Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Knowledge assets can be defined as anything that affects a business’s disposition to act on
data received from the environment. Knowledge assets are embedded in the objects within an
organisation and are the source of an organisation’s competitive advantage, by being closely
linked to what the organisation knows and by allowing the organisation to act and to be
innovative.
Knowledge assets evolve over time as knowledge agents, through a process of sense making,
substitute physical resources for informational resources by codifying and abstracting
knowledge assets, in the process increasing their value and ability to be diffused to wider
audiences. These knowledge assets are internalised in an organisation and impact on the
organisation when they are applied to concrete problems.
Knowledge assets play an important role in the creation of information assets in an
organisation. Information assets are created when a knowledge agent makes use of his or her
knowledge to make sense of data received from sources in the environment. The creation of
information through the sense making process creates new knowledge which is added to the
agent’s knowledge base.
Enterprise architecture is the process of designing future states for an organisation and then
planning, leading and governing the organisation towards that future state. Enterprise
architecture focuses mostly on the organisational process, on information and technology.
Enterprise architects make use of enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF or the
Zachman framework, which are primarily concerned with the domains of business,
information and technology architecture, yet none of these mainstream frameworks used by
enterprise architects takes knowledge assets into account, despite the obviously important
role that they play in the organisation and especially in the information creation process.
This research proposes to show that knowledge assets have an important role to play in
enterprise architecture by allowing enterprise architects to
• identify or facilitate the creation of knowledge assets pertaining to a specific problem;
• understand whether information assets are located in the ordered and complex or the
chaotic regimes and what would be the implication of moving them between regimes; • plot knowledge assets movements and relationships to each other on the social learning
cycle path, which would enable enterprise architects to balance the types of learning that
the organisation employs;
• define the level of codification, abstraction and diffusion of knowledge assets, based on
the intended audiences and to understand where knowledge assets could be developed to
improve quality and when outdated knowledge should be destroyed in favour of new
knowledge.
Knowledge assets are related to Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) through the specific
knowledge domains that exist within an organisation. Understanding whether knowledge
assets exist in the ordered, complex or chaotic regimes will provide a more complete view of
the organisation. Architecture of knowledge assets in this space will provide a better
understanding of an organisation’s culture: this understanding can compensate for differences
in knowledge agents’ spatio-temporal positions, how and when they receive data and their
particular cognitive styles.
The importance of knowledge assets in the creation of information links it emphatically with
Enterprise Information Architecture (EIA). Knowledge asset architecture provides a better
understanding of how information is created and flows through an organisation, taking into
account the meaning of the information to the organisation, which compensates for that
oversight in information theory, which regards the accuracy of data that is communicated as
the only concern.
Information technology has exponentially increased mankind’s ability to codify, abstract and
diffuse knowledge assets. Enterprise Technical Architecture (ETA) is mainly concerned with
the technology infrastructure implemented within an organisation. Enterprise architects can
apply knowledge asset architecture to decide whether the technology should be used to
enhance the codification and abstraction of information, allowing more efficient diffusion of
information to a larger audience, or whether more concrete information should be diffused to
a more closely-knit audience.
This research will argue that the use of knowledge assets as a domain within enterprise
architecture will greatly enhance the enterprise architect’s ability to understand and lead the
organisation to a more desirable future state. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING:
Kennisbates is vasgelê in die konkrete en abstrakte voorwerpe in die organisasie. Hierdie
voorwerpe omsluit alle voorwerpe wat ‘n effek het op hoe die organisasie reageer op data wat
vanaf die omgewing ontvang word. Kennisbates is ‘n bron vir die kompeterende voordeel wat
‘n organisasie geniet omdat dit verband hou met wat die organisasie weet en dit die
organisasie in staat stel om te innoveer.
Kennisbates sal aangaande evolueer soos wat kennisdraers, deur die sinmaak proses, fisiese
hulpbronne vervang met inligtings hulpbronne gedurende die proses van kodifisering en
abstraksie en sodoende die kennisbates se waarde vir die organisasie te verhoog en
beskikbaar te stel vir groter gehore. Die kennisbates word dan vasgelê in die organisasie
wanneer die kennis toegepas word op konkrete probleme.
Kennisbates speel ‘n belangrike rol in die skepping van inligtingsbates in die organisasie.
Inligting word slegs geskep wanneer die kennisdraer gebruik maak van sy kennis om sin te
maak van data onvang vanuit die omgewing. Die nuwe inligting word dan intern vasgelê in
die kennisdraer as nuwe kennis.
Ondernemingsargitektuur is ‘n proses waardeur die toekomstige staat van ‘n organisasie
ontwerp word deur beplanning, en daar verder leiding gegee word ter uitvoering daarvan.
Ondernemingsargitektuur fokus meestal op die organisasie se prosesse, inligting en
tegnologie. Ondernemingsargitekte maak gebruik van ondernemingsargitektuurraamwerke
soos TOGAF en die Zachmanraamwerk as riglyne vir hulle werk. Hierdie raamwerke fokus
primêr op die besigheid, inligting en tegniese domeine van argitektuur. Nie een van die
hoofstroom ondernemingsargitektuurraamwerke neem kennisbates in ag nie, ten spyte van
die voordiehandliggende belangrike rol wat kennisbates in die organisasie se
inligtingskeppingsproses speel.
Hierdie navorsing stel voor dat kennisbates deel kan vorm van ondernemingsargitektuur deur
ondernemingsargitekte toe te laat om
• kennisbates aangaande ‘n spesifieke probleem te identifiseer of die skepping daarvan
die fasiliteer, • te bepaal of die kennisbates in die geordende, komplekse of chaotiese regime bestaan
en wat die implikasie sou wees om hulle na ‘n ander regime te skuif, en
• die kennisbates op die sosiale leersiklus aan te stip, wat die ondernemingsargitek in
staat sal stel om die leerbenaderings van die organisasie te balanseer, die vlak van
kodifisering, abstraksie en verspreiding te definieer, gebaseer op die voornemende
gehoor vir die spesifieke inligting.
• beter begrip te hê daarvoor of die kennisbate na ‘n beter kwaliteit ontwikkel moet
word of vernietig moet word om plek te maak vir nuwe kennisbates.
Daar bestaan ‘n verwantskap tussen OBA (Ondernemingsbesigheidsargitektuur) deur die
spesifieke kennisdomein wat reeds in die organisasie bestaan. Deur te verstaan of die
kennisbates binne die geordende, komplekse of chaotiese regimes val sal beter begrip bied
van die organisasie as geheel. Al hierdie gesigshoeke word in die geordende domein beskryf.
Kennisbateargitektuur sal ‘n beter begrip van die organisasie se kultuur bewerkstellig. Die
kultuur in ‘n organisasie word gebruik om te vergoed vir die verskille in die kennisdraer se
tyd-ruimtelike ligging tydens die ontvangs van data asook hulle kognitiewe styl.
Daar bestaan ‘n daadwerklike verwantskap tussen kennisbateargitektuur en
Ondernemingsinligtingsargitektuur (OIA). Kennisbateargitektuur sal bydra tot die begrip van
hoe inligting geskep word en vloei deur die organisasie. Dit sal die betekenis van inligting in
ag neem en daardeur vergoed vir die tekortkoming van inligtingteorie wat slegs die
korrektheid van die data wat vervoer word in ag neem.
Inligtingstegnologie het die mens se vermoë om inligting te kodifiseer, abstraksie toe te pas
en te versprei eksponensieël verbeter. Ondernemingstegnieseargitektuur (OTA) is
hoofsaaklik verantwoordelik vir die tegnologiese infrastruktuur wat geïmplimenteer word
binne die organisasie. Ondernemingsargitekte kan kennisbates gebruik om te besluit of
tegnologie gebruik moet word om beter inligting te skep deur hoër kodifisering en abstraksie
toe te pas, om daardeur die vermoë te skep om die inligting vir ‘n wyer gehoor beskikbaar te
stel, of om meer konkrete inligting vir ‘n meer intieme gehoor beskikbaar te stel.
Hierdie navorsing stel voor dat kennisbates as ‘n domein binne die ondernemingsargitektuur
vervat word. Dit sal die ondernemingsargitek in staat stel om die organisasie beter te lei na ‘n
wenslike toekomstige staat.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/5433 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Joubert, Francois |
| Contributors | Botha, Daniel F., University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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