Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation - Literature review Example

Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation Introduction With constant dynamics within the business environment such economic depression, complex customer requirements, rapid growth of new technologies and better knowledge, It is essential for companies to be flexible and quickly familiarize themselves with the new technologies and the working environments. The one thing that gives competitive advantages to a company is what it knows, how it employs it and how quick it can learn something new. It is approximated that a manager spends over 20% of his time searching for information and attempting to employ this knowledge for their companies. However, with the ever-appreciating dependence of the web the body of info is developing exponentially. Before, the web format structure was with the information on the databases and the websites. Things have since changed with the introduction of blogging, social media and other web 2.0 tools. Social media is an effectual manner to look for an answer to a request from a customer seeking in business partner systems, client databases etc. Presently information being structured is a gone case. People are becoming accountable for categorizing and tagging their own content. Social media is referred to as an “unstructured and open knowledgebase”. With the development of unstructured knowledge and information, and incorporate it into their organization. The effect of social in organizations pushes experts, managers, researchers to have a food of thought on knowledge management and develop new challenges taking into account both technical, as well as behavioral issues. More time should be invested evaluating all the new knowledge developed via, social interactions in societies, business-to-consumer together with business-to-business, and finally determining the pros and cons of employing social media. This paper will analyze the exploitation of innovation within an organization via a commercially developed social network service. Discussion Traditional methods of knowledge management and use Knowledge management indulges the creation employ and transfer of knowledge. It has its roots in strategy, management, innovation technology and psychology. There have been various approaches to knowledge management with very few formal theories created. Nonaka (2000) was among the few people who have created a theory for knowledge management that has stood the test of time. Davenport et al (1997), also developed some principles of knowledge management. Research done in the sector of technology and knowledge management with many researchers making knowledge repositories or bases, best practice intranets and yellow pages. Robles- Flores (2005) argued that knowledge management systems (KMS) and information systems are different. KMS deal with complicated task of enhancing knowledge sharing while automating repetitive task occurs by information systems. Knowledge management projects mostly have one of these three aims; sharing and coding of best practices e.g. intranets, knowledge bases; developing of business knowledge directories for instance, yellow pages; developing of knowledge networks to experts in their connection with each other e.g. yellow pages. Nevertheless, there has to be a revolutionary breakthrough in this field. There are some reasons for this: Schullze and Ledier (2002) questioned how much knowledge was enough. Too little leads to ineffectuality, expensive mistakes and chaotic social relations which too much outcomes in stringencies smother creativity and knowledge development leading in a counter-productiveness in changing business environment, silencing different perspective and unwanted responsibility. The body of knowledge is greatly increasing each day and it is hard to give the correct balance of info. Furthermore, Thomas et al, (2001) also stress that the context is very instrumental in KM. They argue that knowledge is leaped up with social context and human intelligence. Stating that the point of knowledge as analytic, atomistic and passive comprise of facts that can be store, disseminated and retrieved with little regard for new and diverse contexts that it can be employed is too simplistic. Usually KM is associated with getting the right info to the right individual at the appropriate time. What do we mean by “the right”? IBM has it that the personal level is not the right level of granularity, that KM should be centered at the social level. Therefore, they advocate the employ of social software to endorse KM. Davenport, et al (1997) stated that since human elements are flexible, developing structure for knowledge is desirable and the inspirational factors in developing, sharing and employing knowledge are very essential. Lichensten et al (2002) attempted to curb these problems. She observed the employ of email as KM tool. She argued that email incorporates work with practice and that its management, operation and content are highly contextualized and personalized. Therefore, it is a key example of a sustainable knowledge management tool. She discovered a six-phase approach to the generation of a sustainable knowledge management system. The five of the six phases include: attention-there is enough information; it is hard to catch workers attention:; knowledge has to be emotionally evocative, easy to digest, trustworthy and personalized. Secondly, there is integration- it must be easily incorporated with day-to-day work practices. Then there is personalization- is there anything in for me? Moreover there is, context- should be related to the context in which it was employed. Lastly, in the list, knowledge development cycle- initiation, crystallization, sharing and application. With the growing popularity of social media, individuals are becoming more inspired to share and employ knowledge in their own subjective social networks. The social media is being greatly adopted by organizations to for marketing and sales reasons. Nevertheless, organizations are slow to incorporate this technology into their companies to enhance knowledge management. This is because it is a highly unstructured and it cannot be controlled. Moreover, individuals seem to be faster to share personal knowledge than professional knowledge. Social media can aid in some of the problems above it is highly contextualized, personalized and it gains ones attention. In the next section, there is a discuss on how social media aids in knowledge management. Social media and knowledge management KM (knowledge management) in a company means a hierarchical, planned view of knowledge harmonize the hierarchical view of the company. Knowledge has diverse origins in the company; however, under knowledge management, it is gathered and channeled together in a cistern (knowledge base), where it is dispensed based on some predefined set of processes, protocol and channels (Bradly and Mc. Donald, 2011). This procedure of knowledge management traditionally has been closely associated with librarianship- the custodian of planned document repositories. SM (Social media) i.e. media that promotes social interaction (Hamburg, 2011), with many other diverse forms, including weblogs, wikis, internet forums look disorganized in comparison. There is no pre-qualified knowledge inventor, no knowledge managers and predefined index, apparently little to no structure. Social media should not do away with knowledge management but instead, should bring it to life. Therefore, it is to demand that executives, software firms will search for tools, knowledge managers, procedures and methods to toughen SM in order to workers, suppliers, clients to find info, to develop their own knowledge from their own perspective. The employ of Web 2.0 in association with the social media promotes a new whole level of interaction making it much easier to share information and collaborate (Hall and Hamburg, 2011). Web 3.0 has piloted simplification of software growth; whose applications are comparatively small, and duo to the information in the cloud, can function on any device like tablet, PC, Smartphone; this signifies easy customization ,rapidity, and well distribution (precisely by social networks). The Web is moving past Web 3.0 and 2.0, however, many companies still struggling Web 1.0 do not give the most of what Web 3.0 and 2.0 offers for Knowledge Management. It looks like social media is pressuring creators to give knowledge to the consumer in unpreserved amounts, which fastens knowledge absorption and to curb the huge amount of info. Additionally, the knowledge contextualized and personalized. Certain issues to put into consideration when connecting with the use of social management for knowledge management are (Hamburg, 2010): Social media technology gives the conduit and way for individuals to share their insight, knowledge, and encounters on their terms. It also gives a way for the consumer to evaluate and see knowledge based on other responses; purpose is the point why individuals their knowledge, ideas and encounters. They participate individually in SM. They do so because they feel like it, instead of being told to do so as part of their responsibility. For a KMS (knowledge management system) to have value, consumers must enter imminently on a regular basis. In addition, they must ensure the knowledge I always updated; it is hard to organize data in the right way, make it searchable, and then issue it so that most of the relevant reactions are of the search outcomes; public evaluation engines gain from counting the sum of links between items, however, unstructured content that is the king of citizen web and easily lead an enterprise to bankruptcy. Some of the most effectual approaches for sharing, capturing and transferring knowledge are jotted in a list. One of these refers to the community of practice (CoPs) (Wenger et al., 2002). CoPs (Community of practice) are cohorts of individuals working together with nothing much but one aim to solve open- minded questions, learning in physical and social contexts of real globe issues and employing cognitive and collaboration tools for knowledge management and learning. Some main attributes of CoPs are the following: a shared realm of interest of its members, their dedication to this realm and a shared competence; common thoughts, joint practices; common practice, associates being practitioners with diverse expertise. Community of practice is a documented research, by many academics; transferring and sharing knowledge and learning is the most relevant attributes of the concept. In CoPs, knowledge is developed when individuals participate in solving a common issue and exchange the required knowledge for the issue. Knowledge sharing makes pretty much sense in CoPs since its members have common interests in exchanging and learning encounter in their respective field of practice and this favors mutual trust. Trust is a major facilitator essential for effectual transfer of knowledge and is vital for the development of a general pool of knowledge that can also be employed for a new or innovative service or product. Thus, CoPs play an essential role in the promotion of innovation and learning in a company and can become a strong tool in producing competitive advantages for organizations. They are an option to building teams precisely in the context of novelty. The tacit knowledge gather over the years from encounters can be processed to create new services or products that can add value to organizations. Novelty also depends solely on how individuals apply knowledge to come up with remedies for old or new issues. Internet technologies expand the interactions within societies of practice beyond geographical restrictions and make feasible the construction of virtual CoPs (Hamburg, 2011). These societies free their members from constraints of space and time. In comparison to technical remedies for knowledge management, virtual community of practice can mark dynamics from administering knowledge to facilitating knowledge (Krogh et al., 2000). In the context of knowledge management, may other virtual societies are found on the internet, such as new groups and social network, for example facebook, twitter, etc. In addition, virtual community of practice can fall under social networks. In the previous years, in affiliation with social media, the needs for knowledge-oriented societies have drastically changed. For instance, communication between the society members to diminish culturally and geographical and an effective and simplified sharing of knowledge has to be facilitated. In addition, a structured knowledge base is a vital step to reuse general knowledge. The development of communities indulges more than creating technology and telling individuals to participate. It indulges a range of strategy, vision and management actions. Certain tips when employing communities and social media, to aid in knowledge management (KM), should be the following: evaluate the current circumstance, definition and vision to create an own business-or own custom- oriented KM (knowledge management) strategy for the company, plan of action that should be adaptable. Scenario of the employ of social media for KM (knowledge management) Ileana Hamburg & Emma o brie (2012) came up with a scenario of KM (knowledge management) and SM (social media), within the project. Net Knowing 2.0 aimed and targeted to enhance or improve the employ of informal learning (tacit knowledge transfer and use) and new technologies in the organizations. The scenario has been tried and tested with companies of organizations in Germany. They used social knowledge management in the procedures and processes of individual’s development or growth and further education. A structure for social learning via technology based mentoring procedure or processes has been created for initiating or introducing new staff precisely with disabilities in German organization or companies. This is based on trust and informal learning. The road map has been created or developed within the workshop for a social effectual or efficient mentoring method or approach. In order to advance or improve knowledge sharing and access to influence the gain and leverage the benefits of social media (SM) in work context, the COP - community of practice, has been created or developed, supported and endorsed by an ICT platform. The tool Tiki Wiki has been employed that support diverse social media applications. The choice to employ Tiki Wiki was taken after an evaluation of certain open source tools. The consumers of the platform can get info about the Web 2.0 and the project, knowledge management and informal learning in networks. If the employer registers on the community of practices, they can employ community services such as file gallery, discussion forums and precisely the society directory with addresses, interests and competence of social network members. Two key social learning products and services of Net Knowing 2.0 are a self-learning fundamental course centered on gains of informal learning for SMEs and learning the use of social networks and Web 2.0 to use knowledge and transfer share using collaborating activities through technology An e-learning program for advanced level was also created that centered on the execution of web 2.0 best practices of knowledge management and based informal learning in networking and mentorship in SMEs and other organization and companies (Hamburg 2011, 2013). The encounter from this project will be employed in an ongoing project called DIMENSAAI for practical social knowledge management in procedure of individual growth and further education in care and social sectors. A social platform has been created to endorse social learning, KM and mentoring. Case study In this section am going to highlight on Daimler AG an international company of German origin. An automotive company also manufactures vehicles and financial services via its Daimler Financial Services arm. Daimler brands include Serta, Mercedes-Benz and Smart that I do believe are luxury brands. Luxury mangers usually do view social media as dangerous or maybe something not very useful just as Daimler AG. Initially, the reaction seems relevant: luxury produces value by developing distance between a brand and its client. This distance is essential to the dream affiliated with a brands key value. It is created via the form of scarcity being in remote areas or even exclusivity in retail. According to me this, too traditional and it is high time Daimler AG is welcomed to the world of technology. Nevertheless, luxury brands that opt not to embrace SM make a big mistake since they miss a great chance to learn about their clients. Moreover, they simply stand a risk of disappearing. Brands can get their names tarnished from press from scandals, reinforcing the essence for online strategies. As we have seen above, SM (Social media) i.e. media that promotes social interaction (Hamburg, 2011), with many other diverse forms, including weblogs, wikis, internet forums look disorganized in comparison. There are no pre-qualified knowledge inventor, no knowledge managers and predefined index, apparently little to no structure. Daimler AG took some initiative some years back of appointing a Manager for Corporate Blogging & Social Media Strategy- Uwe Knaus. However, the effectiveness is still an issue. Here are some recommendations that the company needs to put in practice for better performance in SM; for one, it should open its heart and not mistake losing their distance with their clients with making their core values accessible. Burberry has done a good job when it comes to this. It made content that strengthened the story around the brand. It has opened its heart by opting to share online via Instagram and YouTube its fashion exposes. This gives millions of clients a chance to participate on of the important events via which the brand is strengthened. Secondly, the company should think of the SM as a springboard for their brand values. Depend on various talents that are already on the internet to reinterpret their brand values and aid them connect with diverse communities and groups. Such initiative should indulge everyone from prominent bloggers to online artists. For example, MAC Cosmetics introduced a twitter community of artist to promote the sharing of the behind-the-scenes about its brand. Lastly, manage and recreate their status online. Luxury brands are known for status symbols. To prevent dilution of one’s status, it vital not to sell off online brand existence with being exclusive. The solution is to create special client-only online communities. This is what BMW Mini Space did by making invitation- only community online platforms, with the aim of sharing additional information of the brand encounter with their customers. Daimler AG should adopt all these for the company to thrive even better. Conclusion Social media (SM) will be a boon for (KM) knowledge management in the companies that should mean that most of the gains the researchers encountered in client web space will become the fundamental feature of business remedies but it is likely that SM-driven KM will need much less of the administration component. 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