The global financial system appears to be heading for a major financial crisis. This crisis is being driven by a growing global debt. This crisis is not limited to nations that are heavily in debt such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy or Cyprus but to such others as the United States. While there has been a great deal of emphasis on debt, there are many other issues. In many cases, the underlying causes of this potential crisis are very complex. As this dissertation will show, it is the complexity of these causes and their interrelationships, coupled with a lack of a global financial management system that may be the real culprit in the potentially impending global financial crisis. One very important aspect of these potential crises is the state of the world reserve currency and how it is managed. The concept of reserve currencies is widely recognized and these currencies are often used for international transactions. There is a very long history of the concept of a reserve currency. This history involves a combination of economic and political powers, real or perceived, that may influence global reserve currencies. Recent years have witnessed a tremendous growth in information and communication systems that facilitate the design and implementation of complex inter-enterprise processes. The basic hypothesis of this dissertation is that an appropriately structured global reserve currency, based on use of an information and knowledge management system, can provide stability to currencies, whereas an unmanaged single or unstructured group of currencies will not provide currency stability. The proposed Information and Knowledge Architectures for System Management of a Global Reserve Currency (IKASM-GRC) can provide a system and methodology which can stabilize a reserve currency. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]