Knowledge Management, Organizational Trust, Creativity and Innovation - Essay Example

The Relationship between Knowledge Management, Organizational Trust, Creativity and Innovation Sultan Alhammadi H00086838 ITEC-N415 Applied ResearchSkills John Politis Dubai Mens college 2014 Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summery 4 2.0 Introduction 5 3.0 Knowledge Management Behaviors 6 3.1 Knowledge Management 6 3.2 Knowledge Acquisition 6 3.3 Knowledge Dissemination 6 3.4 Responsive Knowledge 7 4.0 The Elements of Interpersonal Trust at Work 8 4.1 Trust and Faith in Peers 8 4.2 Faith in Leadership 8 5.0 Knowledge Responsiveness within the Organization 9 5.1 Creativity and Innovation 9 5.2 Productivity 10 6.0 Hypothesis 10 7.0 Methods 10 7.1 Participants 10 7.2 Methods of collecting data 10 7.3 Procedure 11 7.4 Results 11 7.2 Challenges 15 8.0 Conclusion 15 9.0 Time Management 15 Bibliography 17 Appendices 19 1.0 Executive Summery Fly Emirates also known as Emirates Airline is a major airline in the Middle East. It has its headquarters in Dubai. Emirates Airline is of the largest flights in the world that competes with international flights from around the world. The airline is owned by the Dubai government and was established in 1985 following the collapse of the Gulf Air. Emirates Airline has been successful due to its competitive pricing strategies that it uses successfully against its competitors. The company has maintained a world class flight operation as well as introduced cheaper long haul flights that are highly profitable. The airline has experienced the largest growth in the Asian airlines market. To be able to determine what customers want. Knowledge management needs to be very active. This also helps to increase the competitive advantage of the company. The aim of this study is to analyse knowledge management, The paper also looks at how knowledge can be created and disseminated. This paper also looks at elements that affect knowledge and knowledge managements, these elements include trust in peers and trust in organizations’ leaders. The paper also makes hypothesis in support of the analysis and gives results of a study conducted based on the hypothesis. The results of the study trust affects KMB, the creativity level in organizations, innovation, and productivity. Results also show that knowledge increases productivity if it is well managed .The paper finally gives a conclusion based on the analysis and the results from the study undertaken. 2.0 Introduction The emerging concept of learning economies has sharpened the focus on knowledge as a vital strategic resource for individuals, firms, and national economies. Traditionally, organizations instinctively protected their sources of competitive advantage and often used patent rights to insure their innovative actions. However, in the wake of the information revolution has come a new appraisal of the function of global knowledge as corporate assets and hence the emergence of "knowledge management" as a key strategic function (DEBOWSKI, 2010). What an organization knows about itself, its market, its products, its technologies and its people is unique and has high value in the competitive mix. Forced by the need to survive, organizations have recourse to international fields of operation in order to expand, and thereby to increase their knowledge pool by multiples of factors. It is knowledge which helps them succeed in this broader competitive field (HEISIG, 2003). However, just like any other asset, this knowledge needs to be managed, and the function must be integrated with all other functions since much knowledge is generated by operations themselves. What is also very interesting is that the factors of knowledge management seem to be equally relevant to both private and public sector organizations alike, national and international. All organizations are today obliged to extend their realms of influence globally, and their opportunity to succeed internationally is heavily dependent on their acumen with knowledge (SHARMA, n.d.). This paper analyses the aspect of knowledge management, and how this relates to organizational trust, creativity and innovation. 3.0 Knowledge Management Behaviors 3.1 Knowledge Management Knowledge management addresses key issues that can lead to the success of organizations. Knowledge management addressed how organizations can manage the knowledge embedded in their systems, and contained in the heads of its employees and the outside environment (MCINERNEY, 2011). It also systematically considers how advanced information technology can be used to leverage existing knowledge and create new knowledge. The concept of knowledge management brought a wide range of interest. This topic has been the subject of study by organizations and other researchers for a long period of time (GEISLER, 2009). There is a strong believe among world business that knowledge management is the most crucial asset which determines the success of organisations. 3.2 Knowledge Acquisition This is the process of finding, structuring, and organizing knowledge from one source to be useful to the organization (LU, 1994). Organizations acquire information from external and internal sources (CHIPMAN, 1993). A company like Emirates Airlines gets information on how to improve its services mainly from comments from the customers. The customers give feedback through their behaviours, verbally, or in written. Through this process, knowledge is acquired. 3.3 Knowledge Dissemination Knowledge dissemination is the process through which one unit getting affect by the experience of another. The establishment and transfer of knowledge within an organisation is crucial in an organisations success and competitiveness (ROBERTSON, 2011). Transfer of knowledge is the transportation of knowledge from one position or person to another one. In recent years the sources and nature and organisational knowledge dissemination within international businesses have received increased interest, mainly because of the huge impact that knowledge transfers make in an organisations competitive advantage. This is because combining resources has become logical response to the harshness of modern competition. However, for knowledge dissemination to be successful employees and organizations need to be willing to share and receive new Knowledge. Willingness is very crucial in knowledge transfer because if it is lacking then there will be sabotage, passivity, outright rejection, and procrastination during the implementation of new knowledge. Emirates Airline shows willingness to disseminate knowledge by having strong marketing strategies. This helps its customers have knowledge of the company and on the kind of services that it provides. Emirates markets itself by sponsoring clubs, and other events in the UAE and around the world (Mnisri, 2010). 3.4 Responsiveness to Knowledge For knowledge management to succeed, organizations need to be very responsive to changes in knowledge (DE LA MOTHE, 2001). This is crucial especially in a competitive market like the airline industry. In the airline industry, customers’ expectations change drastically, therefore, success depends on the responsiveness of companies to the changes. In the middle east region for example, increase in competition is seen where key airports of Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi are experiencing an overall air traffic growth which is estimated at 10% per annum. This means an airline like Fly Emirates needs to be very active in finding and implementing new ways to improve customer surtisfaction or risk loosing them to competitors. 4.0 The elements of Interpersonal Trust at Work 4.1 Trust in Peers One of the biggest barriers to knowledge is fear. This is fear failure or making fool of the organization. This can affect the success of an organization. One cause of fear is lack of trust between peers in an organization. Lack of trust come in environments where there is unhealthy competition and where there is the lack of teamwork (HEISIG, 2003). Only with trust can knowledge be developed and shared successfully in organizations and between organizations. 4.2 Faith in Leadership Organizational leadership have significant influence on knowledge and knowledge management. Trust is also one of the crucial elements that affects how employees behave towards top leadership and towards their work. This creates a culture of openness and an atmosphere that encourages free flow of knowledge and ideas. This also encourages collaborative inter-organizational relationships needed for the success of organizations. Employees are more likely to accept knowledge when they are confident that top management has accepted it (DEBOWSKI, 2010). This is because there is more likelihood of having changes in the way they do thing as a result of new knowledge acquired, therefore, top leadership needs to show acceptance of new knowledge in order for other employees to be more confident to adapt it. 5.0 Knowledge Responsiveness within the Organization 5.1 Creativity Creativity is part of the process where knowledge is developed and transformed into business values. Creativity is about the generation of ideas; however, this is not enough. Innovation is about putting creativity into action. To be able to do this, there needs to be the application of existing knowledge and the development of appropriate new knowledge. Coming up with new ideas is crucial of innovation (GEISLER, 2009). 5.2 Innovation Gaining competitive advantage plays crucial role in companies located in fast growing economies. Many businesses usually face the challenge of gaining competitive advantage over their competitors (HEISIG, 2003). Innovation can differentiate companies that stay top in the competition from others. Companies need to understand that creativity is not enough but this needs to be supported by innovation. Innovation is all about seeing things from new angles, taking risks, having broad perspectives, and being flexible. Emirates airline encourages its employees to be innovative in how they do things by encouraging them to become idea champions. This is by continuously training and developing the employees not just to improve their job performance but also so that they can develop creativity and problem-solving skills (GEISLER, 2009). 5.3 Productivity The level of productivity in any organization is affected by how the organization manages knowledge (Sharma, n.d.). Proper handling of knowledge helps in improving operations of the organization. For example, knowledge on customers’ expectations helps Fly Emirates improve its services, how it relates to its customers, and be able to give quality goods. 6.0 Hypothesis From the analysis, this study came up with the following hypothesis; Hypothesis 1. Trust will impact positively Knowledge management which could help organizations have a competitive advantage in the market. Hypothesis 2. Knowledge management will positively influence creativity, innovation, and productivity to improve competitive advantage. Hypothesis 3. For Knowledge management to succeed organizations need to encourage trust between employees. The management also needs to support this process. 7.0 Methodology 7.1 Participants In this study, participants included employees in the airline company. A set people involved in this study was selected randomly based on those who were willing to participate in this study; therefore, the process was voluntary. This process involved both genders and included people from different countries and cultural background. This was possible because the airline is international which means that it has employed people from different backgrounds. 7.2 Method of data collection The use of questionnaires was applied in this study. This method was chosen to save time that would have been taken if interviews were carried out (PRESSER, 2004). This method also helps in saving time during the analysis stage of this project. The questions in the questionnaires are usually uniform which makes it easier for the data to be compared during the analysis stage. Requirements needed from the respondents had been indicated in the questionnaires. The limitation of this method is that only limited number of questions can be asked, also facial expressions cannot be seen because of like of contacts. This hinders the ability to confirm the truth in what respondents say. 7.3 Procedure The questionnaires were administered randomly to employees on a voluntary basis. To be able to maintain the anonymity of the study group, questionnaires were returned for analysis through the suggestion box. However, reminders were sent through the company’s web page. 7.4 Results From the data collection and analysis, below are the results showing the correlations and the Average (µ) value Fig. 1 Correlations for UAE Sample Sample Size N = 548   Trust KMB Creativity Innovation Productivity Trust 1 KMB 0.400082 1 Creativity 0.2325944 0.2669091 1 Innovation 0.1999394 0.1901472 0.32845674 1 Productivity 0.1169916 0.414309 0.06357093 0.423597396 1 From the results above in figure 1, trust affects KMB, the creativity level in organizations, innovation, and productivity. This supports the analysis in this section where trust fosters employees ability to work as a group. This helps them to be creative and innovation that encourages the development of knowledge. Averages for the UAE Sample Trust KMB Creativity Innovation Productivity µ 4.65 3.39 2.44 2.64 3.1 Fig. 2 Correlations for UAE The results above in figure 2 show that when there is a high level of trust in an organization, there will be KMB, creativity, innovation, and productivity. However trust cannot be gained by increasing the levels of KMB, creativity, innovation, and productivity. Fig. 3. Correlations for Emirates Airline From the results above in figure 3, when one element is high, the others reduce, for example, when trust is high, productivity reduces drastically. This shows that Emirates Airline and the UAE need to find ways to balance KMB, trust, creativity, innovation, and productivity 7.5 Challenges As noted in the methods of collecting data, there were challenges in using questionnaires. The limitation of this method is that only limited number of questions can be asked, also facial expressions cannot be seen because of like of contacts. This hinders the ability to confirm the truth in what respondents say. There was also challenges in analysing the data because at some point estimates had to be used. This reduces the accuracy of the results. 8.0 Conclusion To conclude, knowledge needs to be encouraged in organizations in order to increase the competitive advantage. There needs to be constant process of finding new knowledge especially in competitive markets like the airline industry. Emirates Airlines needs to always look for new ways to surtisfy its customers. What management may think is quality service to them may be different to its customers. On top of this, customers’ expectations keep on changing with change in technology. Emirates Airline must incorporate knowledge management in its operations so that the airline can be the choice of customers around the world. 9.0 Time management Below is a breakdown of the time table followed for the successful completion of this project Date and Duration Research Topic September 2013 1st Week research structure September 2013 2nd Week Design of the questionnaires October 2013 3rd Week Distribution of the questionnaires October 2013 1st Week Collection of the Data October 2013 2nd Week Data analysis Nov 2013 3rd Week Conclusion Nov 2013 4th Week Writing report Biblography CHIPMAN, S. F. &. MEYROWITZ. A. L., 1993. Foundations of knowledge acquisition. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. DE LA MOTHE, J. &. FORAY. D., 2001. Knowledge management in the innovation process. Boston : Kluwer Academic Publ. DEBOWSKI, S., 2010. Knowledge management. New Delhi, . : Willey India. GEISLER, E. &. WICKRAMASINGHE. N., 2009. Principles of knowledge management: theory, practices, and cases. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. HEISIG, P. ET. AL., 2003. Knowledge management: concepts and best practices. Berlin : Springer. LU, R., 1994. New approaches to knowledge acquisition. Singapore: World Scientific. MCINERNEY, C. R. &. KOENIG. M. E. D., 2011. Knowledge management (KM) processes in organizations: theoretical foundations and practice. San Rafael, Calif: Morgan & Claypool. Mnisri, K., 2010. Emirates Airline: the Secret Story of a Successful Company. [Online] Available at: http://leaderswedeserve.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/emirates-airline-the-secret-story-of-a-successful-company/ [Accessed 23 01 2014]. PRESSER, S., 2004. Methods for testing and evaluating survey questionnaires. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Interscience. ROBERTSON, P. L. &. J. D., 2011. Knowledge Transfer and Technology Diffusion. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Sharma, P., n.d. Knowledge Management. s.l.:APH Publishing. Appendix KM- Knowledge Management Read More