Knowledge Management Framework For The Ministry Of Defense (Mod) Of The Federal Democratic Republic Of Ethiopia (Fdre
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Date
2018-06-04
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Knowledge Management is becoming a critical factor to all sectors, be it educational, service provider, production/manufacturing, and even the public and nonprofit sectors. It also plays an important role in military organizations for the effective accomplishment of their mission. As any military organization, the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense needs real-time knowledge deeply embedded in the context of the operational area so that it can make good decisions and implement it faster than the enemy. However, the effective management of knowledge resources always remains challenging.
The general objective of this research is to propose a knowledge Management framework that the Ministry of Defense can utilize to ensure that it is making the best use of its knowledge resources. In order to meet this objective, the research adopted a Design Science Research as a research approach and design with mixed methodology for data collection and analysis. Therefore, review of literature on knowledge, knowledge management, and previously designed knowledge management frameworks is undertaken with the aim to develop conceptual framework and identify commonalities and shortcomings in the available knowledge management frameworks. Primary data is gathered through survey questionnaire, key informant interviews, and Focus Group Discussions to establish organizational context and domain specific knowledge management requirements. These two efforts are combined to design a comprehensive Knowledge Management framework appropriate for the Ministry of Defense specific context, as the selected research approach dictates.
The main goal of the framework is to provide the organization with the possible areas for consideration in knowledge management efforts and help to approach knowledge management methodologically and consciously. The proposed framework has all the three components of a typical comprehensive framework, and additional four components are added and interconnected to fit the requirements of the Ministry of Defense. The proposed framework has been evaluated by key experts in the field of knowledge and information management by means of a Delphi-like methodology. Lastly, to ensure effective KM in the MoD using the proposed KMF, the establishment of knowledge management section, the expansion of knowledge management technology and infrastructure, the formulation of knowledge management policy and Strategy, and the provision of continuous training on knowledge and KM are recommended.
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Keywords
Knowledge, Knowledge Management, Framework, Design Science, Military Knowledge Management