Daniel Hislop (2013) has argued that the concept of information has usually been viewed from objectivist perspective, where explicit information can be separated from both the sender and the receiver. From objectivist point of view, information exists independently of humans in encrypted form. It can exist an sich and it can be owned. It can occur in many forms: images, documents, statistics or other of the same type. This point of view is strongly connected with positivistic paradigm of science. Those who has the objectivistic view of knowledge keep strict distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge
Hislop(2002) has proposed a ‘practice’-based philosophy of knowledge. According to it all knowledge has both tacit and explicit components and it is to some extent embodied in human brains and bodies and is embedded in organizational routines, practices and contexts. According to that philosophy the information cannot be treated as a separate entity, and, therefore, cannot be separated from its handler. Some of the supporters of this view consider information as “knowing”.
Hislop (2013) presents a variety of typologies of knowledge management strategies One of the first classifications were developed in the late 1990s, and it separated the strategy based on codification of information and strategy based on personalization of information. Codification strategy is essential for organizations with a competitive advantage based on the use of the encoded data. Such organizations want to develop their activities as data warehouses and databases where information is readily available in encrypted form. By contrast, personalization based, tacit information strategy is essential for companies whose competitive advantage is based on the processing of information and creation of knowledge. This strategy assume that a sizable part of the data is the so-called tacit or hidden information that is specific to the individual employee's property and cannot be encoded, so it focuses on face to face knowledge sharing.(Hislop 2013.)
The more complex classification of knowledge management has been developed by Michael Earl (2001). In his classification the management has been divided in three distinct schools of thought groups that are either technocratic, economistic or behavioristic. The first technocratic school is a systemic school of thought that focuses on databases to encode data, which data is then searchable. Another school of thought, which is based on information technology, is a cartographic school, where the information systems are used to create links between persons who are in the organization's activities in terms of relevant expertise. For example, through the creation of expert data banks that store contact information of experts with expertise in a given area. The third technocratic school of thought is an engineering school, where information technology is used for transmission of information of an organization's processes and practices by encoding the information in databases. Commercial approach to knowledge management is the only school of thought in the economistic school of thought group. Its view is that knowledge management is to effectively monetize your organization -owned data in order for an organization to achieve measurable economic benefits. Thus, in this school of thought IT is focused on producing products and services that generate added value and as a result, an attempt to protect these data management advantages, for example, by patenting or trademarks. Organizational School is the first school of thought in behavioral approaches group. It is essential that enable the creation of information networks between all the people that have something in common interests and who can benefit from the sharing of knowledge and experiences with each other. Communication can take place face to face or via information technology. Next one of behavioral approaches is a spatial school of thought, which is focused on creating a virtual as well as physical places and spaces that allow people to have mutual interaction and thus allow for the sharing of experience and knowledge of people. Last behavioristic approaches is a strategic school of thought that focuses on forming the attitudes and values which enable efficient data management, rather than taking the direct management by the information processes.
Michael Earl’s classification of knowledge management
Knowledge management has become an increasingly important part of the principal’s work area. For example, Debbi Smith and Phil Wild (2001) argued that, if schools want to operate more efficiently in the future, they should take the model of organizations that have successfully changed their behavior, so that they are able to take full account of the opportunities offered to them in information age. When the importance of knowledge management grows, it becomes increasingly more essential, what information is available, how knowledge is formed, and how it should be optimally utilized.
Bajec, Krisper, and Rupnik (2001) have specified information system properties of future schools in more detail. They say that in the future we will need to develop systems, which are more easily adaptable to different environments, end- users will be involved in the design and the end-user must be able to control and to define the rules under which the information system operates and end-user needs to get to try different functions of the software easily. Moreover Tatnall & Davey (2001) have argued that because schools are different, their information needs are also different and that is why the school information system should be open systems that allow easy integration of new third party software. The documentation on the operation and design of the system should also be clear and should be written at several different levels suitable for users.
Computer-based school information systems make the monitoring of the operation of teachers easier and more efficient and principals seem to prefer this feature, when the information system it so handily offers to them. This may also mean that pedagogical leadership focuses on the direction of instructional leadership and tighten the bonds between individual teachers and the principal. In other words, the teacher does not act in the way, which is justified in her/his own opinion, but she/he acts in the way, the principal believes that he should act.
Distributed leadership requires that not only the principal has easy access to the information about the organization and its current status, but also teachers ought to have the same possibility. This is also related to the fluent flow of information and good communication possibilities in general. In these fields computer-based school information system is an excellent tool.
REFERENCES
Bajec, M., Krisper, M. & Rupnik, R. (2001). Developing software for School Administration and Management. In C.J. Patrick Nolan, A. Fung, Margaret Brown (Eds.) Pathways to Institutional Improvement with Information Technology in Educational Management: IFIP TC3/WG3.7 Fourth International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management July 27–31, 2000, Auckland, New Zealand. New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow: Kluwer Academic Press, pp 45–58
Earl, M. (2001). Knowledge Management Strategies: Toward a Taxonomy. JoumatofManagemenitnformation Systems 18,(1), pp. 215-233
Hislop, D. (2002). Mission impossible? Communicating and sharing knowledge via information technology. Journal of Information Technology 17, (3), pp 165–177
Hislop, D. 2013. Knowledge management in organizations a critical introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (3. Edition).
Tatnall, A. & Davey, B. (2001) Open ITEM Systems are Good ITEM Systems. . In C.J. Patrick Nolan, A. Fung, Margaret Brown (Eds.) Pathways to Institutional Improvement with Information Technology in Educational Management: IFIP TC3/WG3.7 Fourth International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management July 27–31, 2000, Auckland, New Zealand. New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow: Kluwer Academic Press, pp 59–70
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