What Specific Benefit Does Knowledge Management Software Add To A Global Organization - Essay Example

Technology may be central to companies adopting a global strategy. To discuss the benefits of using software in knowledge management tt should be mentioned that knowledge management means storing and sharing the wisdom and understanding accumulated in an organization about its processes, techniques and operations. It treats knowledge as a key resource, and software becomes a way of sharing this knowledge. Knowledge management software helps to connect people in global organization who operate in a distance, and has no opportunity to use printed matters or other sources.

Knowledge management is as much if not more concerned with people and how they acquire, exchange and disseminate knowledge as it is about information technology. That is why it has become an important area for HR practitioners, who are in a strong position to exert influence in this aspect of people management. Software in KM can benefited in any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance learning and performance in organizations (Kucza, Komi-Sirvio,2001).

MK software and the Internet world is growing fast and is becoming the integral part for many global organizations which create "portals to facilitate collaborative among workers involved in product development" (Moore, 2001). Internet rationalizes the expensive and cumbersome proposition of large-scale service. MK software serves to reduce at least the appearance of risk associated with time-space distanciation and the opacity of the expert system. In the global organisation managers need to implement a system that is much like a traditional library - it must contain a large cache of documents and include search engines that allow people to find and use the documents they need.

In the personalization model, it's more important to have a system that allows people to find other people.In the light of this KM software is viewed as a means of communication and as a means of storing knowledge. Knowledge management is more about people than technology. A preoccupation with technology may mean that too little attention is paid to the processes (social, technological and organizational) through which knowledge combines and interacts in different ways. The key benefit is the interactions between people.

This constitutes the social capital of an organization, i.e. the network of relationships constitute a valuable resource for the conduct of organizational affairs. Organizational networks can be particularly important in ensuring that knowledge is shared. What is also required is another aspect of organizational capital: trust. People will not be willing to share knowledge with those whom they do not trust, but KM software helps to reduce this risk to a minimum, and in some cases even encourage employees to be more active and participate in current affaires (Card, 1991).

Another benefit of KM software is possibility to inhibit knowledge sharing in the culture of the company. The norm may be for people to keep knowledge to themselves as much as they can because 'knowledge is power'. An open culture will encourage people to share their ideas and knowledge. KM software helps to develop an open culture in which the values and norms emphasize the importance of sharing knowledge. On the other hand it promotes a climate of commitment and trust. As the most important KM software can help to