Main Objective of the Assessment

You are required to produce an INDIVIDUAL formal report involving a consideration of knowledge management (KM) initiatives and how they may be exploited for business value. The assignment (max 2500 words excluding references) will involve an analysis of an organisation of YOUR choice with 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 media which may be adopted to exploit the extent of an organisations ‘knowledge’ leading to enhanced ‘innovation’. For clarity, your report should therefore form FOUR elements, 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 following learning outcomes are assessed through this assignment.

• 1  To critically discuss the nature and process of knowledge creation and transfer within organisations.
• 2  To critically evaluate how organisational and social dynamics combine to engender innovation.
• 3  To analyze the application of concepts and theories related to new ‘social network’ technologies.
• 4  To be able to present theoretical and empirical evidence to address complex problems and practical situations in relation to knowledge management and 
innovation development.

The individual report should reflect:

• †Ability to identify diverse and high quality sources of information (a minimum of 20 references are required from different sources). These should include: academic journals/ books/ trade publications, government and industry data, websites, etc.
• †Demonstration of clear understanding and synthesise of the available information in order to gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the topic(s).
• †Ability to discuss complex information clearly and concisely, and to construct coherent and logical arguments.
• †Ability to present your findings in a professional and well structured report 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.