Managing Human Capital - Coursework Example

The paper "Managing Human Capital" is a delightful example of coursework on business. The business research process is an important part of successful business practices because it enables a business to learn about its internal strengths and weaknesses, competitors, industry, and other important external elements. In Managing human capital: How to use knowledge management to transfer knowledge in today’s multi-generational workforce, Stevens (2010) explores the important functional area of knowledge management in the multi-generational workforce. The business research process seeks to understand how a multi-generational workforce had influenced knowledge transfer strategies within organizations as well as the unique characteristics of the different generations of employees. 

Research Problem and Research Method
The research problem in the study was the challenge of knowledge transfer in modern organizations that are dealing with multi-generational workforces. The researcher intended to explore the important variables in generational diversity that affect knowledge transfer as well as the different knowledge transfer strategies adopted by organizations (Stevens, 2010). The research adopts an exploratory research methodology. The exploratory research is commonly used to understand issues or problems that are yet to be well defined. Therefore, Stevens opted for this research methodology because the subject of a multi-generational workforce and knowledge transfer in current workforces is yet to be fully understood or explored. Therefore, this research study is only an initial step towards further research that would enhance our understanding of knowledge transfer in multi-generational workforces.
How the Research is solving the Problem within the Functional Area
The insights from this exploratory research are important and useful in understanding the challenges of multi-general diversity on knowledge management within organizations. Specifically, the research helps in highlighting the need to understand how multi-generational diversity affects knowledge transfer. For example, the study notes that the majority of the Baby Boomers will be retiring and hence the risk of organizations losing crucial knowledge is real (Stevens, 2012). This information is useful to organizations because it informs them of the need for ensuring effective knowledge management strategies to avoid losing crucial knowledge that may be difficult to recover. Additionally, the research highlights the specific differences in terms of motivations, preferences, and learning styles of different generations including Pre-Baby Boomers, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. This information is useful for organizations in developing and applying appropriate knowledge management strategies that will take into account the unique characteristics of the different generations of employees. Finally, the research provides a range of knowledge transfer strategies that are currently employed by organizations including mentoring, heavy documentation, classroom training, leveraging multimedia tools, storytelling, and fostering learning communities. The study highlights some of the major strengths and weaknesses of these knowledge management strategies in light of the multi-generational workforce (Stevens, 2012). Therefore, organizations can learn about the appropriate strategies to adopt based on these insights.
Potential Applications
Apart from the uses stated above, the research also has other potential applications. One of these is in developing further research in knowledge management and multi-generational workforce. As exploratory research, the findings and insights can serve as important bases for developing more detailed and specific research studies on the functional area of knowledge management and multi-generational workforce. Additionally, the research can be applied to enhancing human resource management practices within organizations. Specifically, the research can be applied in the area of managing organizational diversity, which is an important factor in current HR practices. Read More