Knowledge Management - Essay Example

The background BioPackit, all through its 3 years of market records, have stayed true to the technical innovation side of business while having excellent market performance. However, though the operational level strategies are quite like for all its three implementation teams, there had been substantial difference in the deliverance of outcomes. All through the years team B has outperformed the other two teams despite the equity in work environment. Interestingly, the market pressure and components pertaining to the work environment had been the same for all the teams .It has also been ensured by the company that the distribution of the intellectual capacity among the workforce also has been distributed equally among all the three teams. Despite the increased efforts, there had been acute difference in the outcomes brought about by three different teams. Knowledge Management, Organisational Performance And Competitive Advantage Analysing the scenario critically, it has been confirmed that the factor that makes the difference is the problems pertaining to knowledge management. Though the input in terms of information is equal as provided for all the tree teams, the difference lies in the way it is processed, analysed and stored. As Biotechnology is branch of science which is much in an evolving and developing stage, a lot of new and raw information happen to flow into the system. As then team involves experts from the field who are equally qualified and when this fact is coupled with the participatory approach in the policy formulation of the company, the net result is a gush of knowledge. This would mean that when the staff on one side would be processing the information in relation with the newer innovations in the industry, on the other side the same workforce would be sourcing in scientifically approved new knowledge into the work stream. It is the difference in the unorganised processes followed by different departments so as to process the raw information which results in the difference in outcomes. It must be assumed that the workforce involved in Team B is able to ensure the flow of information within the team and seeks each others help in processing it. An ideal example for this would be the way knowledge extended by the company newsletter on industry innovations is utilised by three different teams. Added to this facility is the fact that the company always had taken care to provide its staff with proper communication and information sourcing technology. For example take the instance that a new propagation media is reviewed by some researchers to have better results in doing micro propagation which is a key activity of the company. If this information is passed on to the workforce of the company through its routine information souring system, what Team B would do is to share the information and as a group try to improvise the methodology followed by the company using the procured knowledge. On the other side, the information perceived by each members of Team A and Team C individually would fetch results for company as the processing of information among the team does not happen. Though the knowledge processing process among Team B is not streamlined and organised, they ensure as a team that the processing of the knowledge received happens. This fetches results and the performance of the team resultantly improves. Thus it can be concluded that knowledge management is the factor that differentiates Team B from both Team A and C. This further confirms the role of an effective and properly structured knowledge management system so as to improve organisational performance and achieve competitive advantage (Erpwire, 2008). BioPackit thus urgently needs a scientifically designed knowledge management system equally accessible by all the teams and departments to keep the company in track with the competitions in the industry. Every piece of information must be analysed, sorted and stored so as to create a solid knowledge base. The proper management of knowledge procured from sources of varied origin and the effective merging of this knowledge into the policies of the company will take care of the competitive advantage in the global business scenario. Barriers in Knowledge Management & the solutions However a number of barriers exist for the company so as to manage its knowledgebase effectively. Primarily for a medium sized company like BioPackit which has fewer than 100 staff, the time and human resource requirement exclusively for knowledge management would be a major problem. The company cannot afford to engage a bunch of people who manually operate and manage the knowledge management process. This factor should read together with the reality that biotechnology being a still developing branch of science, the quantum of information that would be pumped in may not be of lesser count. As this management process has to be done in adherence with the policies of the company and also taking into account the market performance of the organisation, the management process becomes more complex. The quality assurance of the information also has to be ensured turning the whole process to be composite. The sorting of such information and storing in such a way that it is accessible in times of requirement is also important. The capacity of the human resource for managing knowledge effectively especially in the context of BioPackit which does not have specialist work force for the cause would be another severe barrier. Thus it becomes vital to have a strategic approach in the knowledge management and to have automated processes facilitating it. It is here the role of an effectively integrated and automated knowledge management system becomes of relevance. Knowledge Management System can be defined as a system which works to manage and maintain the technical knowledge with in an organizational setup resultantly facilitating the creation, storage, acquirement and dissemination of information. Such a system would be the sole solution for effectively managing the knowledge flow within the company especially for those like BioPackit, which has to deal with a lot of scientific information within the limitations of a small workforce. Such a system would manage and facilitate the sharing of vital organizational information, documentation of intellectual property and reduced efforts in employee orientation. The key criteria for an operatively broader Knowledge Management System are that it should take into consideration the Purpose, Context, Participants and Instruments (Knowledge Worker Manual, 2009).The structure of the system must be in line with the principal objectives of the organisation. Further the system should have the capacity to replicate the required information as per the context. The functional operators and the beneficiaries of the knowledge management system should be trained and be properly networked. The technical and the intellectual tools for properly utilising and operating the knowledge management system also should be made available. BioPackit may face many limitations in terms of implementation of the knowledge management system. The most important among them is the cost factor. When it counts to the conversion to the knowledge management system, it would involve huge cost taking into account the time for conversion, the capacity building requirements of the staff and the possibilities of mistakes in implementation .However considering the long term benefit and the cost reduction in the data management process to be done in future, this cost is justified. Another major concern in the implementation of knowledge management system is the security and privacy of the transactions (Rai University, 2007).Security related software and other security measures can solve this issue. The most prominent impediment in the development of a knowledge management system is the technicalities. The outsourcing of knowledge management system development can solve the technical limitations. For the smooth flow of information to and fro within the system, a high bandwidth telecommunication service would be required. However, as BioPackit has small staff strength this can be managed within the capacity of the local area network. The software which handles knowledge management also needs appropriate amendments in relation with the changing requirements of the industry. The integration of the software with the existing software and applications in the company is also a matter of challenge. Specialist web services and other hardware infrastructures also would be required for the business to work properly (Rai University, 2007). The continued service of the consultancy services can handle this limitation. The staff may not have the technical expertise to handle the automated operations concerned with the knowledge management system. This problem can be solved through the capacity building measures imparted by the company as part of the implementation program. Behavioural aspects of knowledge management leaders and workers A Knowledge Worker is defined as a person who makes substantial contributions to the work environment through his or her knowledge. This class of employees makes their contribution through their knowledge and innovative thought process than through physical labour. The word Knowledge Worker was probably first developed by Peter Drucker (Knowledge Worker Manual, 2009). The important character of a knowledge worker has been explained by Peter Drucker as that their aspirations and their self reflections are professional or intellectual. The basis of their accomplishments is their intellectual property of knowledge (Knowledge Worker Manual, 2009). The implementation of Knowledge Management System has to have a scientifically array of processes. The primary step in this is the empowerment of staff as knowledge management leaders and workers. The staff will have to be developed as functionaries sourcing reliable information for the company. This will make the sourcing process more effective and diverse. However, so as to bring in the behavioural aspects required for knowledge workers and leaders the empowerment strategies will have to be worked out accordingly. Taking into account the competitive corporate market, for BioPackit to be successful in all arenas of its operation including management, technology, and marketing it is vital that its staff turn to be resourceful in the context of knowledge sourcing. In this context, the operational behavioural peculiarities of Knowledge Workers and leaders becomes of much relevance. With relevance to vastness in the global market pertaining to biotechnology, Knowledge Workers are of importance in different roles contributing effectively for the company. However, for this to happen, the empowerment of the human resource of BioPackit as Knowledge Workers has to be ensured. Erickson, Hamilton, Jones and Ditomassi (2006, 96-104) have opined that empowerment occurs as a result of the team leaders’ deliberate efforts to expose their work force to situations which catalyses the process of growth both personal and professional. During this process, the team and individually each member of it are trained resultantly improving their skill at work and attitude towards work. A net result of the empowerment process is the self realisation of the employees on their responsibility towards the organisation and the profession. Resultantly, the efficacy of the staff as a knowledge worker or as a leader improves. Empowerment would help the construction of a healthy, committed workforce which has a positive vision towards their responsibility (Copp, Agpaoa, Carvalho & Pfeiffer, 2004). Resultantly, the team would show behavioural peculiarities that an effective knowledge worker should hold decisive capacity in professionally critical times, professional accuracy, communication excellence and clarity in vision. Moreover they will be ready to take responsibilities. This would put the leader on an ease to have less monitoring over the knowledge workers. The management and the team leader at BioPackit will have to take deliberate efforts to empower the elements within the working system so as to make the knowledge management process easy. The key reason for this is that the conventional staff structure and the profile hierarchies do not usually have the space to promote empowerment as knowledge workers. The positional behaviors and the peculiarities in the mindset of different cadres of staff add to the complexity. Thus it becomes the responsibility of the organizations to setup healthy work environments that would encourage the employees to get empowered by their own. For this to happen, all the functional and communicative barriers among the team which hinders the process of empowerment will have to be removed. Sharing of information is also important for the knowledge management process to happen efficiently. In this context a sharing culture among the team becomes vital. So as to create a sharing culture among the knowledge workers the following tools can be used by the leaders of BioPackit. In this context the leader has key role to play. This demand makes the behavioral approach of the leader much complicated. Developing a strict code of conduct which is culturally and geographically neutral would help the leader to respond to demand to create a sharing work environment. However the leader must learn to amend his behaviors with reference to the culturally and regionally specific attributes of people when dealing with them individually. Motivation, Empowerment, responsibility sharing all must be ensured to be done by the leader. Motivation Motivation has been defined as “the process that governs choices made by persons or lower organisms among alternative forms of voluntary activity” (Vroom, 1978, 6). With relevance to sharing environment, motivation is the factor that helps the employees to be in alignment with the knowledge management policy. Motivated employees would always look for ways to utilise the resources at the best for the organisation. Further this would prompt them to share information among their co-workers and make improved decisions. When the empowered personnel are exposed to decisive situations, this motivation aids them to make optimal actions in consensus with the team. Communication In an organizational scenario like that of BioPackit, the relevance of communication is enormous. However, the communication process is easy as the staff strength is as less as hundred. When proper communication is ensured among the employees and with all the systems, the knowledge management process becomes very fluent. Thus in the employee empowerment as knowledge workers, the efficacy of communication has a vital role to play. When the employees are properly communicated on the knowledge management strategies, the long term goals and the financial situations they get a uniform platform. This would help to equalise the outputs delivered by all the three teams of BioPackit. Performance appraisals “Performance appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the individual with respect to his or her performance on the job and his or her potential for development” (Beach, 2004, 290). This process would help the employees to get encouraged and create a sharing environment. As appraisals not only defines the shortfalls in the performance, but also appreciates the efforts of the employees, it would create a healthy work environment which facilitates sharing. Role of Internal and External networks in Knowledge Management The role of networking among staff and organisational structures both internal and external becomes important in the stages of knowledge management which in includes information sourcing, sorting, storage and dissemination. These components can be together called as Knowledge processing. Knowledge processing includes the sorting, mining, storage and dissemination of knowledge. In this stage the knowledge sources and recipients both internal and external are networked to efficiently manage the data. The possible solution for this networking process is Enterprise Resource Planning. Enterprise Resource Planning includes systems which provide integrated solutions to all the users of the business environment serving the entire range of business activities like Knowledge management, Accounting, Budgeting, e-commerce, Human Resource Management and many others. Enterprise Resource Planning and the allied software have been proved in effectively providing networking solutions as far as knowledge management and organisational outcomes are concerned. The analysis of SAP ERP Solutions in TISCO (Tata Iron and steel company Limited) has proved the effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems in improvising productivity. The implementation helped them to have a consumer oriented approach and was able to fetch benefits in all aspects of ecommerce and other business activities as well. Erpwire (2008). The role of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems in effectively managing the complexities and diversity in labor and knowledge has been further reiterated in the success story of Jada precisions Plastics co INC in the implementation of IQMS ERP software. It helped them to deliver ready made solutions to their labor related problems in the form of packaged solutions and also facilitated in creating an automatic system for data transfer.(Erpwire, 2008) Conclusion So as for BioPackit to manage a leading edge in the global biotechnology market, the company and its staff have to acquire knowledge of the latest nature. Though the company have resources to source scientific information, the challenge in front of the company is to manage knowledge to optimal level. To makes this possible, the ideal solution is to have a knowledge management system. An automated knowledge management system would help the sorting, storage and mining of information an easy process. The difference in the performance of two different departments of the company has the efficacy of knowledge management as the key reason. A proper knowledge management strategy would help BioPackit to regulate and optimise the operations of all realms of its business. 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