Knowledge Management - A Step
Forward
Introduction
It has been extensively identified that
knowledge is an important aspect for an economy to develop. We are seeing a
lot of transformation rapidly happening in our society. Every day we are
seeing that we are becoming more and more dependent on knowledge. If this is
the case with our societies, the scenario is not much different for
organizations. Nowadays, if top
management is asked to underline a single resource which is most critical for
their organization to achieve and sustain competitive advantage, most of them
will be selecting - “Knowledge”. With such an importance to knowledge,
managing it has become a serious concern for organizations. An organization
which can built excellent process to manage knowledge, certainly will have a
competitive edge over its competitors.
Agreeing
on the existing concentration by organizations and the character of extreme
competition, a critical activity taken up by them is knowledge management.
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Knowledge Activities
Knowledge management (KM) cannot be achieved with
a single definite activity. It involves an assortment of activities. These are
usually referred to be knowledge activities. The utilization of the knowledge
activities at the resources connected to knowledge which is limited and
assisted through an extensive choice of aspects will result in KM.
Research studies do indicate a number of
knowledge activities which are important. Some of them are as below:
- Knowledge Acquisition
- Knowledge Utilization
- Knowledge Selection
- Knowledge Transfer
- Knowledge Creation
- Knowledge Internalization
Research studies indicate that knowledge transfer
deserves the most careful attention among these activities so that the
organizations can manage knowledge successfully.
Knowledge Transfer
The conveying of knowledge from one member to
another member of organization involves knowledge transfer. Though this is a
simplified definition, knowledge transfer itself is a complex process. First of
it has to be noted that the knowledge conveyed is correct and also it should
reach the proper member of the organization. In addition, the timing and form
of the knowledge which is conveyed should also be accurate. Above all these
aspects, the expense of this conveyance should be within acceptable limit. When
all these are achieved, the knowledge transfer can be termed as successful. So
as to garner profits of knowledge management, it is critical that knowledge
transfer has to be done successfully.
In the existing phase where technologies are
rapidly developing to share information, organizations are giving more
emphasize to knowledge transfer. In addition to this, it must be noted that the
created knowledge will help to attain improved performance for an organization
when the transfer process takes place. There is no use in keeping the knowledge
at the originating location. It has to be passed to the location where it can
be exploited to the advantage of organization. Such an exploitation generates
value for the organization, which in turn, bring to it the required competitive
advantage. So, it is essential that an organization has to put firm foundation
for the process targeted at achieving knowledge transfer.
What is Knowledge Management?
What is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge management is the systematic capture
of insights and experiences to enable an organization to identify, create,
represent, and distribute knowledge. The insights and the experiences of
individuals in the organization comprise the knowledge that is created in the
organization and is embedded in the form of practices and processes.
Knowledge Management is an organizational
function that concerns itself with the capture, storage, and dissemination of
the knowledge that is inherent in the organization by using software or a Procession
tool to capture, store, and disseminate knowledge. The objective of
knowledge management is to enhance organizational competitiveness, improve
performance, the sharing of lessons learnt, and the continuous improvement of
the organizational processes. Typically, organizations have well-established
tools and software to capture, store, and disseminate the learning’s that
accrue because of the organizational processes.
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The Practice of Knowledge Management
Companies like 3M, Pfizer, and Infosys are
thought to the world leaders in KM. This is because they have a clear set of
guidelines for capturing knowledge after every project or product that they
rolled out. For instance, these companies have guidelines for project managers
to publish the learning’s that have accrued after a project and upload them
into the KM system. Further, the bottom line imperative for a successful KM
system is that employees should have a sharing mindset instead of an
exclusivity mindset. What this means is that the employees must be willing to
share their insight and knowledge with the other employees.
Apart from this, to actualize a successful KM
system, hierarchy and barriers to sharing of knowledge must be eliminated. What
this means is that a culture of openness must pervade the organization with no
impediments to the flow of knowledge through the organizational arteries.
Strategies for Knowledge Management
As discussed above, many organizations consider
KM integral to their core processes. Indeed, KM has become so widely prevalent in
organizational discourse that it is rare to find a large organization without a
KM system in place. Further, the existence of a KM system has become necessary
for organizations to achieve the SEI-CMM certification. Moreover, there is
recognition that a KM system is necessary in order not to “reinvent the wheel”.
What this means is that learning’s can be used to avoid duplication of work,
and eliminate redundancies in the organizational processes. Apart from this, a
KM system improves organizational communication and loosens up the rigid walls
between different functions in the organization. Finally, a KM system is needed
to ensure that past mistakes form the stepping-stones for future success.
Closing Thoughts
As Francis Bacon said, Knowledge is Power. Hence,
the sharing of knowledge is integral to an organizations’ success and this is
the rationale and driving force behind having a well functioning KM system. In
conclusion, this article has set the context for the subsequent exploration
into the various dimensions and aspects of KM across the world and the
resultant increase in competitiveness and strategic advantage.
Dimensions and Strategies of Knowledge Management
Dimensions of Knowledge Management
There are several dimensions to Knowledge
Management (KM) and the most popular framework distinguishes between “tacit”
knowledge and “explicit” knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to the
internalized knowledge that individuals in an organization possess and where
he or she might not be aware that they have the knowledge about how they
accomplish particular tasks. On the other hand, explicit knowledge is the
knowledge that individuals in organizations know that they have and are
conscious of it.
The crucial element in any Knowledge
Management system is to ensure that tacit knowledge is captured and converted
to explicit knowledge. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that even
explicit knowledge needs to be converted into information that is meaningful
and useful. After all, mere data is not useful and only when data is
transformed into information and codified as knowledge is it useful.
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Strategies of Knowledge Management
There are different strategies to capture
knowledge and they include the “push” and the “pull” strategies. First, it must
be made clear that knowledge can be captured before, during, and after the
processes actualize. Hence, there need to be incentives for employees to
contribute to the knowledge base. The push strategy focuses on making employees
contribute to the Knowledge Management system in a proactive manner wherein
individuals strive to contribute to the Knowledge Management system and the
knowledge base without any prodding or persuasion. This approach is also known
as the codification approach to Knowledge Management.
Another strategy is the pull strategy wherein
individuals who need knowledge make explicit requests to those who possess
knowledge. In this case, the experts are called upon request and hence the
knowledge seeker pulls the information rather than the expert pushing the
information. This approach is known as the personalization approach to
Knowledge Management.
Motivations for Knowledge Management
There are several motivations that drive
organizations to implement Knowledge Management systems. As discussed in the
introductory article, the need to have a Knowledge Management system has become
mandatory for certifications as well as to have sources of competitive
advantage. The most compelling motivation for having a Knowledge Management
system is that organizations do not have to reinvent the wheel and subsequent
iterations of the same process can be done in a more efficient and productive
manner. Indeed, the reuse of knowledge leads to synergies between the different
processes and helps in solving intractable problems.
Apart from these imperatives, Knowledge
Management helps organizations to manage the organizational arteries better as
increased exchanges of information between different individuals’ results in
greater connectivity and more network effects. In other words, Knowledge Management
systems help in managing innovation and organizational learning. This is a
direct and beneficial effect of Knowledge Management and one, which is driving
more and more companies to have working and efficient Knowledge Management
systems.
Closing Thoughts
It is no longer the case that having a Knowledge
Management system is a luxury or an afterthought. Indeed, the business
landscape is now characterized by companies that leverage human capital and
knowledge capital and hence, a Knowledge Management system is necessary for any
large organization. In conclusion, this article has discussed the dimensions,
strategies, and motivations that drive a Knowledge Management system in
organizations and subsequent articles would explore some of these aspects in detail.
Knowledge Transfer - Meaning, Barriers and its Characteristics
Introduction
Organizations indulge nowadays in alliances,
collaborations and partnerships. All this require transfer of knowledge,
especially, knowledge related to strategies, technologies and best practices to
improve the network cooperation. Research studies attempt to obtain inferences
from these transfer processes so as to understand more about the
characteristics of knowledge transfer.
Barriers to Knowledge Transfer
To understand more about knowledge transfer, it
is essential to know about the barriers to transferring best practices in an
organization. There is a need to develop a model for the process in which
knowledge is transferred, and the obstacles in the different stages of the
process can be studied. The critical hurdles to knowledge transfer are as
below:
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Characteristics of Knowledge Transfer
The speed with which the transfer of knowledge
takes place is also important since it has to reach the recipient at the
correct time and within acceptable cost. Knowledge received late and at an
extra cost will not bring any benefit to the organization. It seems that the
speed of the knowledge transfer will depend on the tacit nature of the
knowledge. The tacit nature of the knowledge is fundamentally dependent upon
two factors:
- First of all, the knowledge has to be modifiable.
- Secondly, it should be teachable.
If these are possible, the transfer of knowledge
will take place speedily.
It is also seen that the communication and the
frequency of discussions between knowledge source and recipient are important
factors of knowledge transfer. In addition, the type of knowledge transferred
is also significant. The knowledge can be related to business, project or
technology. The recipient has to be capable enough in the respective field to
have the knowledge successfully imparted.
Knowledge Stickiness
Consider an instance of building a new system.
Knowledge transfer can be visualized as consisting of a source which can be a
system user and a receiver who is the system builder. The difficulty faced in
the process of knowledge transfer is called knowledge stickiness. A methodical
and concentrated inspection of the aspects which result in stickiness while
systems are built, will be useful to handle the issues that come up as a result
of shortage of needed knowledge transfer among the user and the builder. The
level of stickiness during the knowledge transfer process depends on the
following factors:
- The character of knowledge
- The features of sources and receivers
- The character of the association grown between sources and receivers
While knowledge transfer is taking place, the
above three aspects, scheme together for triggering stickiness. It is important
to handle stickiness carefully to enhance the process of knowledge transfer.
The Rise of the Knowledge Worker
Who is a Knowledge Worker?
A knowledge worker is one who uses knowledge as
the capital for work and who uses brain power rather than brawn power to get
the job done. In other words, knowledge workers “think for a living”. A
knowledge worker is also one who uses creative thinking, out of the box
problem solving, and does no-routine and non-standardized work. In other
words, the knowledge workers tasks keep changing with time and unlike the
worker on a shop floor, a knowledge worker does not perform the same task
repeatedly continuously. Knowledge workers are also known to have greater
involvement with the big picture unlike the traditional workers who feel
alienated from the larger organizational goals because they are just cogs in
the machine.
The Rise of the Knowledge Economy
The rise of the knowledge worker has been
helped by the rise of the knowledge economy or the sector that comprises of
Information Technology, Business Process Outsourcing, Financial Services, and
other forms of work that deal with knowledge as the basis of work. Even
doctors, lawyers, and other fields use knowledge as the basis of their
occupations; the knowledge economy usually does not include these sectors.
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With globalization and the opening up of the
global economy, there has been a concomitant rise in the services sector. Along
with this, the knowledge economy has also been helped by the decline in
manufacturing in the West and the increase in the contribution of the services
sector to the Gross Domestic Product of most countries. Indeed, in many
countries (including India but not China), the services sector contributes more
than half to the economic output in the country.
Managing Knowledge Workers
There are significant differences in the
management of traditional workers and knowledge workers. First, the knowledge
workers are less inclined to be hierarchical and hence, they prefer openness
and a flat organizational structure. Second, they have relatively more control
over their work than traditional workers do as they have more control over the
processes that define their work. Third, they have higher salaries and hence
are prone to lead consumerist lifestyles as opposed to the workers in
manufacturing or other sectors. Fourth, they are also prone to burnout and
stress related ailments, as the pressure to deliver and perform is more on
them. Finally, they change jobs more frequently than other workers do and it
has been shown that whereas the previous generation worked all their lives in
one or two companies, knowledge workers are likely to hop several jobs during
their careers.
These aspects make the management of knowledge
workers a specialized function and hence, in many services sector companies,
the Human Resource Function is staffed by those professionals who have had
previous experience in managing knowledge workers.
Closing Thoughts
The transition from agrarian or manufacturing or
a combination of both economy to knowledge economy has been the defining
economic event of the last few decades. While this transition has not been without
hiccups, it can be said that the rise of the knowledge worker has resulted in a
churning in the economies of the West where they are celebrated for their
innovation and inventiveness. There have been large scale socioeconomic and
political changes as well that accompanied the rise of the knowledge worker.
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