The main chief provider of success in an organization

Introduction

WE WRITE ESSAYS FOR STUDENTS

Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper.

Write My Essay For Me

The main chief provider of success in an organization is the attainment of the best knowledge and its intelligent application (Reger, 2006). Learning concerns itself with the attainment of knowledge and converting the information into knowledge. KM is supposed to be about having admission to, and being able to apply that knowledge. The roots of KM are mainly about classification, storage, distribution and application of organizational knowledge in a combined and methodical way (Aslib, 2004).Knowledge management initially began as a top-down approach and originally it was more of technology centered. The main objective of information management is to ensure the availability of the right information at the right time and deliver it to the right people. Information management ought to embrace aspect which ensures that the workforce is well equipped with the ideas that enable the organization to succeed. in most cases, the use of information management ensures that efficiency within the work forces is adhered to.

Knowledge transfer entails the transition of theoretical concepts within the organization to practical applications so as to enable all the workforce to be well versed with the issues within the organization.

Approaches to KM and IM in Mechanistic approaches to knowledge management

Mechanistic approaches to management of knowledge are distinguished by the use of technology and income to do the same work but in a much better way (Sharma, 2004).Mechanistic approach has several assumptions and these chief assumptions are; improved accessibility of information which is a fundamental aspect. It comprises of improved techniques of access and reclamation of documents which include linking of hypertext, databases and also searches of full texts. General technology in networking and groupware are also some of the main solutions. Generally, technology and absolute volume of information will make it work.

These kinds of approaches are comparatively easy to put into practice for business opinionated purposes since the technologies and practices, even though at times sophisticated in particular areas are recognizable and easily tacit. An amount of sense exists here since improved admission to business scholarly resources is very crucial. However, unless the approach of knowledge management and information management integrate schemes of leveraging increasing knowledge, the remaining consequence may not be positive, and the impact of realization may be no more quantifiable than in conventional paper models (Aslib, 2004).

Cultural/behaviorist approaches

This form of knowledge management approach with significant roots in process re-engineering and management of change is inclined to look at the problem of knowledge as a management concern (Pour, 2006). However, though technology is an important aspect of knowledge management, it should not be viewed as the solution to the problem. These approaches are more inclined to put more focus on novelty and creativity than on leveraging already existing unequivocal assets or making effective knowledge unequivocal.

Cultural approaches have their assumptions and they include behaviors of organizations and need for culture to be dramatically changed. In the information demanding environments, organizations turn out to be dysfunctional compared to objectives (Maier, 2007).   Behaviors in organizations can be changed, although conventional skill and methods of trying to explain the problem of knowledge have already reached their limits of efficacy. Other assumptions of this approach are that it is the process that is of most importance and not the technology used. The third assumption is that no changes and nothing can happen in an organization unless a manager makes it happen.

Systematic approaches

These approaches keep the conventional faith in logical assessment of the problem of knowledge. The knowledge problem can be resolved; however a variety of new ideas is required in order to make it possible to solve the knowledge problem. This approach also has its assumptions and they indicate that what matters are sustainable results and not the methods, technology or a person’s definition of knowledge (Pour, 2006). It is not possible for a resource to be controlled unless it is reproduced. In a lot of organizational aspects, knowledge can be reproduced as an unequivocal resource. A second assumption is that it is possible to find solutions in a number of disciplines and technologies, and conventional methods of assessment can be used to reconsider the nature of knowledge work and to resolve the problem of knowledge (Aslib, 2004).

How IM/KM approaches assist in strategic and competitive advantage of business organizations, and/or for their operational effectiveness.

One of the advantages of using KM/IM approaches in organizations is that it contributes to an elevated level of lucidity between the organization’s staffs in all levels of management. Its application also contributes in solving the issue of selfishness in some managers or staff in organizations (Maier, 2007). In order to move from the unequivocal to the inferred knowledge it is necessary to create a healthy environment where everything can be seen and known.

If KM/IM approaches are implemented in the right ways, they offer a competitive edge to an organization and the individuals too since one is more proficient at making good decisions, especially those dealing with emergencies and those that deal with change (Pour, 2006).  If well implemented, changes in the market sector are seen and interrupted technologies area also experienced.

The main advantage of IM/KM is that their approaches feed on themselves in the sense of building a culture that is future oriented and one which always seeks better ways of doing things in an organization. The best business people have involved an intense desire to succeed and an implausible interest about how certain things work (Aslib, 2004). It might be how a chemical process works, why a car does what it does or it might be how they get a Web site designed. These two qualities of a great business are an opportunity given by KM/IM in order to connect in a very tangible way that we can put numbers to and one that we can throw out and later look at the benefits we get from it (Maier, 2007). This is a more open-minded approach in dealing with people in an organization, since one views human being as assets and not as expenses or liabilities.

A good number of companies have recognized management of knowledge and are trying to put it into practice it (Rao, 2005). However one area that seems to be lacking or that has not been discussed a lot is the capability to connect KM to strategy and organization competitive advantage

Conventionally, strategic management models have depicted the strategies of the firms in terms of the position of its market. However, the resource-based approach proposes that firms should locate themselves tactically based on their exclusive, precious and unique resources and also their potential rather than the products and services resulting from those capabilities (Al-Ali, 2003).

Knowledge can be therefore be depicted as the most essential strategic resource and the capability to obtain, incorporate, store, share and use it is the most significant potential for structuring and supporting competitive advantage (Maier, 2007).   Therefore, efficient management of knowledge promotes the basic ability of competitiveness to compete.

Inferred knowledge entrenched in multifaceted organizational practices and developed from skill, have a propensity to be exceptional and hard to imitate. In contrast to a number of   conventional resources, it is not effortlessly obtained in the marketplace in a form that is ready to use. In order to obtain related knowledge, competitors have to engage in similar experiences. nevertheless (Rao, 2005). Acquisition of knowledge through experience takes time and competitors are restricted in how much they can speed up their learning simply through better investment.

For instance, coca cola has been able to maintain its number one position as a result of knowledge maintenance and information maintenance. Another example is that of Charles Schwab and Polaroid who took the world by surprise and produced new value for the customer. There are lots of such instances where companies have leveraged knowledge (Al-Ali, 2003). One excellent instance is that Xerox has managed to survive all these years because they had knowledge of how to make copiers. Many companies in Japan also left behind many American companies as a result of their inventive products and knowledge.

The importance of focusing on knowledge is that it is a source of competitive advantage. This can be better understood if one scrutinizes the ratio of market value to book value of a knowledge intensive firm; Microsoft, and in India Infosys, have got a ratio of more than 10. AT&T department also spent $79,449 in order to obtain information that could have been openly available at AT&T technical information document at a lower price of $13 (Rao, 2005).

Currently, it is obligatory to deal with knowledge effectively. The ever-mobile labor force desires immediate availability to know-how and interactive online maintenance (Pour, 2006). Globalization also forces organizations to generate best practices globally and to also support global association.

The organizational weight is on becoming accustomed to the changing environment through organizational learning and novelty, for which knowledge is the foundation. Successful knowledge management will assist an organization to boost the benefits of its business thus improve competitive advantage. At its simplest level Knowledge management also assists in faster ways of solving problems (Khosrowpour,2000).It also enhances faster growth times through knowledge networks, new inventive customer explanations, Obtaining new improved customer service through business, risk reduction,  and prevention of expensive mistakes that might happen by losing track of fundamental knowledge.

A clear knowledge management strategy assists the organization in coming up with an exclusive rate for customers and the organization (Maier, 2007).  It also advances efficiency of operations by ensuring that the right knowledge is available and at the right time. Knowledge and information management also makes sure that organizational learning becomes a natural process for the employees.

Whereas implementation of Knowledge management and information management takes place, it should not be forgotten that the main objective of knowledge management is to make the right knowledge available and at the right time for each of the  organizations’ employees’ in order to foster effective operation of the organization (Rao, 2005). This comprises everything from multifaceted knowledge necessary for the top management to straightforward process knowledge necessary for the front-end manager. It is up to the organization to decide how the right knowledge is made accessible at the right time. Content could be organized in a different way to make its recovery by different organizations easier. Technology in different organizations is also not always the same, just as the process of sharing knowledge is not the same in all organizations.

The main elements of knowledge management are business strategy, people, process, technology, content, leadership and culture and metrics. Implementation of Knowledge management should focus on all these basics for it to be successful (Pour, 2006).  All KM implementations should begin with a clear objective of harmonizing organizational strategies and goals. If KM/ IM schemes are taken autonomous of objectives of business and its strategies, there are high chances of it failing or produce little results.

All KM initiatives should also be deliberated and enhanced. It is therefore necessary to establish the parameters of performance for every element and to also measure them in order for the initiative to succeed and to also go on flourishing. KM initiatives should be perceived as tools that make it possible for an organization to achieve results (Khosrowpour, 2000). This approach assists an organization in concentrating on what it wants for it to be able to thrive in business and to also avoid expenditures on ostentatious technologies.

Implementation of KM initiatives should start at the strategic level and goes top-down to appreciate the reimbursements. A good number of organizations prefer to implement KM solutions at the operational level (Rao, 2005).They operate backward in order to rationalize how a triumphant implementation of KM might result to strategic advantage. At the level of operational, KM is made possible by characteristically executing a KM threshold where all developments and other documents are put together and organized. This is made available to all and the needy.

Mechanisms for collaboration are also provided on the net. On the other hand, these kinds of methods do not work well for all organizations (Pour, 2006).  An example of this is a manufacturing organization, where only a partial proportion of people work with computers whiles the main group of manufacturing staff work with machinery and barely has access to the computer. This kind of an organization to come out with some inventive mechanisms to obtain, share and cumulate knowledge.

The first successful company to implement KM was Buckman Labs and it was no different from the manufacturing company (Aslib, 2004).They had their engineers situated at an inaccessible place and were traveling most of the time which was hectic for them. To counter this problem, a solution was designed to meet their needs.

Organizations can begin implementation of KM at the strategic level performing a test based on knowledge called SWOT analysis. The top management invests in KM so that it can strategically leverage its benefits (Al-Ali, 2003).When organizations aim at connecting KM strategy, competitive advantage is achieved and important strategic gains are also obtained. For an organization to elevate the chances to provide strategic advantage, it needs to be connected to the competitive strategy. Organizations should identify strategic points of knowledge leverage and make use of it to coerce initiatives of KM.

The change of global economies to information-based and knowledge-based economies has led to the basic alteration of business models and the way work gets done. The Pacific of Asia is home to a huge proportion of highly sophisticated and conscientious knowledge workers and experts who are recognized for novelty. As the spotlight of performance on business swings to an economy based on knowledge from the initial industrial economy based on capital, land and labor, Growth in the Asia Pacific is eminent compared to other countries (Aslib, 2004). On the other hand, growth in KM and its performance for a number of countries in this region will be government alignment, the public sector and the private sector in policy-making and implementation.

Industry examples of the use of these approaches and debate their (relative) success/ failures.

The DoD is one of the organizations that failed to embrace IM/KM. The DoD failed because the sincere and hardworking professionals ended up embracing models and approaches that ended up failing a number of times(Maier, 2007). As a result, large scale KM/IM plans across the industry ended up dying because DoD had failed to hold on to KM/IM approaches.  KM/IM failed in DoD because they felt that the KM/IM leaders were getting in the way of dignified fighters and that they should back off in order to allow for more frequent successes and make the courses clear for more of the besieged successes (Aslib, 2004).This organization was suffering lack of harmonization between security and security officers. The work conditions of the war fighters were also not in conducive for the fighters.

Recommendations

Establishment of a certificate program for KM/IM at a certified school associated with DoD. The establishment of this program would be seen as a graduate level certificate for KM and IM in DoD. This would involve training and mentoring of KM/IM competencies across all of DoD. KM/IM organizational maturity model also needs to be accepted (Aslib, 2004). This model would promote novelty and originality and give a comparatively static depiction of how a mature organization should look like in terms of expansion of software, administration of projects and management of knowledge (McGrath & Remenyi). DoD staff should be encouraged to embrace KM and IM approaches in order to improve their general strategic course and operations.

Coca cola Company.

Coca Cola Company has succeeded in its KM/IM implementation through motivating their employees, getting support form the top management of the company, rewarding employees who excel at distribution of knowledge and who also succeeds in maintaining the knowledge and also make use of the appropriate information technology (McGrath & Remenyi).They have however failed in use of IM/KM due to a lack of massive crisis that would prompt the company to modify its course of action especially in regard to strong competitors in the soft drinks industry.

Recommendations

The company should ensure that the management recognizes that a very significant amount of learning takes place daily in the organization. It should also make sure that the employees know the importance of knowledge management and information management.

Chevron

Chevron is another organization that has also managed to succeed in the use of KM and IM practices. The company has embraced both practices and this gives them competitive advantage over other organizations since sharing of knowledge promotes learning of both the individual and the organization. The company also does this by ensuring that the leaders are good models for the company and that they reinforce the right cultural behaviors.

Chevron Company makes sure that it is able to achieve knowledge and also manage it at the same time by making sure that there is employee motivation (Martins& Remenyi, 2007).The company achieves this motivation by ensuring that employees who are good at learning behaviors in the organization and making sure they utilize them are promoted. However, implementation of Information management and knowledge management has not been an easy task for this organization (Martins& Remenyi, 2007).It has had its challenges because the makers and implementers of decisions in Chevron organization do not have a lot of confidence and belief in the KM/IM initiative since they have the conviction that the initiative does not reside inside the current thinking and the rational models of what is already known.

Recommendations for this problem would be to make sure that KM/IM initiatives are initiatives that are should be implemented for the sole purpose of learning (Martins& Remenyi, 2007).It is also important to know that these initiatives require persistent achievement analysis in order to normalize plans, evaluate and amend general direction.

Advice, principles and recommendations to the senior management

I would advise the senior management to ensure continued support in implementation of knowledge management, and information management in order to ensure that culture driven on knowledge exists in the organization. The senior management in the three companies should also ensure that they come up with policies and guidelines on Knowledge management and information management so that the employees can be guided and directed towards an organizational culture that shares knowledge (Pour, 2006).

The senior management in the three companies should also come up with sophisticated tools for successful implementation of Information management and knowledge management in an organization (Martins& Remenyi, 2007). Other mechanism such as search engines, records for ensuring best practice, directory for experts and data portals should also be incorporated in the organizations in order to offer information globally to their members of staff and business partners. The three organizations should also initiate community of practices and also groups that will aid peers and as a result, come up with a community for learning process.

References

Sara J. Moulton Reger. 2006. Can two rights make a wrong?: insights from IBM’s tangible culture approach: Prentice Hall PTR.

P.sharma. 2004. Knowledge Management; APH Publishing

Ronald Maier. 2007. Knowledge Management Systems: Information and Communication Technologies for Knowledge Management; Springer

Nermien Al-Ali. 2003. Comprehensive intellectual capital management: step-by-step; John Wiley and Sons

Mehdi Khosrow-Pour. 2006. Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management, Volume 1; Idea Group Inc (IGI)

Murray E. Jennex. 2005. Case studies in knowledge management; Idea Group Inc (IGI).

Gerard M. Hill. 2007. The Complete Project Management Office Handbook; CRC Press

Klaus-Dieter Althoff. 2005. Professional knowledge management: third biennial conference, WM 2005, Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 10-13, 2005 : revised selected papers; Birkhäuser

Maria A. Wimmer. 2004. Knowledge management in electronic government: 5th IFIP International Working Conference, KMGov 2004, Krems, Austria, And May 17-19, 2004: proceedings; Springer

Fergal McGrath, D. Remenyi.  2003. Fourth European Conference on Knowledge Management: Oriel College, Oxford University, United Kingdom, 18-19 September 2003: Academic Conferences Limited,

Mehdi Khosrowpour. 2000. Challenges of information technology management in the 21st century: 2000 Information Resources Management Association International Conference, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 21-24, 2000: Idea Group Inc (IGI),

Madanmohan Rao.2005. Knowledge management tools and techniques: practitioners and             experts evaluate KM solutions; Butterworth-Heinemann

Blanca Martins, D Remenyi.2007. ECKM 2007: 8th European Conference on Knowledge Management 2007: Consorci Escola Industrial de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 6-7 September 2007; Academic Conferences Limited

Aslib. 2004. Aslib proceedings, Volume 56; Aslib

Get professional assignment help cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason may is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Our essay writers are graduates with diplomas, bachelor, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college diploma. When assigning your order, we match the paper subject with the area of specialization of the writer.

Why choose our academic writing service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

The post The main chief provider of success in an organization appeared first on Grade Valley.