Improving Organizational Performance at Kingdom Holding Company through Effective Knowledge Management - Example

TABLE OF CONTENT Content Page Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Objectives 6 Knowledge management 8 Analysis of Importance of effective knowledge management to Kingdom Holding Company 10 Information technology implementation at Kingdom Holding Company and effective knowledge management to improve performance 11 Knowledge management strategies to improve performance 12 Knowledge management Engines for decision support 13 Artificial Neural networks implementation for effective knowledge management to improve decision making. 13 Collaboration and communication systems for knowledge management 15 Knowledge management collaboration implementation changes to infrastructure 17 Benefits of the knowledge management collaboration system 18 Probable mandatory content submission 20 Implementation Schedule 20 Evaluation 21 Conclusion 21 References 22 IMPROVING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AT KINGDOM HOLDING COMPANY THROUGH EFFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Abstract Knowledge management has been a challenging issue with paradoxical responses by different authors and researchers, whereas some authors have argued that knowledge management is argumentative and non existent fad, others have argued on the contrary and maintained that knowledge management is of critical importance to organizations. The purpose of the Knowledge Management Plan is to offer a recommendation on improving organizational performance at Kingdom Holding Company, and appraise the role on knowledge management in attaining the strategic objectives of the organization. The undertaking of business process redesign (BPR) is for the benefit of achieving improvements which are in order-of-magnitude over other outdated form of organization. There are developments which have been made by the academicians and the practitioners in the business and technology world which are aimed and overhauling the structuring of the forms of the current focus of concern. In offering the recommendation, the knowledge management plan shall be founded on the framework presented by Leon, (2007) who argued that more than sixty six percent of business process redesign efforts have failed. The authors argue that Knowledge management is also likely to suffer from tunnel vision by being offered as a utopian ideal and similar consequence, since several of these developments have not been successful yet. The plan evaluates the importance of Knowledge Management as a tool and technique that can be used to improve organizational performance at Kingdom Holding Company by supporting the process of overhauling the design of a business by getting all the information which is needed but are hidden in large volumes of data stored and maintained by the company through the various models of data mining, Fowler, & Worthen, (2009). There have been great adaptations towards the use of knowledge which are stored in the statistics and the knowledge base systems. It is because of this that organization are using data mining and other tools to manage the data for optimal use of it. The use of Information Technology driven systems has been incrementally gaining popularity where organizations adopt Information Communication Technology to derive solutions to organizational challenges. Knowledge based systems, and by extension expert systems, have played a critical important role in the computerization of the industrial processes in existence today. Introduction Kingdom Holding Company (“KHC”) is among the leading global investment companies with holdings and diverse interests in some global renowned companies and brands; the company was founded and is headed by HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Kingdom Holding Company is based in Saudi Arabia. Kingdom Holding Company is a diversified private investment company boasting of holdings in a huge number of Middle Eastern, Saudi Arabian and International companies. With great investment in hotel industry, the company also has interests in Banking & Financial Services, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, computers and electronics, Real estate, Hotel Management Companies, Consumer & Healthcare, broadcasting and media, , tourism, travel and automotive manufacturing, restaurants, entertainment, upscale fashion, hospitality, agriculture, retailing, supermarkets. Kingdom Holding Company has a simple vision of investing in the best by using diversified strategies, through its private equity ventures and investments in local businesses Kingdom Holding Company supports development in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region. The company has local and regional investments ventures in numerous organizations companies, including EBay Inc., The Walt Disney Company, Apple Inc., The Savoy Hotel, Hewlett-Packard Samba, Songbird Estates plc, Time Warner Inc., Citigroup, Pepsi, The Plaza Hotel, Citigroup Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Four Seasons Hotels Inc., George V Hotel, among other companies. To achieve diversified investment portfolio, Kingdom Holding Company has implemented selective investment focus such as selecting individual investments, the focus has been on optimally timing entry into each specific investment, investing in diverse geographical locations to benefit from growing global investment climate, proper and effective identification of high quality assets and management while focussing on important growth and value added industry sectors. Kingdom Holding Company also strategies on extorting value from undervalued or underperforming assets, adopting long-term investment approach and investing in high performance companies with leading brands. To improve the organizations performance and gain strategic competitive advantage at present and in future, Kingdom Holding Company has to consider diverse investment considerations, which are relevant considering it’s dissimilar and sundry investment portfolio which spans different geographical locations, as well as investing in different countries. To improve organizations performance, Kingdom Holding Company has to pursue effective knowledge management. Objectives The knowledge management plan is intentioned to aid the management and the administration in decision making in fostering a plan on how to assist employees and staff at the Kingdom Holding Company with the implementation of technology into their operations in order to improve the organizations performance. While Kingdom Holding Company is improving its investment portfolio and becoming a global centred company, the companies activities are becoming more technology focused, therefore there is need to ensure that the company is abreast with the current technology trends. The knowledge management plan apart from resulting to improved performance in the company has several other ascribed benefits such as enhanced competitive advantage, improving innovation, continuous organizational improvement, sharing of skills and experiences as well as organizational integration. To achieve the above aims, there are important specific objectives of the knowledge management plan to achieve improved performance at Kingdom Holding Company, these include:- To promote and enhance open and seamless sharing of new knowledge obtained from the plan by the different strata of employees and personnel at Kingdom Holding Company , the employees should be able to effectively collaborate and communicate, so that the company can achieve improved performance through effective and well informed decision making, by the executive and other employees. To recognize and appreciate the amount of knowledge and skills available to the company, which can be exploited to improve the performance of the individuals hence resulting to the improved performance of the entire company. To create a knowledge management strategic plan that shall be used as a blue print and a resource for reference in human resource decision making and management, and in the realisation and achievement of the company’s vision and mission. To create, nurture and promote an atmosphere where all the staff in the company are respected and valued for their knowledge. While considering that the means to effective knowledge management is to capture intellectual resources to utilize it to achieve substantial benefits for the organization, knowledge management engages organizational strategic dedication to enhancing the organization’s effectiveness, progressing opportunity enhancement and attaining competitive advantage. The primary objective of knowledge management as a process is therefore to enhance Kingdom Holding Company’s ability to execute the company’s core processes more efficiently. The plan therefore is intentioned to aid in utilization of knowledge to offer strategic competitive advantage for the company while transforming knowledge in processes and operations value addition as well as accelerating growth and innovation, in essence therefore knowledge management is aimed at constantly improving the company’s performance through the sharing and improvement of company knowledge throughout the Kingdom Holding Company. Knowledge management Knowledge Management (KM) encompasses several strategies, activities and practices utilised by an organization to recognize, generate, represent, dispense, and facilitate adoption of insights and experiences. Knowledge management has been touted as solution to integration of Information Systems Strategies and Business Strategies, in information based organizations such as Kingdom Holdings Company where having the right information at the right time is the key to effective and profitable investment, Greer, (2002), however, the critical importance of knowledge management has been put to question by some researches such as Wilson, (2000), who have argued against existence of such possibilities, maintaining that knowledge is an intrinsic conception, within the human mind and primarily cannot be managed. For the organizations which believe on knowledge management however, knowledge management is of critical importance in the maintenance of mission and the vision of the organization, furthermore such organizations use knowledge management to effectively manage their decision making. The dividend of knowledge utilization to Kingdom Holding Company is leveraging an edge over their competitors because they get that interaction and connection with the environment. Knowledge management to be effective demands conditions such as developing a good rapport between the stakeholders of the organization, the organization effectively building and transferring knowledge within the organization and the employees contributing to stoking the knowledge base of the organization. Knowledge management, which is arguably the descendant of the process of overhauling the structure of the organization design, is what is popularly known as business re-engineering, business process design, and business redesign. Business process redesign can therefore be defined as fundamental radical redesign and rethinking of the whole business, which includes the organization’s policies and procedures, mission, vision, values and beliefs, management systems, organizational structure and jobs. The objective of the knowledge management to Kingdom Holding Company and the redesign process shall be done so as to improve performance in the company. There are several knowledge management planning methodologies which are being developed by the academicians and business practitioners. These methodologies have not been without shortcomings which are attributed to the fact that most of these methodologies generally lack actual guidance on deriving a process design thereby threatening the success of a business process design. In consideration of the operating environment, diversified investment portfolio, mission, vision and the history Kingdom Holding Company , the plan recommends that the company has to adopt diverse knowledge management strategies, stratagems and policies to improve organizations performance, these recommendations include probable mandatory content submission, reward based performance measurement plans, personalization Knowledge management approach, shared knowledge repository database, cross-project learning, knowledge mapping, social software and collaborative technologies, expert directories, knowledge fairs, best practice transfer, knowledge brokers, master-apprentice relationship and competence management. Analysis of Importance of effective knowledge management to Kingdom Holding Company The importance of Knowledge management to Kingdom Holding Company, can be construed from the four distinct activities that make up knowledge management as argued by Steve (2001), these activities are namely Information Capturing, where the company shall strive to ensure that vital information is not personalized but rather kept within the organization such that when an individual employee leaves the organization, the organization is not at an instant benefit of vital information, Drucker, (1969). The other importance of knowledge management to Kingdom Holding Company is generating ideas as presented by Dodani, (2009). In this case, employees are encouraged to initiate novelty ideas by use of idea boxes, and be accordingly rewarded when the innovative ideas assist the organization to attain strategic advantage or minimize expenditures for the company. Knowledge management is also crucial in the storage and keeping of information, where organization implements data warehouses which are structured to ensure that information can be accessed by the right personalities in the organization as and when needed, hence catapulting the organization to attaining strategic advantage, by enhanced and faster decision making. Moreover, knowledge management is important in the distribution and dissemination of information, where organization encourages the dissemination of relevant information which can aide in the progression of the organization to concerned parties, while discouraging hoarding of information from persons who can assist the organization attain strategic objectives. Information technology implementation at Kingdom Holding Company and effective knowledge management to improve performance To effectively manage knowledge at Kingdom Holding Company, in order to realise improved performance, there is need to advance Information Communication Technology infrastructure at the company. There has been a lot of intersection between these two specialties Information Technology and Knowledge management, information technology can be viewed as an enhancer or inhibitor of knowledge management depending on the prevailing conditions, since while both are requisite for the success of information based organization such as Kingdom Holding Company , they address different issues in an organization. For appropriate knowledge management, the requisite information technology conditions are the recognition of knowledge management as an important component in the functionality of the organization, and integrating knowledge management in information technology systems. For effective capturing of information, the information technology infrastructure should be suited for multiple means and methodologies of capturing information, without being constrained by technology platforms, where knowledge can be captured from any quarters of the organization. Moreover, an important condition is Storing information where it is required that the Information Technology systems for information storage should be efficient and foster retrieval of information, suitable for a given situation and circumstance, while storing information in without duplications, as well as having information stored synchronized and necessary for the performance of the organization, such as having efficient data mining systems. In terms of distributing information, effective knowledge management demand networked and accessible information technology environment in order to effectively manage knowledge, as argued by Drucker, (1969) and supported by Lave & Wenger, (1991). Knowledge management strategies to improve performance There are several strategies which can be adopted by the company so as to mange existing and acquired knowledge, resulting to improved performance. According to Davenport et al. (1998) there exists diverse strategies for attaining improved performance through knowledge management; this includes recognition and management of knowledge as an asset, creation of knowledge repository, enhancement of the knowledge environment and improving knowledge assets Knowledge management Engines for decision support Kingdom Holdings Company management has to variously make critical decisions on when to invest, what type of portfolios to invest on and the company to invest on, these demands a knowledge management engine as an imperative strategy to improve performance. The company can adopt knowledge engine architecture consisting of a software platform that offers “what-if” simulation, analysis of complex situations and decisions as well as interactive modeling. The company can then adopt knowledge management through data mining techniques of artificial neural networks (ANN) and decision tree analysis; this shall improve the efficiency and accuracy in decision making capabilities of the company hence resulting to improved organizational performance. Artificial Neural networks implementation for effective knowledge management to improve decision making. Artificial Neural networks has developed and matured over the years to offer various solutions to the industry. Intelligent systems have played a role in society especially from the strategic investments point of view where artificial intelligence has offered solutions to interrogatives that linear system that can hardly solve. Kingdom Holdings Company can implement a neural network, which is a parallel system that can resolve more problems that cannot be resolved by linear computing, this development is among the newest signal-processing technologies. By definition, an artificial neural network is a system founded on principles of the operation of biological neural networks; the systems emulate biological neural system to offer several benefits such as continuing in operations even if an element of the artificial neural network has failed, this is due to the fact that the networks are parallel in nature. A neural network has the capacity to do tasks which linear program cannot; in addition to the benefit that neural network has the capacity to learn and does not need to be reprogrammed. Other benefit of Artificial Neural Network is that it less problematic during implementation and it can be implemented in any application. The company can utilize Artificial Neural networks in deriving the most viable investments decisions considering a wide domain of available knowledge, hence enhancing the Kingdom Holding Company’s performance. Decision tree analysis is an analytical implementation that determines the best decision, given two alternatives, Alvesson, (2000). This assists in calculating the value of the decision and determining which decision costs the least. The benefits of decision tree analysis include the fact that it can be combined with other decision techniques, Decision tree analysis offers a graphical representation of decision making, which can aid other decision techniques. Decision tree analysis outputs are also simple to understand and interpret; user can understand decision tree models without learning extreme complexities of decision support methodologies, furthermore, decision trees have the benefit of providing value even with little hard data, where significant insights can be generated based on experts description of a situation. Furthermore Decision tree analysis uses white box model where the results offered by the model can be explained by mathematical replication as argued by Athanasiou and Ara, (2010). Decision tree analyses shall be applied in Kingdom Holding Company to make cost effective and strategic decisions, resulting to reduction in expenditures hence improving the company’s performance. Collaboration and communication systems for knowledge management Kingdom Holdings Company can adopt open source based collaboration functionality such as Bricolage which is a Content management system, EtherPad which is a Collaborative drafting with chat, Wiggio system which is focused on simplicity - group communication and content management toolkit, phpGroupWare which includes a project collaboration module and Plone which is a powerful, flexible Content Management that is Enterprise and web 2.0 tools for effective communication and exchange of knowledge between its staff regardless of their geographical location. Group support system is a collection of computer based information system, which is utilized to aid organizational knowledge management and decision-making activities, where groups are involved. Group Support System shall have several applications in Kingdom Holdings Company, and how the specific GSS systems work may vary, in general, group support systems works by facilitating and managing communication between different parties, these systems includes Computer Supported Cooperative Work, groupware and collaborative systems, this offers features such as web conferencing, scheduling and activity allocation. Some systems have decision support capabilities where they work by collecting data from diverse sources, such as the internet and past records of the organization, which are stored in databases, the system then analyses the data collected and makes the best possible decision, or propose strategies. In the strategy, the current legacy systems being used by the firm shall be gradually replaced with collaborative communication system. The implementation of the collaborative communication system has several impacts in the organization, in terms of improvement of the company’s performance, the impacts range from implementation process, impacts to the departments, stakeholder impacts total impacts to the entire organization, employment impacts, impact on information access, impacts on the individual employee and impacts and financial impacts. As regards to impacts during implementation, the collaborative e-business system, shall require the company’s management and decision makers to arrive on to an agreement on which e-collaboration system to implements, for example whether the system should be open source based, or whether it shall be implemented, by use of proprietary software. The knowledge management collaboration system results to restructuring of the organization to utilize the new implemented communication structure. The system also impacts on the departments and branches in the organization. Since the knowledge management collaboration strategy implementation shall encourage communication between the different aspects of the organization, challenges and difficulties encountered in the different departments and branches in the organizations shall be availed within a click of a button to all concerned parties, hence improving the departmental performances hence improving the total organizations output. The system also has impacts on the stakeholders, this includes the business owners, the customers, the collaborating firms and the employees, since information access shall be fostered and improved and knowledge can be effectively shared out between the concerned parties, and this shall in the end affect the relationship between all the stakeholders. Whereas the systems have high initial set up costs, the system in the long run shall effectively lower the running costs in terms of communication. On employment and employees, the system shall provide opportunities for persons conversant with the technology to be employed, will improving the technical understanding of the new technology to other employees in the firm. The knowledge management system shall also alter the employment dynamics in the company, as more open source experts shall have to be hired, in order to achieve the success in the development and deployment of the collaborative system. This shall also affect the Kingdom Holding Company’s employees work patterns and responsibility since, their work delivery and communication shall be web based. The members shall also have diverse information in their finger tips, hence enabling them to make informed decisions. Knowledge management collaboration implementation changes to infrastructure Implementation of the collaborative knowledge management is envisioned offering a complete alteration to the Kingdom Holding Company’s total infrastructure in areas such as application infrastructure. This shall require an overhaul of the operating environment in order to suit the new collaborative system, such as alteration of the physical environment like cabling, altering the office structure to suit the new system and the furniture in the working environment. The knowledge management infrastructure in concerned with effects on the way the company organizes, manages, retrieves and utilizes the available knowledge. For example, the collaborative system shall enable the organization to outsource non core functions and commodity services, therefore the infrastructure shall be altered to accept communication with several parties. Benefits of the knowledge management collaboration system Kingdom Holdings Company stands to derive several benefits from implementing knowledge management collaboration system. Workflows can be streamlined, this is because there shall be a centralized common system for communication in the entire organization, the collaboration system involves all the company’s’ members exchanging knowledge while communicating their needs and activities, and this shall help to ensure that there is a coordinated information flow, hence synchronizing the operations of the organizations. This can be measured by the quality of information it the organization which must be accurate, Accuracy is concerned with data being sufficiently correct for the intended use and should be captured only once at the point of activity, even if there exists several uses. Data validity is imperative, where recording and use of data should comply with relevant requirements easy to comprehend by all the concerned parties, and the information should be supported by evidence to avoid repudiation, Nonaka, & Takeuchi, (1995). Redundant data entry shall be eliminated, the implementation of the system, shall ensure that validation procedures are used so that data is data shall only be entered once from any office or branch, this eliminates the existence of data redundancies , existence on non duplicated and uniform information in all the branches and departments shall be used to gauge the effectiveness of the benefit, this is in addition to the fact that Information can be shared quickly and easily between departments and geographically disperse offices. In addition the online collaboration for knowledge management shall ensure that investment projects implemented by the Kingdom Holding Company can stall be effectively be implemented even if the organization has different branches located in distant locations, this is ensured by the fact that persons can effectively communicate and exchange knowledge, Evangelou, & Karacapilidis, (2005). Moreover, the collaborative knowledge management it helps to save on the available office space, since the firm members can hold online meetings and knowledge transfer rather than in a physical location. The system shall also enable the company to get up to date market information and utilize the information to gain competitive advantage, which can be measured by how effectively the organization utilizes the available information to beat market competition. Timeliness and reliability of the data is the main measurement metric. Probable mandatory content submission The company has diversified in different sectors and in different countries, getting appropriate knowledge from all the sectors may be a challenge, therefore the company can opt to implement mandatory content submission, where the staffs working in the organizations where Kingdom Holdings Company has the controlling stake is bound to regularly submit knowledge content to the company. The company can implement policies and procedures to ensure that the content submission is adhered to. Implementation Schedule Company Kingdom Holding Company Current Date 22/10/2010 Title Knowledge Management Plan Project Start 22/10/2010 08:00:00 Project Finish 10/03/2011 17:00:00 Evaluation The success of the knowledge management plan depends on effective evaluation throughout the entire process. It is important for the management to communicate with the stakeholders such as employees by having effective blogs and discussion boards to assess the suitability and the implementation of the knowledge management plan. While appreciating that every plan has challenges, the plan shall be continuously modified to suit the changing needs and the responses shall be used to improve the plan. Conclusion Kingdom Holding Company being among the global enigma with a wide and diversified investment portfolio requires the knowledge management plan to improve its performance while gaining or maintaining strategic competitive advantage by ensuring that knowledge in its domain is effectively captured and used for tangible benefit of the company. The plan shall be implemented in phases, while evaluation shall continuously be carried throughout implementation, so as to make any necessary changes. The plan results to the improvement of the organizations performance through the implementation of the aforementioned strategies which shall ensure that the company utilises any knowledge availed to it to improve its position. Read More