Main Objective of the Assessment
You are required to produce an INDIVIDUALformal report involving a consideration of knowledge management(KM) initiatives and how they may be exploitedfor business value. The assignment (max 2500 words excluding references) will involve an analysis of an organisation of YOUR choicewith the objective of determining how KM (embedded in social media)may result in successful innovation.
Description of the Assessment
You are required to identify how ANY organisation may ‘learn’the nature of social mediawhich may be adopted to exploit the extent of an organisations ‘knowledge’leading to enhanced ‘innovation’. For clarity, your report should therefore form FOURelements, i.e. organisational learning approach, social media development, knowledge management features and the opportunities for subsequent business innovation.
It is expected that an in-depth investigation is undertaken to determine the extent of the theoretical and practical issues involved in how Social Media may be analysed through KM and innovation frameworks. Examples should be drawn from other research into well formulated networks currently available, i.e.; Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Google, Linkedin, NING, Writeboard, Storybird, etc. You should include how your case analysis enabled successful knowledge and innovation within the organization. This should also involve a consideration of developments in the field by providing insightful explanations of current and future potential social media exploitation.
The report should provide an academic analysis by recalling the theories and approaches that are relevant to the topic. You may structure your report to include any relevant tables or diagrams with a suggested format as: features of organisational learning, nature of knowledge and how it may be managed, a contextual description of social networks and issues relating to the exploitation of organisational innovation through Social Media systems.
The individual report should reflect:
- Ability to identify diverse and high qualitysources of information(a minimum of 20references are required from different sources).These should include: academic journals/ books/ trade publications, government and industry data, websites, etc.
- Demonstration of clear understandingand synthesise of the available information in order to gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the topic(s).
- Ability to discuss complexinformation clearly and concisely, and to construct coherent and logical arguments.
- Ability to presentyour findings in a professional and well structuredreport format, including effective use of figures, tables, appendices and referencing (Harvard Style is required).
It is essential that your research should include novel, thoughtful analysis and the impact of social networks on innovation through referencing and incorporation of ideas from multiple sources. The following employability skills and competencies will beenhanced through this assignment.
- Develop and demonstrate communication skills to effectively convey information in writing.
- Develop and demonstrate planning and organizational skills along with a high degree of detail orientation.
- Demonstrate and demonstrate solid work ethic in successfully completing tasks.
- Demonstrate ability to take initiative with minimal supervision.
- Demonstrate enthusiastic attitude to quickly assimilate new concepts and meet challenges.
- Demonstrate analytical thinking for identifying, scrutinizing, improving, and streamlining complex work processes.
The marking scheme relevant for the coursework provides an illustration of each assessment criterion achieved at each of the grade descriptor for PG levels.