Organisational Memory Information Systems An example of a Group Memory System for the Management of Group Competencies

As people transform data, information and experiences into shared corporate knowledge, the management of individual competencies has become increasingly important to knowledge intensive organisations (KIO). Knowledge gained during the normal execution of daily tasks is easily lost in the new and more dynamic business environment. The ability to find versatile employees and to be able to leverage their knowledge to meet differing corporate needs, is a matter of pivotal importance for KIOs. Employees’ competencies, in the form of their technical and cognitive capabilities, are closely related to the ability of a company to exploit existing, and to create new, knowledge. The topic of this paper is an example of the design a particular instance of an organisational memory system: a group memory system for managing corporate competencies. The system described focuses on internal competencies, in particular human knowledge sources, their competencies, as well more straightforward project experiences and related heuristics. We will show an approach for representing and manipulating corporate competencies, and highlight the main features of ontology-driven organisational memories. This research work applies ontologies as a design approach to represent organisational knowledge and ultimately to create a consensual representation of corporate competencies.