Running Head: DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS DIGS OUT OF MOUNTAINS OF1 DOCUMENTS DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS DIGS OUT OF MOUNTAINS OF DOCUMENTS 2 Discovery Communications Digs Out of Mountains of Documents By Student’s Name An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for BIM 400 School of Business Management National University Dr. Farnaz Sharifrazi October 4, 2012 Background Discovery Communications, Inc. is a company that has adopted a new technological advancement in their workflow by implementing knowledge management systems. Discovery Communications is the world’s number one nonfiction media company servicing its consumers with real-world content through documentaries and television programs (Overview & Mission, 2012). The company has adopted the new knowledge management system in order to streamline their system of collecting, transferring, securing and managing the company’s information. What companies were involved in developing DCI’s new system? What role did each company play in the development process? The companies that were involved in the development of Discovery Communications, Inc. were Carefree Technologies, Lotus Domino Document Manger system, WebSphere Portal, and LexisNexis. Carefree Technologies, which is an IBM partner company, was brought on by Discovery Communications, Inc. to assist with their document management system and help with the tedious and cumbersome tasks of the company’s personnel (National University, 2009). Carefree Technologies enabled the Lotus Domino Document Manger system to centralize and streamline the process of document creation, filing, management and retrieval of information. Carefree Technologies also enlisted the use of Web-Sphere to act as a web-based interface for the documents now managed by Lotus Domino Document Manager system to allow Carefree Technologies to customize the knowledge management system to cater to the company’s needs. This new web-based interface allows the company to create a portal which is a central location, a webpage, which provides access to commonly used information systems and communication tools. With the use of this portal, LexisNexis is able to be used by employees to keep informed with the latest news and technologies. Carefree Technologies was able to give the company access to other portal services that allows the personnel to track and manage the television production process and easily permit them to do the once tedious task of accessing documents. What is the purpose of a corporate portal? What convenience does DCI’s new portal provide for its employees? The corporate portal was designed so that the company could easily have access to information systems and communication tools. Carefree Technologies enabled this portal so that the employees could have access to the web-based interface which would track the documents. This portal however opened up the opportunity for the company to merge the document management system .

1. Running Head: DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS DIGS OUT
OF MOUNTAINS OF1
DOCUMENTS
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS DIGS OUT OF
MOUNTAINS OF DOCUMENTS 2
Discovery Communications Digs Out of Mountains of
Documents
By
Student’s Name
An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for BIM 400
School of Business Management
National University
Dr. Farnaz Sharifrazi
October 4, 2012
Background
Discovery Communications, Inc. is a company that has adopted
a new technological advancement in their workflow by
implementing knowledge management systems. Discovery
Communications is the world’s number one nonfiction media
company servicing its consumers with real-world content

2. through documentaries and television programs (Overview &
Mission, 2012). The company has adopted the new knowledge
management system in order to streamline their system of
collecting, transferring, securing and managing the company’s
information.
What companies were involved in developing DCI’s new
system? What role did each company play in the development
process?
The companies that were involved in the development of
Discovery Communications, Inc. were Carefree Technologies,
Lotus Domino Document Manger system, WebSphere Portal,
and LexisNexis. Carefree Technologies, which is an IBM
partner company, was brought on by Discovery
Communications, Inc. to assist with their document management
system and help with the tedious and cumbersome tasks of the
company’s personnel (National University, 2009). Carefree
Technologies enabled the Lotus Domino Document Manger
system to centralize and streamline the process of document
creation, filing, management and retrieval of information.
Carefree Technologies also enlisted the use of Web-Sphere to
act as a web-based interface for the documents now managed by
Lotus Domino Document Manager system to allow Carefree
Technologies to customize the knowledge management system
to cater to the company’s needs. This new web-based interface
allows the company to create a portal which is a central
location, a webpage, which provides access to commonly used
information systems and communication tools. With the use of
this portal, LexisNexis is able to be used by employees to keep
informed with the latest news and technologies. Carefree
Technologies was able to give the company access to other
portal services that allows the personnel to track and manage
the television production process and easily permit them to do
the once tedious task of accessing documents.
What is the purpose of a corporate portal? What convenience
does DCI’s new portal provide for its employees?
The corporate portal was designed so that the company could

3. easily have access to information systems and communication
tools. Carefree Technologies enabled this portal so that the
employees could have access to the web-based interface which
would track the documents. This portal however opened up the
opportunity for the company to merge the document
management system with other portal services such as news,
information and communications tools. This allows the
employees to track their processes and locate any documents as
they are now available through the knowledge management
system. The system also provides the employees with the
opportunity to utilize links to external website and news
services with the use of LexisNexis. Lastly, the corporate
portal allows the Discovery Communications, Inc. staff to
communicate within the company with the use of instant
messaging and company conferencing.
Why do you think knowledge management is so popular today?
What advantages can it provide a company?
Knowledge management is extremely popular and important
today. Most companies will utilize knowledge management as a
way of managing and tracking information within their
business. This management system is put into place so the
company can produce positive performance. This positive
performance comes in many different ways. In response to many
environmental changes and advances in the procession of
information, companies will need the use of knowledge
management to keep a competitive advantage (Niu, 2008).
Companies have adapted to today’s changing environment by
adopting these knowledge management systems to differentiate
themselves from their competitors. These systems can allow
companies to manage their assets and innovate and cooperate
more effectively (Niu, 2008). The superior capabilities of
knowledge management systems provide an opportunity for the
business to engage the most effective components and recognize
the importance of communication to make informed, accurate
decisions (McGrath, 2001). This system can organize the
company’s knowledge resources, knowledge obtaining,

4. organizing, and applying to make a sound routine the will
enforce effectiveness (Niu, 2008). The dynamic function of
knowledge management to create, capture, and apply knowledge
to achieve an organization’s objective will allow them to be
more profitable and successful (Zucker, 1986). In addition to
increasing profits, the system can be also used to reduce costs
and enhance research and development (DeTienne & Jackson,
2001). With all of these advantages, it would be wasteful for a
company to not employ knowledge management. As seen in the
Discovery Communications, Inc. example, the company can
attribute their new productivity levels and increase in ease of
securing documents to the knowledge management system that
put into place by Carefree Technology. Like Discovery
Communications, Inc., knowledge management is so popular
today because companies can collect, process and share
knowledge to ignite employees' creativity which in turn will
make the business grow. Wenhong and Jianhua (2009)
explained the core of knowledge management is to convert
company’s knowledge resources into an increased company
corporate competitiveness by fully exploring, accumulating and
using the company’s knowledge resources.
What were the most important steps in organizing the millions
of documents in DCI’s systems? Why?
Discovery Communications, Inc. has made many steps to move
towards organizing their millions of documents. Hiring
Carefree Technology and installing the system of digitalizing
their documents and creating an online presence was some of
the most important of all the steps. Some of the most arduous
tasks for Discovery Communications, Inc.’s employees were
obtaining the millions of documents as the papers were stored in
various locations. The time consuming task was also
cumbersome because once the employees found the documents,
there was no way to tell if the documents were current. This
new knowledge management system provided the company an
opportunity to access these needed documents from any location

5. and be aware if the items were up to date and the appropriate
materials needed. The retrieval of documents in this new
document management system will end up being the most
beneficial for the company. By saving time and integrating a
more efficient system of storing documents, the company is
allowing its workers to save time. By taking away from the
time they usually spent searching for documents, employees can
now put forth their efforts into other tasks to help improve the
company and their mission. The company can now attribute
their reduced operating costs, their increased competitive
advantage, their enhanced regulatory compliance, and their
improved customer service to the enhanced document
management system. It has been said that 90 percent of senior
executives claim that their document management system has
helped them improve their business performance (Survey,
2008). The ability the company now has to track the
documents, where they are and where they are going, places
accountability on the company’s employees. Documents have
less of chance of becoming lost or misplaced among the
processes with this new system because of the accountability.
In organizing Discovery Communications, Inc.’s documents,
now more people can be included on the workflow of documents
without wasting or creating extra time. Digitalizing the
documents allows the business to save on paper copies, which
makes transferring documents much more efficient (American
Behavioral, 2010). With the implementation and practice of
Carefree Technology and its affiliates, Discovery
Communications, Inc. will be able to run its company and its
document sharing and retrieval more efficiently and increase the
moral of its company by improving its process.

6. References
American behavioral: A case study on the benefits of document
management software.
(2010).Managed Care Outlook, 23(11), 9-10. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.nu.edu/pqcentral/docview/3
66881057/139A3CC41AC6922ABD7/3?accountid=25320
DeTienne, K. & Jackson, L. (2001). “Knowledge management:
Understanding theory and
developing strategy”. Competitiveness Review. 11(1), pp. 1-11
McGrath, R. (2001). “Exploratory learning, innovative capacity,
and managerial oversight”.
Academy of Management Journal. 44(1), pp. 118-131
National University. (2009). Chapter 1: An Introduction to
Information Systems. Decision
Systems for Managers - MNS 606 (pp. 38). National University.
Niu, K. (2008). Understanding knowledge management and
organizational adaptation and the
influencing effects of trust and industrial cluster. University of
North Texas. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 252-n/a.
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Survey reveals benefits of effective document management.
(2008). Office

7. Solution
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12. Retrieved from
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16442333/139A3CC41AC6922ABD7/1?accountid=25320
Wenhong, B., & Jianhua, Z. (2009). Key points in
implementation of knowledge management
and its