Organizational Memory

This is a theoretical and empirical research, qualitative, whose object is the non-governmental organization Centro de Defesa dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente Padre Marcos Passerini (Center for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents Father Marcos Passerini, CDMP). The objective is to investigate what contribution organizational memory offers to organizational communication in order to strengthen the action of CDMP in society. By hypothesis, the study understands that the meaning-making potential of organizational memory offers organizational communication a contribution to promote changes in the entity that allow it to dialogue with contemporaneity and enhance its action in society. In view of the objective, a literature review and analysis were carried out to identify the prevailing approach to organizational memory in organizational communication research; understand the approach to organizational communication from the perspective of communicative constitution of organization (CCO) research; and assimilate the concept of organizational memory as a social phenomenon through which the organization produces meaning about itself and which accesses the constitutive elements of the organization. As well as bibliographic and documentary research, the empirical object was investigated using different qualitative methods such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups and the adapted Business Model Canvas. In conclusion, the study understands that organizational memory can contribute to organizational communication to enhance the entity's action in society, insofar as organizational communication overcomes the transmissive approach of the communicative process and is interested in the constitutive approach. It is in this perspective that the productions of meaning, formulated by organizational memory, have the opening to systematically affect the organization's work. In view of this systematic incidence, an organizational memory mapping model is proposed.

The Cognitive Function Analysis is a methodology supported by a mediating tool for the human-centered automation of safety-critical systems . It is based on a socio-cognitive model linking the artifact being designed, the user's activity, the task to be performed, and the organizational environment. Cognitive functions can be allocated to humans or machines. They are characterized by their role, context definition and associated resources. The methodology is supported by active design documents as mediating representations of the amfact, the interaction description and cognitive function descriptors being designed, redesigned and used as usability criteria to evahrate the distribution of cognitive functions among humans and machines. This methodolo,y enhances usercentered and participatory design, and traceability of design decisions. It was successfully tested on three main applications in the aeronautics domain. One of them is presented.

In this paper recent research is presented, focused on the development and application of an information-based model that aims to capture formally the explicit and implicit aspects of knowledge. The model is informed by the empirical study of real-life interaction. We use ...

T his study investigates the effects of information technology (IT) on exploration and exploitation in organizational learning (OL). We use qualitative evidence from previously published case studies of a single organization to extend an earlier computational model of organizational learning (March 1991) by introducing IT-enabled learning mechanisms: communication technology (e-mail), knowledge repositories of best practices, and groupware. We find that each of these IT-enabled learning mechanisms enable capabilities that have a distinct effect on the exploration and exploitation learning dynamics in the organization. We also find that this effect is dependent on organizational and environmental conditions, as well as on the interaction effects between the various mechanisms when used in combination with one another. We explore the implications of our results for the use of IT to support organizational learning.

Given the global nature of competition and the emphasis on cost, U.S. textile producers typically are unable to compete strictly on a price basis. The failure of many textile and apparel companies to differentiate themselves has had a negative effect on their profitability and viability throughout the value chain. The ability to store, capture and disseminate knowledge within and across organizational boundaries has challenged managers for many years. However, as product lifecycles have decreased and environmental complexity and volatility have increased, the textile industry's need to manage knowledge is intensifying. This project examines the process of acquisition, retention, maintenance, and retrieval of knowledge both within the firm through organizational memory and across the value chain. A series of case studies will examine how Invista manages knowledge internally and externally through relationships with downstream partners across a single value-chain within the textile industry. Qualitative interviews will assess the "state of the industry" regarding knowledge management systems. Based on the information gathered from the case studies and our review of the literature, we will develop a survey instrument and test the measures with our industry partner, Invista. We will initiate pilot studies using basic data and member lists obtained from the American Textile Manufacturers Institute.

Knowledge in organization, supported by appropriate technology will produce organizational memories that provide necessary support for organization to learn and grow. As the scope of organizational memory in one organization is too broad, it is necessary to classify them into acceptable narrower view. Using organization memory computer base literature related, this study found some basic understanding of organization memory system, and produce knowledge taxonomy and metadata as a base to develop organizational memory system in IHL; Malaysia scenario. The taxonomy and metadata is developed base on pertinent literature of organizational memory system model, organizational memory sources types and knowledge management technology. Further study can be conducted to validate and verify the developed taxonomy.

This paper describes an organizational memory information system (OMIS) Success Model that is based on the I/S Success Model proposed by DeLone and McLean [6]. The current model is refined from the original through application of specific factors associated with an OMIS. The paper briefly summarizes previous research that explored effectiveness of OMIS, including a case study of a station engineering unit at a nuclear power plant, and shows that no quantitative study has been done to test the effectiveness of OMIS for a cross-section of organizations. It is proposed to test the OMIS Success Model by surveying station engineering units at nuclear power plants throughout the United States. These groups do similar tasks, but will have different kinds of organizational memory information systems. Measures for the OMIS Success Model constructs that can be included in the survey instrument are proposed. Other factors affecting the possible outcomes of the study are discussed.

In a fast-developing and disruptive digital-driven era, it has become evident that organizational learning could not have stayed unaffected either by the hype or the need for transformation. Corporate training experts are challenged to find ways to enhance learners' engagement in a new digital learning ecosystem and to provide them with an overall meaningful experience. Additionally, they have to ensure that the whole organization in which the learning takes place will profit the most. This chapter elaborates on how narrative structures as an integrated part of a unique development model for e-learning are used to maximize learners' engagement and learning. This model has been used in several training initiatives in the corporate environment and it leverages different pedagogical strategies, behavioral change, and psychological theories and concepts. Most importantly, the use of stories is the groundwork where the development teams, the learners, and the various stakeholders involved interact with each other through a participatory process. When using these concepts, it becomes attainable to capture and leverage the informal learning, which takes place in every corner of the organization and appropriately transform it to formal e-learning programs for the profit of the whole organization. Inspiring challenges, practical examples, process parts, and extracts from e-learning courses where the above-mentioned model is used are deployed in this chapter. They give a clear view of how narrative structures work in a newly induced digital ecosystem in the organization field of learning, and how it becomes feasible to maintain the human contact needed for an efficient learning outcome.

The prevalence of temporary forms of cooperation and project-based work is increasing. Likewise, the knowledge-intensity of work contents is growing. However, the unique and temporary nature of projects and programs does not support knowledge transfer from, between and within projects.

The overall objective of the research is to analyze the impact of Organizational Memory (OM) on Organizational Performance (OP). The research community consists of all employees at the industrial companies in Sadat City. Due to time and cost constraints, the researcher relied on the sampling method to collect data for the study. The appropriate statistical methods were used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.The research has reached a number of results; the most important of which are: (1) the general average of the OM is fairly high. Management as a dimension of OM ranked first, followed by technological OM, while marketing OM ranked third, (2) the overall average of the OP is high. The administrative as one of the dimensions of OP ranked first. This is followed by a marketing OM, (3) there is a significant relationship between OM and OP at the industrial companies in Sadat City. The study referred to a number of recommendations; the most important of which are: (1) attention of officials at the industrial companies towards OM. This can be achieved through the formation of information bases that can be in their data bases and that there is an easy access to, (2) attention of officials towards maintaining OM. This can be done through knowledge management, since properly managing knowledge contributes to improved OP, and OM is the basis of organizational structure, (3) the need to direct the attention of officials towards the use of knowledge in improving OP through the OM of technological, administrative, and marketing, (4) The necessity of conducting many researches and studies on the economic, technical and administrative feasibility of OM systems and their application in addition to the need to conduct research and studies on the OM, in order to make comparisons between them so that the distinguished ones can be identified and set as role models applied to these companies, (5) the need to provide advanced technological infrastructure as one of the necessary requirements in the knowledge age, (6) the need to design effective systems of OM, and must identify and overcome the problems, and the transformation of the challenges facing the opportunities to be exploited in the future from the broad understanding of the advantages and the effective and vital role in these companies, (7) providing the requirements of the process of knowledge sharing, especially with regard to the process of training workers and teams, as this has positive effects on the efficiency of performance in these companies, (8) the need for different departments and decision makers to identify the obstacles to the application of the effective participation of knowledge and working to reduce them, achieve their objectives and strengthen their competitive position in these companies; (9) the need to activate the process of knowledge sharing among employees, (10) the need to understand the various interpretations based on knowledge, as this reflects the impact on the adoption of concepts and methods of sharing knowledge to achieve high performance levels.

This paper addresses the need for organizations to manage the transformation from traditional hierarchical models to 'learning organizations. ' We propose a fivestage methodology useful in the diffusion of behaviors associated with organizational learning (OL) theory. The stages of OL diffusion are (1) agenda-setting, (2) matching, (3) restructuring, (4) clarifying, and (5) routinizing. Each stage involves both managerial (structural) or member (cultural) influences on organizational memory (OM). Salient definitions are provided and the OM aspects and deliverables associated with each OL diffusion stage are discussed. This research provides a theoretically-driven approach to help change agents diffuse and realize the potential of OL behavior in the firm.

Group Decision and Negotiation 14: 355–376, 2005. DOI: 10.1007/s10726-005-8917-6 ... Using Causal Mapping with Group Support Systems to ... Elicit an Understanding of Failure in Complex Projects: ... FRAN ACKERMANN AND COLIN EDEN Department of management ...

Many approaches have been developed which claim to guide organization to use their common or shared memory in more efficient way. One of the approaches is realizing the organizational memory with the help of information system, resulting the term Organizational Memory ...

The normative literature within the field of knowledge management has concentrated on techniques and methodologies for allowing knowledge to be codified and made available to individuals and groups within organizations. The literature on organizational learning, however, has tended to focus on aspects of knowledge that are pertinent at the macro-organizational level (i.e. the overall business). The authors attempt in this paper to address a relative void in the literature, aiming to demonstrate the interlocking factors within an enterprise information system that relate knowledge management and organizational learning, via a model that highlights key factors within such an inter-relationship. This is achieved by extrapolating data from a manufacturing organization using a case study, with these data then modeled using a cognitive mapping technique (fuzzy cognitive mapping, FCM). The empirical enquiry explores an interpretivist view of knowledge, within an information systems evaluation (ISE) process, through the associated classification of structural, interpretive and evaluative knowledge. This is achieved by visualizing inter-relationships within the ISE decision-making approach in the case organization. A number of decision paths within the cognitive map are then identified such that a greater understanding of ISE can be sought. The authors therefore present a model that defines a relationship between knowledge management (KM) and organizational learning (OL), and highlights factors that can lead a firm to develop itself towards a learning organization.

Özet: Bir örgütte örgütsel hafızadan yararlanma oranı, örgütsel başarı sürecinin kısalmasını sağlayan en önemli etkenlerden biridir. Ancak, örgütler hafıza kapasitelerinin yeterince farkında olamamakta veya onu koruyamamaktadır. Bu durum örgütsel başarı sürecini geciktirmekte, olumsuz yönde etkilemektedir. Örgütlerin, doğal unutma eğilimden dolayı hafıza kaybına uğramaları kaçınılmaz bir durum olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Örgütte hafıza kaybı; örgütsel öğrenme kapasitesini geliştirme yeteneğinin kısıtlanması ya da değer yaratmak için sahip olunan bilgiyi kullanmadaki başarısızlık olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Örgütlerde örgütsel hafıza kaybı, yetkinliklerin kaybolması ve etkililiğin düşmesi ile hataların tekrarlanması biçiminde kendini göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışmanın amacı; örgütlerde hafıza kaybına neden olan faktörler ve hafıza kaybının sonuçları ile örgütsel hafızayı korumaya yönelik düzenleme ve uygulamaların tespit edilmesidir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda ISO'nun yayınladığı Türkiye'nin ilk 500 sanayi kuruluşu listesinde yer alan uluslararası bir tekstil firmasında yaşanan hafıza kaybı, hafıza kaybı sonrasındaki gelişmeler ve alınan önlemler incelenmiştir.

This article is a reflection on organizational oblivion, viewed as an archetypical antonym of learning. The consequences of this kind of forgetting for the organizational identity construction are described as a narrative project. We refer to the image of Lethe, an archetype of forgetting, to depict how forgetting directly affects the process of identity narrative construction. In this perspective, drinking from the waters of Lethe implies not just the loss of knowledge or memories of how things are done, but the loss of identity so that the individuals do not know who they are anymore. In this context, forgetting disrupts organizational narrative which ceases to be a coherent story and results in organizational identity loss.

The paper investigates how human and social capital contribute to individual productivity in an organization. Productivity is an outcome of organizing human resources and technology, where differences in individual productivity reflects variation in human capital, or competence other things being equal. Social capital contributes to productivity because individuals use their personal contacts for getting advice, solving problems, and obtaining complementary resources. We study an organization that completes all its tasks in projects. The employees initiate and organize the projects. The company uses Lotus Notes as a database on skills and skill levels of employees and ongoing projects. Project initiators use the database to search for people with appropriate skills for their projects, and for availability on full or part time basis. The employees also use e-mail to organize and complete projects. The firm does not have regular offices, just a meeting place. Communications, data arch...

The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of organizational memory and learning capabilities as antecedents to non-technical innovation, comprising organizational and marketing innovation, and to examine their effect on sustained competitive advantage within a capabilities-based view (CBV) theoretical framework. For analysis of the proposed theoretical model, 159 industrial companies in Spain were sampled and a system of structural equations was modeled using partial least squares methodology. The results confirm that both organizational memory and learning capabilities favor the development of organizational innovation and marketing innovation. Furthermore, the paper shows that both types of non-technical innovation promote the achievement of sustained competitive advantage.

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This paper presents research in the field of knowledge management for geo-spatial imagery including scanned aerial photos and satellite images. We have developed a web-based system that allows users to query a database of images not only using metadata, but also drawing sketches of configurations of objects they are interested in as well as inputting textual descriptions of their intended task. Our system integrates case-based reasoning techniques to form a knowledge base from previously issued queries that can be exploited to improve future query processing and to build organizational memory through experience capture. The effective design and implementation of a user-friendly graphic user interface plays an important role for the system to provide improved human-computer interaction and decision support.

Thispaperprovides a critique of current conceptions of "organizational memory" as presented in a number of recent studies. It briefly reviews some of the rich and varied contributions from both administrative studies and information systems concerning this topic, while aC the same time noting the vagueness of the term as it is commonly used. What is of interest is the pervasiveness and perseverance of this nebulous concept across a wide range of disciplinary endeavors. The paper provides an important re-formulation of one aspect of "memory " thal is implicit if twt explicit in most current views, i.e. the notion of memory as a passive store, arguing instead for an active, constructive view of "remembering" that has a long, if forgotten history within psychology and other fields. In the final section, some implications of such an approach are discussed, paying particular attention to the need for empirical studies of "memories in use" and the need to focus on the active construction of common information spaces ,from information repositories, and expanding the domain qf discourse to include sociological as well as psychological perspectives on concepts such as memory, learning, remembering, talking, etc. in rhe context of organizations. This re-formulation of the issues surrounding organizational memory has significant implications for the kinds of computer "support" for this phenomenon which might be possible or feasible, which can only be touched on in this paper, but will be extended in.fiture work.

Organizational memory is an under-specified, multidisciplinary construct that is well used in academic and practitioner literature. In organizational studies, organizational memory is most often linked with organizational learning, improvisation, and knowledge management. In 1991, Walsh and Ungson brought organizational memory to the attention of researchers and observed that it was a core construct in many organizational theories yet the construct was fragmented. This paper presents the results of analysis of the use of the construct from 1991-2001 to assess whether progress has been made in theoretical development and empirical research. Conclusions are drawn from the literature and promising new approaches and research directions are discussed.

Research on organizational spaces has not considered the importance of collective memory for the process of investing meaning in corporate architecture. Employing an archival ethnography approach, practices of organizational remembering emerge as a way to shape the meanings associated with architectural designs. While the role of monuments and museums are well-established in studies of collective memory, this research extends the concept of spatiality to practices of organizational remembering that focus on a wider selection of corporate architecture. By analyzing the historical shift from colonial to modernist architecture for banks and retailers in Ghana and Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s on the basis of documents and photographs from three different companies, this article shows how archival sources can be used to untangle the ways in which companies seek to ascribe meaning to their architectural output. Buildings allude to the past and the future in a range of complex ways that can be interpreted more fully by reference to the archival sources and the historical context of their creation. Social remembering has the potential to explain why and how buildings have meaning, while archival ethnography offers a new research approach to investigate changing organizational practices.

Organizational Learning started to develop as an area of interest and as a subject of study since sixties. The concept is concerned with a type of knowledge which the organisational members gather by their day to day interaction with external and internal environment of the organisation, and using the knowledge for permanent change and development of the strategy, process , culture etc. which are continued in the organisation as a semi-permanent process. When such permanent changes occur, it is assumed that the organization "learns". A lot of research works were undertaken on this subject since its inception but most of them are conceptual or prescriptive in nature. The reason for shortage of empirical studies may be the absence of a suitable instrument for measuring the construct. In this article following a literature survey of the existing literature, including the existing quantitative instruments for measuring OL, a new quantitative instrument for measuring OL is developed. Initially following the survey, a 37-item questionnaire was developed which was modified to a 34 item instrument on the basis of based on feedback from experts opinion and pilot study. Ultimately, item-wise responses were obtained on a Likert scale from 134 managers of Port and Shipping Organizations in India and that was analyzed by exploratory factor analysis. Eventually, the study developed a 27-item questionnaire with 4 dimensions named as "Internal capability", "Organizational Memory", "Spontaneous learning" and "External Knowledge"

Many healthcare technology projects fail due to the lack of consideration of human issues, such as workflow, organizational change, and usability, during the design and implementation stages of a projectÕs development process. Even when human issues are considered, the consideration is typically on designing better user interfaces. We argue that human-centered computing goes beyond a better user interface: it should include considerations of users, functions and tasks that are fundamental to human-centered computing. From this perspective, we integrated a previously developed human-centered methodology with a Project Design Lifecycle, and we applied this integration in the design of a complex distributed knowledge management system for the Biomedical Engineer (BME) domain in the Mission Control Center at NASA Johnson Space Center. We analyzed this complex system, identified its problems, generated systems requirements, and provided specifications of a replacement prototype for effective organizational memory and knowledge management. We demonstrated the value provided by our human-centered approach and described the unique properties, structures, and processes discovered using this methodology and how they contributed in the design of the prototype.

Office tasks related to processing of contracts in the insurance business are complex and highly dependent on legal and company-specific formal regulations. On the other hand, the increasing competition strongly influences efficiency as well as quality requirements and makes such activities very dealing with critical for the company success. This paper describes the main ideas behind the EULE system implemented at Swiss Life to provide computer based guidance and interactive support for typical office tasks dealing with private life insurance. The system relies on a knowledge representation language which covers data and process aspects including encoding of the relevant regulation contexts. Based on specifications in this language a compiler enables the automatic generation of executable systems. Furthermore, we sketch the embedding of EULE into a general advanced software architecture, in particular w.r.t. organizational memory, functionality workflow management and business process modeling

Given the global nature of competition and the emphasis on cost, U.S. textile producers typically are unable to compete strictly on a price basis. The failure of many textile and apparel companies to differentiate themselves has had a negative effect on their profitability and viability throughout the value chain. The ability to store, capture and disseminate knowledge within and across organizational boundaries has challenged managers for many years. However, as product lifecycles have decreased and environmental complexity and volatility have increased, the textile industry's need to manage knowledge is intensifying. This project examines the process of acquisition, retention, maintenance, and retrieval of knowledge both within the firm through organizational memory and across the value chain. A series of case studies will examine how Invista manages knowledge internally and externally through relationships with downstream partners across a single value-chain within the textile industry. Qualitative interviews will assess the "state of the industry" regarding knowledge management systems. Based on the information gathered from the case studies and our review of the literature, we will develop a survey instrument and test the measures with our industry partner, Invista. We will initiate pilot studies using basic data and member lists obtained from the American Textile Manufacturers Institute. GOALS Our goal is to fundamentally enhance the process of acquisition, retention, maintenance, and retrieval of knowledge both within the textile firm through organizational memory and across the firm's value chain to gain competitive advantage. Using the Invista value chain as an exemplar, our work (1) explores the relationship between low-cost and differentiation firm strategies on firm performance, (2) seeks to understand the relationship between firm strategy and use of different knowledge management systems, and (3) examines the impact of knowledge management systems on firm performance.

An Experience Factory is an infrastructure for organizational learning in software development that includes an Experience Base as an organizational memory. We introduce a system architecture showing how such an infrastructure can be technically supported based on Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) technology. As a first instantiation of this architecture, we present the CBR-PEB application, a publicly accessible WWW-based experience base about CBR applications and tools.

Preserving and fostering knowledge is the vital interest of a network-like virtual organization. The decentralized and geographically distributed organizational structure inhibits knowledge flow. The particular conditions of knowledge management in virtual organizations are discussed by the example of an empirical study we carried out in a service company. We analyze how technical and organizational aspects influence knowledge sharing and transfer. Particular emphasis is placed on supporting knowledge transfer. It is shown how an existing knowledge sharing tradition had to be extended and which drawback it had concerning technology use. To improve knowledge flow within the organization a web-based knowledge base was introduced. This initiated a process of externalizing tacit knowledge and is meant to introduce new ways of knowledge transfer to the organizational culture. In fluid virtual organizations sustained knowledge management means to establish an organizational memory that is flexible and adaptive to changing requirements. This is best achieved by a strong organizational culture that emphasizes knowledge sharing by the use of various communication channels.