Case Study 

TPM Tools Ltd. (TPMT) is a 10-year old company based in the UK that exports high-quality, 
specialised hand tools (e.g. special wrenches, tile cutters, frame saws, etc.) to English- speaking 
countries in Africa. TPMT has 6 full-time workers in the UK, including three owner-directors, and 
usually has up to 4 part-time workers whom it employs depending on the level of active business 
orders, i.e. how many orders it must satisfy in a given time period and how complicated the orders 
are to fulfil. 
The tools to be exported are of high value, which makes them attractive to thieves. The tools can 
also be heavy, which results in high shipping costs and complicated arrangements, and are often for 
cutting hard materials, which can result in the tools being classed as dangerous . 
TPMT uses agents in 10 of the 15 countries it operates in. The agents are supposed to look after 
TPMT’s interests in their region. For the five countries with no agent, TPMT makes arrangements to 
engage with agents as and when they are needed. As well as looking after deliveries and maintaining 
some stock belonging to TPMT, their agents tell TPMT what the state of the market is and whether 
customers are satisfied. Unfortunately, information provided by agents is often contradicted when 
they get direct feedback from customers via email or letter, or on the rare occasions, when directors 
visit Africa. 
TPMT sources most of its tools from 7 regular suppliers. TPMT employees spend most of their time 
dealing with enquiries from suppliers, customers in Africa, and agents by phone, email and fax. The 
directors are committed to delivering exactly what customers order, on time, for the agreed price, 
aiming for customers to return to place future orders. However, directors often find it difficult to get 
employees to maintain good relationships with customers and agents or to go ‘above and beyond’. 
The full-time workers who are not directors typically work for the company for only two years, 
showing little commitment to the company and leaving after they become skilled in the business 
sector for other opportunities. This means that there is usually at least one full-time worker who is 
learning the business; sometimes one or more of the part-time workers have worked casually for 
TPMT before. 
TPMT is too small to support a sales or customer relationship team in any country other than the UK, 
although the Directors are considering whether more frequent overseas trips might build sales and 
customer relations. 

Managing Knowledge and Information Systems Assessment Jan 2014

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Page 3 of 5 
Task 
You are a management consultant that has been assigned to work for TPMT to help develop systems 
to manage and support knowledge sharing within the organisation to improve business 
performance. One of the business owners has recently read an article on companies using Web 2.0 
technologies to support knowledge management and is keen for you to explore this avenue. She has 
asked you to produce a briefing document on the whether web 2.0 could be used effectively to help 
address some of the problems the company is facing. Your document should: 

1. Identify one of the key Knowledge Management (KM) business problems facing TPMT from 
the case study. For the problem that you have identified justify why the problem should be 
addressed to improve business performance. 
2. Provide an overview of the characteristics of web 2.0 technologies 
3. Identify three of the benefits and three of the challenges of applying web 2.0 technologies 
to address the KM problem you have identified in part 1 of the question. You should use a 
balance of examples from both practical business situations and academic papers to support 
your argument and clearly identify connections between KM and use of Web 2.0. 
4. Based on your findings in the first three parts of the question, propose a suitable knowledge 
management system (KMS) to address the problem taking into account the size of the 
company, stakeholders and its operations. Distinguish which parts of the system will be 
supported with IT and how the non-IT parts (e.g. communities of practice) will be integrated 
with an IT supported system in a way that will bring value to TPMT and its stakeholders. 
Clearly state any reasoned assumptions you have made as part of your proposal such as 
integration with existing systems or approximate costs or budget. 

Managing Knowledge and Information Systems Assessment Jan 2014

Page 4 of 5 

Student Marking Guide: 
Use the sections indicated to help you structure your briefing document. Use the marks to help you 
identify how much to write. 
Section Question Marks Approach 
Intro Short introduction to 
areas covered in the 
document 
5 
1 Business Problem 15 For excellent performance the student 
must be clear on the reason why the 
problem needs to be addressed to improve 
business performance. 
2 Web 2.0 Overview 10 For excellent performance the student 
must provide a clear overview of Web 2.0 
using a range of reputable sources that 
have been properly referenced using 
Harvard referencing system 
3 Benefits and challenges 30 For excellent performance the student 
must identify three benefits and three 
challenges of using web 2.0 to address the 
problem identified in section 1. The 
benefits and challenges identified will be 
supported with evidence from both 
academic and business practice 
4 System proposal 30 For excellent performance the KMS 
proposed, IT and non-IT parts, must be 
made clear and should be connected to 
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