Knowledge Management free essay sample

The process received a fillip after Drucker (and others) stressed the role of knowledge as an organization resource, and Senge popularized ‘learning organizations’ Objective of knowledge management: The purpose of KM is to gather, categorize, store and spread all knowledge that is needed to make the organization both grow and prosper. It is not as much a technology change as it is a cultural change, Value of knowledge management : Organizations compete increasingly on the base of knowledge (the only sustainable competitive advantage, according to some) * Most of the work is information based (and often immersed in a computing environment) * The products, services, and environment are more complex than ever before * Workforces are increasingly unstable leading to escalating demands for knowledge replacement/acquisition The Knowledge management benefits can be categorized into three which include: * knowledge benefits intermediate benefits * organizational benefits A typic al example would be of an organization such as a manufacturing firm or an academic institution or a government agency which has numerous physical files. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Categorization and segregation into working databases allows the employees who need specific information to access the databases more efficiently through word or category searches instead of having to sift through so many folders. Updating of these databases will also result in having the most recent and relevant information and knowledge stored and easily accessible by any employee who may need any specific information These are the benefits which will have an impact on the way an organization thinks and operates to achieve its objective, for example, to provide quality education, quality products and services, or quality programs to bring about the good of civil society. In a constantly evolving and competitive environment, organizations are faced with the problem of having to continuously improve in the area of creating innovative products and service that would meet the constantly evolving needs and wants of their customers. Patronage from customers is the only way ahead for the success of any organization both small and big. Considering the huge number of physical files in an organization example, as the databases are organized the decision maker has the necessary information and knowledge to substantiate or justify research and development initiatives that leads to more innovations which in turn leads to the creation of new products and services. These initiatives may seem a bit costlier for the company in the beginning stages. But if these initiatives when looked at on a long-term perspective help the organization to create products and services and then sell them to a market that needs or wants them. This helps the organization to actually reap the rewards of satisfied customers translating into increased sales revenues which helps offset the initial capital sunk into the research and development initiatives. ) Searching for knowledge and receiving knowledge 2) Restructuring the knowledge 3) Making knowledge explicit 4) Associating the knowledge with the actions described in the process model 5) Making knowledge available for actions which need it and delivering it to the right agents in the right moment 6) Updating knowledge and change management ) Quality management A. Searching and Receiving Knowledge * Data, information and knowledge does not come from itself * Some sources of knowledge are known, others have to be found * The management’s task is to: 1. Get an overview over sources and organize the search for them 2. Determine the times (or periods) when sources have new knowledge 3. Organize the access to and the flow from the sources 4. Receive the demanded knowledg e properly 5. Classify and receive the knowledge which came in but not on demand * Sources 1. Document Oriented Knowledge Structure 2. Tables 3. Content Oriented Knowledge Structures 4. Linguistic tools, Thesaurus etc. are useful. B. Restructuring Knowledge The task of the knowledge management is to organize Restructuring Pointing out weaknesses and getting other sources Restructuring has two aspects: * Restructuring of a single input document * Embed in or distribute the input over the whole knowledge structure Different agents may need knowledge C. Making Knowledge Explicit It is the purpose of data mining techniques to make knowledge in data bases explicit. The knowledge management has to organize this: * Where are weak points ? * Which information can be helpful for improvement ? * How to obtain the information ? Knowledge in texts can at least partially be made explicit by * Extracting key words\ * extracting phrases * extracting abstracts D. Which Knowledge for What ? Knowledge in business Is oriented on business processes Influences partially the general structure of the Processes Has to allow a fast and optimal representation of the knowledge in actual contexts E. Organizing the Use of Knowledge Missing Knowledge creates errors * Too much knowledge confuses * Knowledge for each task has to be accessible for the right persons at the right time at the right place in the needed format * This task is very complex and uses different techniques F. Change Management * Knowledge is not invariant but undergoes continuous changes. These changes have to be reported at the right time to those agents who need it. * The report can be given on de mand as well as proactive. * The change management organizes this in a systematic way. G. Quality Management * Quality decreases over time due to changes (external as well as internal) if no reaction takes place. The quality of the processes has to be controlled continuously: 1. Observation of the environment data 2. Observation of the process * Interpretation of observed data on the basis of quality models. * The results of the control are transformed into actions which re-establish the quality. * The knowledge manager has to ensure the quality of the knowledge and has in particular to deal with knowledge gaps. Technology is a primary enabler of KM practices Technologies Supporting knowledge management : 1. Project management 2. Work flow 3. Extranets 4. Document management 5. Web conferencing 6. Decision support system 7. Data warehouse 8. Groupware 9. Intranet Examples of company implementing knowledge management 1. Pfizer credits KM practices for discovering the hidden benefits of the Viagra drug. 2. Chase Manhattan, one of the largest banks in the US, used Customer relationship management KM initiatives to increase its annual revenue by 15% 3. Ford Motor Company accelerated its concept-to-production time from 36 months to 24 months 4. Rolls-Royces Knowledge Acquisition and Modeling Process improves project management processes. 5. Shell Oils Global Learning and Development involves continuous learning around the exploration and production process 6. World Bank Institute focused on improving development projects funded through the World Bank. Top ten world wide companies I knowledge management : 1. 80-20 2. Appian 3. Astoria 4. ATG 5. Attensity 6. Avenue A|Razorfish 7. Autonomy 8. AXS-One 9. Basis Technology 10. Butterworth-Heinemann Knowledge Management free essay sample The finding of this paper is the used of social media that dell implemented since 2006 and integrated with organization learning, knowledge management and innovation generating. Introduction Dell Inc is a leading multinational company in IT business who primarily provide complete solution which included hardware support, software support, on-site- service and financial service for all range of business, consumer and public sector . One-third of the company revenue is generating from service and consulting activities which operated via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, telephone, and on-site- service. Dell Inc was being the first company in the industry who introduced at-home assistance and implementing social media service to aid technical issue with business which currently being an influence factor for consumer purchasing decision. The current IT industry market climate is tense by competitors and various factors such as technology advancement and social trend also vastly affect the backbone of the market. These mentioned factors directly push every company to find their competitiveness over the competitors. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So, every company needs to acquire knowledge in order to invent something new that will help the company compete ith other competitors. In some ways, the company can obtain the mention knowledge and respond to consumers need by frequently asking from consumers themselves . Because social media will provide company more opportunities to connect, listen and engage with customer than before. This report paper will demonstrates and analyze how social media exploit innovation and useful practice in Dell Inc which knowledge management and organization learning are a part of it. Social media In Social Media is an online instrument of communication which the reader can communities and networks see (fgure 1). The content of the interchange communication can be text, picture, sound, or movies. Sometime writer is able to become audience and receive other readers opinions and point of views back and forth (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010; King, 2012; Hong, 2013). Social network is an online platform that group of people build-up social-relations, share interests, activities, and real-life connection. Because on this platform this network member will share their perception and experience about a specific topic of interest, and these comment and knowledge can be used for organization to learn and create an innovation because arge amount of information will be transfer toward group of people who share the same interest. Figure 1: Social media triangle Source: Social Media Roadmaps The Social Dynamic Model (SDM) SDM is an approach that integrated social media and customer-centric thinking into individual organization. SDM is resulted from the change in consumer behavior which their purchasing decisions are influence by the surrounding factors such as peer recommendations. In addition, Social media can stimulate human interaction with brands and company. The challenge that company currently facing is how to ntegrate social media dynamic through organization touch-points because social media participants are expected to be involved, respected, and help. This social dynamic model is not only describing the affect the way companies do marketing but also other functions in the organization. In capability building process, it is very important to build internal belief and knowledge. So the organization can set a further the direction in the organization. In the second step, the pilot mode, in this phrase concrete projects have been set-up which these projects will enhance the learning process of the organization. The project needs to have a center of excellence to improve company listening culture. The third step, integration mode, in this phrase, the company pull and tide the organization with the customer. This will increase customer involvement with the organization and organization restructure is required to make the organization work more functional and the project should be assessable by KPI concept. The last step, the leverage mode, this last phrase is about making the company more flexible because of the SDM philosophy the ROI of the company should have increased. Figure 2: will describe that of four steps approach o integrate social dynamic practice which included the capability building, the pilot mode, the integration mode, the leverage mode into the organization as followings: Source: lnSite Consulting (2012) In 2005, Dell was claimed for unacceptable of customer service and customer support though social media by Jeff Travis who is a famous blog writer. The title Dell lies. Dell Suck immediately became talk of the town. He also implemented a score system that reflex an unpleasant feeling from Dells customers. The inevitable message rapidly spread through the social media and online network vastly ruined ells brand image and reputation. As a reaction, Dell immediately realizes the power of social network and the solving reactions are require to be implemented. Because factor that influence purchasing decision. Dell Inc learn to change a long with the sound of customers which make them named number 1 most social brand in this recent years. They keep listening all of the incoming ideas but not over-reacting, this can see from the fact on the web which show that 18,000 ideas submitted but only 500 ideas has been implemented, dell try to weight the outcome of each idea and make the best uses of them. After staying in social media dell had learn a lot of knowledge from their website, ideastorm. com, which in this website, dell users sign- in and discuss about how to improve their beloved brand, dell. As below, this figure shows the development of dells social media Figure 3: the facet of dells social media timeline Source: Dell Social Media adjusted by Chaiwanichya Knowledge Management free essay sample It involves applying the collective knowledge and abilities of the entire workforce to achieve specific organizational objectives. State agencies should feel free to adapt and use information and tools on the following pages as necessary within their organization. It is provided to be a starting point for sharing knowledge and experience, allowing those who remain with the organization to continue providing quality service. Capturing and sharing critical knowledge and expertise should be occurring continuously among employees. In many cases, however, it is not and this need becomes pressing when a valued employee is preparing to retire or change positions. When an organization is considering implementing a knowledge transfer plan it is important to answer several questions: 1. Is the organization going to fill the vacant position or reassign the duties? 2. Are all the duties of the position still important to the mission of the organization? 3. Is there a need to update the position description? 4. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Will the position change, remain as is, or be eliminated once the employee leaves? What is knowledge transfer? David DeLong’s book â€Å"Lost Knowledge† describes knowledge as the â€Å"capacity for effective actions or decision-making in the context of organizational activity†. Accordingly, lost knowledge would decrease this vital capacity and help undermine organizational effectiveness and performance. The goal of transferring knowledge to others [known as Knowledge Transfer] is to: 1. Identify key positions and people where potential knowledge loss is most imminent. 2. Assess how critical the knowledge loss will be. Develop a plan of action to ensure the capture of that critical knowledge and a plan of action to transfer it. Why is knowledge transfer important? A significant percentage of the state’s workforce is nearing retirement age over the next ten years. These employees have acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge about how things work, how to get things done and who to go to when problems arise. Losing their expertise and experience could significantly reduce efficiency, resulting in costly mistakes, unexpected quality problems, or significant disruptions in services and/or performance. In addition, faster turnover among younger employees and more competitive recruiting and compensation packages add significantly to the mounting concern about the state’s ability to sustain acceptable levels of performance. What are the benefits of a knowledge transfer program? Knowledge transfer [KT] programs prevent critical knowledge loss by focusing on key areas. Some of the immediate benefits of KT programs are: 1. They provide reusable documentation of the knowledge required in certain positions or job roles. 2. They result in immediate learning and knowledge transfer when carried out by individuals who can either use the transferred knowledge themselves or have responsibility for hiring, training, mentoring, coaching or managing people within an organizational unit. 3. They reduce the impact of employee departure. 4. They integrate staffing, training, job and organization redesign, process improvements and other responses. 5. They aid in succession planning. 6. They prevent the loss of knowledge held only in employees’ heads when they leave the organization or retire. They enhance career development. Generally Accepted Definitions for Knowledge Management and Transfer Knowledge Management (KM) refers to practices used by organizations to find, create, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness, and learning across the organization. Knowledge Management programs are typically tied to organizational objectives and are intended to lead to the achievement of specific outcomes such as shared intelligence, improved performance, or higher levels of innovation. Knowledge Transfer (an aspect of Knowledge Management) has always existed in one form or another through on-the-job discussions with peers, apprenticeship, and maintenance of agency libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. Since the late twentieth century, technology has played a vital role in Knowledge Transfer through the creation of knowledge bases, expert systems, and other knowledge repositories. To understand knowledge management and knowledge transfer, it is helpful to examine the differences between data, information, and knowledge. Data is discrete, objective facts. Data is the raw material for creating information. By itself, data carries no judgment, interpretation or meaning. Information is data that is organized, patterned and/or categorized. It has been sorted, analyzed and displayed, and is communicated through various means. Information changes the way a person perceives something, thus, affecting judgment or behavior. Knowledge is what is known. It is richer and more meaningful than information. Knowledge is gained through experience, reasoning, intuition, and learning. Because knowledge is intuitive, it is difficult to structure, can be hard to capture on machines, and is a challenge to transfer. We often speak of a knowledgeable person, and by that we mean someone who is well informed, and thoroughly versed in a given area. We expand our knowledge when others share theirs with us. We create new knowledge when we pool our knowledge together.