KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES AND COMPANIES AT POLISH GERMAN CROSS ORDER

Transcription

1 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES AND COMPANIES AT POLISH GERMAN CROSS ORDER ANTONI MICKIEWICZ, PAWEŁ MICKIEWICZ Akademia Rolnicza w Szczecinie Summary The aim of this paper is to present knowledge management In municipalities and companies AT Polish German cross border. Methods of knowledge management, process work organization, workflow management, possessing knowledge In organization, common clerk knowledge, municipality Police management using corporation knowledge and corporation knowledge management is presented In the paper. Keywords: knowledge management, Polish German cross border, municipalities and companies, individual knowledge, process work organization 1. Introduction The aim of this report is to present the knowledge management in enterprises situated on Polish - German borderland. The workers and organization's knowledge (corporate) is the basic immaterial supply of communal offices and small cities or the enterprises in present times. Particularly important this is on borderland, where intensive tourist movement and bigger knowledge demand is observed. The education should to aim in direction of new technologies and foreign languages learning, which on these terrains is the necessity (Orylska J., Siemianowski L. 2003; Mickiewicz A. 1998). New economy in a special way treats knowledge and information (Szyjewski Z. 2003). Information becomes good and knowledge becomes supply which should be administered by someone. The decision-makers of studied enterprises and border communes try to understand that and in their budgets plan financial sources on "constant workers' education. The knowledge treatment as supply is connected to workers skills, and particularly to the management personnel as well as with corporate knowledge that making up individual value and lets market competitive superiority. Workers' knowledge management is connected to optimum utilization of individual qualification and predisposition in business processes (Orylska J., Siemianowski L. 2003). However, the knowledge of organization determining the possessed technologies, skilful aid of business processes or different activities aiming to elevation of organization working efficiency. This knowledge is mostly hidden in organizational structures of office or enterprise. The important element of knowledge in business activity is support by modern technologies, such how intranet or the internet.

2 78 Antoni Mickiewicz, Paweł Mickiewicz KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES AND COMPANIES AT POLISH GERMAN CROSS ORDER 2. Methods of knowledge management Consulting firms mark out the following stage of knowledge management (KPMG Consulting 2000): stage of chaos in enterprise there is no relationships among management, knowledge and achieving the aims of firm; the stage of organization consciousness there is the consciousness of knowledge management problems but there is no system of use; the stage of steering there are specified relationships among chosen areas of knowledge management, the applied procedures and advantages; the stage of management depending on this, that the conception of knowledge management is worked out, the procedures and tool of management are worked out but not initiated to practice. The last is the stage of system integrating depending on this that the knowledge management is the integral part of organization processes and the meaning of knowledge is wellknown as an essential supply of enterprise. However, Gartner Research (2002) in own researches marks out the following categories of the knowledge management: management of information and access to information. This depends on support of processes the knowledge managements, which was written in structural or unstructural data bases (public knowledge); the management of the work place depending on knowledge, it means on the knowledge management possessed by informed persons (the hidden knowledge); the e-business management depends on the management of knowledge integration form closer and distant systems as well as the intellectual capital management which depends on processes of production management from accessible intellectual active bodies or the knowledge capital. The knowledge management is the business process and requires the connections of technology and practice of competence in the intellectual capital management. The internet and net local intranet changed the way of firm and offices leadership, and in peculiarity the informative flows and speed of working. It means that the enterprises starting the process work organization. 3. Process work organization In well functioning organization co-operation of corporate knowledge with individual knowledge of workers is efficient. Utilization of the workers' skill and optimum utilization of their predisposition on workplace positions in composition with skillfully organized process lets the profitable effects for the whole organization. In productive enterprises with the well defined productive process and the serial production, it is the well-known way of productive process called "productive tape. The knowledge about production technology is situated in suitably organized guided and the automated productive process, ex. - the processing plants of fruit and vegetables. Productive elements in required order are delivered on individual positions and through creation of related positions net lead to producing product. Standardized procedures on individual positions are executed. Required skills on individual positions are defined and in special unambiguously cases it is possible to replace them by automated processes. The processes of improvement can focus on optimization of individual workings partial, enlarging their efficiency, what in result leads to shortening the time of product production. The management of the workflow is very important.

3 POLISH ASSACIATION FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Series: Studies & Proceedings No. 6, Workflow management The utilization of ICT in production process is also changing the processes of production. The enlargement of the production efficiency as well as process of production is the premise of changes. The process perception of the office or enterprise activity becomes the practice. The process activities are directed on stabilization and repeatability. The realization of routine process has the clearly defined technology of actions realization, checked in economic practice many times. In process activity of organization there are two ways: the first is the real process and the second is informative. The real process, that is the draught of concrete actions executed step by step with technology of described process. It can be for example the productive tape of processing fruit and vegetables, where tomato paste or jelly will be the final product. The second way of the process activity is the informative process that supports the realization of real process. For the needs of real process varied documents that support realization of the real process are processed. In productive processes the predominant part has the real process, however documents have only helping character and documenting executed actions. The opposite situation is in the office processes, at small cities border administrative communal offices. Here, created documents and procedures of their processing are the core of realized process. The real process means only simple and basic actions like documents transfer or copying. Draught of these operations on documents is the description of realization process and defines its result ( Kolbusz E. and Nowakowski A., 1999; Szyjewski Z. 2002). The computer system defines and forces the concrete workings on documents causing the programmed sequence of workings. Worker's part restrains to creative working on actual position. The computer service of process leads to automation of informative process and the processing of documents creation for realization of next process actions. The automation of basic office actions free the worker from some procedures and in the same time standardizes the process of documents service. It is the condition of correct realization of automatic flow of document that the way of document and procedure must be described clearly with connections to all work position where document can reach. The present ICT systems have the possibility of processing and storage of different kinds of documents more skillfully than classic work techniques. The multimedia techniques provide to easy processing and archiving the sound, video and text. Electronic documents are more efficient and considerably more susceptible on varied processing procedures, such copying, finding or forming archives. Routine workings are executed on concrete position of work, which makes this style of process realization alike to productive tape. Then essential is gaining the knowledge in organization. 5. Gaining the knowledge in organization The matter of knowledge management is associated with possibility of proper document retrieval when it is necessary. Therefore applying the knowledge management system to organization the system of documents management must be concerned ( migielska A. and Czekan D. 2003). Knowledge is not only a data and information but also a context of this information. The following components of knowledge management system can be determined:

4 80 Antoni Mickiewicz, Paweł Mickiewicz KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES AND COMPANIES AT POLISH GERMAN CROSS ORDER the business intelligence - the method and processes of business decision improvement, using data from all organization informative supplies, collaboratory the technology enabling users' co-operation, the knowledge discovery and mapping - the solution enabling finding and passing on the knowledge from organization supplies, the expertise location the technology permitting the source of knowledge finding. However business intelligence software consists from: the tool to reporting and to questions ad hoc (accidental) - permitting the initial user to creating and using reports; the tool to exploration - assuring the environment to multidimensional analyses' of data; the wholesalers of data - the initially configured sets of programmes to taking the data, cleaning, transformation and access, as well as the systems of the intuitive informing the management, visual environment to illustrating the tendency, problems and possibilities. The whole technology of the knowledge management systems should embrace three basic elements: men who administer the knowledge; place, where men meet and exchange the information as well as thing that men seek and modify. 6. Common knowledge of municipal clerk Official should be equipped in general knowledge and know how to use in every kind of administrative workings. This expectations may be present in form of competence profile, as: position competences; effective realizing of tasks and aims; effective communicating; analyzing information; putting on customer; innovative and team work (Zalewska M. and Czapla T. 2003). In aspect of the competence gap decreasing the large meaning can have the sphere of emotional intelligence competence improvement that is the skill of conscious and effective utilization of social emotions in personal contacts. The example - profile of official emotional intelligence competence is following: the empathy as the necessary condition to the costumer s understanding and approach justification, understanding of his position and expectations; the justification as guarantee of value and energy of the undertaken activities and desire of success endeavor; the persuasion as necessary condition to building the effective communication; the co-operation of effective settling matters at office requires skill of coordinating different men's efforts. However the key values for office of public administration are described by Zalewski M. and Czapla T. (2003). There are the following values: our work as the social activity - the measure of success is the responsibility for local community; the perfection and the ethics is our product; at workers we appreciate: the experience, the efficiency, the loyalty and the enthusiasm; the courage and the competence. It favors the best workers and personal development is the source of satisfaction and the pleasure of work. Such approach to formulating the expectations of clerk and achieved results should give the possibility of efficient working and undertaking the rational decisions. The proposals of management the commune Police with use of corporate knowledge is presented below.

5 POLISH ASSACIATION FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Series: Studies & Proceedings No. 6, Management of municipality Police using corporation knowledge To the responsibilities of community belong all public matters of local meaning which did not were reserve by law to competence of other institutions. Satisfying the needs of the community fit in to the own tasks of the community, it means the matters of: the spatial order, economy of the terrains and the protection of environment; the communal roads, streets, bridges, squares as well as organization of the water-pipes and water supply, the sewage system, removing and cleaning of municipal sewages; the maintenance of energy; the cleanness as well as sanitation, dump ground and utilization of municipal wastes; local collective transportation; the protection of health; social help, and social centers; municipal housing building; education, in this basic schools, kindergartens; the culture, in this municipal libraries and different posts of the culture disseminating; physical culture, in this recreational terrains; municipal cemeteries; public order and fire protection; the maintenance of communal administrative objects as well as assurance of the women in pregnancy and medical and legal care. Moreover the communities are obliged to executing tasks of government administration, put on by legal bills. The legal bill of local community allows to municipality to create organizational institutions and sign contracts and agreements with private companies. Realization of these tasks requires from the clerks, and particularly from the decision-makers, the deep individual and corporate knowledge. The correct way of office functioning according to assigned tasks is inseparably connected to the process of information flow. Information, in dependence of cause which concern, flow according to organizational system creating pyramid. Informative processes, as it writes Przygocka J. (1999) connected to creation, processing, management and delivery of information in aim of documents processing, means communication, storage and information generating as well processing. This happens, according to the office instruction, which defines the principles of the offices and realization mode at community office. The mode and principles of actions executing by the instruction of the office actions, assure uniform way of the creating, filing and storage as well as protection of damage at offices and the loss of documents. The management of the corporate knowledge of workflow and documents in the computer system The office objects of Rodan Company Ltd. (1998) would permit on business functions realization. In the Office Objects library, the definitions of standard processes of work in the office are recorded. As an example: the principles of documents flow according to the office instructions (system DOCMAN). It contains functions, such matters management and documents management. The system of matters management concerns the mode of their settling at the office. The matters connected to the relation of different offices or citizens' applications as well as the internal correspondence. In the system, the mechanisms of documents flow are described and defined. The additional rules of documents accessing and their protection are kept in dictionaries. The system of documents management allows to the store documents in any electronic form, ex. as document image, content or text concurrent annotations. The rules of access to documents are described in the act structure, accorded to requirements of factual list of cards and office instruction. The model of application data context DOCMAN concerns such groups of information, as: documents and descriptions; the factual list of act and description of elements. On the other hand, the usable functions of DOCMAN maybe divided on following categories: the service of documents; the description of organizational and formal structure of the matter connected to document data; the document life cycle; the possibility of reports creation as well as the service of

6 82 Antoni Mickiewicz, Paweł Mickiewicz KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES AND COMPANIES AT POLISH GERMAN CROSS ORDER documents archives (Orylska J. and Cegłowski C. 2000). Of course this influences on corporate knowledge management. 8. Corporation knowledge management The sequence of workings, consisting on description of office process is easy to monitor and to modify in dependence from the needs (Orylska J. and Cegłowski C. 2000; Szyjewski Z. 2003). The virtual productive tape at organization directed to office process activity contains the corporate knowledge of service of every executed process. That knowledge, as it writes Szyjewski (2003) is gathered in informative system, which steers the documents and definite the flow of documents. Such process can be realized without special supervision of the managements and the way of documents is always the same and action executed on individual computer positions always is identical. It gives the guarantees of homogeneity of workings and permits on work position specialization. The computer system of documents management not only causes the flow of documents but also it gathers information about every document realized course. This information after analysis can make up to optimization of the flow of documents, the modification of service positions. It also enables better utilization of work. Taking into consideration shorter cycle of products life, the enterprises are forced to innovative. The knowledge becomes the source of competitive superiority. Sorting of information supported by computer system allows to undertake more profitable decisions and in consequence better business results. 9. Conclusion It should be indicated that corporate knowledge in connection to workers' individual knowledge lets competitive superiority and raise the value of organization. Border areas on Polish - German border become catalyst of workings forcing to serious treatment knowledge management. Strong competitiveness as well as pressure from tourists directed the efforts of offices communal and firms to search for areas of unused reserves so far. The management of knowledge turned out to such area of activity which permits on obtainment competitive superiority. The ICT (actively supporting activity of organization) permits on effective knowledge management on border areas. Worker's individual knowledge becomes corporate knowledge and stays its property, even in situation when worker goes away from organization (Szyjewski Z. 2003). Putting the knowledge about realized processes in computer system lets the experts to be free from the routine supervising actions of systematically executed processes and permits on their improvement. The statistics and analysis worked out by computer system become the material for improvement of the management and the intellectual potential of organization. It is essential, form point of view of the border area management, because it is the one of the most important factors of competitiveness of the populace and the enterprises. There are huge chances, but their utilization depends from men and organizations living on that terrains.

7 POLISH ASSACIATION FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Series: Studies & Proceedings No. 6, Bibliography 1. Caldwell F., Harris K Cykl popularno ci metod zarz dzania wiedz w roku 2002 [w:] Knowledge Management. Zarz dzanie wiedz w organizacji. Computerworld maj. 2. Knowledge Management. Research Report KPMG Consulting Kolbusz E., Nowakowski A Informatyka w zarz dzaniu. Zachodniopomorska Szkoła Biznesu, Szczecin 4. Materiały RODAN System sp. z o.o. Warszawa Mickiewicz A Konkurencyjno i wiedza w perspektywie integracji z Uni Europejsk. Agrobiznes pozarolnicze przedsi wzi cia gospodarcze na obszarach wiejskich. AR Szczecin, s Orylska J., Siemianowski L Wiedza jako czynnik rozwoju przedsi biorstwa w warunkach globalizacji rynku. [w:] Wiedza wiatłem na drodze do społecze stwa przyszło- ci. US Szczecin, s Orylska J., Cegłowski Cz Wybrane zagadnienia zarz dzania biurem w technologii informatycznej. AR Szczecin, s Przygocka J System informatyczny w Urz dzie Gminy Police na tle transformacji administracji publicznej. AR Szczecin [praca magisterska wykonana pod kier. prof. dr hab. J. Orylskiej]. 9. Szyjewski Z Zarz dzanie wiedz korporacyjn. ProDialog nr 16. NAKON Pozna migielska A., Czekan D Pozyskanie wiedzy w organizacji. [w:] Wiedza wiatłem na drodze do społecze stwa przyszło ci. US Szczecin, s Zalewska M. Czapla T Wiedza ogólna urz dnika jako niezbywalny czynnik sprawno ci funkcjonowania organu administracji publicznej. [w:] Wiedza wiatłem na drodze do społecze stwa przyszło ci. US Szczecin, s PROF DR HAB. ANTONI MICKIEWICZ Katedra Doradztwa w Agrobiznesie Akademia Rolnicza w Szczecinie ul. ołnierska Szczecin Tel./ fax: (091) amickiewicz@e-ar.pl DR HAB. PAWEŁ MICKIEWICZ Zakład Prawa i Gospodarki Nieruchomo ciami Akademia Rolnicza w Szczecinie ul. Monte Cassino Szczecin Tel. (091) centrala pmickiewicz@e-ar.pl