Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation - Assignment Example

? MANAGEMENT Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation ……………………… College………………………………. …………………. Word-count: 2584 Introduction Most scholars advise that businesses need to treat knowledge as an extremely important strategic asset in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Teece, 2000, p. 35). In recent years, management and business experts have recognized the ability to link Knowledge Management to business strategy and competitive advantage as the critical element to solving problems and exploring opportunities with a view to thrive on innovation. This piece of research paper discusses the theoretical concepts related to knowledge creation and transfer within organizations and attempts to apply these theories to the KM practices of a reputed social network - Facebook. This paper examines how organizational structure and dynamics create innovation and addresses complex issues in relation to KM. Knowledge Creation and Sharing as inevitable elements of KM Human capital is considered as most powerful asset in a business organization (Swansburg and Swansburg, 2002, p. 51). Austin, Classsen and Vu (2008, p. 362) stressed that organizations have come to realize that the knowledge and intellectual capital represent the most significant assets and wealth of the organization, and therefore, effectively managing the knowledge seems to be the most functional business strategy to improve the results through increased productivity and high performance working. This is the fundamental idea behind Knowledge Management. Knowledge Management is a newly emerging interdisciplinary business model that focuses on people’s knowledge to make it useful for helping the business achieve its goals (Awad and Ghaziri, 2007, p. 26). Noe (2002, p. 168) identified knowledge creation, sharing and use as basic components of KM. More specifically, creating the knowledge, sharing it with others, transferring the same from people to people and utilizing the created or shared or transferred knowledge for overall business purposes are key elements involved in a well organized KM practice. Knowledge Management is an HR model that targets the capturing, codification and dissemination of knowledge across the organization to enhance specific values. an explicit asset will be its ultimate product, because as Lytras, Russ and Maier (2008, p. 144) described, KM aims to productize and distribute knowledge within the organization. KM’s overall benefits include forming an ‘organizational learning’ system whereby people in the firm will be bale to gain wide knowledge that is useful for their as well as organization’s common benefits. As Forster (2005, p. 397) denoted, KM is a process that collects, shares and utilizes experience, knowledge, skills and wisdom of employees and they are then converted to a collective organizational learning process. This is how KM helps organizations improve the performance and effectiveness of organizational activities. For instance, a firm may recruit old workforce believing that old-workers are more knowledgeable than young people and they will be retained with a view to make use of their knowledge and experience. This is a strategic way to create new knowledge. They have more experience, which can later be transferred to other workforce through collaborative team work or other progressive activities. This is how experience can be converted to knowledge, or knowledge can be created from experience. Young workforce, for instance, will later be able to use their acquired knowledge for the overall organizational benefits. Explicit or Tacit nature of knowledge in relation to creation and sharing Knowledge creation, sharing, transferring and utilizing can be carried out through either papers, documents, database etc or through people’s mind. Explicit knowledge refers to that information being processed through papers, documents or database etc, whereas tacit knowledge is the information that is processed through people’s mind. In managing the tacit knowledge, the HRM looks at the skills, abilities, experiences, perceptions, wisdom of people in the organization and thence to implement certain techniques or strategies to freely transfer knowledge from one to another, share among them and help people learn from others. This is how some organizations achieve organizational learning objectives. As to managing explicit knowledge, the HR’s function is related to looking at data, information and processed knowledge being stored in manuals, papers, computer hardware, database etc. these information and knowledge will then be made available for assessing, analyzing and presenting them for further organizational purposes. Organizations that have been successful in managing the knowledge by integrating between or converting from tacit to explicit or explicit to tacit have also been successful in pursuing continuous and comprehensive innovation. As Nonaka and Takeuchi (2007) emphasized, Japanese companies successfully managed knowledge and established organizational learning by creating newer knowledge, disseminating it in the firm and embodying the same in the products and services that the company offered to the customers. Knowledge transfer between tacit and explicit has played pivotal role in bringing greater success to Japanese companies. As depicted in the figure, interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge was in fact based on the underlying concept of knowledge sharing or knowledge transfer. The four possible knowledge transfer structures are: 1- Socialization, that refers to the conversion of knowledge from tacit to tacit. It means, knowledge flow from one person’s mind to another one through teamwork, leadership activities, collaboration etc. 2- Externalization, where knowledge is transferred from tacit to explicit form. It occurs when people present their knowledge in papers, documents or computers by strategic processing such as analysis, assessing etc. 3- Internalization, where knowledge is converted from explicit to tacit. When knowledge or un-processed information stored in papers or manuals are passed to people’s mind, it is internalization. 4- Combination, wherein knowledge passes from explicit form to explicit form itself (Magalhaes, 2004, p. 79). For instance, a computer software or scanner may copy information from a document for further processing of it. Knowledge Management: fostering Innovation Knowledge sharing, perhaps the most important element in the KM, is rather a management strategy that brings creative thinking, newer ideas, dynamic functions and thus foster innovation within the organization. Innovation is undoubtedly an important prerequisite for business competitiveness. Apple Inc, Dell, Nestle, McDonald and all other world class firms have changed the way they operated their business through innovation and that made them successful companies. Most of the firms in recent years are finding innovation as their grand strategy since both the consumer and industrial markets expect regular changes and advances in the products (Pearce and Robinson, 2004, p. 207). Innovation is not just the idea, but bringing the idea in to business functionality by implementing and establishing the idea in to the reality (Endsley, 2010, p. 1). In today’s highly competitive business contexts, organizations are required to adapt to changes that happen in customer demands, fashion, technology etc. In order to stay competitive in the market and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, businesses need to thrive on innovation. Knowledge sharing and transferring is an effective way for firm to innovate. Knowledge Management facilitates organizational learning (Asimakou, 2009, p. 54). It is a systematic mechanism that helps people acquire knowledge from the nearest environment. For instance, people may acquire knowledge from the old-workforce through collaboration and teamwork. In an effectively executed KM, there will be well-thought out integration between people, process, technology. People may play various roles, with or without technology, in order to form internalization, socialization, combination or externalization. As Sallis and Jones (2002, p. 58) stressed, an effective KM practice requires hybrid solution of people and technology. Computers and modern database also can play pivotal roles in helping the organizations manage its knowledge and thence bring innovation within the firm. Chew and Gottschalk (2009, p. 385) described the interrelation between innovation goals and Knowledge management practices. According to them, technology can contribute to innovation mainly by supporting the critical dependency of innovation capability on knowledge management. The Nonaka model, as illustrated earlier, that comprises of four basic structures of knowledge sharing namely internalization, socialization, combination and externalization explained how knowledge is shared and transferred from one form to another. Austin, Classsen and Vu (2008, p. 367- 368) argued that knowledge sharing promotes creativity and innovation because individuals may collaborate together, circulate newer ideas and contribute to innovation. The main goals of organizational learning is to integrate specialized knowledge of individuals through certain mechanisms such as sequencing, rule and directives, routines, group problem solving etc (rant, 1996, p. 115). Organizations may use different techniques or tools to encourage sharing of knowledge. As the knowledge is thus shared and utilized, people may come to think of newer ideas or they will be motivated to be creative thinkers. This is the way organizational learning and Knowledge sharing fosters innovation. Many organizations are becoming or targeting to make ‘organizational learning’ as an integral part of its culture. Organizational learning is process that may occur overtime, but it is directly the result of knowledge sharing. Argote and Miron-Spektor (2011, p. 1124) pointed that organizational learning occurs in a situation that includes the environment in which the organization itself is embedded. Knowledge sharing will be largely influenced by the mechanisms or tools that are used for transferring it. For instance, group work, interactive staff meeting, social networking etc may be more effective ways for knowledge sharing than some other ways such as job-observation, off-the-job training etc. Knowledge Management and Social Networking Various researchers have found the growing importance of social networks in the HR practices, especially to the knowledge management. Hundreds of social networks are getting wider popularity across the globe as more and more people who belong to a specific workplace are tempted to use social networking channels to share their ideas, views, feelings, experiences, information and knowledge. Social networking in the internet such as Facebook, Youtube, Ning, Twitter, Blogger, Flickr, Scribd, whiteboard and so on are getting wider popularity among people to search for, share, look in to information that are uploaded by others. Large numbers of firms and government offices have used private and public social networks. Almost all the Fortune 500 companies have encourages its employees to use an internal social networking wherein companies are creating its own applications and social-discussions (Turban, Bolloju and Liang, 2011, p. 203). Business organizations are taking advantages of social networking media as they can be used for employees’ knowledge sharing. Social networking provides a broad platform wherein the management of a company get significant information that will be useful for products developments, internal or external recruitment, employees’ attitude and behaviour, training and development needs, advertising, marketing, public relation, general reputation about the company etc. Similarly, employees are also getting significant information about brand communications, workplace environment, newer policies, positive change or resistance that may occur among the people etc. In more simpler term, social networking facilitates a very free flowing of ‘wider communication portal’. Idea and knowledge dissemination is key to its success. Wimmer (2004) explained how social networking impacts the performance of knowledge sharing and knowledge management in an organization. Wimmer’s (2004) explanation gives a detailed conceptual framework for how social networks facilitate knowledge sharing. According to him, social network is highly significant in influencing the organizational structure and factors related to knowledge sharing (Wimmer, 2004, p. 272). As depicted above, when there is increased level of social network use and effective reward system for the employees, employees are more likely to use social networks for knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing will be medium if the reward system is low and there is increased use of social networks. If both the use of social network and reward system are low, the knowledge sharing also will be low in level. Social networking technologies thus help organizations achieve effective knowledge sharing and organizational learning system that in turn will more likely to help it achieve sustainable competitive advantages. Practical issues related to Knowledge Management As discussed earlier, the very basic three elements of knowledge management process are creation, sharing or transferring and utilization of the knowledge. In each of these three processes, especially in the knowledge sharing, the process may come to face issues such as accuracy of information, proper dissemination, conversion of data in to information and information in to knowledge, motivating people to get involved in knowledge share etc. Holsapple (2004, p. 303) described that knowledge enables actions and decisions. Agents, artifacts and transformations are the basic three concepts related to knowledge flow. In knowledge flows, agents perform artifacts as well as transformation. Individual or automated or collective agents play key roles in knowledge management through papers, documents, memories, norms, values etc that are refereed as artifacts. The third concept, that is transformation, refers to the behaviors that agents play on artifacts. Knowledge flows are the structure of transformations that are applied by agents on knowledge artifacts in order to support actions or decisions (Holsapple, 2004, p. 303- 306). The major practical issues related to the current practices of knowledge management include accuracy in transformation, technology integration for knowledge sharing, agents’ approach to managing knowledge, use of proper artifacts for the KM process. The ultimate result of KM can strategically be successful only if the knowledge that has been once created, later shared between tacit and explicit forms and finally utilized for the organizational purposes is highly accurate. As Holsapple (2004, p. 307) argued, how people identify and understand or perceive the meanings of sentences from both implicit as well as explicit knowledge closely influence the accuracy of the information. KM comprises of people, process and technology. How people use technology for knowledge sharing also impact the results of KM strategy. For far better results, the organization may need to facilitate extensive training for using technology in the KM. People in an organization may be well-versed in using computers, database, software, social networking, etc and as a result the result also will be better than the other way. People’s approach and organizational learning culture also impact the KM effectiveness. Management may face severe issues related to employees less awareness of the KM practices, irresponsibility of concerned people, lack of motivation to get involved etc. Problems related to artifacts are also to be considered while implementing a better system of the KM. Artifacts such as manuals, software, networking, papers, documents etc that are used in the KM practice must be appropriate for the ultimate purpose of the processed knowledge. Conclusion This piece of research paper has detailed the theoretical perspectives and conceptual frameworks of Knowledge Management, mainly related to knowledge creation and sharing. As detailed in this paper, the very fundamental three elements of the KM are creation, sharing and utilization of the knowledge. This paper has highlighted the Nonaka model of knowledge sharing explaining the four models- internalization, externalization, socialization and combination, that are based on the transferring of knowledge between tacit and explicit forms. This paper highlighted that knowledge sharing helps an organization foster innovation as people within its workplace will be motivated to gain newer knowledge, think creatively and bring newer ideas that in turn can help the organization perform better. Social networking is an essentially important means that almost all companies in recent years are extensively using for better knowledge sharing experiences. This paper described the conceptual framework of how social networks improve the effectiveness of KM and the practical issues that are faced by the management in relation to KM and innovation development. References Argote, L and Miron-Spektor, E, 2011, Organizational Learning: From Experience to Knowledge, Organization Science, Vol. 22, No. 5, Informs Asimakou, T, 2009, Innovation, knowledge and power in organizations, Taylor & Francis Austin M.J, Claassen J and Vu, C.M (2008), Knowledge Management: Implications for Human Service Organizations, The Haworth Press, EBSCO database Awad E.M and Ghaziri H.M (2007), Knowledge Management, Pearson Education India Chew, E.K and Gottschalk, P, 2009, Information Technology Strategy and Management: Best Practices, Illustrated edition, Idea Group Inc (IGI) Endsley, S 2010, Innovation in Action: A Practical Guide for Healthcare Teams, Illustrated edition, John Wiley and Sons Grant. R, 1996, Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm, Strategic Management, Journal. 17 Holsapple, C.W, 2004, Handbook on knowledge management: Knowledge matters, Birkhauser Lytras, M.D, Russ, M and Maier, R, 2008, Knowledge management strategies: a handbook of applied technologies, Idea Group Inc (IGI) Magalhaes R, 2004, Organizational knowledge and technology: an action-oriented perspective on organization and information systems, Illustrated Edition, Edward Elgar Publishing Noe R.A (2002), Employee training and Development, McGraw Hill Irwin Nonaka I and Takeuchi H, 2007, knowledge Creating Company, Business Library, Management Library, Retrieved from EBSCO database Nonaka I and Takeuchi H, 1995, The knowledge-creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation, illustrated Edition, Oxford University Press US Pearce, JA and Robinson, RB, 2004, Strategic Management, Formulation, implementation and Control, Ninth edition, The McGraw Hill Companies Sallis, E and Jones, E, 2002, Knowledge management in education: enhancing learning & education, Routledge Small C.T and Sage A.P, 2006, Knowledge management and knowledge sharing: A review, Information Knowledge Systems Management 5th edition, Information Technology Center, The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA, USA Swansburg, R.C and Swansburg, R.C, 2002, Introduction to management and leadership for nurse managers, Third illustrated edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Teece, D.J. (2000) “Strategies for Managing Knowledge Assets: the Role of Firm Structure and Industrial Context”, Long Range Planning, Vol 33, No. 1 Turban, E, Bolloju, N and Liang, T, 2011, Enterprise Social Networking: Opportunities, Adoption, and Risk Mitigation, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Taylor & Francis Wimmer M.A, 2004, Knowledge management in electronic government: 4th IFIP international working conference, Illustrated Edition, Springer Read More