Integrated Document Management: Its Elements
Integrated document management (IDM) has several dimensions to cope with the variety and quantity of documents that are the characteristics of today’s business. Technology has made it possible to do many things that streamline the capture, storage, processing, and usage of documents.
An integrated document management system has two major objectives:
- It Improves business processes through an efficient workflow. Documents support workflows in any organization that cannot work through verbal communications alone. If the documents move speedily and come to the prompt attention of concerned persons, business processes can benefit.
- It enhances knowledge management through content management systems that make available all the different kinds of information being generated across the organization.
It’s for achieving these objectives that IDM uses the potential of modern technology, as illustrated below.
Data Capture Methods
Opposed to writing down (or typing) data on paper to create documents, today it’s possible to:
- Capture data online through computer controlled machines
- Enter transactions directly into the system through devices such as POS (point-of-sale) terminals
- Enter data into handheld devices in the field and transmit them directly to the central document management system
- Scan paper documents and use OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the images of text characters into computer-readable characters in ASCII or other formats
- Scan the information in paper form directly into relevant database fields
- Use barcode readers to transfer information from paper documents, products, packages, etc. directly into the document management or transaction-processing systems
The above data capture methods are in addition to the standard ones such as word processing and data entry from paper documents.
Working with Different Kinds of Data and Data Formats
In addition to standard ASCII or rich text, today’s businesses have to work with image, audio, and video files, each of which can come in open or proprietary formats. All these kinds of documents can contain information essential to managing the business of the organization.
Another dimension is knowledge management. Typically, transaction information was stored separately from administrative documentation that can include correspondence, research reports, and varied other kinds of documents. An integration of all the information into a content management system can help managers tap the accumulated knowledge of the organization for making decisions.
Modern IDM systems adopt approaches that enable them to work with all these kinds of files and formats in a seamless manner.
Major Components of Integrated Data Management
In addition to using methods that are best suited to capture different kinds of data originating at different locations, IDM usually have the following major components:
- It stores transaction data in databases optimized for speedy transaction processing and stores all data in data warehouses optimized for querying and analysis. Data warehouses make accumulated organizational knowledge available to users.
- It utilizes techniques like data mining that uses the power of computers to identify patterns users may not consider.
- It Indexes all information in a manner that makes flexible and fast searches possible.
- It centralizes storage of (or accessibility to) all information being generated at various locations.
Watch the video related to Knowledge Management
IBM’s Richard Warrick continues with an overview of IBM’s implementation of KM best practices. … IBM KM knowledge management best practices km institute
Help answer the question about Knowledge Management
Can I major in knowledge management in MBA?
If yes what are b-schools in US which offer this course?
About Author
Ademero, Inc. develops integrated document management software. Visit their website devoted to integrated document management system. Browse the resources section which includes the largest collection of posts from real users reviewing all of the most popular document management system available.
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Ask your tutor for help. I am sure they would prefer it if you went to them because you do not understand rather than not attempt it at all.
Sorry it is way above me, but good luck
Someone needs to spend time with the assigned reading homework.
Use your mind. Think. Push those gray cells to communicate and share their thoughts with each other to form new ones. Or choose to be mediocre; the latter course will put you in a very large group.
There's some really good articles on management at http://management.hammocksurvivalguide.com/
I don't know if it will solve your issues but there's some good stuff there.
Before attempting to address the question of knowledge management, it's probably appropriate to develop some perspective regarding this stuff called knowledge, which there seems to be such a desire to manage, really is. Consider this observation made by Neil Fleming
A collection of data is not information.
A collection of information is not knowledge.
A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.
A collection of wisdom is not truth.
The idea is that information, knowledge, and wisdom are more than simply collections. Rather, the whole represents more than the sum of its parts and has a synergy of its own.
in summary the following associations can reasonably be made:
Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when, where).
Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how).
Wisdom embodies principle, insight, moral, or archetype (why).
The value of Knowledge Management relates directly to the effectiveness with which the managed knowledge enables the members of the organization to deal with today's situations and effectively envision and create their future. Without on-demand access to managed knowledge, every situation is addressed based on what the individual or group brings to the situation with them. With on-demand access to managed knowledge, every situation is addressed with the sum total of everything anyone in the organization has ever learned about a situation of a similar nature. Which approach would you perceive would make a more effective organization?
Data are mixed up.
It is an interesting speciality, sort of a cross between a business degree and a library degree. The upside is that it will prepare you very specifically for a certain niche in an organizational hierarchy. The downside is that it might not give you enough big-picture training to move up that hierarchy. But like most undergraduates degrees what you do with it depends mostly on you, not on the degree.
Good luck.
No, it is not needed. Companies survived for hundreds of years without it.
Try ibm.com for statistics.