Final_question n0.4

TOPIC: THE KNOWLEDGE - BASED SYSTEMS (KBS)
Question # 3:
1. Describe or define KBS.
2. Distinguish KBS from MIS.
3. Illustrate (give examples) how KBS can improve company's competitive advantage and organizational performance.

1. A knowledge-based system is a computer program that reasons and uses knowledge to solve complex problems. Traditionally, computers have solved complex problems using arithmetic algorithms created by programmers. With knowledge-based systems, human knowledge is captured and embedded explicitly within a program in a symbolic format.


2. KBS is a collection of facts and the relationships among them that mimic the decision-making process in an expert's mind and constitute a major component of an expert system. While MIS provide important tools supporting delivery and adding credibility to your organisation. Access stored information easily and manipulate it for your needs, your clients’ needs and your funders’ needs. Control flow of information into, around and out of your systems.

3. Business organizations are coming to view knowledge as their most valuable and strategic resource, and bringing that knowledge to bear on problems and opportunities as their most important capability. They are realizing that to remain competitive they must explicitly manage their intellectual resources and capabilities. Knowledge-based competitive advantage is also sustainable because the more a firm already knows, the more it can learn. Learning opportunities for an organization that already has a knowledge advantage may be more valuable than for competitors having similar learning opportunities but starting off knowing less. For example, an organization who uses KBS in their system, they can draw inferences from it, the computer can now be put to some practical use as a problem solver and decision maker by searching the knowledge base for relevant facts and relationships, the computer can reach one or more alternative solutions to the given problem of a company. The computer's knowledge base and inferencing capability augment those of the user.

http://web.cba.neu.edu/~mzack/articles/kstrat/kstrat.htm

http://www.bookrags.com/research/knowledge-based-systems-csci-03/