The study program will provide a greater insight into the issues associated with the effective management of knowledge for competitive advantage. It will cover both the theory and practical application of key topics relevant to the role, and effective exploitation of knowledge within organizations. Emphasis and orientation of the unit will be more strategic and applied rather than technical and theoretical.

1.0 Introduction
The study program will provide a greater insight into the issues associated with the effective management of knowledge for competitive advantage. It will cover both the theory and practical application of key topics relevant to the role, and effective exploitation of knowledge within organizations. Emphasis and orientation of the unit will be more strategic and applied rather than technical and theoretical.

2.0 Aims
The program seeks to analyze how knowledge, or intellectual capital, can be effectively used as a sustainable source of competitive advantage. The program aims to explore how knowledge is associated with the effectiveness of learning mechanisms and how intellectual capital arises from a wide variety of sources, including relationships with customers and suppliers, innovation efforts, company infrastructure and the knowledge and skills of organizational members.

The program's specific objectives are:

· to develop participants' understanding of key economic and business drivers in a post-industrial society, the knowledge era, and how the new knowledge society differs from the industrial society.

· to understand the nature of managerial skills needed to focus on the management of intangible assets including their measurement.

· to develop an understanding of the key processes which enable organizations to renew themselves and generate new wealth.

· to provide participants with a learning organization framework for capturing and developing knowledge based assets for sustainable competitive advantage.

· to develop an appreciation of the role of information technology in the capture and transfer of organizational knowledge

· to provide a framework for the measurement of knowledge based assets and processes

3.0 Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this unit of study, participants should:

· have developed and understanding of the nature of knowledge assets, or intellectual capital, and their role in wealth creation.

· have developed an appreciation of the methods used in intellectual capital measurement.

· have developed and appreciation of organization learning theories for organizations to harness knowledge creation and innovation.

· be able to articulate basic organizational processes to capture collective knowledge in organizations.

· understand the role of communications and information management in a knowledge-based organization.

· understand the role of cultural change programs in organizations introducing knowledge management into their organizational fabric.

· demonstrate knowledge, skills and analytical tools to undertake a research project in the area of Knowledge Management.

4.0 Teaching and Learning Pattern
Teaching and learning in this program emphasizes interaction, learning-by-doing and practicality. Participants undertake a variety of projects, case studies, and practical exercises.

Prior to each session, students are expected to have prepared any articles, cases, exercises or reports to be presented or discussed. Each participant will be called upon his/her views and will be expected to participate in discussion.

Project work requires preparation beyond reading and discussing a case, e.g. calculations, analysis of information and guidance to discussion by other unit participants give participants the opportunity to demonstrate their skills individually. In presenting, participants are expected to take the approach of not just demonstrating their understanding of an issue, but of helping their colleagues to understand as well. Likewise, discussions are intended to foster group-wide learning.

5.0 Session Outline
1. Introduction to Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital

· Introduction to the course: content and assessment
· Definition and scope of knowledge management
· Definition of knowledge and epistemology

Reading:
Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, Chapter 1
Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company, Chapters 1-2
Prichard, Hull, Chumer and Willmott, Managing Knowledge, Chapter 1
Roos, Roos, Dragonetti & Edvinsson, Intellectual Capital, Chapter 1

2. The New Knowledge Based Economy

· The new world of the knowledge-based economy
· Globalisation and the knowledge based economy
· The impact of knowledge on economics: Knowledge based growth and the accelerated pace of change
· Knowledge and the international community

Reading:
Neef, D., A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing , Chapters 1-4
Sveiby, K-E., The New Organizational Wealth, Chapters 1-4

3. Organizational Knowledge Creation

· Theory of organizational knowledge creation

Reading:
Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, Chapters 3 - 4
Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company, Chapters 3-4
Sveiby, K-E., The New Organizational Wealth, Chapters 5 - 10

4. The Knowledge Organization

· Knowledge transfer in organizations
· Knowledge and competence
· Development at utilization of professional competence
· Development of internal and external structures to support knowledge transfer and maximize knowledge assets.

Reading:
Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, Chapters 5 - 6
Prichard, Hull, Chumer and Willmott, Managing Knowledge, Chapters 4, 5, 8
Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company, Chapters 6-7
Klein, D. A., The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, Part Two, Chapter 4

5. Learning Organizations (1)

· Learning organizations
· Systems thinking

Reading:
Cross and Israelit, Strategic Learning in a Knowledge Economy, Chapters 2, 3, 5
Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline - Fieldbook, Part Two, Systems Thinking

6. Learning Organizations (2)

· Team Learning
· Organizations as communities
· Building communities of practice

Reading:
Cross and Israelit, Strategic Learning in a Knowledge Economy, Chapters 12
Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline - Fieldbook, Part Six, Team Learning
Klein, D. A., The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, Part Three, Chapters 9-10

7. Managing and Measuring Intellectual Capital

· Measuring competence, internal structure and external structure
· Process model for developing intellectual capital indicators
· Building intellectual capital indices

Reading:
Edvisson & Malone, Intellectual Capital: The Proven Way…., Chapters 4-9
Sullivan, P. H., Value-Driven Intellectual Capital, Chapters 5 - 7
Sveiby, K-E., The New Organizational Wealth, Chapters 11-13

8. Connecting Intellectual Capital to Shareholder Value

· Sources of value
· Aggregation of intellectual capital indices
· Return on intellectual capital

Reading:
Edvisson & Malone, Intellectual Capital: The Proven Way…., Chapters 10-11
Roos, Roos, Dragonetti & Edvinsson, Intellectual Capital, Chapters 2-5
Sullivan, P. H., Value-Driven Intellectual Capital, Chapters 8 - 12
Sveiby, K-E., The New Organizational Wealth, Part Three

9. Information Technology Based Structure for Managing Knowledge

· IT systems in a knowledge organization
· Data mining and data warehousing
· Expert systems

Reading
Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, Chapters 7 - 8
Klein, D. A., The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, Part Two, Chapters 4 - 7
Prichard, Hull, Chumer and Willmott, Managing Knowledge, Chapter 6

10. Innovation Management
· Business concept innovation
· Management of technological innovation

Reading:
Dodgson, M., The Management of Technological Innovation, Chapters 1 - 2
Hamel, G., Leading the Revolution, Part 2
Leonard, D., Wellsprings of Knowledge, Chapters 3 - 7

11. Future of Intellectual Capital

· Knowledge exchanges
· Stock markets as a knowledge exchange
· Labor markets as a knowledge exchange
· Competing with intellectual capital
· Managerial implications

Reading:
Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, Chapters 8 - 9
Prichard, Hull, Chumer and Willmott, Managing Knowledge, Conclusion pp 199 - 236
Neef, D., A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing , Chapter 10

5.0 Indicative Reading List

Core Reading:

Cross, R. and Israelit, S., Strategic Learning in a Knowledge Economy, (Butterworth - Heinemann, 2000)

Davenport, T. H. and Prusak, L., Working Knowledge, (Harvard Business School Press, paperback 2000)

Neef, D., A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing, (Butterworth - Heinemann, 1999)

Nonaka, I. & Takeuchi, H, The Knowledge - Creating Company, (Oxford University Press, 1995)

Klein, D., The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, (Butterworth - Heinemann, 1998)

Prichard, Hull, Chumer and Willmott eds., Managing Knowledge, (MacMillan Business, 2000)

Sullivan, P. H., Value-Driven Intellectual Capital, (John Weiley & Sons, 2000)

Sveiby, K-E., The New Organizational Wealth, Managing & Measuring Knowledge-Based Assets, (Berrett - Koehler Publishers, 1997)

Roos, J., Roos, G., Dragonetti, N. C., Edvinsson, L., Intellectual Capital, Navigating the New Business Landscape, (MacMillan, 1997)

Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline, Field Book, (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 1999)

Background Reading

Amidon, D., The Ken Awakening, Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy, (Butterworth - Heinemann, 1997)

Dauphinais, Means, Price, Wisdom of the CEO, (John Wiley & Sons, 2000)
Dodgson, M., The Management of Technological Innovation, (Oxford 2000)

Edvinsson, L & Malone, M. S., Intellectual Capital, The Proven Way to Establish Your Company's Real Value by Measuring its Hidden Brainpower, (Piatkus, 1997)

Hamel, G., Leading the Revolution, (Harvard Business School Press, 2000)

Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P., The Balanced Scorecard, (HBS Press, 1996)

Leonard, D., Wellsprings of Knowledge, (Harvard Business School Press, paperback 1998)

Von Krogh, G., Roos, J., Kleine, D. (eds.), Knowing in Firms, Understanding, Managing and Measuring Knowledge, (Sage Publications, 1998)

6.0 Assignment
Students are expected to undertake, individually, a knowledge audit on a "live" company. Assessment will be based on the outcomes of the project. Project report will be assessed at 70% of unit mark and an oral presentation at 30% of unit mark.