Definitions of Knowledge Management - Assignment Example

Knowledge Management (Insert Name) (Institution Affiliation) 1. What is knowledge management? In the current market scenario that is characterized by intense competition, organizations must know what they know and be able to use their knowledge base as leverage in gaining a competitive advantage. In this era of knowledge, individuals, organizations and other institutions can create a sustainable competitive advantage through adoption of appropriate and effective knowledge management processes (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). The institutions that can effectively leverage the emerging technologies to exploit the available pool of data will realize the ultimate benefits by establishing a competitive advantage that will allow it prevail in the dynamic market place. The competitive advantage could be realized in various forms such as identifying trends, hidden relationships and unusual patterns. The emphasis of knowledge management thus arises out of the great need for organizations to effectively manage resources in the current global hyper- competitive economy. a) There are many definitions of knowledge management. This paper evaluates four of them: According to Davenport and Prusak, knowledge management draws from existing resources that the organization may already have in place including organizational change management, good information systems management and the human resources management practices (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). This definition assumes that knowledge is objective or external to the mind and present at the organization level. Indeed, knowledge management is passed on the basic idea that the most valuable resource of an organization is the knowledge of its people. This definition is more relevant in a practical setting. Every organization needs an effective information system that contains all the information regarding to its operations so that in case of change in management, the new individuals will easily cope up with their duties. This definition is more applicable to organizations that have adopted lean production culture. In my opinion, the most useful aspect of the definition is the information system management. This is because properly managed information will be a source of knowledge to the new comers who are joining the organization as well as ensure that every process is well documented. The second definition was brought forward by Nonaka and Takeuchi. According to them, knowledge management is the capability of an organization to create new knowledge, disseminate the knowledge throughout the entire organization and embody it in services, products and all the systems (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 58). This definition is more theoretical than practical since it personalizes knowledge and fails to take into account the fact that knowledge is messy. Knowledge is usually connected to everything else and available within the organization. It resides in the people and one cannot isolate the aspect of knowledge neatly. However, this definition appreciates that knowledge is self-organizing and all the organization needs to worry about is acquisition, dissemination and incorporation of new knowledge to its system. The most important aspect of this definition is creation of new knowledge. This is because new knowledge will help an organization in establishing and retaining a competitive advantage. According to Wiig, knowledge refers to the insights, understanding and practical know- how that is possessed by everyone; in other words, it is the fundamental resource that allows us to function intelligently. He further suggest that, over time, considerable knowledge is also transformed to other manifestations such as books, technology, practices, and traditions within organizations of all kinds and in society in general. These transformations result in cumulated expertise and, when used appropriately, increased effectiveness (Wiig, 1993). This definition personalizes knowledge by suggesting that everybody is a personal store of knowledge which is gained through experience, training and informal networks of colleagues and friends whom we seek whenever we want to explore an opportunity or solve a problem. This is a more practical definition and in my opinion, its most important aspect is that the intrinsic knowledge can be transformed into other manifestation. This is primarily because we get things done and succeed by knowing an answer or knowing someone who does. However, this definition is more oriented on knowledge itself rather than knowledge management. The fourth definition is from Corso et al. according to them, Knowledge Management is about creating an environment that encourages people to learn and share knowledge by aligning goals, integrating bits and pieces of information within and across organizational boundaries, and producing new knowledge that is usable and useful to the organization (Corso et al, 2006, p210). Fundamentally, this definition considers knowledge management as the aspect of application of collective knowledge to the entire workforce in order to achieve the organization’s goals. By so doing, it ensures that everyone has the knowledge that he or she requires, when they need it, where it is needed and in the right time (Myers2012). In my own opinion, the most important aspect of this definition is concerned with learning and sharing of knowledge. This is because the extent to which any organization succeeds mainly depends on how effectively its employees create and share knowledge within the organization as well as use it to the best effect. b) The fourth definition by Corso, Giacobbe, Martini and Pellegrini is the one that best fits the concept of knowledge management due to a number of factors. First of all, knowledge resides in the heads of individuals and managing it is neither practically possible nor desirable. Therefore, the idea behind knowledge management is entirely about creating an environment which encourages various people to create, share, learn and use knowledge collectively for their own benefit as well as for the benefit of the organization together with its customers. Secondly, knowledge is perishable. This is due to the fact that the expertise has a limited shelf life because of the emergence of new technologies, services and products that flood the current market place which is dynamic in nature (Myers, 2012). This definition incorporates the aspect of creation of new knowledge since no one can hoard knowledge. To gain a competitive advantage, individuals and organizations must constantly replenish, renew, expand, disseminate and create more knowledge. Since knowledge is power, when shared it will multiply as the new knowledge equation indicates. 2. Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques There are numerous ways to describe and categorize knowledge tools and techniques, from various different perspectives. The important thing is to recognize what tool is useful in what situation and why as well as being able to select appropriately to ensure that the tool is also a good fit to the organizational context in which it will be used. a) Tatra Owners Spare club is owned by a group of amateur enthusiasts who came up to address the scarcity in the spare parts of cars manufactured by Tatra Car Company. The club is experiencing a serious problem since the organizers and the experienced mechanics are retiring and does not want to be actively involved in daily operations. The newer members on the other hand are not knowledgeable enough to be able to manage the club properly. The Knowledge in Tatra owners spare club is embodied in its members. It is thus impossible to talk about it without addressing the way people work together, learn and grow in knowledge collectively and individually (Zheng, Yang, & McLean, 2010). The new members have not been in the club long enough to familiarize themselves with the culture of the club. This is because the Tata owners club have not established a culture and environment that supports continuous learning. Although the Club organizers are very keen on making videos of them doing standard overhauls of the motors, gearbox, steering, brakes and suspension with a view to making the knowledge more widely available especially to the new members, they have a problem in organizing and sharing this knowledge. b) In the quest to implement an inventory system that will enable the Tatra car owners club to tie together the car parts, documentation and the videos as well as make them available on the internet, the first knowledge management tool that the club would require is a database management system (Ghani, 2009). The Club should seek to utilize technologically advanced computers and its associated peripherals to create and maintain a secure online database that will hold the necessary information regarding the spare parts, documentation and the overhaul process. This tool is in Explicating and externalizing category. The second tool is the data mining tool which will grant the users access to the knowledge in the database and allow them to check or add information. Thus the club should create and maintain an interactive dynamic website that will be used as a means of accessing the information stored in the database as well as aid in creating awareness on knowledge management through online advertisements. For the purpose of communicating and knowledge sharing, blogging tool comes into hand. This tool will enable knowledge, ideas and learning to be communicated and shared on an online global space. This tool is in Communicating and sharing category. The fourth tool is social networking. This tool is increasingly becoming part of corporate world due to its advertisement and promotion capabilities. Social networking provides a platform in which ideas are shared on a real time basis. c) Database management system requires implementation of an online relational database management system. Data mining will be accomplished through an interactive dynamic website while blogging and social networking can be achieved through the effective use of the existing social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook. Blogging will help the members of the Tatra owners Club in sharing knowledge as well as promoting the club to attract new members 3. Metadata refers to data about data or in other words a systematic method for describing resources and thereby improving access to them. Metadata usually provides the essential link between the information creator and the information use. Metadata generally certifies the authenticity and the degree of completeness of the content as well as establishing and documenting context of the content. The Dublin Core Metadata Set is intended to provide a ‘core’ set of metadata descriptors that can be applied to any resource (Zeng, & Hodge, 2011). Dublin core Metadata for Monash University (web Page) Name = "DC.title" content = "Monash University" Name = "date.review" scheme = "ISO8601" content = "2013-03-28" name= "dc.description" content = "Monash University is a youthful organization, enthusiastic, optimistic and accessible. We believe quality education and research can change the world for the better. We have locations in Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Italy and India. TheAt Monash seminar series gives future students the opportunity to ask the questions that matter to them face-to-face. " name = "description" content = "Monash University is a youthful organisation, enthusiastic, optimistic and accessible. We believe quality education and research can change the world for the better. We have locations in Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Italy and India. " name = "keywords" content="monash university, monash uni, australia, south africa, malaysia, italy, education, tertiary education, research, industry engagement, study at Monash University, undergraduate, postgraduate, research degrees, double degrees, alumni" name = "dc.title" content = "Monash University" name = "dc.identifier" scheme = "uri"content = http://www.monash.edu.au/index.html name = "dc.creator" content = " Monash University e solutions services" name = "dc.contributor" content = " Director, Office of Marketing and Communications, ICT department" name = dc.Publisher content = " Monish University " name = dc.Publisher content = "esolutions services, Inc." name = dc.Publisher content = "Carmen Miranda" name = dc.Rights content = "Access unlimited to everybody" Dublin core Metadata for A physical object: dc. Title = "Computer console from the SNOCOM computer used by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority" dc. Contributor = " University of Sidney" dc. Coverage = " Cooma, New South Wales, Australia" dc. Creator = " University of Sydney" dc. Date = scheme = "ISO8601" content = "2013-03-28" dc. Description = " A scratched grey metal case, sloping to a flat top, with cut-out section at the front housing a black board with red and white buttons, switches and text. The board is off centre in the hole. The back features horizontal air vents made up of a number of small holes. The back also features a panel with dials, electronic features and computer related outlets." dc. Identifier = " 1960 - 1968" dc. Language = " English " dc. Publisher = " University of Sidney" dc. Relation = " 1986 .0097 .0001 .001" dc. Rights = " Snowy Mountains Hydro – electric authority" dc. Source = " School of Electrical Engineering, University of Sydney" dc. Subject = " Computer Components" dc. Type = " Hardware " References Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS quarterly, 107-136. Corso, M., Giacobbe, A., Martini, A., & Pellegrini, L. (2006). What Knowledge Management for Mobile Workers? Knowl. Process Mgmt., 13(3), 206-217. Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. 1998). Working knowledge: How organisations manage what they know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Ghani, S. R. (2009). Knowledge management: tools and techniques. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 29(6), 33-38. Khoo, M., MacDonald, C. M., & Park, J. (2012, June). 'Erasmus': an organization-and user-centered dublin core metadata tool. In Proceedings of the 12th ACM/IEEE-CS joint conference on Digital Libraries (pp. 423-424). ACM. Myers, P. S. (2012). Knowledge management and organisational design. Routledge. Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rao, M. (2012). Knowledge management tools and techniques. Routledge. Wiig, K. (1993). Knowledge management foundations. Arlington, TX: Schema Press. Zeng, M. L., & Hodge, G. (2011). Developing a Dublin Core Application Profile for the knowledge organization systems (KOS) resources. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 37(4), 30-34. Zheng, W., Yang, B., & McLean, G. N. (2010). Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management. Journal of Business Research, 63(7), 763-771. Read More