study also demonstrates that problems can occur when implementing a Wiki. This is shown by managerial resistance due to the attitude towards knowledge management and an uncertainty about quality control of a Wiki’s content. To answer this resistance the employees can suggest a demonstration where they during a period of time use Wiki to describe when it could have benefited them in the daily activities. To be follow up with a trialperiod if the outcome is successful.</p>

Today we are living in a knowledge-society where knowledge sharing is of utmost importance for companies in order to keep their competitiveness. Therefore, it is a much debated issue - in both the academic and the corporate world - in what way one should handle the knowledge which continuously is created within companies. The aim of this study is to describe how practitioners share tacit knowledge within a large knowledge company. By that we aim to get an answer to how the chosen theoretical models regarding tacit knowledge relate to the empirical world. In this study we will focus on tacit knowledge in contrast to explicit one. Further we will not study knowledge sharing between organisations but concentrate on this process within them. We chose to approach the purpose of this study in a qualitative way by conducting interviews within a large knowledge-firm. The company was Systems Integration within the Ericsson-group where we held interviews with four persons familiar with knowledge. Furthermore, we have perceived that theories concerning the knowledge-sharing process are relatively fragmented. Therefore, we have built a model which links the different theories together in order to give a better overview of the whole process. Having conducted the study, we found that the case company to some extent handlesknowledge in line with the theories chosen. Furthermore, we came to the conclusion that some modifications in the model are necessary in order to achieve a successful knowledge-sharing process.

På senare år har företag med projektbaserad organisationsstruktur ökat detta tillföljd av den allt hårdare konkurrensen mellan företag. Företagen måste konstant anpassa, förnya och utveckla sina resurser och förmågor för att överleva. Det finns de som menar att vi gjort inträde i en ny epok där kunskap är den främsta tillgången ett företag har. Det har lett till att organisationer nu fokuserar på generering, användning och spridning av kunskap, så kallade kunskapsintensiva organisationer. I projekt, speciellt R&amp;D-projekt, genereras viktig kunskap som kan vara avgörande för företagens framgång, vilket bidragit till att kunskapsspridandet fått en allt större betydelse. Syftet med studien är att skapa en ökad förståelse för vilka mekanismer som bidrar till spridning av den kunskap som genereras inom projekt samt att utveckla förståelsen för kunskapsbegreppen och kunskapsgenererandets betydelse för organisationer. Genom att studera tre väletablerade och framgångsrika företag har jag besvarat min problemformulering; Hur sprids kunskap mellan projekt och till resten av organisationen? De studerade företagen är AstraZeneca, Ericsson och General Electric. Studien är genomförd med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med projektledare för R&amp;D-projekt inom respektive företag. Den teoretiska referensram jag haft som utgångspunkt bygger på teorier och tidigare forskning kring olika aspekter, såsom motivation, facilitatorer och informations- och kommunikationsteknologi, som påverkar kunskapsspridandet i en organisation. Teorierna beskriver alltifrån vad kunskap är till mer specifikt hur kunskap sprids mellan projekt och till resten av organisationen. Utifrån dessa har jag byggt en modell för hur kunskap kan spridas. Min slutsats är att det som bidrar till kunskapsspridning är att företag har en given strategi för hur detta ska ske, samt att denna strategi implementeras och accepteras i organisationens alla delar. En strategi för kunskapsspridandet som innehåller aspekter som motivation, ledarnas roll och informations- och kommunikationsteknologier tenderar att anammas bättre. Det är inte förrän de anställda är motiverade till att sprida sin kunskap och den kunskap som genererats i projekten som det kan talas om en egentlig kunskapsspridning. Motivationen kan komma från olika håll men bör även den anpassas till den egna organisationen. Min studie visar att kunskap bland annat sprids mellan projekt och till resten av organisationen genom dokument som är tillgängliga på företagets intranät. Dokumenten innehåller information om vad som åstadkommits i ett projekt och tillvägagångssätten för det uppnådda resultatet. Kunskap sprids även genom sammankomster som integrerar de anställda på olika sätt i syfte att sprida kunskap.

Knowledge sharing has been an important issue to the outcomes of Knowledge Management. Although research in the past dealt with many subjects, such as firms and profit and non-profit organizations, the focus has never been on the research team in the university. . This research adopts qualitative oriented research method to investigate the differences of the nature and goals of a research team in the university by participant observation, in-depth interview and secondary data collection. The members of a research lab in the university which has implemented knowledge management in the past six years were observed to find out what factors affecting their knowledge sharing behaviors when using the KM platform under particular situations. Based on the views of organizational behaviors, the factors affecting knowledge sharing were divided into three levels: individual level, group level and organization level. The research found out that the factors influencing knowledge sharing in individual level are subjective value, working attitude, self-satisfaction, altruism, self-evaluation, behavioral resistance and ability. In the group level, the factors are sharing atmosphere, interaction, peer stimulation, group culture, peer affection, society expectation, relationship difference, leadership style and trust. In the organization level, the factors are working pattern and environment, organization culture, system function, KM institution and knowledge content. Finally, the interaction among factors is discussed and a conceptual framework of the knowledge sharing among members is presented. Suggestions and improvements toward future research are then provided.

There is a current debate in Swedish media regarding the negative aspects of Internet and social media, a debate which is also virtual in blogs and forums. This started with a post on the clothing company H&amp;M’s Facebook page where a user was virtually attacked in an aggressive manner by other users. This kind of online behavior between customers can be seen as a new challenge for organizations, especially as social media is continuously growing.   We have investigated the area of misbehaving customers, also known as dysfunctional customer behavior, by looking into the theoretical area of knowledge transfer. Within knowledge transfer we have focused on the strategies codification, which concerns transferring knowledge from people-to-documents, and personalization, meaning transferring knowledge from people-to-people.   Previous studies within knowledge transfer has investigated this in relation to different contexts, including how different context affects the transfer, how knowledge is transferred between organizations or within specific industries or businesses. However, there is a lack of research regarding knowledge transfer in relation to customers misbehaving. Hence, the purpose of this study was to understand if and how organizations work with a codification and/or personalization strategy for transferring knowledge when handling dysfunctional customer behavior on social media. By comparing the organizations we investigated reasons and underlying factors for their way of transferring knowledge.   In order to fulfill the purpose we made a qualitative research with four companies that are active on social media. We conducted semi-structured interviews with respondents holding both managerial positions as well as with employees working practically with social media.   Our study showed that both codification and personalization are used as knowledge transfer strategies when dealing with customers that misbehave on social media. The codification strategy is pursued by the use of databases, information-systems, guidelines and documentation. These methods were used to make knowledge available for all employees and to make work more effective. The personalization strategy is followed by talking to each other in person, via telephone, email or chat. This knowledge transfer strategy was pursued to exchange ideas in order to receive input and advice from one another.   We also found that when dealing with customers behaving badly towards other customers on social media, personalization holds a higher usage than codification. Further our study showed that three underlying factors affect the usage of the codification and personalization strategy, namely, closeness, previous experience and available knowledge transfer sources.

The thesis aims to understand how learning processes are affected when an organization split into two separate organizations. The study is designed as a single case, covering a new government agency’s takeover of a core activity from another agency and the use of a purchase-provider split between the agencies, providing the new agency with IT-services. The findings revealed a difference in productive system and knowledge types between core- and IT-activities. The core activity was found to be dominated by explicit knowledge while the IT-activity seemed to be dominated by a mix of explicit and tacit knowledge. In order to bridge the gap between these two contexts needs, the organization of service management played a crucial part in boosting knowledge sharing and organizational learning within and between the two agencies, using a middle-up-down management style. Furthermore, the learning environment for managers in the core activities became restricted, using instrumental management strategies and focusing mainly on explicit knowledge, resulting in a lack of trust towards the providing agency.  However, the skill to perform on the operational level was maintained due to preserved relationships. Finally, the competence to order software requirement was found to be a collective competence evolving in the interaction between users and software developers. In order to be successful, a purchase-provider split needs to consider learning processes to a larger extent and the fact that requirement competence is a shared knowledge between purchaser and provider. Moreover, to make a purchaser-provider split successful over long term, new management strategies seem to be required based, on communicative rationality and not merely strategic rationality.

EXPLORING IT-BASED KNOWLEDGE SHARING PRACTICES: REPRESENTING KNOWLEDGE WITHIN AND ACROSS PROJECTS Drawing on the social representation literature combined with a need to better understand knowledge sharing across projects, this research lays the ground for the development of a theoretical account seeking to explain the relationship between project members’ representations of knowledge sharing practices and the use of knowledge-based systems as boundary objects or shared systems. The concept of social representations is particularly appropriate for studying social issues in continuous evolution such as the adoption of a new information system. The research design is structured as an interpretive case study, focusing on the knowledge sharing practices within and across four project groups. The findings showed significant divergence among the groups’ social representations. Sharing knowledge across projects was rather challenging, despite the potential advantages provided by the knowledge-based system. Therefore, technological change does not automatically trigger the intended changes in work practices and routines. The groups’ social representations need to be aligned with the desired behaviour or patterns of actions.

Bakgrund: I och med samhällets globalisering ökar möjligheterna för revisionsmedarbetare till internationell rörlighet länder emellan. En svensk revisionsmedarbetare har idag möjlighet att åka på en utbytesperiod för att tillägna sig ny kunskap; såväl professionell som privat, vilket det finns olika tillvägagångssätt för. Samhälleliga, privata och arbetsmässiga kulturkrockar är något som en revisionsmedarbetare kan uppleva genom ett utbyte. För revisionsmedarbetare bör det vara nyttigt att erfara sådana här skillnader för att skapa ny kunskap, utveckla sin egna samt kunna dela med sig av denna. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vilken utbyteskunskap en svensk revisionsmedarbetare har av ett utbyte till USA, hur denna tillägnas, samt om denna kunskap går att implementera i det fortsatta arbetet i Sverige. Definitioner: Utbyteskunskap definieras i denna uppsats som den typ av kunskap som tillägnas vid ett utbyte. Med kunskap avses sådan som kan användas inom revisionsyrket, vilket innefattar kunskap om arbetsmetoder, tillvägagångssätt, sociala förhållanden samt regelverkens uppbyggnad. Resultat och slutsatser: Resultatet av studien konstaterar att utbyteskunskapen består i privata--‐, kulturella--‐ och arbetsmässiga områden, vilka tillägnas genom erfarenhetsbaserat lärande samt praktisk involvering i samhället. / Background: Considering the globalization of society, the possibility for audit associates to be internationally mobile increases. Today, a Swedish audit associate has the opportunity to leave for an exchange period to acquire new knowledge, both professionally and personally, where the approach differs. Audit associates are exposed to the societal, individual, and work--‐related cultural clashes, which arise from an international exchange. It would be useful for an audit associate to experience such clashes to be able to acquire new knowledge, develop pre--‐existing knowledge, as well as to share it. Aim: The aim with this research is to study the exchange knowledge a Swedish audit associate experiences from a period in the U.S., how this knowledge is acquired, and if it is implementable in to further work in Sweden. Definitions: Exchange knowledge is in this research defined as the type of knowledge that is acquired due to an exchange. Knowledge refers to a kind that could be used within the audit profession, which includes knowledge regarding work--‐methods, procedures, social conditions and the structure of the regulations. Results and conclusion: The result of the research is that the benefit lies in individual-, cultural- and work‐related areas which are acquired through experiential learning and also by involvement in society.

There are inequalities in terms of gender and ethnicity within the labor market in Sweden. In the past years there have been great developments to equalize and diversify workplaces with qualified employees. The case study organization Equalisters is a purely Web-based non- profit organization working to break norms associated with gender and ethnicity within the Swedish media and various business sectors. However, there is still work to be done to regain Sweden’s place as the number 1 equal country in Europe. Therefore, it is crucial to get a thorough understanding and deeper knowledge regarding a non-profit organizations possibilities to grow. Hence, the purpose of this research is to answer the following research question: How can a purely Web-based Non-profit organization in the start-up phase continue its growth? The authors of this thesis have conducted a qualitative research in collaboration with the chosen case study organization, Equalisters, and their clientele. As a conclusion the authors argue that a purely Web based non-profit organization can grow both financially and operationally through differentiating procedures. The organizational growth will continue with the aid of immediate connections to the fact that the employees, accommodators, clients and volunteers do make a difference in society, which results in intrinsic rewards. In addition a financial profit is accomplishable without harming the core of the business by developing side services or side products such as quality checks for the lists, consultancy work with the aim of observing inequalities within the companies or firms, financially supporting the organization by “adopting lists” and create an identification of the organization as an investment to corporate social responsibility work for companies and firms. Moreover, utilizing social venture capitalist is another approach to increasing finances. However, the authors have observed a risk with involving more people to the organization since the core mission might have to change as a result of the financial support. Therefore, the aforementioned side services and products are more in line with keeping the organizations core objective uninfluenced.

How can a multi project organisation use Wiki to support improvement of knowledge management and project evaluation to become a learning organisation? The main purpose of this thesis is to give management and employees a better understanding of how Wiki supports knowledge management and project evaluation. The second purpose is to illustrate possible difficulties and pit falls that comes with the implementation of Wiki based learning. The theoretical framework initiates by explaining multi project organizations, then describes Argyris and Schöns theories about organizational learning and learning organizations. The second half of the theory chapter brings up theories about important areas for a learning organization. We have used a qualitative approach to gather profound data for the study. The empirical framework presents the fallout of the interviews we had with the studied company. Our study demonstrates how Wikis can be a great support to improve knowledge management and project evaluation. A Wiki functions as a knowledge repository that integrates divisions in an organization and facilitates to take part of, document and share knowledge. The study also demonstrates that problems can occur when implementing a Wiki. This is shown by managerial resistance due to the attitude towards knowledge management and an uncertainty about quality control of a Wiki’s content. To answer this resistance the employees can suggest a demonstration where they during a period of time use Wiki to describe when it could have benefited them in the daily activities. To be follow up with a trialperiod if the outcome is successful.