UMKC Bloch Business School

BIS 580 "Seminar in Information Systems"

Course Topic for Winter, 2001 is Knowledge Management

Wednesdays 7:00-9:45 in Bloch 4

Syllabus Draft Version

Associate Professor: Roger Alan Pick

Office: Bloch 237

Voice: 816-235-2336

FAX: 816-235-6506

E-mail: pick@acm.org (send all e-mail as plain text; do not send attachments)

Hours: I do not have set office hours. I am available by appointment. In addition, I am usually in and out of my office from 9:30 -5:00 Monday - Friday and will be pleased to visit with you on a drop-in basis. If you are coming from a distance, it is best to call to be sure I am in before making the trip. If you use my voice mail, be sure to dictate your phone number slowly and clearly.

Course Objectives:

• •Know several definitions of knowledge and how it is different from data or information.
• •Understand the context, role, and scope of knowledge in the modern global organization
• •Know how to encourage knowledge creation and sharing in an organization.
• •Know some available tools to assist in knowledge management.
• •Know examples of the practice of knowledge management in organizations.

Textbooks:

• •Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak, Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, 2000; ISBN 1-57851-301-4.
• •Wendi R. Bukowitz and Ruth L. Williams, The Knowledge Management Fieldbook, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 1999; ISBN 0-273-63882-3.
• •"Buckman Laboratories (A)," Harvard Business School Case 9-800-160, 1999.
• •"McKinsey & Company: Managing Knowledge and Learning," Harvard Business School Case 9-396-357, revised 2000.

Prerequisite: MIS 502 or equivalent.

ADA: If you have any questions about disability or desire accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act, please contact the Office of Services for Students With Disabilities at 816-235-1083.

Attendance: You are responsible for everything that happens during class time, regardless of your attendance.

Winter Weather: It is my plan that class will meet if UMKC is open, and class will not meet if UMKC is closed. If class is canceled due to closure of the university, all activities scheduled for the canceled section (including exams and assignment due dates) will take place during the next class meeting.

Grading: Grading policy will be announced on the course website within a week and will be announced at next week's class. Grades will be based upon two exams, 2-6 homework assignments, attendance / class participation, and a presentation with accompanying term paper. (Details about the paper and presentation will be handed out in a few weeks.) The specifics will be based upon opinions expressed during the first night's class.

On effort: Grades in this class are based upon demonstrated performance. The grade you need to receive and your effort are only relevant if they affect your performance.

Makeup Exams: A makeup exam will be given during exam week if you must miss an in-term exam. Discuss problems in advance when it is possible to do so.

Assignments: The best way to turn in assignments is during class when they are called for. You will have one week in which to do most assignments. After that, they are late. Late assignments are accepted at any time prior to exam week with a 10% penalty as well as a substantial risk that I will misplace them. FAX transmission of an assignment is also acceptable, provided you attach a cover sheet with my name on it, and provided that you accept the risk that the assignment will be misplaced. Assignments are not accepted via e-mail attachment. All attachments coming from students are deleted.

Cooperation: Assignments should be substantially your own work. However, you are permitted to discuss general strategies in approaching an assignment, and you are permitted to compare answers. If cooperation seems excessive, you will be given an opportunity to show that you can do the work by yourself.

Cooperation during exams is not allowed. Those who engage in the practice will receive a zero on the exam, and they will be compelled to either drop the class or publicly apologize to their classmates.

Incomplete: University policy allows the assignment of the I grade if the student cannot complete the course due to serious reasons beyond the student's control. As this work must be completed within a year before the I automatically lapses into an F, the I grade imposes serious risks upon the student and should not be assigned lightly. Discuss problems in advance when it is possible to do so.

Document your grade! Keep all graded homework and exams until you receive your official grade report from the university.

Finally, all aspects of this class will be handled logically, sensibly, and with an understanding of your situation. This syllabus will not be followed blindly in defiance of common sense. Exceptions can and will be made according to good judgement.

Since I am teaching this course for the first time, view the schedule below as a work in progress. One important change is that guest speakers will be added to the schedule according to their convenience; as they make commitments, we will have to shift around them.