Question 1

The creation of knowledge assets is typically characterized by
A)high upfront costs and subsequent high variable costs.
B)high fixed costs and high variable costs.
C)high upfront costs and low variable costs.
D)low upfront costs and high variable costs.

Accepted Answer

One of the challenges of knowledge-intensive organizations is to capture and codify the knowledge and experience that resides in the heads of its employees. Once a knowledge asset (e.g., a software code or processes) is developed and paid for, it can be reused many times at very low cost, assuming that it doesn't have to be substantially modified each time.

Question 2

Technology can be used to leverage human capital and knowledge within organizations as well as with ____________ and __________ beyond their boundaries.
A)employees; clients
B)customers; employees
C)customers; suppliers
D)employees; suppliers

Accepted Answer

Technology can be used to leverage human capital and knowledge within organizations as well as with customers and suppliers beyond their boundaries.

Question 3

When an organization tries to improve cycle times in a manufacturing process, it finds far more value in problem solving shaped by the diverse experiences, perspectives, and learning of a tightly knit team than in a training manual alone. SAP uses these _________ flows to gain competitive advantage.
A)knowledge stocks
B)knowledge assessments
C)knowledge
D)tacit

Accepted Answer

When an organization tries to improve cycle times in a manufacturing process, it finds far more value in problem solving shaped by the diverse experiences, perspectives, and learning of a tightly knit team (shared through knowledge flows) than in a training manual (knowledge stocks) alone. SAP uses these knowledge flows to gain competitive advantage.

Question 4

Mary Stinson was required to take over a project after the entire team left the company. She was able to reconstruct what the team had accomplished through reading emails exchanged by the members of the team. This is an example of
A)inefficient use of information management.
B)using explicit knowledge.
C)using tacit knowledge.
D)using replicated knowledge.

Accepted Answer

Explicit (or codified) knowledge, on the other hand, is knowledge that can be documented, widely distributed, and easily replicated. Here, Mary was able to use knowledge assets created by previous employees to complete the work.

Question 5

The dangers of email include all of the following except
A)spreading of rumors.
B)almost costless.
C)uncontrollable distribution.
D)personal time waster.

Accepted Answer

As we all know, email is an effective means of communicating a wide variety of information. It is quick, easy, and almost costless. Of course, it can become a problem when employees use it extensively for personal reasons. We all know how fast jokes or rumors can spread within and across organizations. Email can also cause embarrassment, or worse, if one is not careful.

Question 6

The potential for __________ tends to be more prevalent in e-teams than in traditional teams because the geographic dispersion of members increases the complexity of establishing effective interaction and exchanges.
A)team harmony
B)trust
C)profit losses
D)profit gains

Accepted Answer

The potential for process losses tends to be more prevalent in e-teams than in traditional teams because the geographic dispersion of members increases the complexity of establishing effective interaction and exchanges.

Question 7

To increase productivity, several key lessons were learned by top management at London-based International Power concerning email. Which is not in that list of lessons?
A)Executives need to be taught to be more deliberate in their use of email.
B)Executives need to set goals for reducing the number of messages sent.
C)Executives need to provide weekly feedback.
D)Executives need to eliminate email completely.

Accepted Answer

The executive team received weekly reports on both their and the top management team progress. Within three months, team total email output dropped by 54 percent. Even though the other 75 London-based employees received no training, their email output dropped by an even greater amount (64 percent). The result was significant: a savings of 10,400 man-hours, which translates to a 7 percent increase in productivity. The recommendation did not include eliminating email entirely.

Question 8

The Cisco Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) platform makes recommendations based on all of the following except
A)what you are doing.
B)the role you are in.
C)the choices of people like you.
D)competitor choices.

Accepted Answer

The Cisco Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) platform makes recommendations based on what you are doing, the role you are in, and the choices of other people like you.

Question 9

The use of sophisticated information sharing platforms has increased in recent years in many organizations. This has helped to
A)facilitate internal and external collaboration.
B)keep employees satisfied with social networks.
C)override the need for email.
D)increase paperwork.

Accepted Answer

Technology can also enable much more sophisticated forms of communication in addition to knowledge sharing. Cisco, for example, launched Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) in 2010. It is a social business platform designed to facilitate internal and external collaboration and decentralize decision making.

Question 10

Efficiency killers that London-based International Power identified in their communication using tools from lean manufacturing included
A)overproduction and messages.
B)underproduction and defects.
C)underproduction and ineffective messages.
D)overproduction and defects in messages.

Accepted Answer

Rather than using email management tools to address the overflow, the firm took a page from lean manufacturing. It decided to treat communications as though they were an industrial process, targeting efficiency killers such as overproduction and defects (confusing, unnecessary, or ineffective messages, which often simply bred other messages). Believing a reduction in executive outflow would prompt a quick reduction in employee outflow, the executives aimed to cut the number of emails sent by the top team members by 20 percent within four months.

Question 11

There are multiple challenges associated with making effective e-teams. Which of the following is not a challenge?
A)Process losses result from identification and combination activities.
B)E-teams can be effective in generating social capital.
C)The physically dispersed team is susceptible to the risk factors that can create process loss.
D)Some collective energy, time, and effort must be devoted to dealing with team inefficiencies.

Accepted Answer

E-teams can be very effective in generating social capital, which is a key lubricant in work transactions and operations. Given the broader boundaries associated with e-teams, members and leaders generally have access to a wider range of social contacts than would be typically available in more traditional face-to-face teams. Such contacts are often connected to a broader scope of clients, customers, constituents, and other key stakeholders.

Question 12

In general, teams suffer process loss because of ____ cohesion, ___ trust among members, a lack of appropriate norms or standard operating procedures, or a lack of shared understanding among team members about their tasks.
A)high; high
B)low; high
C)high; low
D)low; low

Accepted Answer

Teams suffer process loss because of low cohesion, low trust among members, a lack of appropriate norms or standard operating procedures, or a lack of shared understanding among team members about their tasks.

Question 13

SAP uses ____________ to leverage the expertise and involvement of its users in developing new knowledge and then transmitting it to the entire SAP user community.
A)tacit knowledge
B)crowdsourcing
C)algorithms
D)intellectual capital

Accepted Answer

The user community can be a major source of knowledge creation for a firm. Strategy Spotlight 4.6 highlights how SAP, in an example of effective crowdsourcing, has been able to leverage the expertise and involvement of its users to develop new knowledge and transmit it to the entire SAP user community.

Question 14

There are multiple advantages of e-teams. Which of the following is not an advantage?
A)E-teams are less restricted by the geographic constraints that are placed on face-to-face teams.
B)E-teams can be more flexible in responding to unanticipated work challenges and opportunities.
C)Process losses result from identification and combination activities.
D)E-teams can be effective in generating social capital.

Accepted Answer

E-team leaders and key members know how to combine individual contributions in the most effective manner for a coordinated and appropriate response. Group psychologists have termed such activities identification and combination activities, and teams that fail to perform them face a process loss. Process losses prevent teams from reaching high levels of performance because of inefficient interaction dynamics among team members. Such poor dynamics require that some collective energy, time, and effort be devoted to dealing with team inefficiencies, thus diverting the team away from its objectives.

Question 15

Software algorithms are a form of _____________ that, once developed and paid for, can be reused many times at a very low cost.
A)tacit asset
B)intangible asset
C)knowledge asset
D)social asset

Accepted Answer

Once a knowledge asset (e.g., a software code or a process) is developed and paid for, it can be reused many times at very low cost, assuming that it does not have to be substantially modified each time.

Question 16

The Cisco Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) platform is a social business platform designed to facilitate __________ and __________ collaboration and decentralize decision making.
A)internal; network-side
B)external; personal
C)external; individual
D)internal; external

Accepted Answer

Technology can also enable much more sophisticated forms of communication in addition to knowledge sharing. Cisco, for example, launched Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) in 2010. It is a social business platform designed to facilitate internal and external collaboration and decentralize decision making.

Question 17

Characteristics of e-teams include all of the following except:
A)E-team members either work in geographically separated workplaces or may work in the same space but at different times.
B)E-teams may have members working in different spaces and time zones.
C)Most of the interactions among members of e-teams occur through electronic communication channels.
D)E-teams generally perform simple tasks.

Accepted Answer

There are key differences between e-teams and more traditional teams. E-team members either work in geographically separated workplaces or may work in the same space but at different times. E-teams may have members working in different spaces and time zones, as is the case with many multinational teams. Most of the interactions among members of e-teams occur through electronic communication channels. Most e-teams perform very complex tasks and most knowledge-based teams are charged with developing new products, improving organizational processes, and satisfying challenging customer problems.

Question 18

Technology can be used to leverage __________ and _____________ within organizations as well as with customers and suppliers beyond their boundaries.
A)human capital; intellectual capital
B)human capital; knowledge
C)knowledge; social capital
D)communication; social capital

Accepted Answer

Technology can be used to leverage human capital and knowledge within organizations as well as with customers and suppliers beyond their boundaries.

Question 19

Sharing knowledge and information throughout the organization can be a means of
A)conserving products and services.
B)continuing with outdated products.
C)conserving resources.
D)overusing email.

Accepted Answer

Sharing knowledge and information throughout the organization can be a means of conserving resources, developing products and services, and creating new opportunities.

Question 20

Access Health, a call-in medical center, uses technology to capture and share knowledge. When someone calls the center, a registered nurse uses the company clinical decision architecture to assess the caller symptoms, rule out possible conditions, and recommend a home remedy, doctor visit, or trip to the emergency room. This is an example of using
A)tacit knowledge.
B)a knowledge asset.
C)a non-codified asset.
D)groupthink.

Accepted Answer

Access Health, a call-in medical center, also uses technology to capture and share knowledge. When someone calls the center, a registered nurse uses the company clinical decision architecture to assess the caller symptoms, rule out possible conditions, and recommend a home remedy, doctor visit, or trip to the emergency room. The company knowledge repository contains algorithms of the symptoms of more than 500 illnesses.

Quiz 4: Recognizing a Firms Intellectual Assets: Moving Beyond a Firms Tangible Resources

The creation of knowledge assets is typically characterized by

Technology can be used to leverage human capital and knowledge within organizations as well as with __ and beyond their boundaries.

When an organization tries to improve cycle times in a manufacturing process, it finds far more value in problem solving shaped by the diverse experiences, perspectives, and learning of a tightly knit team than in a training manual alone. SAP uses these _________ flows to gain competitive advantage.

Mary Stinson was required to take over a project after the entire team left the company. She was able to reconstruct what the team had accomplished through reading emails exchanged by the members of the team. This is an example of

The dangers of email include all of the following except

The potential for __________ tends to be more prevalent in e-teams than in traditional teams because the geographic dispersion of members increases the complexity of establishing effective interaction and exchanges.

To increase productivity, several key lessons were learned by top management at London-based International Power concerning email. Which is not in that list of lessons?

The Cisco Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) platform makes recommendations based on all of the following except

The use of sophisticated information sharing platforms has increased in recent years in many organizations. This has helped to

Efficiency killers that London-based International Power identified in their communication using tools from lean manufacturing included

There are multiple challenges associated with making effective e-teams. Which of the following is not a challenge?

In general, teams suffer process loss because of __ cohesion, _ trust among members, a lack of appropriate norms or standard operating procedures, or a lack of shared understanding among team members about their tasks.

SAP uses ____________ to leverage the expertise and involvement of its users in developing new knowledge and then transmitting it to the entire SAP user community.

There are multiple advantages of e-teams. Which of the following is not an advantage?

Software algorithms are a form of _____________ that, once developed and paid for, can be reused many times at a very low cost.

The Cisco Integrated Workforce Experience (IWE) platform is a social business platform designed to facilitate and collaboration and decentralize decision making.

Characteristics of e-teams include all of the following except:

Technology can be used to leverage and ___ within organizations as well as with customers and suppliers beyond their boundaries.

Sharing knowledge and information throughout the organization can be a means of