Knowledge Management, Social Networks, and Innovation - Case Study Example

Introduction Diversity is important for organization’s capability to innovate and embrace rapid changing environment. Few of the most effective entrepreneurs and highly recognized leaders bear the same notion about diversity and innovation. Since a little longer, the junction between social media and innovation has been emerging into a busier and more rushed place. For more than a decade now, there have been signs of rapid growth of organizations of all sizes as well all platforms are tapping the capacity of social media to create innovation happen gained pace drastically(Yates and Paquette, 2011). It is time to assess the emerging link between social media and innovation. Therefore, this paper will analyze how social media can reinforce knowledge management of a company to gain innovative outcomes. A case study of IBM’s latest Social Media Business has also been analyzed in order to gain in-depth knowledge and insight about the topic and it will also help in establishing a link between theoretical and practical implementations of the learned concepts and its significance for businesses today. Social media includes the combination of tools and techniques recognized as wikis, blogs, along with other social media networking areas that facilitate people to join, interact, and integrate. These tools make a dynamic, intricate data infrastructure that facilitates faster, easier, and more extensive distribution of information (Apistola, 2012). The capabilities of social media make practical phenomena like viral procedures, and they can shift how people are able to organize and work together. This paper will discover the influence of this evolving knowledge management which will address a revisiting of the social media factors and how they can establish the doorways towards innovation. Analysis of IBM’s Social Business Initiative Since the world transforms into more interlinked, instrumented and smart place; while the people continues to adopt social media networking, today’s businesses confront the emergence of a new epoch (Barlow and Thomas, 2010). This era can be called as the social business. Just as the World Wide Web shifted the industry forever, the incorporation of social networking into organizational design shows another huge change in the scenario. Companies that effectively shift into a social business attain the potential to gain enormous success-among them the potential to strengthen customer relationship, competencies, and effective human resource management  (Bernoff, 2011). Two years back, IBM expressed a vision to the world for building this planet a smarter place to live (Ibm.com, 2014). It is an opportunity to instill acumen into every mechanism through which the world operates. Three widespread trends created this opportunity a practical reality: I. Everything is transforming into an instrumented work with computational power and sensors(White and King, 2011). II. The planet is becoming integrated through ubiquitous, extensive networks and III. Numerous things are becoming smart through implementing logics to the heaps of information they can gather (The Social Business, 2013). Moreover the buying procedures are basically shifting. Consumer today exerts unexpected power over the way products are being perceived. As the international networking of communities becomes interlinked, instrumented and smart, drastic changes are occurring. That methods people communicate, relationships develops, decisions are taking place, work is done and products are bought are basically shifting (The Social Business, 2013). IBM’s definition of their new initiative of social business entails the following important components: Involvement: a social business links individuals to professionalism. It facilitate people-whether consumers, associates or workers-to create networks to establish new ways of innovation, nourish creativity, and develop higher deliverance and exposure to innovative business options. It develops a basic level of faith across these trade networks and, therefore, an inclination to openly distribute data. It facilitates these groups with the integrative, gaming and logical tools required for participants to involve each other and innovatively resolve business confrontations (Traudt and Vancil, 2011). Visibility: IBM’s social business attempts to remove unwanted limits between professionals inside the organization and specialists in the industry. It accepts the techniques and leadership approaches that reinforce grabbing insight and knowledge from numerous sources, permitting it to rapidly sense shift in customer attitude, employee emotion or procedure competencies  (Bondarouk and Lujan, 2013). It uses social and logics links internally and externally of the organization to resolve business issues and attains new opportunities to grow business. Dexterity: The concept of social business initiated by IBM leverages the social media networks to gain pace in business procedures, obtaining practical knowledge to create better and spontaneous decisions (Dave Evans, 2010). This also enables the company to get data to partners and customers in innovative ways-quicker. Assisted through ubiquitous availability on mobile gadgets and innovative methods of linking and operating together in the Cloud and also on open podiums, a social business shifts time and destination from limitations into benefits. Business is liberal to happen when and where it offers the highest value, permitting the company to accept quickly to the shifting industry (Eardley and Uden, 2011). Becoming a Social Business The organization’s blogging strategy and directions were established by the bloggers of IBM themselves. These bloggers created a wiki and within two weeks developed rules regarding how they would be comfortable utilizing the social application. The directions were presented to the legal unit and business communications group for acceptance. According to the BlueIQ Community Manager, IBM Software Group, IBM Spain, Luis Suarez that if the guidelines of IBM are read, one of the ideas that emerge to mind is definitely the common sense (Edia Business Transfer Center Institute For Media Business, 2013). Everything is based on common sense and IBM published this idea in front of the world. Not merely to IBM, however to everyone out there who would like to utilize the social application. During 2008, the directions were reformed and known as Social Computing Guidelines. Currently these guidelines are integrated in the corporate conduct directions on which the whole employees of IBM need to be approved per year (The Social Business, 2013). For numerous, this was a symbol of authentication from IBM, also the reality that these strategies were developed by IBM workers rather than upper management offers as evidence to the cultural change that can happen through social transformation of business. A change from formal to informal realization and learning has been emerged as well. With this opportunity, it actually does seem like it is a lot more informal understanding which enables the employees to confront with various challenges while dealing with the customers(Ethical Issues and Social Dilemmas in Knowledge Managemen, 2011). Also, at the same time the employees learn and work in a more creative way. In the prospect, the transformation of the social business will eventually permit the company to identify work force as their most crucial resources. In fact, there are various organizations who claim to consider their human resources as the most important asset that they poses, however those companies never acquired a way to genuinely facilitate their human resources to become their most important assets. The social business, thus, become one element where all the employees can truly be termed as the most important resources in the company since it is all going to converge around the activities of the employees (Fernandez and Sabherwal, 2010). Organizational Learning of Social Media as a System of Knowledge Management Leading to Innovation As the fast development of social networking and adaptability has eradicated some of the limits that divided people in the past, individuals progressively utilize their social links with other individuals to find out and utilize information to acquire innumerable objectives (Frey, 2012). According to  Funk (2011), new options for development, productivity and innovation persist for organizations that motivate individuals-work force, associates and customers-to involve and create reliable relationships.  Girard (2009), stated that people are utilizing social media networking techniques in their private lives, while many are also integrating it into their professional lives-despite of whether it is approved by their employers. Smart organizations will accept social application and discover the most successful ways to use it to excel progress, enhance customer satisfaction and facilitate employees. Enhancing Customer Relationships In current’s rapid growing always connected world, products are getting reinforced and damaged instantly within a blink of an eye. It is because of the propagation of fast, viral interaction through social networking and social media techniques (Girard and Girard, 2010). The mix of social media and the development of internet usage have substantially shifted the way customers communicate with products. Today, more than ever before, companies must realize and interact with their customers. Many business managers realize this. In reality, more than 80 percent of leaders research about the significance of getting closer with the consumer as the highly crucial dimension to understand their business strategy in the upcoming years. Although, understanding the significance and actually knowing how to work on it are two diverse things(Gitomer, 2011). Improving Operational Competencies Social media businesses can enhance interaction, as well as force innovation, much quicker than conventional companies. Effective ideas can be combined together to create synergy(Gurteen, 2012). Complimentary professionalism can be linked. Serendipitous links can be generated. Concepts can be explored, support on each others’ shoulders and be sophisticated, diversified and shift into valuable services and products much more instantly. This sharing of concepts and augmented interaction can direct to raise operational competencies through dexterous knowledge management(Warren and Davies, 2011). Workforce Optimization Social businesses are using social advancement of technologies to link employees together, with professionals both external and internal to the company and with background relevant material (Heinz, 2012). Employees can influence these techniques to integrate performances like carrying out tasks or projects, status reporting, keeping leaders informed, getting assistance and assisting others. Social businesses are truly capable to optimize their human resources through facilitating their workers to become more successful and by identifying where which skills can be best used. Human resources experts in a social business can diverse their responsibilities in order to support employees (Jacobson, 2009). Knowledge Management & Innovation Innovation or creativity is a common buzzword in numerous companies. We all require it however few actually realize how to reach there. According to current revolution in social networking, concepts appear that a new enclosure has been found for growth (Jessica Keyes, 2012). Social media and social networks are shifting everything; not merely is the world confronting a huge pool of interaction ways and techniques however the world stands in the mid of a new epoch where concepts can flow and change into bigger operations. These concepts are unique than ever witnessed before because the changing methods that individuals have worked together over the years and also the influence of customer oriented websites like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Therefore, businesses today initiated to find out other ways to offer its target market(King, 2009). Connected customers and users are driving a shift in the conventional business model. Through permitting people to grab attention, not merely are the world is getting converged to their requirements and demands (Liebowitz, 2012), however it is also brining them into the process of production and a side impact of this is brand loyalty. Innovation is shifting almost about everything. Even though there are few that perceives open innovation with regard to chaos and disruption. Certainly, facilitating individuals may have few side effects. The free flow of concepts and disruptive business models are among highly recognized (Liebowitz and Frank, 2010). The aim of knowledge management can be to improve the utilization of knowledge, transferred, and organized(Lindegaard, 2012). Moreover, the exploration which refers to the sharing and synthesizing of the knowledge generated by the company. The aim of exploitation is to decrease issues of reinventing the wheel through utilizing current knowledge more competitively. Even though this is crucial for innovation, it is mainly exploration through sharing of knowledge that permits the growth of authentically new approaches (Mcinerney and Koenig, 2011). Innovation is the essence of driving effective knowledge management through social media. The world is no more a place where success relies on people only. Now, individuals require concepts to grow so that others may perform according to them (Notter and Grant, 2011), product a new knowledge and share it again so that knowledge may appear more socially established. It is all about reforming the way people do business and with regards to knowledge management (Wankel, 2010), innovation is important in order to extend the power of knowledge development. The convergence of consumer innovation in knowledge management may b determined as knowledge sourcing. Not just businesses have to think internal consumers however they must also consider about diversifying the extent of knowledge sourcing for the purpose to include the clients and other capable strategic associates(Odell, and Hubert, 2011). Organizations like Procter & Gamble, Peugot, IBM and Lego have established mechanisms that motivate this form of innovation (Patrut and Patrut, 2013). For instance, P&G establishes 50 innovative products every year because of their innovation policy(Pauleen, 2012). The strategy of Facebook can also be referred here; after all it is widely known that the secret behind the success of Facebook lies in the development and innovation code. Software developers may create products which will be based on the code of Facebook’s innovation and this social software can be sold to innumerable of users. In this way Facebook offers multiple methods of involving users and software developers gain monetary wellbeing. It becomes a win-win association (Pellegrini and Tochtermann et al., 2009). This form of empowerment of people will produce massive benefits for every business today. In the current context, individual knowledge is no longer considered a sign of power (Purvis, 2009). The actual worth of knowledge resides in its capability to be distributed in order to create new insight. This also shows why the knowledge agent must also have the capability to convey what he understands in an efficient and easy manner. Knowledge shift is improved when people have the option to gather and distribute their knowledge (Qualman, 2012); the more individual get to understand each other, their association is reinforced and this supports in producing a suitable sharing of information permitting it to become a mutual process. The purpose is to shift knowledge sourcing into a fact that the businesses need to begin working on its people; particularly on their culture towards sharing of knowledge and encourage group participation. If businesses focus only on technology (Raghu and Radha, 2011), they will not be able to succeed. They require promoting an environment of learning, creativity and innovation. This will permit companies to obtain a competitive edge and preserve the generation of value in their services and products (Sigala and Gretzel, 2012). Future Outlook At IBM, managers collaborate with the customers, converging together business knowledge, improved research and technology to offer them a difference benefit in today’s fast changing context (Socialmediatoday.com, 2011). Through our incorporate approach to organization design and implementation, business help turn strategies into implementation. And with professionalism in 17 organizations and international abilities that extent up to 170 nations(Swan and Newel et al., 2000), the company can assist clients predict change and revenue from new business options. A challenge confronted by virtually all organizations in these chaotic times is how to create companies that are more flexible and nimble, more innovative and creative, and more competent and elastic (Sweeney and Craig, 2010). Progressively, it is becoming precise that the conventional hierarchical organization, created on a structure of units and an environment of departmentalization, will offer prospects to a socially synergistic organizations created on persistently emerging groups and a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing. As such, it can be predicted that the path to transforming a social business highly inevitable (Taverekere Srikantaiah and Srikantaiah et al., 2010). Although, the distinct aspects-those which will divide the managers from the public-will root from how successfully a company accepts both social business approach as well as the advancement of technology to strengthen customer relationships, excel operational competencies and optimize the human resource. And even the most effective companies will face loopholes along their ways(The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding how Work Really Gets Done, 2004). 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