MIS applications
DSS – GDSS - DSS applications in E enterprise
Knowledge Management System and Knowledge Based Expert System - Enterprise Model System and E-Business, E- Commerce, E-communication, Business.Process Reengineering.
A group support system (GSS) combines communication, computer, and decision technologies to support activities connected with group work, including meetings, decision making, and subsequent activities. Communication technologies for GSSs include electronic messaging and chat, teleconferencing, document management, and calendaring. Computer technologies include multiuser operating systems, fourth generation languages, and web authoring tools. Decision support technologies include agenda setting, decision modeling methods (such as decision trees or risk analysis), structured group methods (such as the Nominal Group Technique or Interpretive Structural Modeling), and rules for directing group discussion (such as parliamentary procedure).
Groups engage in a wide variety of activities during meetings. The most common is information sharing. Other relevant activities that have been identified include decision making, problem solving, idea generation, planning, project management, leadership and facilitation, conflict and conflict management, negotiation, delegation, role definition, socializing, tension release, fantasizing, and management of the group process.
Most GSSs have been designed around decision making, problem solving, facilitation, and project management, but most also incorporate features that support other activities as well. For example, the SAMM system developed at the University of Minnesota incorporated a number of canned comments such as, “Oh no, not another war story!” that participants could send to the group as jokes.
Group support systems are a type of groupware, and a number of the functions that support meeting processes are discussed in the article on groupware. This article will focus on how GSSs support holistic group processes—decision making, planning, problem solving, creativity, conflict management, facilitation, and structuring the group process—and refer the reader to the groupware article for discussion of support for lower level activities such as scheduling, communication, and coordination and for activities that extend beyond the meeting itself, such as project management, group writing and document management, and shared databases. Typically groupware and group support features are mixed in GSSs, so the two articles should be read together for a fuller understanding of how GSSs operate.
Knowledge-based systems (KBSes) :
Definition: Knowledge-based systems (KBSes) are computer programs that use a centralized data repository known as a knowledgeKnowledge-based systems (KBSes) are computer programs that use a centralized data repository known as a knowledge base to provide problem-solving. Knowledge-based systems are a form of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to capture the knowledge of human experts to support decision-making. An expert system is an example of a knowledge-based system because it relies on human expertise.
KBSes can assist in decision-making, human learning and in creating a companywide knowledge-sharing platform. KBS can be used as a broad term, but these programs are generally distinguished by representing knowledge as a reasoning system to derive new knowledge.
A basic KBS uses a knowledge base and an interface engine. The knowledge base contains a collection of information in a given field -- such as medical data. The inference engine processes and locates data based on requests, similar to a search engine. A reasoning system draws conclusions from the data provided and makes decisions based on "if-then" rules, logic programming or constraint-handling rules. Users interact with the system through a user interface.
What are knowledge-based systems used for?
Knowledge-based systems are commonly used to solve complex problems and to support human learning. KBSes have been developed for numerous applications,
A knowledge-based system used in legal settings, also called a legal expert system, is used to collect, reference and provide expert knowledge on specific legal topics. They are meant to simulate the decision-making abilities of an expert in the field of law.
Knowledge-based systems have also been used in diverse applications such as avalanche path analysis, industrial equipment fault diagnosis and cash management.
Knowledge-Based Systems and Artificial Intelligence
AI enables the inner workings of KBS systems to gain and use knowledge. But while classical knowledge-based systems are a subset of AI, they differ in their approach to some of the newer developments in AI.
AI is organized in a top-down system that uses statistical pattern detection methods such as big data, deep learning and data mining. AI, in this sense, includes neural network systems that use deep learning and focus on pattern recognition problems such as facial recognition. By comparison, KBSes handle large amounts of unstructured data while integrating knowledge based on that data on a large scale.
Types of knowledge-based systems
Some examples of knowledge-based systems include the following:
Blackboard systems. These systems enable multiple sources to input new information into a system to help create solutions to potential problems. Blackboard systems rely heavily on updates from human experts.
Case-based systems. These systems use case-based reasoning to explain problems. They work by reviewing past data of similar situations.
Classification systems. These systems analyze different data to understand its classification status.
Eligibility analysis systems. These systems are used to determine a user's eligibility for a specific service. The system asks a user guided questions until it receives a disqualifying answer.
Expert systems. These are a common type of KBS that simulate human expert decision-making in a particular field. Expert systems provide answers for problems, as well as the explanations behind them. For example, they could be used for calculations and predictions.
Intelligent tutoring systems. These systems support human learning and education by providing users with instructions and giving feedback based on performance or questions.
Medical diagnosis systems. These systems help diagnose patients by inputting data or having a patient answer a series of questions. Based on the responses, the KBS provides a diagnosis and makes recommendations that medical professionals can use to determine a patient's treatment.
Rule-based systems. These systems rely on human-specified rules to analyze or change data to reach a desired outcome. For example, rule-based systems might use "if-then" rules.
Advantages and challenges of knowledge-based systems
Aid in expert decision-making, especially when a human expert isn't available.
Provide efficient documentation for quick user access.
Create new knowledge by referring to and reviewing existing stored data.
Group data by analyzing and classifying different data.
Handle large amounts of structured and unstructured data.
Improve decision-making processes so users can work at higher levels of expertise.
Can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization's training processes. Employees can also search for and revisit training materials when needed.
Preserve employee knowledge by having all relevant knowledge stored in a searchable system, which can avert knowledge gaps when skilled employees leave.
Run in the cloud, making the KBS accessible to remote workers.
Potential challenges that come with these systems
Difficult to maintain, as some systems might require continual updating and organizational policies, or procedures might change and require updating over time.
Potential anomalies such as circular dependencies or repetitive rules might appear in some systems.
Require a large amount of accurate data.
Require training for new users to understand the system.
Some data could be considered abstract, making it difficult for a system to make decisions.
System quality is only as good as the quality of data put into it.
E-business Model
A business model is a framework with all business components to create value and meet business objectives. A business model is a set of business processes to achieve the business objectives. It’s a core architecture around which the whole business of the organization is woven.
It gives the direction to implement various business processes. The business model is important as it gives a structured approach to guide idea generation in the early phase of the business. It also works as a planning tool to define business plans and implement them. It performs as a communication tool to communicate internally with various departments of the organizations as well as with partners, customers and other stakeholders.
Even in e-commerce, there are many intermediate people / parties involved before the actual goods are delivered to the end customers. These intermediate people / suppliers are now integrated to a great extent with e-business. The evolution of information technology and business models has gone through various stages. The flow of information and data has replaced the intermediaries. The complexity of the overall business model has increased, but it has also resulted in improved usability. The recent complex e-business models are developed from the perspective of making them more efficient and user-friendly.
E-business model enables innovative deployment of its resources, to make the e-business objective successful.
The various factors taken into consideration in this type of business model can be listed as –
The Offerings And Value Proposition,
Promises Of The Organizations,
Benefit Or Value Which An Organization Promises To Its Customers,
Revenue Model / Cash Flow,
Market Forces And Available Opportunities,
Competition,
Means And Strategies Of Positioning Of The Product,
Marketing Strategies Of The Company,
The Strategic Use And Positioning Of Information Technology,
Organizational Structure And Development,
Management Team,
Knowledge Assets And The Strategies For Managing Knowledge In An Organization And So On.
It should have a mention on all those aspects which help design an e-business and help make it successful.
For an e-business organization, the competition is not only from big sellers, but it’s evenly from every business on the same line. Hence, an e-business model has to plan to optimize the technology usage in e-business to develop business processes such that it will be able to achieve e-business objectives competitively. It thus represents the architecture for the products, services the organization offers and the flow of information among various departments. It can include a description of the various actors from the value chain management and their roles, revenues etc. An e-business model helps understand the relationship between and communicate among, various business partners taking part in the value chain management.
Elements of E-business Models
A typical e-business model helps an organization to structure its business processes, so that it will become more open and responsive to customer expectations. It also helps to foresee the possible future state of affairs and attempts to keep ready to face them so that to remain competitive even then.
An e-business model is thus the organization along with a network of partners. A basic e-business model can then have five major elements.
1. Products / Services
The products / services company offer is nothing but a value proposition for which a customer is ready to pay. Due to information technology as well as communication technology, various ways are evolved to create and deliver value to the customers. One way to achieve it is by removing mediators between suppliers and customers. E.g. Dell, a biggest manufacturer of personal computers, has started for the first time to sell their products directly to customers. Another way to improve the value proposition is by customization. Because of this, a company can offer their products as per the specific requirement of the customer. E.g. Amazon.com can identify and put for the other books the customer may choose as per their choice, by looking into the list of books the customer is currently trying to buy. This helps customers to select books from a wide range of books available with Amazon.com to fulfill their needs. Customization can also be applied to marketing activity of the business so that the products can be identified as per a specific geographical area or specific cultural, age group etc. and can be used better marketing schemes to focus on such customer groups.
Because of e-business evolution, companies can define different business strategies for different regions to achieve better customer satisfaction.
2. Customer Relationship
Customer satisfaction is the base of any business – traditional or e-business. In traditional businesses, there’s still a limit on satisfying the customer, whereas in e-businesses using IT and World Wide Web, it can offer a whole big range of opportunities to make customer feel satisfied, feel special! Customer relationship asset mainly emphasizes on the communication between the organization and the customers.
Organizations can collect and maintain information / knowledge about their customers and take advantage of it in order to discover new market segments, attract the existing customer groups and maintain the relationship with all types of customers. This can also help customize the product according to the demand. E.g. an e-business company can frequently collect feedback from its users and accordingly improve the products / services the company offers. This makes feel satisfied to the users and at the same time can attract new customers.
Providing additional services to the customers helps improve customer relationship e.g. Printer sellers can provide online free downloads of printer drivers, user manuals etc. Another example can be, real time information of a particular purchase can help customers to keep track of their orders and also gives a big relief to the customer call center. E.g. Courier services such as DHL or DTDC lets its customers to track their shipments any time on the internet.
3. Structural Resources
The structural resources element of the e-business model is essential element to improve on value proposition. An organization has to first invest in resources needed for an e-business establishment, which further generate value for the customers. The resources can be machinery, equipment or even human resources.
4. Virtual Network
An e-business forms a virtual network of business partners to create a value chain. This part of the e-business model describes how the value creation process is distributed among the partners of the virtual network. It helps in maintaining long term inter-organizational relationships as well as to reduce the transactional cost by improving more on virtual network relationships.
5. Financial Aspects
This part of the e-business model helps to understand the costs to be invested in information technology infrastructure to create value out of e-business. Costs can also be needed to create the value, market it and finally deliver it to the end customer.
Types of E-Business Models
Following is a classification of e-business models based on different aspects.
E-business Models Based on Functionality
Merchant Model is a most common e-business model in which businesses sell their goods as well as services using information technology to the customers on the internet. The example websites are Amazon.com, Alibaba.com and so on.
Community model is another type of e-business model in which there are different user communities who share their data, opinions and photos etc. using these websites. The examples are Flickr.com, Wikipedia.com, Facebook.com etc. Such business models earn money through advertising or voluntary donations. A Subscription model can be viewed as an e-business in which the e-business organization charges users for using their services. Examples can be AOL, You telecom etc.
The e-business organization which follows the advertising model, provides some content for the readers which generates good web traffic, along with ads which generates revenue. Example businesses in this model type are newspaper websites which provide news as well as ads for the readers.
Another model of e-business can be called the brokerage model which brings buyer organization and seller organization together on the web. Examples can be eBay, Sify shopping etc.
E-business Models Based on Transaction Types
The e-business transactions take place between different parties, using different means. One way of looking at e-business models is based on parties taking part in e-business transactions and the means of the transactions.
1. B2B E-business Model
Over the last few years, the internet has brought the companies to a virtual marketplace and built what is known as “Digital economy”. Digital economy offers various opportunities for the companies to step into new markets, improve efficiency, benchmark with global companies, increase customer satisfaction, collaboration with new partners and above all to reduce cost. The use of the internet in the Business-to-Business transaction is one such area where all these opportunities can be grabbed. It refers to electronic transactions of information among companies and their supply chain partners.
Business to business is the most common type of business transactions. Close to 75% to 80% of transactions are of this type. Providers, distributors, players and manufacturers and other ancillary organizations perform various business transactions among themselves. These all transactions are referred to as B2B.
Various logistics related transactions, distribution of material and storage or warehousing is one class of B2B transactions. Another major area of B2B e-business is the outsourcing of activities related to electronic transactions. There are various solutions those are outsourced that include project development, web-hosting, security services. In some cases there is a part of process outsourced. All Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPOs) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) use electronic means for transactions and are examples of B2B models. Other examples are companies involved in online bidding, web-service enhancers, On-line intra-company and inter-company marketing, the inter bank transfers, financial transactions among companies (for various reasons) and so on.
2. B2C E-business Model
B2C (Business-to-Consumer) e-business model is actually a concept of on-line distribution or on-line selling of services, products or information from companies to actual consumers. B2C model is an ensemble of electronic technologies and business transactions used for the transactions between companies and consumers. This is the second most popular e-business model after B2B. This includes different transactions between companies and consumers.
In a B2C business environment, there is no need to maintain any physical store / warehouse to maintain product inventory or WIP. And as such no need for retailers to distribute the product. Customers can directly search through the product catalog on the company website, place the order and the product is delivered to the customer directly. Amazon.com is a perfect example of this kind of B2C business. The main things which are browsed and sell in B2C e-business include computer hardware and software (e.g. Dell), consumer electronics (e.g. digital cameras, printers, mobile phones etc.), sports goods, office supplies, books, music, toys, health and beauty, entertainment, apparel, cars, services etc.
The major activities involved in this type of e-business model can be information sharing, ordering products/services from the company, making payment against the order by various methods such as credit card, digital cash etc., fulfilling the consumer order by physically delivering the product/service to the end customer and finally providing after sales service and support.
3. C2C E-business Model
The introduction of e-business has helped to create a very individualistic and independent society. Consumers no longer want to rely on corporations for business and are looking for their own business transactions on the internet.
Consumer to Consumer e-business model refers to business transactions made by consumers with other groups of consumers. E.g. the individuals interacting through some well-known portal or the auction site (e.g. eBay) or the individuals advertise their product through some site using classifieds or advertisement. The most well known example of Consumer to Consumer e-business is eBay.com. It’s the most famous and successful website for auctioning nearly all kinds of items. It allows customers to auction their owned items privately among other customers. The other examples of successful Consumer to Consumer e-businesses can be Monster.com, uBid.com etc. These websites provides valuable services to those consumers looking for jobs and auctioning of items respectively. Consumer to Consumer applications are growing in size every day and making more and more people involved in e-businesses.
4. B2G E-business Model
Internet has great potential to bring together people, businesses and facilitate the flow of information among them. Government organizations are also coming ahead to utilize this power of internet. Business to Government e-business model explores the switching of products / services / information from a business organization to a government agency and vice versa. B2G business model allows the businesses to bid on government request proposals or tenders. A website offering B2G business model can provide their customers a single place where they can easily locate tax forms for various levels of the government such as city, state or country. It can also provide the facility to send the filled forms along with relevant payments. It can also make a platform available where their customers can ask questions regarding government processes and get correct, quick answers. B2G can also include applications and databases designed to help functioning of government agencies. Thus it includes different transactions made between business organizations, citizens and government agencies.
To improve / increase the activities within an economy, government can facilitate and nurture e-business initiatives within the economy. This includes facilitation in terms of providing the relevant infrastructure, talent / skills development initiatives, favorable policies (e.g., taxation, rules and regulations) that support the growth of E-business.
To be able to face and sustain the pressure from competitive organizations, there’s a great need of tightly integrated e-business infrastructure. Governments are no exceptions to this. Government agencies are also responsible to quickly respond for queries and applications coming from various levels of customers such as local citizens to business organizations and satisfy them. Businesses need to go through various government rules and regulations, time to time. If both of them can bond with each other through one business integration architecture, it will improve the customer service, operation quality by a large extent. It can also help bring technology in government and government disciplinary rules, regulations in the businesses which will achieve overall superiority in business and government standards.
Customers need the knowledge at their fingertips, especially in the fast-paced and highly competitive e-commerce industry. The right information could be the difference between a sale and cart abandonment – the fine line between customer churn and retention.
One of the prime reasons you’ll want to invest in Knowledge Management in e-commerce is to enhance the quality of your customer support. Even though customers are online, they still need the very best care to persuade them to convert rather than abandon your site.
It’s no good to acquire customers only to lose them due to inadequate Knowledge Management.
Providing information about products, timely information about service delivery, targeting product marketing, and ensuring customers are kept updated about their order status are just a few of the ways that KM can be implemented in the e-commerce industry.
Use Cases of Knowledge Management in E-commerce
Here are some common use cases of Knowledge Management in the e-commerce industry.
1. Customer Support and Self-Service
As we’ve already mentioned, Knowledge Management can be very valuable in customer support for e-commerce businesses. KM allows you to provide tailored experiences for customers, even using automated self-service materials to help customers without the intervention of a human agent.
Documenting product knowledge lets you offer customers a self-service knowledge base that answers all their questions, including inquiries about important topics such as deliveries or returns.
2. Product Information Management
Customers browsing your e-commerce site want to know as much as possible about the different products you have available. Making this knowledge accessible and explicit wins you more customers as customers don’t have to contact your team to learn more about particular products.
Giving your team internal access to even more detailed information about products is also important so they can become experts in your inventory. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable employees are key to great customer support experiences.
3. Employee Onboarding and Training
When you document your knowledge, new employees can be onboarded and trained more effectively. Knowledge about customers, processes, products, and more can be easily shared when employees have access to an internal knowledge base. Employees are more productive overall when they can find the answers they seek.
Policies and procedures that are documented mean that new hires can get up to speed much more quickly, assured that they are following the organization’s ways of working. Customers benefit from a more consistent experience when employees work from the same playbook.
4. Marketing and Personalization
Targeting products for your customers becomes much easier when you use Knowledge Management. Customers’ browsing and buying history can be used to inform marketing strategies and tailor deals that could incentivize them to buy since not all customers are quite the same.
By using customer profiling, you can increase the chances that your message will reach its intended target. You can offer customers discounts on related products to increase the share of wallet and therefore boost overall revenue. Better marketing campaigns decrease marketing costs and improve ROI for your strategy.
5. Inventory and Supply Chain Management
Knowledge Management means keeping track of the trends in your customers’ buying habits and, therefore, better managing inventory. You can ensure that you are less likely to run out of stock when you know customers are buying more barbecues for the summer months, for example.
Equally, you don’t want to overstock items that will have low uptake during certain periods. Making good use of your available inventory is key to running a successful e-commerce business, and ensuring that you can adequately serve your customers with the products they want to buy.
6. Competitive Intelligence and Market Research
Using your knowledge about your competitors and the state of the market will help you stay ahead of the curve. Knowing what your competitors are doing well will enable you to outcompete and offer customers a superior experience through budget-friendly prices or a more comprehensive range of products.
Differentiating your brand is critical to Knowledge Management since you can implement this knowledge throughout your organization. Stimulating fresh ideas is also more possible when employees have access to the latest research, helping you build upon past successes to attract more customers to your brand.
Role of E- Communication in the Knowledge Management:
Knowledge transfer and communication processes With this aim, we first need a model of communication system, and of the communication process in general; thus, we need to associate such models with the issues highlighted in the previous sections.
The model, developed from early studies of Shannon and Weaver , portrays communication as an outgoing message/incoming message process, through a channel having particular characteristics and limitations. A communication system is therefore represented by a source and a receiver, connected by a channel which carries messages
The conduit model From this perspective, the solution to communication problems (and consequently the technical requirements) simply consists of enhancing the performance of the channel, i.e.by reducing noise, refining the encoding/decoding procedures, providing more reliableCommunicationchannelSenderReceiver
E. Bolisani and E. Scarso Data storage and retrieval systems, etc. This point of view derives from an information processing view of cognition where some rationalist assumptions are made as follows:
• there is underlying objective knowledge in the world that has universal applicability;
• language can be a medium for representing objective knowledge, and words have fixed meanings;
• actors can achieve universality of understanding since fixed meanings can be communicated objectively;
• realization of objective knowledge is a rational process;
• knowledge evolves through the systematic application of scientific methods.
In short, the conduit model refers to a communication channel that can reliably transfer elements of a given vocabulary of meanings. This implies that the symbolic or interpretative character of messages is not considered. Since coding/decoding activities are treated as discrete selections of messages from a predefined set, the model does not allow for the variations, ambiguity, richness of meanings that can characterize human communication. Other forms of knowledge exchange (in particular, tacit knowledge) are not considered: the implicit assumption is that any kind of knowledge can be converted(reduced) to explicit forms, and then transmitted.
Implications for electronic communication:
By combining the three perspectives previously described, we could represent the whole spectrum of inter-organizational communication as a continuum, where we can place three different communication domains corresponding to the three models described above. The different focus that characterizes ElCom implementation within each domain is discussed below
Explicit communication
This kind of communication, well represented by the conduit model, is based on the main assumption that communication can regard only explicit knowledge, represented througha fixed vocabulary and finite set of symbols [52].Accordingly, not only the language used, but also the vocabulary of meanings (i.e.the semantics) are set in advance [53]. In those ways, new knowledge is simply deducedby the receiver from the information carried through the communication channel, bymeans of rational and formalized methods. Due to its intrinsic nature, this kind ofcommunication can be automated. In relation to ElCom implementation, the focus ofsystems design is necessarily on standardization, error-free communication, processreplicability, reliability, communication speed, reduction in processing time, and ingeneral efficiency. In short: how to perform the communication in the optimal way, byautomating it whenever possible.The examples of communication systems for inter-organizational explicitcommunication include technologies, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) andWorkflow Management Systems [54], developed in the stream of automation based onrational models, and stemming from the same perspective as the ideas of ‘computerintegrated manufacturing’ and ‘unmanned factory’ in the 1980s. Probably, EDI is the bestexample to understand the features of inter-organizational explicit communicationsystems, as well as the limitations of such approach. EDI is the technology that enablesthe interchange of structured commercial messages (orders, invoices, etc.) between thecomputers of two (or more) organizations, and is thus the basis of highly reliable andefficient communication, as well as a higher integration along the value chain. EDImakes possible the automatic acquisition and handling of data on the externalenvironment (for instance, demand trends). It reduces the need for human processing,thus resulting in the efficient information handling within a context of completely pre-
Electronic communication and knowledge transfer 125defined communication, where language, meanings, and use of information have beencompletely preset. For this reason, in some industries EDI has been a key component ofjust-in-time or quick response implementations by large companies, but also requires arigid set of organizational relations [55]. Any effort to extend the use of highly automatedEDI systems necessarily faces a key question: the development of universal formallanguages of business communication; in other words, the formalization ofcommunication [56]. However, the realization of a universal EDI language, comprisingall the possible messages and meanings used in commercial documents, is quiteimpossible, even conceptually [57]. Empirical evidence also shows that the attempts tomake the use of EDI communication more flexible requires to abandon the goal ofcomplete automation [58].6.2 Tacit communicationThis form, represented well by the language games model, is the communication betweensubjects which share a common ‘perspective’ or interpretative context (see also [53]). Itis a situation where the communication regards contents that can’t be made explicit orformalized, and can thus require a variety of narrative ways to be communicated. But inany case the subjects have to share the ‘basis’ for interpreting the ‘narration’, i.e. theyhave in common a set values, viewpoints, and aims that do not need to be explained [59].The focus of ElCom implementation is on the flexibility of contents and language, thereproduction of (partial) ambiguity, the capability of managing exceptions and variations,however within the same interpretative context.In short, it may be argued that the use of ElCom for tacit communication depends onthe meeting of two conditions:1 a common interpretative context, which the interconnecting subjects have to share inany case, and independently from the use of ElCom;2 a higher flexibility and transparency of the ElCom application, with regard tolanguages, meanings, and narration forms.It is generally believed that the developments of the Internet and multimedia have mademajor progress towards tacit communication systems. As a matter of fact, suchadvancements bring about new opportunities, but also new challenges at the same time.In fact, the new applications have an extremely high potential, and it is now clear thattheir role is not simply ‘to replace or simulate human communication’, but rather ‘toenhance human communication’ [60]. This means that on the one hand such technologiesadd new ways of communicating, and on the other hand that the users have also to learnhow to exploit such opportunities and to change their narration forms accordingly [61]; inother words, to learn how to create and use new forms of narration with such equipment.Theoretically speaking, there are different perspectives from which the developmentof ElCom for tacit communication can be seen. A first perspective is that of taskautomation whenever possible. This means to formalize those parts of knowledge thatcan be formalized, so that to extend the application of the same methods used for explicitcommunication. This possibility is directly associated with the design of networkintelligent agents, that develop from studies of artificial intelligence and expert systems.Interface intelligent agents [62] are based on formal models of the human mind, of whichthey simulate the behaviour on the basis of given parameters or learning rules. The aim of
126 E. Bolisani and E. Scarsothose agents is to act as the interface between the communication channel and theterminals (receiver, sender), in order to reduce the work and help to reach efficiency inthe incoming/outgoing flows of data [63]. In principle, the functions of such systems canrange from simple tasks (e.g. e-mail filtering) to more complex functions (e.g. electronicshop assistants helping consumers in Electronic Commerce applications).However, even though a great amount of work has gone into the modelling andconstruction of agents, currently available techniques are still far from being able toproduce the high-level human-like interactions. The main technical problems to be facedare as follows [62]:• the problem of validity: is the mind-model embedded in the software adequate? Howto embed tacit mental models into explicit representations and into software?• the problem of learning: how does an agent acquire the knowledge it needs to decidewhen to help the user, what to help the user with, and how to help the user?• the problem of trust: how can we guarantee that the user feels comfortable whendelegating tasks to an agent?At present, the difficulty of solving those problems reduces the applicability of suchagents to semi-structured problems. Furthermore, studies of agents stress the necessity ofcombining different software designed for highly specific functions, in a sort of multi-agent environment [64].A second perspective that can be considered is that based on the concept of mediarichness (or information richness) theory [65]. According to this theory, media choicesare linked to the information richness required by the specific communication objective.In this view, the key question is how to carry the richest information contents as possible,in order to favour the process of tacit knowledge transfer. This implies the developmentof a range of ElCom tools, and the aim of each of them is to support different forms ofdata transmission (sounds, pictures, movies, structured data, etc.). Groupwareapplications allow cooperative work by supporting the exchange of a variety of contents.Interactive tools also facilitate the real-time exchange of information, just like the wayhuman communication occurs. The last generations of software and Internet protocolsalso have the advantage that applications can be designed independently from theplatform used for data carrying.Such systems can enhance the opportunities for interconnecting operators, not only byreproducing human communication, but also by providing tools that facilitate the work.Furthermore, the problems stemming from the formalization of languages and meaningsare less critical, since the degree of formalization can be easily adjusted to the particularcommunication process to be performed and to the specific interpretative context sharedby the communicating actors. However, it is also worth noting that the media richnessperspective leads to the flourishing of a variety of applications, depending on the specificcharacteristics of the communication flows. In other words, the choice and design of asuitable ElCom application is tightly associated with the characteristics of such flows: thelanguage used, the vocabulary, the contents exchanged, the narration forms, the aims ofcommunication, and (when possible) the data format. For example, two mechanicaldesigners may wish to exchange CAD files, while two stylists would prefer high-resolution pictures, two financial advisors would require graphs and written reports, andso on. Today’s challenge for systems designers is the development of integratedplatforms for tacit communication, generally consisting of a common infrastructure for a
Electronic communication and knowledge transfer 127set of different applications [66]. Clearly, this raises problems such as redundancy andintegration between applications designed for different purposes. This may result in lowefficiency and may require large investments. Furthermore, at the moment it is notpossible (or, at least, difficult and ineffective) to integrate all the possible functions in auniversal application supporting all the range of tacit communication flows with the sameeffectiveness and reliability. For example, although videoconference is maybe the mostpowerful means for reproducing face-to-face communication, and is apparently the mostversatile communication tool, it is not sensible or effective to use videoconferencing forimplementing groupware, or for exchanging plain text. In such cases, specificapplications (e.g. Lotus notes, or just e-mail) are more appropriate.6.3 Context communicationThe third kind of communication regards the case of subjects in different ‘communities’that do not share the interpretative framework: they use different languages, vocabulary,values, procedures, have different feelings, world views, etc. [67]. In this case, a subjectwilling to communicate necessarily requires communication tools allowing to makevisible the interpretative context, and helping the receiver to ‘understand’ it. The focus ison the innovative potential, i.e. suggesting new perspectives to others. Theimplementation of ElCom systems for context communication raises particular problems,such as:• the need for continuous real-time interaction;• the transparency of channels, that should carry a broad range of information withoutforcing it into pre-defined languages or semantics;• redundancy of communication means and variety of communication channels, inorder to facilitate the subjects to choose the best tool for ‘explaining themselves’ inthe different conditions and depending on the receiver. The problem is particularlydifficult since any kind of communication tool (including narrative communication,explanatory action, display of texts, pictures, etc.) may be necessary.In the development of such ElCom systems, two main challenges can be thereforeidentified. First, it should be noted that any tool, even the more general and transparentsystems, necessarily has peculiar functional characteristics and technical limitations. AsDustar and Hofstede argue [68], in order to learn how to interact through computers it isnecessary to see the cultural issues as dependent variables even in tools such asvideoconference, the use of which requires a sort of shared social protocol.A second aspect to consider is associated with a sort of dilemma that arises in contextcommunication. The nature of such communication is that its purpose and its expectedresults can’t be made clear in advance. It can be said that, just like travellers in anunknown country, nobody can exactly know what to communicate, to whom, and how. Inshort, context communication has the purpose of ‘opening minds’ and stimulatinginnovative perspectives. This is clearly a long term objective, and is a completelydifferent situation than other kinds of communication; (for example, in tacitcommunication, subjects should at least ‘know’ what they are seeking). This implies thatindividuals and organizations interested in context communication should invest in theimplementation of a ElCom system without knowing clearly the aims and the possible
128 E. Bolisani and E. Scarsoreturns. This makes more difficult the design of the system, and raises questions on whoshould pay for the costs
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