Workflow-supported organizational memory systems: an industrial application

Connecting with the actual using issues of inter-organizational information systems(IOS), this study focuses on analysis assimilation of inter-organizational information systems in the post-implementation stage within organizations. Based on knowledge related theory, There has been a growing stream of research on organizational memory systems which is a major research direction in organizational memory nowadays. With the development of communication technology, the technology of organizational memory systems have promoted upgrade and update, from purely software management to the combination of hardware and software implementation; from wired communication technology to wireless communication technology and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). What's more, the ad hoc network technology further pushes forward the historic leap in organizational memory systems; and instinct revolution of the impact of organizational memory systems on knowledge has taken place as the technology increasingly changes.

Workflows are a technology to structure work in functional, non-overlapping steps. They define
\nnot only the order of execution of the steps, and describe whether steps are executed in
\nparallel, they also specify who or what tool has to fulfill which step. Workflows offer the possibility
\nto automate work, to increase the understandability of processes, and they ease the
\ncontrol of process execution. The tools to manage workflows, so called workflow management
\nsystems (WfMSs), are traditionally rigid as they separate workflow definition done at build time
\nfrom workflow execution done at run time. This makes them ill-suited for managing flexible and
\nunstructured workflows. In this thesis, we focus on the support of flexible processes in eHealth,
\nwhich are affected by more foreseen than unforeseen events. To bridge the gap between rigid
\nWfMSs and flexible workflows, we developed a concept for dynamic and context-aware workflow
\nmanagement called Flexwoman. Although our focus lies on flexible eHealth processes,
\nFlexwoman is a generic approach that can be applied to several different application domains.
\nFlexwoman supports the usage of context information to adapt processes automatically at run
\ntime to foreseen events. Processes can also be manually adapted to handle unforeseen events.
\nTo achieve this flexibility, context information from different sensors is unified and thus can be
\nanalyzed in the same way. The analysis and adaptation of workflows is executed with a rule engine.
\nA rule engine can store, reason about and apply knowledge automatically and efficiently.
\nRules and application logic are separated, thus, rules can be changed during run time without
\naffecting application logic or process description. Workflows are internally described by Hierarchical
\nColored Petri nets (HCPNs) and executed by a HCPN execution engine. HCPNs allow for
\na deterministic execution of workflows and can represent workflows on different levels of detail.
\nIn summary, in Flexwoman, significant context changes (events) trigger automated adaptations
\nthat replace parts of the workflow by sub workflows, which can in turn be adapted. The adaptations
\nand the rules for context-aware adaptation are saved in the organizational memory for
\nlater reuse. Flexwoman’s event based behavior facilitates proactive adaptations instead of only
\nallowing for adaptations while entering or leaving a task. Replacements are not bound to special
\nplaces defined at build time but each part of the workflow, which has not been executed yet, can
\nbe replaced at run time. We implemented and evaluated the concept. The evaluations show
\ni) that all required functionality is available, ii) that the system scales with a growing number of
\nrules, and iii) that the system correctly handles failure situations.

The literature on the impact of organisational memory on performance in terms of innovation is ambiguous. For example, on one hand organisational memory is recognised as a source of organisational inertia and restricts the range of innovative options. On the other hand, it is argued that innovation can be greatly facilitated by an organisation's ability to retain, evaluate and utilise existing knowledge. These contradictory findings are partly due to the lack of conceptualisation and effective measurement of organisational memory. This paper identifies the underlying factors that affect organisational memory, namely organisational memory (OM) storage, OM flow, OM context, and OM creative combination, which are the integral parts of the organisational memory performance model. The practical implication is that building a large knowledge repository is not a simple task. Companies need to promote a culture of knowledge sharing and learning in order to operate effective organisational memory systems.

Organizational memory information systems (OMIS) implement important aspects of organizational memory with the aim of enhancing organizational effectiveness. We propose a 3-layered framework for a dynamic OMIS. The framework consists of a pragmatic layer to support the actual activity, a conceptual layer to store the concepts inherent in that activity, and a process layer to store the experience of performing that activity. Both the conceptual and process layers represent organizational memory repositories in the form of respective models. The implementation of OMIS assumes that any activity is the instantiation of relevant conceptual and process models and includes the reuse of knowledge stored in association with those models. In this way, organizational memory is always mapped to current activity, and its adequacy is constantly evaluated. This provides the potential for the models to evolve as a direct result of the current activity. A partial implementation of this framework to support epidemiological research is illustrated.

Organizational memories have been routed recently for their potential to enhance decision-making processes within organizations. Several organizations have acknowledged the importance of these knowledge structures and developed new organizational roles to manage them. Though a number of companies have been successful in creating and maintaining functional organizational memory, data collected from four organizations suggests that there are inherent barriers within organizations that constrain both the development and maintenance of these repositories. This paper focuses on identifying the concepts underlying the adoption process and potential barriers that might have a negative short term impact on usability or a long term effect on the institutionalization of Organizational Memory Systems.

Organizational memory systems (OMS) support organizations to ensure organizational learning, flexibility and efficiency and the management of change. The paper describes the term organizational mem...

With this research, in the form of a theoretical essay addressing the theme of Organizational Memory and Integrated Management Systems (ERP), we tried to present some evidence of how this type of system can contribute to the consolidation of certain features of Organizational Memory. From a theoretical review of the concepts of Human Memory, extending to the Organizational Memory and Information Systems, with emphasis on Integrated Management Systems (ERP) we tried to draw a parallel between the functions and structures of Organizational Memory and features and characteristics of ERPs. The choice of the ERP system for this study was made due to the complexity and broad scope of this system. It was verified that the ERPs adequately support many functions of the Organizational Memory, highlighting the implementation of logical processes, practices and rules in business. It is hoped that the dialogue presented here can contribute to the advancement of the understanding of organizational memory, since the similarity of Human Memory is a fertile field and there is still much to be researched.

An approach to develop organizational memory systems is presented. It is based on the re-use of computer-supported discussions held as meeting preparations. The discussions are rich in informal knowledge, which is basic for a good organizational memory. The presentation is illustrated with a brief introduction to OMUSISCO, a software system based on this approach. OMUSISCO uses SISCO meeting preparation discussions as its information source. A thesaurus is built to help users access knowledge. The system was tested with simple discussions, but it should scale up well in real situations.

The purpose of this paper is to define architecture for organizational memory systems in institutions of higher education. The aim arose from the identified problem, where the constructions of knowledge management systems are being handled in a rapid prototyping approach. In the rapid prototyping approach the acquired knowledge was encoded directly into an iteratively developed computer system and provides early versions of the system, however it's difficult to manage and maintain the final system. Furthermore, a state of the art survey identified few organizational memories studies in institutions of higher education despite being a natural place for research and knowledge management. This work proposes architecture for organizational memory that is based on CESM model and CommonKADS methodology; this architecture is concerned with the knowledge representation for semantic search of documents. Furthermore, a systematic review of the state of the art was performed to support the design of the architecture and compare the proposed architecture with the proposed architectures in the academic community.

The integration of telecom energy systems within today's evolving definition of network management systems (NMSs) is discussed, emphasizing the viewpoint of the various generic network management centers (NMCs) in an attempt to determine where telecom energy systems fit into NMSs and the telecommunications management network (TMN). As the levels of key competent network support system (NSS) personnel continue to dwindle, companies are being forced to install mechanized systems to meet today's required performance levels of per capita personnel effectiveness. The author categorizes the evolving staffing levels of NSS personnel, identifies the specialized needs of each user station type, and correlates that information with the design requirements of the evolving mechanized network management systems.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Business processes are by nature information-intensive and require IT support. Database systems solve the basic need for secure and efficient data storage and access. As such they are well-understood and widely applied. Workflow management systems, currently being added to support and optimize formal business processes, distribute jobs among employees. Recently, researchers and practioners started to promote the idea to explicitly represent the knowledge of the enterprise as so-called “Organizational Memory”.

The objective of this study was to test a model on building a culture of innovation that best fits organisations from developing countries. It examined the roles of organisational strategy, leadership and support systems in building an innovation culture. Specifically, it used the open systems theory in examining the mediating role of support systems in the relationship between organisational strategy, leadership and innovation culture. This study utilised data surveyed from 671 employees from 23 different business organisations in the Philippines. Participants completed questionnaires that measured organisational strategy, leadership, support systems and innovation culture. Structural equation modelling (SEM) confirmed the hypothesis that support systems, leadership and organisational strategy predict an organisational innovation culture. Mediation analysis showed that support systems account for 38% of the impact of organisational strategy on the perceived innovation culture. It also showed that support systems account for 77% of the impact of leadership on the perceived innovation culture. The main contribution of this study was to present an innovation culture model suitable for developing countries at the same time showing how the relationships of the determinants of innovation culture predict innovation in an organisation. Specifically, it showed how support systems mediate between the relationships of organisational strategy, leadership and innovation.

Back complaints are a common in society. An analytical cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out among 366 steel plant workers to examine the prevalence and association between lower back problems (LBP) and family and workplace related psychosocial risk factors. Using inclusive and stringent definitions for LBP, point prevalence was 35.8% and 15.3%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses indicated significant adjusted odd ratios (OR) for negative perceptions of workplace support (2.32; CI 1.09-4.92), unexpected events (2.58; CI 1.19-5.59) and working under time pressures and deadlines (2.83; CI 1.24-6.48). A significant protective association was found for control over the order and pace of working tasks (OR 0.30; CI 0.14-0.63). A significant univariate association was further found between LBP and negative perceptions of family (1.97; CI 1.06-3.68) support. These findings suggest that workers who feel more in control on the job and who have good family and workplace support systems in tact are less likely to experience LBP. Supervisors are therefore encouraged to develop appropriate support and organizational systems which may be an inexpensive, but potentially beneficial, means of reducing worker stress and LBP.

This mini-track focuses on implementations of Knowledge Management, Organizational Memory, and/or Organizational Learning systems or initiatives. Key issues looked at included the impact of culture, management support, creating a learning organization, and measuring the success and/or effectiveness of KM, OM, and/or OL systems or initiatives. Metrics and success measures were a particularly strong area for submissions. Assessing shared knowledge use was also a popular topic of submitted papers. Twenty-three papers were reviewed for this mini-track of which twelve were accepted for presentation at the conference. We are especially grateful to the many colleagues who helped in the review process.

Knowledge of past activities, discoveries, and events is applied by businesses to support everyday operations in much the same manner that human beings use their personal memories. But the true nature of organizational memory (OM) remains obscure, and information-systems practitioners have no clear definitional model of what they are working toward and have been unable to build a convincing organizational memory system (Olfman, 1998).