Wednesday, October 3
Opening Session
Welcome and Opening
Ramesh Sharda, Institute for Research in Information Systems, Oklahoma State University
Professor Sharda will offer a welcome message from OSU administration, faculty, and students. He will also provide a quick overview of projects related to Knowledge Management (KM) and Project Management (PM) at Oklahoma State University.
Educating for the Future: The Challenges and Opportunities of Starting New Academic Programs
William Ray, Vice Provost and Dean, OU Graduate College, Tulsa
Dr. Ray received his B.A. in 1972 from The University of Iowa, majoring in Economics and Mathematics. He earned the M.S. degree in Mathematics in 1972, the M.S. degree in statistics in 1974 and the Ph.D. degree in Mathematics in 1978, all from The University of Iowa. Dr. Ray has been on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma since 1980 where he is currently Dean of the Tulsa Graduate College and Vice Provost for OU-Tulsa. He is the author of a textbook in real analysis and numerous research articles in mathematics.
The Practical Approach to Retaining Organizational Knowledge, Projects Meet Knowledge Management
Chuck Tryon, Tryon and Associates
Organizations of all types and sizes are struggling to address the widening gap between what they must know to thrive and an unprecedented loss of organizational knowledge. New market opportunities and improved technologies create a growing demand for new knowledge. At the same time, seasoned workers are retiring at rates never seen in modern business and finding adequate replacements is becoming more difficult.
A new management discipline, Knowledge Management, has recently emerged with the goal to help organizations recognize, retain and share organizational knowledge. Knowledge Management is dominating discussions in executive suites around the world. Yet for many, this topic remains conceptual and intangible.
In this fresh and innovative presentation, noted speaker, author and seminar leader, Chuck Tryon of Tryon and Associates, identifies two key elements missing from most organizations’ approach to Knowledge Management. One critical component is a formal Knowledge Retention Policy that serves as an inventory of intellectual assets considered valuable to an organization. The other is to utilize naturally occurring projects as key source to harvest refined organizational knowledge, feeding both project and product repositories. These concepts are the result of over twenty-five years of research into implications of the Knowledge Age and a more recent collaboration with Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh, the program director of the Masters of Science in Knowledge Management program at the University of Oklahoma.
This presentation will clearly identify the challenges brought on by the current knowledge drain and how Knowledge Management addresses the problem. Mr. Tryon will then provide very practical advice on how a Knowledge Retention Policy will help you identify areas of organizational risk as well as establish a foundation for knowledge retention. Lastly, Mr. Tryon will offer a number of very tangible steps for you to consider as you implement a Knowledge Management strategy in your rganization.
This presentation is based on a collaboration with Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh, program coordinator of the Master’s of Knowledge Management program at the University of Oklahoma.