Objectives
The heart of this essay will be to examine the critical success factors (CSF's) that are involved in the implementation of knowledge management. It's aimed at boosting the effectiveness of an organization and activating business competitiveness. Its arguments draw from relevant theories and case studies. Covered herewith are fundamental factors for effective implementation of knowledge management.
Introduction
The essay shall be introduced by expounding on the concepts “knowledge and knowledge management (KM)”. The following segment of the paper will be to examine knowledge organization's contribution, process and creation approach in the practice of knowledge management and information management in use assisting strategic and competitive advantage of organizations effectiveness in organization. The papers shall also cover three case studies in an endeavor to expound the concepts the more; the case studies will be the British airways, Motorola and Singapore organizations, offering recommendations for each. In wrapping up, senior managers for the organizations will be provided with some advice and recommendation.
Knowledge
Knowledge is perceived as an end product after combination of experience, ideas, information (contextual) and insight drawn from expertise. The traits provide evaluation framework while incorporating newly gathered information and experience. The minds have to be functional to derive knowledge. Global economy requires knowledge as company's supreme competitive advantage.
In a business context, knowledge can be found in between unequivocal (tacit) knowledge and unequivocal (explicit) knowledge. Unequivocal knowledge is personal and hard to share. On the other hand explicit knowledge is found organization's databases, procedures and manuals consequently easily sharable among the organization's subjects. The blending of the two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit, produces organizational knowledge. Knowledge management ought to loose and influence available knowledge for organizations benefit (Carrillo et al., 2003).
Its argued that shared knowledge (tacit) can only become an asset to an organization if it's transformed to explicit knowledge. Nakana's theory proposes four modes through which the knowledge is transformable. The modes include: 1. Socialization (acquisition of tacit from those who have it (transform of tacit to tacit). 2. Combination (transform explicit to explicit). 3. Externalization (transform tacit to explicit). 4. Internalization (transform explicit to tacit) (Nokana & Takeuchi, 2005).
Defining Knowledge Management
Knowledge has been perceived a systematic and active process of management and leveraging the knowledge bank available within an organization (Laudon & Laudon, 1999).
Knowledge Management versus Information Management
Knowledge managements (KM) and information management are two different concepts. The aim of knowledge management is usually to gather and distribute knowledge to all sectors of an organization, while information management handles explicit knowledge in organization's data bank (Kotelnikov, 2001).
Perspectives of Knowledge Management:
Knowledge management has three common approaches which include:
Knowledge Organization Approach KM
The chief aim of corporate program of knowledge management is to ensure that business' objectives are attained. Hariharan and Bharti Infotel Group (2002) has noted that knowledge management uses the following approaches in ensuring achievement of business objectives.
Knowledge Creation and Dissemination
Suresh (n.d) has argued that there exist a wide range of approaches employable in knowledge creation and dissemination within an organization. If an organization hopes to create knowledge management system, there is a need for it to hearken to initiatives of general management which includes:
Creativity Innovation and Knowledge
The designing and deriving of business strategies requires uttermost creativity and innovation. There is a need for an organization to combine all the available resources towards developing of new capabilities so as to raise the organizations' competitive advantage. Creative thinking facilitates this role.
There are immense innovations that are attained through employment of new knowledge and exercising the knowledge accumulated over the years of experience (architectural innovation) (Henderson & Clark1990, Henderson & Cockburn 1995). The combination of capabilities is also paramount in enhancing innovation (Kogut & Zeder, 1992).
Organization Driven through Knowledge:
According to the Knowledge Management Research Library (n.d), the effectiveness of an organization is facilitated by the use of knowledge Management as follows:
Knowledge Management: Process Approach:
Process approach is perceived as a systematic and active management and leverage of knowledge stored within an organization (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). In business process modeling integration of the aspects of knowledge is fundamental; it facilitates learning on the issues of business processes. It works towards supporting acquisition of knowledge among the employees (relevant knowledge) in their specific business processes. It also deals with the upgrading of business processes from the point of view of knowledge.
In a situation where the business settings are in demand of intensive knowledge, business processes are perceived to be complex. Knowledge permits visualization of effective approach to distribution of organizational knowledge (Strohmaier & Tochtermann, n.d).
Knowledge Management: Creation Approach:
Social interaction with an organization leads to creation of knowledge. There are some fundamental components in the creation approach; trust and networking. The argument behind this position is that when people work as a team they are likely to produce much than when a person does the duty in question alone; togetherness of individuals leads to learning of the organization (Hall, 1999).
Knowledge Creation Context:
An organization needs to keep replenishing knowledge owing to the fact that knowledge is never fully sufficient. There are some issues in life that have no existing knowledge rather have to keep being created according the situation at hand. For example where rules are laid down like “do not sit here!” you will find people constantly deciding to ignore such rules, doing exactly that which they are warned against; hence, since there is no knowledge pertaining dealing with such a scenario, there is a need to keep creating the desired knowledge (Bajaria, 2000).
Needs for Knowledge Management and Knowledge Creation
An organization needs to ensure that knowledge revolves around products and services rather than being carried by some few individuals. The creation of knowledge should be a continuous process; the knowledge acquired should be banked in such a way that it's retrievable at pleasure or when needed without discouraging strains; an easy format of storing. The interpretation of the knowledge should not require too much expertise such that employees will have to call for assistance to make sense of the information. In knowledge management efficiency is an important tool for new knowledge generation.
There is a need for integration of Knowledge Management and Knowledge Creation (KC) in the creation of strategic business advantage. Integration helps to make information stored in the data bank utilizable in the future upon retrieval.
Case Studies:
British Airways Case Study
The British Airways case study is a description of the approach employed by over a hundred people operating in eleven functional groups co-work in evaluation of aircraft scheduling changes using Schedule Forum; specially developed Lotus notes. Knowledge management application has enabled the people to be quite successful in performing this role.
There are many issues that need to be addressed before the people in charge decide to make changes of aircrafts schedules. Some seasons demand the company to provide more facilities to ensure that all the clients' needs are met. For example during holidays such as Christmas people become more mobile. The company may be needed to employ other mechanisms out of the normal to ensure quality services, but have to be considerate of the pros and cons of whichever approach it decide to employ. To arrive at a solution many functional groups operating within the airline must be involved. Such groups include: Flight Engineers, Cabin crew, those in fleet scheduling, booking and hotels management and groups in operational planning.
Despite the fact that such changes are eventually tedious, they can be quite profitable, with British Airways prospecting a possibility of increasing their profits immensely just by employing of about six better informed changes in schedules per annum.
In an endeavor to achieve this British Airways evaluates proposed changes, by the use of developed Lotus Notes enabling the functional groups of over a hundred people to electronically collaborate in proposing and evaluation of schedule changes. This process has brought an over-whole change, previously just a few key people were involved leaving the majority in darkness as to the cause for the rescheduling. The new schedule have allowed for contribution from diverse circles, where other employees can share their observations even as they learn from colleagues.
Immense improvements have been employed in the new approach, with warning to changes made more accessible, convenient and timely. Analyses are now sharable with ease more openness employed in facilitating the services.
This process which is electronically conducted follows the following steps:
If such a network is employed in the workplace, the management will have created an environment that would facilitate cross functional operational that would defiantly result to optimized production. This approach allows individual workers to learn new methodologies of dealing with a given challenge; it exposes them to the experience and perception of others. Personal networks of employees are also expanded hence influencing greater interests and opportunities. Through such an approach people are enabled to adapt wider and flexible mannerism of working as well as role and time management hence inspiring teamwork (Gurteen & Gavan, 1994).
Recommendation to British Airways
British Airways will discover success if they will always seek for some new improvement opportunities possible through utilization of reengineering that is in existence.
Motorola Case Study:
Knowledge management can cite the success of Motorola as a result of process approach. Knowledge employable and utilizable explicitly in that fresh knowledge can be established through structured and managed scientific process.
At the end of last decade (90's) Motorola was in the fore front in pager marketing. This position was maintained through introduction of newer generational pagers every twelve to fifteen months. Every subsequent generational pager had more advanced features. Higher speed and more flexible assembly factories were established for production of the pagers. The high rate was sustained through formation of teams of products as well as factory designers for designing the new generations' factories and pagers.
Each subsequent team obtains the technology and manual used in the preceding generation pager and factory, the team does the following:
In each project the knowledge from Motorola engineers was capitalized on enhancing every production consequently leading to Motorola's pagers to always be on the lead in the market place and apt in handling the emerging needs (Rooney et al., 2005).
Recommendations to Motorola
Case Study for Singapore Organization:
The approach employed by Singapore is organization approach to knowledge management. The chief executive officer of Environmental Action Foundation (EAF) (Elaine Francis) went through some events from which he learnt some lesions:
He discovered that during interaction with Knowledge Management consultants the mobility of new portal was more effective. He identified that quite a few people were using the portal in document retrieval for portals were wrongly posted. People were asking for the admin to do the posting. The people did not know how to the filling-in hence they were choosing the wrong subject key word.
He organized for a meeting with EAF members so as to evaluate their understanding and perception of the portal. He identified that there were several members who had no slightest clue of what the portal was all about. The members were of diversified fields and specializations hence couldn't see any need for them to have the awareness as it was not useful to them. KM consultants identified that the people had not been informed on portal's content management. As the payments were limited.
The project faced a number of failures. The user survey had not been thoroughly done in the auditing of knowledge so as to identify the most useful documents as per the member's opinions. Therefore what were inserted in the portal were not priority documents for the members. One fact that was identified was that simple act of knowledge assets cataloguing doesn't indicate worthiness of the assets.
Recommendations to Singapore Organization:
Conclusion
Organization's use of resource based strategy or product-market based strategies amidst the prevailing uncertainties will not allow it to keep up with competitive advantage. This calls for an appreciation of the significance that exists in an organization. The knowledge ought to be exploited through apt strategies of knowledge management. The knowledge management should be aligned to business or organization strategy. The need for creativity of new knowledge can never be overlooked for the essential role it plays in building of capabilities, handling of emerging needs as well as overcoming the old challenges in a more apposite way.
Advice and Recommendations:
Some of the recommendations that have been tabled for the senior management for British Airways, Motorola and Singapore organizations are as follows:
Advice
Principles and recommendations
References
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Gurteen & Gavan. (1994). Rretrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ba-case-study
Hall, H. (1999). “Knowledge management- other perspectives.” Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~hazelh/lec_archive/km_oth.htm
Hariharan, A. & Bharti Infotel Group. (2002). “Knowledge Management: A Strategic Tool. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, December.” Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.tlainc.com/articl46.htm
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Kotelnikov, V. (2001). Knowledge Management KM. Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/im_knowledge.html
Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. (1999). “Management information systems: organization and technology in the networked enterprise.” New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Nonaka, I., Takeuchi, H. (1995). “The Knowledge Creating Company,” New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.tlainc.com/articl179.htm
Roony, D. Grey, H. Ninan, A. (2005). “Handbook on the Knowledge and Economy.” Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing limited. Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://books.google.com.kw/books?id=XtqBpJVNuvoC&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=In+the+1990s,+Motorola+was+the+global+leader+in+the+market+for+pagers.+To+maintain+this+leadership+position,+Motorola+introduced+new&source=bl&ots=voxzp92tBp&sig=0LJTpscXuhe-omVw1vyhDkIG8tQ&hl=en&ei=Km94S_GtFI_9nAfm8LGfCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=In%20the%201990s%2C%20Motorola%20was%20the%20global%20leader%20in%20the%20market%20for%20pagers.%20To%20maintain%20this%20leadership%20position%2C%20Motorola%20introduced%20new&f=true
Strohmaier, & Tochtermann, (n.d). “B-KIDE Framework and tool for Business Process: Oriented Knowledge Infrastructure Development.” Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://kmi.tugraz.at/staff/markus/documents/2005_JoKPM_B-KIDE.pdf
Suresh, R. (n.d).” Knowledge Management- A strategic Perspective.” Retrieved on 16th February, 2010 from: http://www.providersedge.com/docs/km_articles/KM_-_A_Strategic_Perspective.pdf
