Key Aspects of Knowledge Management of Ximmoz Corp - Case Study Example

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT By Location Knowledge Management of organisation Ximmoz Corp is an organisation that deals with the development of software. They do not have any kind of specialty because they deal in the development of various types of software. Ximmoz Corp operates under a limited corporate hierarchy. The company also has an egalitarian culture. The company only has three levels with 34 people reporting directly to the CEO. As the company grows, it creates new divisions instead of increasing their layers of management. As a result of such practices, the organisation has developed a simple and a flat structure. The organisation has a fluid structure, thus enabling the employees to change roles whenever necessary. Managers of the divisions are directly involved with the day to day activities of the team members. At XimmozCorpemployees have a high level of autonomy. The organisation encourages their developers to pursue innovation by giving the freedom of being experimental. The inputs that are given to the organisation guide their promotion and software development practices. Any suggestion given by their customers on possible improvement of products is usually taken with absolute seriousness. Employees are encouraged to involve themselves in voluntary activities, with the company always giving support in the manner they can. The company has a total of 47 employees. The company has four main departments, including: public relation/marketing, human resource, software design, and software development. Every department is headed by a manager who reports to the CEO. The board of directors consist of the four managers and the CEO. The goal of the company is being able to provide the best possible software product in the market. The company spends a majority of their revenue in research and development. They strategize at being able to offer the best services by making sure that they employ the best employees available in the market. In order to keep their best employees they make sure that employee satisfaction is high through proper compensation, benefits and developing a conducive working environment. As a result, the company has been able to produce highly rated software products, thus giving them the freedom for charging high for their products. Most of their customers prefer them over their competitors because they have the assurance of professionalism and quality. Description of knowledge management strategy Knowledge management is of high essence in software development because it enables knowledge sharing among staff members in a software development company. As for the case ofXimmoz Corp it is clearly evident that personalization strategy will be the most effective (Lee & Choi 2003, p. 216). Personalization strategy focuses on the employees that an organisation has and their direct communication to each other. Given the fact that Ximmoz Corp’s organisation structure is flat, this will be the most appropriate knowledge management strategy for the organisation (Darroch 2005, p. 109). As a result of this knowledge management strategy the company will be able to help their employees building social connection, which will be influential in the process of localization of desired knowledge whenever needed (Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez &Sabherwal 2004, p. 187). Personalized knowledge management strategy is effective for a business organisation that is aiming at supporting creativity and individual approach to a specific task (Liaw, Hatala & Huang 2010, p. 448). This is particularly very true in the case of Ximmoz Corp because creativity and innovation are the centre of their culture. Furthermore, being that Ximmoz Corp deals with software development it should be noted that the specification of requirements of different customers is always different. This means that for each software product that the company is to develop, there is always different information used because of the fact that there is a need for differentiation of the product. Information used for a particular product might not necessarily be important for the next project. As a result of this strategy, a company can be able to face different and specific problems (Grant 2012, p. 199). This is a way through which Ximmoz Corp can be able to give specialized solution to each software product that they develop instead of sticking to the same approach for every project (Mathiassen & Pourkomeylian 2003, p. 77). This kind of strategy enables connection of employees in organisation. Given the fact that the culture of Ximmoz Corp is an open one, this kind of knowledge management strategy can be easily supported by the organisation. For the sake of enhancing competitiveness and quality of products that are produced that are produced by Ximmoz Corp it is important for every project to be perceived as a completely different task (Srikantaiah & Koenig 2008, p. 217). In the software development industry every product is usually developed to serve certain purposes. A software developer has to have it in mind that despite the fact that two software products might be serving the same purpose, the difference in their environments of implementations might lead to many differences in the manner in which they are developed (Mcinerney & Koenig 2011, p. 156). The specification of one customer might not be the specification given by another customer. This is a simple implication that the company will not be able to use the information that they used in a previous product. This is a fact that makes it clear that this is a kind of business structure that cannot be appropriate for a codificationknowledge management strategy. Much of the information that is kept in the database in acodificationknowledge management strategy will prove to be irrelevant the next time the business organisation is working on a new project (Jennex 2008, p. 178). This will mean that the resources that are used in the development of such a system will be in vein. The other reason as to why the personalized knowledge management strategy is the most suitable for Ximmoz Corp is that Ximmoz Corp is an organisation that encourages teamwork in approach to every project. When developers come together, their main aim is to see what is most appropriate for the project in accordance to the specification of their customers. Their skills and experiences are of high importance in this process. Bringing them together is a way through which the company can manage to bring together their knowledge with regard to the particular project. This is an implication that even if the company will opt for a codificationknowledge management strategy, they will still need to bring the developers together so that they will be able to discussed the saved data in relation to the situation and specifications made by a customer (Maier 2004, p. 201). This is a simple implication that a company such as Ximmoz Corp cannot be able to completely depend of a codificationknowledge management strategy. This kind of strategy is only applicable in a scenario where direct application of stored knowledge can be possible. Looking at the nature of software development, it should be noted that most of the customers in this industry are always organisations. However, the systems and software products that usually have to be produced differ in nature because of factors such as organisational culture, organisational goals, industry in which the organisations operates, size of organisation, capital investments in the system, and the frequency in which some factors such as demand and supply change in that industry. Every time a customer comes to Ximmozfor a software product or system, the company usually has to conduct a research regarding their customers and the system that they have to develop. This is in no way wastage of time. Some people might argue that there is no need of carrying out a research every time a customer’s requests for a product while a company can be able to carry out the researches in advance and store the information as they wait for the customers to come and make their orders. The argument in this case is that advance research and storage makes the development process quicker and more affordable. However, what such people might have forgotten is the fact that there are many dimensions of differences in the information that are required for the development of software products (Jennex 2010, p. 142). This implies that even if these dimensions are all researched on there will be no way that even a quarter of the information that is collected will ever be put into actual use. Furthermore, considering all the dimensions will even be more costly than carrying out researches for specific customers. Furthermore, there are a number of factors that change in the business environment. This means that a factor that is applicable today might make the information null tomorrow because of the manner in which they always change. Description of the knowledge management system proposed In order for the Ximmoz Corp to effectively implement the knowledge management strategy that they already have, they will have to come up with the appropriate knowledge management system. The most appropriate type of knowledge management system for Ximmoz Corp is Groupware System. This is a kind of system uses technologies that helps members of an organisation in collaboration. In order for this to take place, these systems usually have a wide range of applications. The category of applications and tools that are required for this kind of system are: communication tools, conferencing tools, and collaboration management tools (Bhatt, Gupta & Kitchens 2005, p. 33). The communication tools will be important in sending of messages and files. These tools include emails, wikis, web publishing, file sharing, and many others. Concerning tools include tools such as forums, chat, video/audio conferencing and others. Collaborative tools are important in the management of group activities. These tools include workflow systems, project management systems, information management systems and many others. Groupware systems are always very effective if they are properly implemented. This is because of the fact that they have the ability to facilitate explicit sharing of knowledge. Despite the fact that they encourage sharing of knowledge they can also facilitate knowledge creation (Maier 2007, p. 122). In the recent past, it Web 2.0 platforms have widely been used I enhancing communication. The Web 2.0 tools that are commonly used include wikis, blogs, shared workspaces, bookmarking, polling, and microblogging (Maier 2004, p. 202). Some of the web 2.0 tools have been used in organisation setting and have been of high influence to groupware systems of knowledge management. There are a number of roles that are always fulfilled by groupware systems. For instance, it should be noted that these systems can enhance communication and group memory. This is proved by the fact that these systems not only make it easier for communication to take place in the organisation, but also makes it possible for communication details to be recorded. This implies that groupware systems can enable an organisation to seek certain details such as source of information. Given the fact that this kind of knowledge management system does not rely on databases, being able to know the source might be effective in seeking for clarification. Even when people in a given organisation are collaborating towards a certain goal, an employee in the organisation can be able to access more information about the other collaborators under this system (Edwards, Shaw & Collier 2005, p. 119). Groupware systems have been discovered to be effective in workflow pacesetting. Groupware systems can be able to manage pace of communication during collaborative problem solving thus making sure that everything goes on in accordance to schedule. This is a way through which groupware systems prevent disruptions during problem solving processes (Raman, Ryan & Olfman 2005, p. 311). Groupware systems also reduce the probability of there being conflicts during collaboration processes by making sure that the conflicts are identified early enough and dealt with. Structured conversational interaction makes it easier for facilitation of conversations with the aim of bringing out conflicts to take place. How the KM tools in your Groupware systems support Ximmoz Corp KM processes As seen in the description of the operations at Ximmoz Corp, it can be deduced that the tools of the groupware knowledge management system can be of much benefit to Ximmoz Corp. Communication tools such as emails, wikis, web publishing, and file sharing can be important in communication of information among developers during software development process. It should be noted that Ximmoz Corp highly depends on the cooperation among their employees for the results that they get. However, the employees are of different departments which are supposed to serve different purposes. For instance, the research department is able to have the information on the best ways through which a company can be able to satisfy the wants of their customers with regard to the emerging trends in the market (Wei, Hu & Chen 2002, p. 57). Even people in the same department can be able to make different contributions in terms of the knowledge that they have regarding the project that their organisation is handling at a particular time. Concerning tools such as forums, chat, and video/audio conferencing can enable staff members at Ximmoz Corp to have real-time discussions regarding a project that they are handling. One thing that should be known about software development is that it usually takes the involvement of multiple perspectives for them to be perfect. These tools will be effective in making sure that members of the staff can effectively contribute the knowledge that they have in real time. The tools mentioned herein can be able the members of staff in the organisation to bring together all the knowledge that they have in the process of developing software products (Boughzala & Dudezert 2012, p. 217). This is an implication that the company will be able to use the knowledge in real time without having to separate the knowledge from the employees. The knowledge will also not need any kind of storage because the tools that have been mentioned herein can facilitate their acquisition in real time. This will also make it easier because the information is updated at the individual level. As the employees continue having experience in their careers they come across information that might be of the essence to their career. This way, the organisation can be sure that the information that they use in their production process are of the latest state. Collaborative tools such as workflow systems, project management systems, and information management systems can be of much help in the organisation in the management of group activities. Software development processes usually involve people working as a team (Damodaran & Olphert 2000, p. 409). As much as every member of the organisation has their own tasks to undertake, it is important for there to be a way through which all the tasks in an organisation can be harmonized to make sure that the outcome is a synchronized presentation of all the tasks that were involved in the project. Workflow systems are able to guide employees in an organisation on the steps that should be taken in the accomplishment of a task thus enabling synchrony (Al-Shammari 2009, p. 190). Project management systems also enable an organisation to manage every aspect of the project with the aim of making sure that every aspect is undermined. Information management system brings together all the information that was deemed to be useful for the process of software development. Knowledge management strategy and system relation to business strategy Both the knowledge management strategy and system discussed herein will be a good fit for Ximmoz Corp. The company is divided into divisions with each division being charged with certain responsibilities. However, a little knowledge of the software development industry will reveal that this is an industry that highly relies on the ability of an organisation to bring employees together with the best skills so that they can be able to produce high quality products. Looking at the structure and strategy used by Ximmoz Corp someone can simply come to the conclusion that their main emphasis are on the quality of products that they produce and not on the prices of their products (Ali Babar 2009, p. 209). The assumption in this case is that with high quality products, the company will be able to convince their customers to pay more. With such a strategy it can be said that the business will be determined to use acknowledge management strategy and system that will give them an assurance of quality even if they will have to pay a little bit more for the same. This is the reason as to why the personalized knowledge management strategy and groupware knowledge management system is just what the company needs. Another reason as to why the chosen strategy and system will be prefect for knowledge management at Ximmoz Corp is due to the fact that the company encourages creativity and innovation. The company does not encourage their employees on relying on the already existing designs, but building every project from basically nothing. This is a kind of organisational culture that might not need a knowledge management system and strategy that encourages retrieval of information from previous projects. At Ximmoz Corp every project is treated as a unique entity without any relation being made in previous projects (Chilton & Bloodgood 2014, p. 211). This is a culture that can enable the company to create systems and software products that serve the same purpose without making it look obvious that the two products were created by the same company. This brings an added competitive advantage to the organisation because all the customers in this industry always want products that are uniquely for them that match their preferences and environments of implementation (Gunnlaugsdottir 2003, p. 372). Another thing that makes the choices made on the knowledge management strategy and system worthwhile is the fact that Ximmoz Corp has the culture of always putting the preferences and descriptions given to them by their customers first. Furthermore, the company also takes any information that they get from their customer service activities very seriously. This is a simple implication that the information that they use in the development of their products are always different. Ximmoz Corp has highly invested in customer service, making it obvious that they get many suggestions on their products every day. These suggestions can only be of practical importance if the organisation has a knowledge management system that is flexible enough to take these recommendations into consideration (Rollett 2003, p. 222). The effects of new and emerging trends in KM There are a number of emerging trends in the knowledge management field that might be of influence in the manner in which. One of emerging trends in the use of artificial intelligence in decision making processes. Most of these software products dictate that business organisations have a database with information that the system can use in making decisions (Awad & Ghaziri 2007, p. 123). As seen herein, the kind of knowledge management system and strategy that is most appropriate for this organisation does not encourage business organisations to have such because of their reliance on collection of information in real time through discussion that are held in accordance to the situation at hand (Pauline 2007, p. 167). However, there are some of these systems that might allow entry of the decision related information in real time, so that such technologies can be used in decision making for companies such as Ximmoz Corp. The important thing about artificial intelligent related technologies is that they enable business organisations to make more accurate decisions (King 2009, p. 212). 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