Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning in Business Organisations and Biological Systems
A Systems View of Management Theories
- Art: MA-Thesis / Master
- Autor: Ulrike C. Proesl
- Abgabedatum: Juni 2000
- Umfang: 61 Seiten
- Dateigröße: 3,5 MB
- Note: 1,0
- Institution / Hochschule: Munich Business School Deutschland
- ISBN (eBook): 978-3-8324-2827-3
-
ISBN (Paperback) :
978-3-8324-2827-3 P - ISBN (CD) :978-3-8324-2827-3 CD
- Sprache: Englisch
- Prämierung:
- Arbeit zitieren: Proesl, Ulrike C. Juni 2000: Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning in Business Organisations and Biological Systems, Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag
- Schlagworte: Organisational Learning, Knowledge Management, Organisational Behaviour, Organisationspsychologie
In den Warenkorb
48,00 €
MA-Thesis / Master von Ulrike C. Proesl
Abstract:
Writers on management and organisational excellence today provide a set of prescriptions, which they argue will lead to healthy, well functioning firms. Within the management sciences there has been a growing tendency to view organisations as complex systems, that is, to describe them as organisms. Increasingly the hard sciences are being used to describe and analyse organisations.
In the field of creative problem solving several systems authors have advocated the use of metaphors to describe certain aspects of organisations. In reviewing much of today’s management literature we are exhorted to use benchmarks, for a variety of management tasks. In reviewing organisational excellence we are duty bound to find a measure that will be relevant tomorrow as well as today.
Conjoining these current themes in management, this thesis seeks to review what we know about the effective collective functioning of selected species and to compare these natural systems with organisational systems. We posit the question: Can an understanding of the functioning of natural systems help us to understand how organisations function? If so, what can we learn about the effective functioning of organisations.
Firstly we will review common management theories, with a focus on organisational learning and knowledge management.
Secondly we will look at three natural organisations: Honey bees, leaf-cutter ants and the African locust. We want to find out how these organisations function, and specifically search for knowledge management and organisational learning within these biological systems.
Then we will try to link management theories with our findings in natural organisations.
This approach will finally deliver some interesting hypothesis about knowledge management and organisational learning - both valid for human and natural organisations.
Table of Contents:
| Table of Contents | 2 | |
| Acknowledgements | 4 | |
| Technical remarks | 4 | |
| Preface | 5 | |
| Introduction | 5 | |
| I. | Management Theories on Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management | 7 |
| 1.1 | A Company's Driving Forces: The Seven-S-Model (McKinsey & Company, Inc.) | 7 |
| 1.2 | The Structure of Organisations (Henry Mintzberg) | 8 |
| 1.3 | The 5th Discipline - Innovating the Learning Organisation(Peter M. Senge) | 9 |
| 1.4 | The „Peak Performance Organisation“ (PPO)- what Management can learn from Sports Organisations(University of Waikato, New Zealand) | 12 |
| 1.5 | Workgroups and Virtual Organisations: Fashion or Future? | 14 |
| 1.6 | The 21st century: „Collaborating to Compete?“ | 14 |
| 1.7 | Drivers for Excellence | 16 |
| 1.7.1 | Leadership | 16 |
| 1.7.2.1 | Knowledge Management | 18 |
| 1.7.2.2 | Information Technology as supporting tool for Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning | 18 |
| 1.9 | Summary and Key Findings | 19 |
| II. | Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management within Natural Systems | 20 |
| 2.1 | Organisational Excellence - Biological Networks (Santa Fe Institute of Technology) | 20 |
| 2.2 | Natural Systems | 20 |
| 2.2.1 | Honey Bees | 21 |
| 2.2.2 | Leaf-cutter ants | 26 |
| 2.2.3 | The African Locust | 29 |
| 2.3 | Organisational Excellence and Knowledge Management within Natural Organisations: Summary and Key Findings | 30 |
| III. | Management Literature linked with Natural Systems | 34 |
| 3.1 | McKinsey's 7-S-Model within Natural Organisations | 34 |
| 3.2 | Mintzberg: Situational factors as determinants of organisational structure and strategy | 35 |
| 3.3 | The 5th Discipline -Ants, Bees and Locust Populations as Learning Organisations | 36 |
| 3.4 | Leaf-cutter Ants - a Peak Performance Organisation? | 38 |
| IV. | Conclusions | 39 |
| 4.1 | What is Knowledge? | 39 |
| 4.2 | Prerequisites for Learning | 40 |
| 4.3 | When does Knowledge Management really work? | 41 |
| 4.5 | How does Organisational Learning function? | 42 |
| 4.6 | How to enforce Organisational Learning | 43 |
| 4.7 | What are the benefits of Knowledge Management | 47 |
| …and Organisational Learning? | 47 | |
| Appendix | 49 | |
| Appendix to 1.7.2.2.: Information Technology as supporting tool for Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning | 49 | |
| Honey bees | 51 | |
| Leaf-cutter ants | 52 | |
| The African locust | 53 | |
| Glossary | 54 | |
| 1. | Management Terminology | 54 |
| 2. | Systems Terminology | 55 |
| Bibliography | 56 | |
| 1. | Management | 56 |
| 2. | Biology | 56 |
| 3. | Systems | 56 |
| Space for reader's comments | 57 |
In den Warenkorb
48,00 €
Link zur Arbeit:
http://www.diplom.de/ean/9783832428273
Arbeit zitieren:
Proesl, Ulrike C. Juni 2000: Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning in Business Organisations and Biological Systems, Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag
Schlagworte:
Organisational Learning, Knowledge Management, Organisational Behaviour, Organisationspsychologie
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