4. RESULTS
4.2 Research question 2:“Which technologies have been used with the knowledge
organisations?”
Research Q2 is used to study the knowledge management format in the organisation and usability of ICT which is used in the organisation. This supports the process of knowledge adjustment and knowledge sharing in public organisation.
98
This section shows the result of relationship between IT support and Knowledge conversion processes.
4.2.1. Attitude about SECI process
When I asked interviewees about SECI process in the organisation or in the workplace, there were only a few people who understand the SECI concept even if all interviewees were trained with KM department. Most interviewees heard about the SECI process when they were training but they could not identify what technologies could apply to the SECI process. However, a respondent who is a head of KM Team, stated that SECI is really used in the organisation but there are only Socialisation and Externalisation process, that are used most in the organisation.
4.2.1.1. SECI process
SECI is a set of processes of converting knowledge in organisations. The results after interviews show that the processes of Socialisation and Externalisation have been used most in the organisation, while Combination and Internalisation have been used less or are undiscovered. However, the researcher collected the important data from transcribed interviews including the existing technology in the organisation, techniques and tools that are used to develop people and KM. Moreover, to find out the relationships between SECI process and Technology, the researcher combined knowledge from the literature review and raw data from interviews to present the relation in the table below.
Table 4-11 The relationship between IT in organisation and SECI process in study.
SECI process Technique, Technologies
Socialisation (Tacit to Tacit)
COP
Story telling Meeting,
Direct communication(face to face)
Phone
MSN Messenger VDO conference
99
SECI process Technique, Technologies
Externalisation (Tacit to Explicit)
Training (E-learning) Manual and document
Website , web board( Q&A) MSN Messenger
Combination (Explicit to Explicit)
Undiscovered Website , web board( Q&A) Share point on public server Email
Internalisation (Explicit to Tacit)
Training Website , web board( Q&A)
E-learning on website
In conclusion, although technological support to SECI processes at the MOC are not obvious, the investigation by this study shows the existing technologies and SECI process in the organisation by considering the relationship between technology and usage. Moreover, previous studies can provide some information and help this study to categorise appropriate technologies and techniques and SECI process.
4.3
Summary
This chapter demonstrates and explains the results of the data collected and answers the research questions. First, the researcher analysed the issues of technology usage and knowledge management using two dimensions: IT dimension and KM dimension.
100
The IT dimension consists of IT usage, the most used form of IT and the external variables that impact technology acceptance:
- IT usage was defined as the use of technology and communication in MOC. This definition also included how MOC used technology and communication systems to convert knowledge, share knowledge, communicate with people in the organisation, make decisions, solve any problems and collect data and knowledge. This highlighted eight technologies that people use to communicate in this organisation: 1. Websites 2. MSN Messenger 3. Phone 4. Video conference 5. Email 6. Fax 7. Networks, including Internet and Intranet 8. E-service. The results showed that the KM team and IT department use website KM and email to communicate with others in the organisation and also use them to convert and distribute knowledge on the Webboard (Q&A).
- IT and Frequency of usage: The technologies that were most often used in MOC to communicate with others are MSN Messenger, phone and email. The results of the interviews indicate that only people in ICT use MSN Messenger to communicate with others on the ICT team, and the KM team uses phone and email frequently to communicate. Some answers mentioned that MSN Messenger was easy to use and provides the ability to leave non-urgent messages, but there were some limitations to it as well; for example, for people to use MSN Messenger, they need to know the email address or MSN Messenger account of the person they want to speak to. Therefore, you would not be able to reach those who do not have an MSN account or who are in a position of authority. Normal communication at MOC is phone and email when employees need to urgently communicate or contact other, and they use email to communicate with managers/executives and to transfer important files. - External variables that impact technology acceptance: There are many factors
influencing the acceptance technology in MOC: Age, Attitude about Technologies, Ability and Skill, Culture, Management, Organisation, Policies, Understanding and Securities.
101
The KM dimension consists of KM tools, frequency of use, problems of knowledge management, status of KM, Key obstruction in implementation, status of KM and its limitations and barriers. The KM tools that are used at MOC are COP and Storytelling. COP is a technique that puts a group of people together and lets them communicate with each other. The Storytelling technique can be applied in face to face conversations or with technological assistance such as telling a story over the telephone or transferring experiences and solutions to problems through MSN Messenger. Both tools were used in MOC as the key methods for sharing and creating knowledge. The results show that MOC was really concerned about KM implementation. However, the attitude regarding KM was quite different. It might be said that the activities may create some problems in the progress of the KM initiative. Most interviewees strongly agreed that the status of KM was close to the “beginner level”. They expected that the organisation might take longer to become a knowledge organisation.
Research Question Two studied the KM format in the organisation and the usability of ICT. After asking this question to the interviewees, it became obvious that there are few people who understand the SECI concept. They heard about the SECI process when they were training, but could not identify what technology could be applied to the SECI process. The SECI process is a process of converting knowledge in an organisation; the process that was most often used in MOC is the Socialisation and Externalisation process, while Combination and Internalisation have been used less or are undiscovered.
The next chapter discusses the external variables that impact on the knowledge management process and technology acceptance at MOC. Moreover, Research Questions Three and Four are discussed in detail.