INLS 131
Management of Information Agencies
Fall 1999

Getting Ready for Class of Sept. 15, 1999

CASE STUDY:
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: THE KNOWLEDGE CENTERS

With this session, we begin our first study of a substantial case. Please read:

American Management Systems: The Knowledge Centers. Harvard Business School. 9-697-068. Rev. Sept. 15, 1998. [Available in Bookstore]

The HBS cases often begin "in medias res," that is, in the middle. Be patient; after an introductory situation, some of the basics of the organization and the personalities involved will be revealed.

We will spent two sessions on this case. In the first, we will strive to understand what is going on, what the issues are, where decisions may need to be made (and who will make them), and how the members of the organization whom we meet are influenced by their position in the organization (and their professional education and background).

During the first session we will consider characteristics of the organization so attend to some of the same aspects you discussed in your first organization description paper. (You may want to review the questions you addressed) Are any of these elements determining forces in what has taken place or in what will take place? Can you predict actions based on your own background and experience? In other words, how does the history and traditions, organizational size, mission, its stance vis a vis internal/external competition and collaboration affect the actions AMS has taken (and will take) and the goals it has set (and will set)?

How is the Knowledge Center concept of AMS like or unlike the organization you described (or other LIS kinds of organizations your are familiar with? Are there lessons to be learned in studying this case that might generalize to a library or other information agency?

In your opinion, is AMS a learning organization according the criteria described in the last batch of assigned readings? What evidence can you find that it is, or is not, a learning organization (in whole or in part)? Do you think AMS will survive and thrive in the future? Why or why not?

In our next session on the case, we will focus on management activities. In this one, our emphasis will be on the larger framework of the organization itself.