INTRODUCTION

Knowledge Management 2009

Towards a Subjectivist View

Tim Hoogenboom Bolke de Bruin

Course

A subjectivist view on KMlearning

knowledge

practice based approachescommunities of practice

learning theoryorganizational

social

design for learning

identity

guest wrapup

examsoral

30

Not so fast...

Exploring the Main Topics

– Knowledge management

– Organizational learning

– Social Media

Today

An objectivist approach

A subjectivist approach

information

knowledge

Course background

Objectivist by default

No solid foundation for

Subjectivism Objectivism

Knowledge Management

Information Management

Discussion

If we were to find a workingdefinition for Knowledge

Management what would it be?

Management is gericht beinvloedenthat’s easy

Knowledge

individualistic disembodied learning is step-by-step process

a set of probability distributions

held by an agent

orienting his/her actions

Boisot 1999An objectivist perspective

 

Concrete

Abstract

Undiffused

Diffused

Cod

ifie

d

Un

cod

ifie

d

V-Min(Minimum value, maximum

diffusion, minimum structure)

E-max(maximum chaos, minimum order)

E-Min(minimum chaos, maximum order)

V-Max(maximum value, minimum

diffusion, maximum structure)

II

I

Boisot 1999An objectivist perspective

How do we ‘manage knowledge’?

 

V-Min(Minimum value, maximum

diffusion, minimum structure)

E-max(maximum chaos, minimum order)

E-Min(minimum chaos, maximum order)

V-Max(maximum value, minimum

diffusion, maximum structure)

Boisot 1999

An objectivist perspectiveHow do we ‘learn’?

Concrete

Abstract

Undiffused

Diffused

Cod

ifie

d

Un

cod

ifie

d

abstraction

problem solving

scannin

g

impacting

absorptio

n

diffusion

Objectivist view

Knowledge Managementright information

right person

right time

right place

individualz

collective

Let’s give that a thought!.. a little exercise

If knowledge

So…

…cannot be codified

…cannot be abstracted

the problem situation is wicked

Can knowledge be shared as an object?Or do we need another perspective?

No final solution

Many actors

No definitive answers

and

Learning to be free

het vermogen om onderscheid te maken

communities of practice

social learning

negotiated meaning

different interpretations

Kennis A subjectivist perspective

What is knowledge?

Different interpretations

Someone learns something that has potential value

More people learn more

More people develop different interpretaties

More people comprehend different interpretations

More people do

different things together

INF

OR

MA

TIO

NSY

STE

MS

KN

OW

LE

DG

EM

AN

AG

EM

EN

T

SYST

EM

S

SOC

IAL

M

ED

IA

SYST

EM

S

Collective learning

Huber 1999

A subjectivist perspective

How do we ‘learn’?

Organizational Learning

Learning is an individual process – no, it’s social tooLearning has a beginning and an end – no, it’s continuous and life-longLearning is best done in separate environments – no, in social practicesLearning is the result of teaching – no, learning is part of everyday life

Wenger

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge University Press, Introduction: A social theory of learning

Positioning A Social Theoryof Learning

A Subjectivist Approach towards Knowledge Management

organizational discipline

to enhancethe capability

to differentiate

to learn

Organizational Learning

Huber, George P. (1991) Organizational learning: The contributing processes and the literatures. Organization Science, 2: 88-115.

learningin doing

learningby doing

com

mun

ities

of p

ract

ice

institutionalized

structures

BO

ISO

TW

EN

GE

R

Learning in Doing

Begrippenjacht

1 Wat zijn de kernbegrippen van Wenger?

2 Geef daarvan een strakke definitie!

Learning

Meaning

Identity

Practice towhat we do

historical and social contextproviding structure and meaning

what we do

nexus of membershipslegitimating

participation in practices

to negotiate meaningto belong

to participateenhancing ability

framing experienceseveryday life

to fitmind set

Community of Practicegroup of people

sharing passion or concern something they do learn to do it better

regularly interact

= Social?

But what is social … ?... to follow

... to associate

UTOPIA

undersocialized and oversocialized conceptions of human action

Exploring Social Media

Bouman, W., Hoogenboom, T., Jansen, T., De Bruin, B. & Huizing, A. (2007). The realm of sociality: Notes on the design of social software. Conference proceedings of the 28th ICIS. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Archetypical Manifestation

Information Systems

Knowledge Management Systems

Social MediaSystems

Archetypes of IT-based systems

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

Twea

kers

– T

ech

FA

Q

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

Go

og

le –

Sea

rch

En

gin

e

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

Min

ino

va –

Bit

torr

ent

Pla

tfo

rm

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

Las

t.F

M –

So

cial

Rec

om

men

der

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

Fli

ckr–

Ph

oto

Sh

arin

g P

latf

orm

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

KM

2009

– W

ord

pre

ss B

log

What is the manifestation of this IT-based system…

IT

Kn

ow

led

ge

Exc

han

ge

– F

oru

m

Archetypical Manifestation

Information Systems

Knowledge Management Systems

Social MediaSystems

System Rationale Informing Learning Belonging

Ontological Stance Hard systems thinking Dependant on knowledge metaphor(knowledge as an object versus knowledge as negotiated meaning)

Soft system thinking

Epistemological Stance Tame problems Predictable problems Wicked problems

Design logic Designing by drawing Designing as a process Designing without a product

Form Functionality driven Pre authorized paths of reasoning Dynamic, ‘unfolding’ objects

Function Improving information supply and exchange

Matching questions and answers (via expert logic)

Triggering sociality and social relations in practice

Patterns of Reasoning Technological deterministic Asynchronous presentation and representation of knowledge disembedded in time and space

Sociality driven around social objects

Actor Model Economic, Bounded rational actor Transactional, knowledgeable actor Social, Network embedded actor

Implementation strategy Blueprinted implementation Free choice adoption Socially triggered voluntary participation

Concept of Usability Being able to operate and to interact Content value and applicability Desirable in social context

Archetypes of IT-based systems

Relevancy

Wenger is relevant for Knowledge Management because he provides us with

a social learning theory

• a design framework to afford for learning

• building blocks of social configurations that

enable learning

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge University Press, Epilogue: Design

Next week

Become knowlegeable on social media (that means join, look, participate)

Buy the book, if you already didn’t

Read chapters according to course description (on Blackboard)

ExpectationsHow did we do?