Putting Personal Knowledge Management under the Macroscope of Informing Science

The Informing Science Framework as a Macroscope After praising the merit of the microscope and the telescope for advancing scientific knowledge, De Rosnay presented the notion of the macroscope, "a symbolic instrument made of a number of methods and techniques borrowed from very different disciplines" as a tool for the direct observation of complexity and complex systems which should be looked at as a whole, rather than be taken apart into their constituents (De Rosnay, 1979, p. 6). The systems thinking techniques (selected terms being introducedfor the first time are shown in italics indicating their inclusion in the paper's glossary) applied as a macroscope, in the context of this paper, are part and parcel of the transdiscipline of Informing Science (IS) tasked to "provide their clientele with information in a form, format, and schedule that maximizes its effectiveness" (Cohen, 1999, p. 215). The definition is supported by communication process models, by a 'meta-approach' to modelling, as well as by Leavitt's Diamond Model which provides an integrated approach to change (Cohen, 1999; Leavitt, 1965). The resulting IS-Framework (Figure 1) visualizes "the contextual environment of the informer, information transmission and receiving media, and receiver of information" and "explicitly acknowledges that they exist within complex environments that greatly impact them. For example, the entity being informed is influenced by its own psychological and physiological fragilities and operates within task requirements (and anticipations), all of which exist within and are influenced by environmental context" (Cohen, 2009, p. 8). The system to be scrutinized is a novel Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) Concept (supported by a prototype system named 'Knowcations') which has been used personally for career support as a management consultant, scholar, professor, and academic manager. Recent advances in development and hosting platforms have now provided a viable opportunity for innovation and its conversion into an application serving a wider audience and multiple platforms. Over the last 2.5 years of continued system development, a range of papers has been published addressing multiple aspects of what can be considered as a 'Next Knowledge Management System Generation' approach (Schmitt, 2015e). This paper summarizes and references essential components covered and adds new design elements and/or representations to meet the holistic perspective of the macroscope in order to validate the PKM System (PKMS) against the Informing Science Framework. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Leavitt's Diamond vs. KM as an Enduring Discipline Based on a comprehensive analysis of the evolving discourse on Knowledge Management (KM), K. Grant (2011, p. 117) considers KM as "an enduring management activity" with "no decline apparent" and provides "bibliometric evidence that there has been a sustained interest in KM that is quite unlike that of other popular management themes over the last 30 years". He also identifies "a potential conflict between the interests of practitioners and researchers", "inconsistent views", and "raises some questions about the relevance of some of the research being carried out". Grant's assessment confirms Heisig's view (2009, pp. 4, 10) that KM "has entered into a new phase where consolidation and harmonization of concepts is required. " Heisig arrived at his conclusion by comparing 119 KM Frameworks from around the world and their respective "successcritical context factors" which resulted in a total of 424 terms made use of categorized into four main clusters: human factors (culture, people and leadership), organizational aspects (structures and processes), information technology, as well as a management processes (strategy and control). He further observed, "A broad consent prevails over the fact that a one-sided implementation of only one of these factors does not correspond to KM as a holistic effort. …