Informatica Economica Vol. XII No. 4/2008SUMMARYBusiness Intelligence & Knowledge Management – Technological Support for Strategic Management in the Knowledge Based Economy The viability and success of modern enterprises are subject to the increasing dynamic of the economic environment, so they need to adjust rapidly their policies and strategies in order to respond to sophistication of competitors, customers and suppliers, globalization of business, international competition. Perhaps the most critical component for success of the modern enterprise is its ability to take advantage of all available information - both internal and external. Making sense of all this information, gaining value and competitive advantage through represents real challenges for the enterprise. The IT solutions designed to address these challenges have been developed in two different approaches: structured data manage-ment (Business Intelligence) and unstructured content management (Knowledge Management). Integrating Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management in new software applications designated not only to store highly structured data and exploit it in real time but also to interpret the results and communicate them to decision factors provides real technological support for Strategic Management. Integrating Business Intelligence and Knowledge Man-agement in order to respond to the challenges the modern enterprise has to deal with represents not only a „new trend” in IT, but a necessity in the emerging knowledge based economy. These hybrid technologies are already widely known in both scientific and practice communities as Competitive Intelligence. In the end of paper, a competitive datawarehouse design is proposed, in an attempt to apply business intelligence technologies to economic en-vironment analysis making use of Romanian public data sources. ERP System Audit a Control Support For Knowledge Management The ERP system supports most of the business system that maintains in a single database the data needed for a variety of business functions such as Manufacturing, SCM, Financials, Projects, Human Resources and CRM; the audit of this systems is necessary in order to give reasonable assurance to the company on its core system. Obtained evidence evaluation can ensure whether the organization's IT&C system safeguard assets, maintains data integrity, and is operating effectively and efficiently to achieve the organization's goals or objectives. The audit process respecting the methodology based on: gathering information and plan; obtaining an understanding of internal controls; performing test of controls and substantive tests, develop a control support on quality of flow of information and knowledge from formal perspective, for Knowledge Management in large enterprises. Efficient Algorithmic Techniques for Several
Multidimensional Geometric Data Management and Analysis Problems In this paper I present several novel, efficient, algorithmic techniques for solving some multidimensional geometric data management and analysis problems. The techniques are based on several data structures from computational geometry (e.g. segment tree and range tree) and on the well-known sweep-line method. The Informational System – Factor of Success in the Management of the Organization Information bridges the gaps among different parts of the systems, and also among themselves. This is why one may assert that the informational system lies at the bedrock of the creation, maintenance and development of the organizational structures. With its help, the organization manages to strike and to keep a balance and that is a factor of success that generates energy, creation and permanent development. Success actually means having all knowledge and information turned into a positive action. Knowledge Dynamics and Economy Growth The success of national economies is more dependent on the capacity to produce and use knowledge. This paper represents a study on the innovation and knowledge, which become more central to economic performance. The Evaluation of the Project Management Programmes Quality The main issue addressed by this paper refers to the quality of training and education on project management – is it different than the perception of quality of training and education in other fields, if so, where, in what aspects, who should be responsible for it, should it only be addressed as input based – provider, trainer, curriculum, or also output based – trainee, etc. A survey was made and the main results are presented. Motivational Issues in Knowledge Work The paper discusses the place of emotions in modern theories of motivation, and the influence of the knowledge-oriented paradigm on redefining motivation and rethinking ways of rendering work, knowledge work, in particular, more efficient, in a society in which human participation and deployment of intellectual capital become key factors of success, replacing traditional, tangible-focused, factors of production. An Evolutive Model of Knowledge-Based Organizational Populations In this paper we develop an evolutionary agent-based simulation model derived from a knowledge-based theoretical framework and use it to explore the effect of knowledge man-agement strategies on the evolution of a group of knowledge-intensive organizations located in a given geographical area. We then present the results of different runs of the simulation model. Knowledgedynamics and Thermodynamics The purpose of this paper is to present a metaphorical analysis for Knowledge dynamics using the main concepts of Thermodynamics. Following the Andriessen’s method we are going to define Thermodynamics as a source domain, and Knowledgedynamics as the target domain. Our analysis will discover the semantic kernel of this metaphor and the way in which we can benefit of it. In the same time, we shall demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge domain and the fact that this metaphorical analysis should constitute only a first step in defining the concepts and the laws of the new field of study. Connections Between Learning Styles and the Quality of Learning Learning is a process of accumulation of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values through study, experience or teaching, which causes a persistent, measurable change that is specific at a behavioral level. In other words, learning allows individuals to form a new mental construct or to revise the existing one, this way producing behavioral changes, changes of activity. The Network’s Data Security Risk Analysis Establishing the networks security risk can be a very difficult operation especially for the small companies which, from financial reasons can’t appeal at specialist in this domain, or for the medium or large companies that don’t have experience. The following method proposes not to use complex financial calculus to determine the loss level and the value of impact making the determination of risk level a lot easier. Human Resources Management in the Knowledge Management Knowledge is increasingly claimed to be a key critical resource and source of competitive advantage in the modern global economy, especially with the rise of the service economy, the growth in the number of ‘knowledge workers’, the increasingly rapid flow of global information, and the growing recognition of the importance of intellectual capital and intellectual property rights. Knowledge, with its intangible aspects, is becoming a defining characteristic of economic activities, as opposed to tangibles such as goods, services or production processes. The rise of the knowledge economy has seen a proliferation of information and communication technologies, coupled with greater organizational complexity, the growth of virtual and global organizations and rapid change. This in turn requires drastic change within HRM to respond to changing demands of the knowledge economy. Instruments for Students’ Self Evaluation Having in mind that quality is realized at the level of main educational relationship, it is obviously understood that the first main way of evaluation, analysis of the quality is the school itself. Evaluation of education quality within „Mihai Viteazul” Combat Units Training School Piteşti, is based on three main processes: internal quality assurance, quality control and external quality evaluation. Taking into account evaluation as general method of evaluation and interpretation of the training process it was drawn up the Model of evaluation of educational quality at the school level. The way by which students’ competences are formed, as they are presented in the “Graduate Model”, is realized according to the standing operation Procedure which concerns students’ evaluation. Changing the role of student from passive one to an active one within the training process, this becoming one who has equal rights within an educational relationship which is based on a “pedagogical contract”, needs the improvement of self evaluation importance, this one becoming the main element of the evaluation strategy. The paper presents the main instruments of student’s self evaluation that are used within tests in the 2006-2007 education year, the new Conception concerning development of the new educational curriculum in „Mihai Viteazul” Combat Units Training School of Piteşti. Knowledge Management Architecture – Principles and Tendencies Algorithmic research is an established knowledge engineering process that has allowed researchers to identify new or significant problems, to better understand existing approaches and experimental results, and to obtain new, effective and efficient solutions. While algorithmic researchers regularly contribute to this knowledge base by proposing new problems and novel solutions, the processes currently used to share this knowledge are inefficient, resulting in unproductive overhead. Most of these publication-centered processes lack explicit high-level knowledge structures to support efficient knowledge management. The authors describe a problem-centered collaborative knowledge management architecture associated with Computational Problem Solving (CPS). Waste Management Using a Multilevel Distributed System and Data Mining Administration is conducted through the control of events and management of problems in the territory. Economical growth and nowadays technologies lead to difficult problems related to environmental protection against pollution and to people safety against various direct threats from air soil, food. In this respect, an increasing importance get the collection of information and its processing and interpretation just to understand and discover threats and potential disturbance of the environment and health. The paper proposes a multilevel system for the administrative bodies involved in environment matters at local regional and national levels, which may collect and scrutiny data on waste generation, spread and reuse/elimination, and provide sound instruments to assist decision makers of the corresponding levels, using Data Mining and Business Intelligence. Taxonomies of Organizational Knowledge The paper systematizes organizational knowledge, starting from the classical dichotomy of tacit and explicit, and outlining the importance of these taxonomies, which may seem reductive, in properly understanding the nature of organizational knowledge and operating with it in business. Aspects Regarding the Scientific Production of a University The analysis of the scientific production of a university is a very complex process and it usually refers to the number of articles published in scientific journals. For most analyses, only a small number of journals is taken into consideration. Usually, there are considered the journals indexed in databases like Science Citation Index (Thompson ISI). However, we consider that for a more complex image of the scientific production of a university, we need to take into consideration several aspects: the development of the scientific production is a fundamental part of the mission of a university; the scientific production represents an integration of knowledge at both tangible and intangible level; at the moment, the evaluation and analysis of the scientific production is made only at the tangible level, the scientific production differs from one domain to another; all the university rankings based on the scientific production are relative. Knowledge management and eLearning This paper describes academic evaluation methods from the perspectives of its components: professors, disciplines, learning and evaluation methods and graduates. The knowledge management model and its relations to the e-Learning environment are presented. Validation of Metrics for Collaborative Systems This paper describes the new concepts of collaborative systems metrics validation. The paper defines the quality characteristics of collaborative systems. There are proposed a metric to estimate the quality level of collaborative systems. There are performed measurements of collaborative systems quality using specially designed software. Document Management vs. Knowledge Management Most large organizations have been investing in various disconnected management technologies during the past few years. Efforts to improve management have been especially noticeable over the last 18-24 months, as organizations try to tame the chaos behind their public internet and internal intranet sites. More recently, regulatory concerns have reawakened interest in records management, archiving and document management. In addition, organizations seeking to increase innovation and overall employee efficiency have initiated projects to improve collaborative capabilities.With business models constantly changing and organizations moving to outsourced solutions, the drive towards improving business processes has never been greater. Organizations expect outsourcing to streamline business processes efficiently and effectively if they are to achieve rapid payback and return on investment (ROI). Learning Content Management Systems The paper explains the evolution of e-Learning and related concepts and tools and its connection with other concepts such as Knowledge Management, Human Resources Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, and Information Technology. The paper also distinguished Learning Content Management Systems from Learning Management Systems and Content Management Systems used for general web-based content. The newest Learning Content Management System, very expensive and yet very little implemented is one of the best tools that helps us to cope with the realities of the 21st Century in what learning concerns. The debates over how beneficial one or another system is for an organization, can be driven by costs involved, efficiency envisaged, and availability of the product on the market. Transforming Knowledge into Business Value:
The Bilingual Glossary of Knowledge Management Terms and Definitions The paper presents the reasons for compiling a corpus of concepts related to information generation and sharing in the 21st century organization, which resulted in the bilingual glossary of Knowledge Management. The latter contains terms defined throughout the sources consulted, as well as the most common terms a reader will encounter in the Knowledge Management literature. The glossary offers its users an easy to access body of definitions and explanations of key terms and phrases related to Knowledge Management concepts and practices, along with their translation into Romanian. By focusing attention on the importance of transforming knowledge into business value, the research made prior to the identification of the glossary entries was based on an approach designed to facilitate a better understanding of the links between Knowledge Management practices and organizational goals. New Method for Modeling and Operating of the Virtual Enterprises Much research has been conducted to define what a virtual enterprise (VE) actually is and how it should work. This paper addresses the more specific question, how a virtual enterprise can be designed to be agile and to so best support short-term business opportunities.The cases on virtual enterprises studied in this research suggest that in order to adequately respond to a temporary window of opportunity in the market, engineering and implementation competencies cannot be created for the occasion but need to be preinstalled and on standby. Thus, each research study conducted in this sense has tried to ascertain a set of methods and tools to select partners, reengineer business and logistic processes and to set up an information and communication platform for the virtual enterprise. The Conception of the General Content of the Composition, Structure and Working
of the Informative Components of the Economic Knowledge Base Starting of the content aspect, on the systematic-informational positions, the general conceptional variant of the composition, structure and transformative relations of elements of the informative compartment of knowledge base (K.Bs.) of automatized banks of economic intelligent data (A.Bn.E.Ig.D.) are not too clear. Web Metasearch Result Clustering System The paper presents a web search result clustering algorithm that was integrated in to a desktop application. The application aims to increase the web search engines performances by reducing the user effort in finding a web page in the list of results returned by the search engines. Knowledge Dynamics Data is a set of discrete symbols or signs used to express facts about events. Still, data tells nothing about why or how these events happen and they do not contain explanations or interpretations of the eventual changes of events. In an organizational context, data is most well described as structured records of transactions. EU Services Directive – Design Approaches for Romania Modernizing public administration is the basis for implementation of the EU directive, and in order to ensure this successfully, collaborative procedures between administrative institutions and countries must be put in place and further developed. This paper will present some technical design options for an architectural framework of the Point of Single Contact imposed by EU Services Directive that takes into consideration the specific e-Government background of Romania. Electronic Universal Vote In the days of informational society everything is going online. Most aspects of our lives have online components. Since democracy is a big issue, it could not escape this trend. Governments themselves are moving to the online environment for the purpose of improving their internal efficiency and their availability to the citizens, businesses and other parties interested. Since governments are the result of elections, elections have also been touched by the electronic fever. New electronic voting solutions arise and each one brings new debates with many arguments in their favor and against them. Accessibility and ease of use leads the arguments in favor of electronic voting over the internet, while fear of fraud is the main reason people are avoiding electronics and clinging on classic paper ballots. Inforec Association 136 |