Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation - Coursework Example

Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation Table of Contents Organisational Learning 2 Knowledge Management 4 Components of Knowledge Management 5 Knowledge Management & Social Network 6 Knowledge Management in Organisation 7 Case Study Application 8 Recommendation 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Bibliography 16 Introduction Knowledge management is a process of utilising skills and knowledge of human resources effectively within an organisation. This process enhances the overall working of organisation and results in long-term success of a company. Knowledge asset of an organisation includes not only the personal skills of employees but also the best practices of performing the job, electronic data recording, manufacturing processes and many more. Effective knowledge management requires acquiring knowledge, storing, and sharing it within the organisation efficiently (Bhojaraju, 2005; Malhotra, 2000). The main aim of knowledge management is to implement the knowledge for improving behaviour of employees so that they can take better decisions that will further improve the overall performance of an organisation. Individuals can themselves utilise their knowledge and skills for performing various tasks within the organisation accordingly. However, knowledge management is an organisational process, which requires knowledge of all employees within an organisation combined together to implement best practices in work for long-term sustainability. For this reason, an organisation maintains a Knowledge Management System (KMS) that controls the KM process with the help of computer based technology (McKenna, 2008). Managing knowledge also helps an organisation to achieve the business goal. Knowledge management brings employees, processes and technology within the same platform that helps an organisation to achieve its mission and vision efficiently (King, 2009; Maier, 2007). Knowledge management is significant for the progress of company such as BP. The paper is about BP Company, responsible for supplying fuel to customers for transportation. The paper intends to evaluate the relevance of knowledge management, innovation, organisational learning and social media for the success of the BP Company (BP p.l.c., 2015a). Organisational Learning Knowledge management has a positive impact on organisational performance because the potentials of human beings are utilised to achieve effective results. The individual learning process is the base to organisational learning. It results changes in the overall organisational knowledge. Organisational learning related to change process occurs as the organisation gains experience (Wang & Ahmed, 2002; Overfield, 1998). The process of organisational learning has been depicted in the figure-1 below using a model. Figure-1Source (Argote & Miron-Spektor, 2011) The model above depicts the process of converting the work experience into knowledge using the learning process of the respective organisation. The performance of an individual results in the creation of knowledge. The knowledge created within an organisation also affects the future learning process of individual. Organisational experience is linked with the fulfilment of work and it is the measure of the overall organisational experience (Easterby-Smith & Lyles, 2011; Torlak, n.d.). For example, BP Company is a fuel producer, so the organisational experience is linked with the production of fuel and its supply to consumers (BP p.l.c, 2015). It is likely to state that the organisations learn from the unsuccessful tasks from the past. Organisational learning process also includes external environment that is the location. The external factors for example existence of competitors and government regulations and many more also influences the internal learning process of an organisation. These factors affect the experience that an organisation gathers throughout its existence. Other organisational factors for example the goals, objective, structure, technology and relationship with the other companies affects the learning process. These factors combine with experience and results in creation of organisational learning (Argote, 2012; Scott, 2011). The active content of the model involves employees working and various techniques to perform the tasks. The active contents are responsible for performing various tasks of an organisation. The latent factor affects the tasks performed by the individuals and the measures taken by them to complete the task and various sub tasks performed to fulfil the overall goal of an organisation (Debowski, 2007; Warier, 2003). According to the model, the three elements that affect organisation learning are the internal and external members, work and various tools used to perform the task. The member network defines the social network of an organisation. The member task relation results in the division of work between employees (Huber, 2007; Greve, 2003). The member tool relation defines the various measures taken by the employees to perform the tasks. The member, task and tool network defines which member performs with role and with which tool. These three elements and the network framed using the elements is responsible for organisational learning and so creates knowledge. The knowledge created using various elements are then stored using the knowledge management process. The knowledge stored then utilized for improving the performance of the employees. The improved performance of the employees results in overall success of an organisation (Argote & MironSpektor, 2011; Lapré & Nembhard, 2011). Knowledge Management As the economy grows the need to improve, the knowledge assets become essential for an organisation. The effective use of knowledge-based learning is crucial for an organisation to sustain and grow in the competitive environment. Knowledge management of an organisation is essential as it supports the decision making process and assists in improving the performance of employees. Knowledge management results into innovation for enhancing the effectiveness of an organisation (Becerra-Fernandez & et. al., 2014; Ghani, 2009). In this regard, innovation is a process that results in creation of new ideas and knowledge that can be implemented to bring changes in an organisation. For an organisation, innovation is a vital factor that leads to the creation and implementation of innovative knowledge. This will ultimately result into production of goods and services that satisfies customers’ demand. Innovation creates value for an organisation. The value grows with the production of unique products and services that ultimately results in long-term success for an organisation (Hislop, 2013; Akram & et. al., 2011). According to Sivarajah, (n.d.) innovation in web-based technology has transformed the traditional websites, which helps to transfer information between employees of an organisation. Components of Knowledge Management Similarly, the three essential factors for knowledge management of an organisation are people, process and technology used. These factors are also responsible for developing learning process that guides the knowledge management process of an organisation (Bhojaraju, 2005). Knowledge management is a crucial factor for implementing new innovative technology in the working process of employees. In this context, it is important for an organisation to make employees realize the importance of knowledge sharing to attain the objective of the business (Hovland, 2003; Wang & et. al., 2001). The major challenge faced is to change the organisational culture that is a shift towards sharing of knowledge. For this purpose the organisation needs to motivate employees using various measures like reward system and performance appraisal method. The main aim of knowledge management is to implement the best practices of work that will assist the individuals to specialize in their respective field of work (Uriarte, 2008). The three components of knowledge management are shown in the figure-2 below. Figure-2 Source (Bhojaraju, 2005) The process element of knowledge management includes the method followed by an organisation in delivering the best practices of work. It also involves keeping record of the current methods of working and deleting the outdated process of working (Bhojaraju, 2005). For an organisation, it is essential that the process of performing various tasks simple and visible so that it can be understood by all members and can be implemented in work. A proper knowledge management system provides solution to various problems faced by employees for example workflow, monitoring of document and decision making and many more. Knowledge management creates a platform where the management, employees and the other stakeholders are free to share and exchange information and the combination of all the knowledge can be further utilized for the success of the company in long run (Huang, n.d.). Knowledge Management & Social Network Social media plays a vital role in knowledge management by supporting individuals to share their knowledge in broader prospect. Learning process requires a proper feedback system where employees can exchange their knowledge and can implement the same in performing work effectively. Social network acts as a platform for sharing knowledge possessed by an individual (Chun Ho & et. al., 2013; Noor Al-Deen & et. al., 2012). Development in information technology has enabled individuals to connect with each other using social network. A number of social network sites are currently available, through which individuals exchange information and this further helps in building teams. The teams so formed with the help of social communication assist in transmitting knowledge in a much wider prospect. Social network results in creation of knowledge network where the term network defines the shared or similar information’s (Ryan, 2011; Jones, n.d.). Knowledge Management in Organisation In an organisation, knowledge management means developing a framework that helps to deliver relevant information to employees. A knowledge management cycle can be defined as a set of process followed in transforming the overall information within an organisation into useful knowledge (King, 2009). Figure -3 below depicts the knowledge management cycle. The first stage of the cycle is to identify and acquire the key knowledge within an organisation. The creation stage involves developing new set of knowledge as well as to replace the existing and implement the new innovative methods of working. The next step is to implement the acquired knowledge into the organisational process. The organisational process involves implementation of new innovative techniques of performing the tasks. Apart from this, the stage also involves innovating the individual learning within an organisation so that the knowledge of all individuals’ together results into better decision-making (Sağsan, n.d.). Measures are to be taken so that all the employees feel free to share their knowledge and experiences with other employees of an organisation. The immediate outcome of the knowledge management process is that it results changes in organisational behaviour (Bergeron, 2003). Improved organisational behaviour results long-term relationship with the suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. The implementation of knowledge management process improves the performance of employees so that it results in the production of new improved products. The increase in customer’s satisfaction results success of an organisation (Belavkin, n.d.). Figure-3 Source (King, 2009) Case Study Application BP Company is engaged in fuel and energy product and service business. The activities performed by the group of company are classified under two headings that are upstream and downstream. The upstream division is related to natural gas and oil section. This section handles the work related to production. On the other hand, the downstream division is linked with the various products like lubricants, petrochemicals and many more (BP p.l.c, 2015b). BP Company has implemented the knowledge management system in the early mid of 90s. The knowledge management system helps the executives of an organisation in collecting all the data and information. The implementation of knowledge based management system has proved to be useful for the management authority. The higher authority and the engineers of the company used the system at different levels to have an access to knowledge of all the employees of the company (Valot, 2010). This system has enabled employees of the company to learn from each other. Apart from this, the knowledge management process has also facilitated the learning process within an organisation. With the use of knowledge management, the employees can share their experience of working in the company that is further helpful for employees joining the company. This result in the creation of best practices and the implementation of these practices in work improve the performance of the employees and this in turn results success of the company. The concept of knowledge management has two folds according to BP Company. The main aim behind the implementation of knowledge management system was to improve the organisational process through knowledge sharing and innovation. However, the key area of the company is related to fuel and energy. For this reason, knowledge management concept was looked from a much wider prospect as it has several usages in an organisation for sustainability (Gorelick & April, 2003; Mertins, 2003). Apart from knowledge management and organisational learning, social network also plays an essential role for the success of an organisation. BP Company has its web-based portal that supports knowledge management system of the organisation. Social network plays a crucial role in knowledge sharing that further enhances the organisational learning. People can share their personal experiences using various social networks that improves their overall work performance (Lavoué, 2011). This method of sharing information helps in creating knowledge and derives innovative ideas for better effectiveness. Knowledge management process is linked with organisational learning. The experience of employees can be either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’, but both the experiences contribute to learning process. The main aim of organisational learning is that the personnel’s of BP should share their learning with each other. Therefore, it is crucial for the company to create an environment where the employees sharing should be rewarded that is likely to encourage them to perform better (Jones, n.d.). Recommendation Knowledge management system enables the employees to share their knowledge and experiences within an organisation. With the improvement in technology, organisation needs to implement various new techniques of performing tasks. Therefore, the implementation of the knowledge management will be helpful in the overall success of an organisation. The three key components that is people, process and technology forms the basis for sharing learning and experiences within an organisation. Apart from this the improvements in information technology has resulted in the introduction of social network that also plays a crucial role in sharing information. Through various social networking sites, employees share their knowledge in much wider context that is likely to result in better performance of individual employee. Individual and group learning combined results changes in the organisational learning. It has a positive impact on the decision-making process and quality of product and services as well. A better quality of product and services results in satisfaction of employees. Therefore, the overall performance of the company improves in resulting long-term success of the organisation. BP Company is linked with the production of petroleum, related products and many more. Therefore, knowledge management process is likely to be useful for the engineers to share the technical knowledge. Apart from this, the company to enhance can also use the social networks and improve learning of the personnel’s of the organisation. Conclusion The success of an organisation depends on various aspects of knowledge management. Knowledge management as discussed has its own significance in making corrective strategic decisions to attain the perceived objective. In this context, BP Company has already implemented knowledge management system in the mid of 90s. Knowledge management mainly focused on employees and their capability. The knowledge management system is related to organisational learning. BP Company is based on manufacturing and operating related activities. Therefore, the implementation of the knowledge based management system proved successful for an organisation. Knowledge management is linked with innovation. Innovation results in creation of various new ideas. With the increase in completion, it is very essential for an organisation to implement various new innovative methods of working. The change in working methods can be implemented using knowledge management for getting better results. Apart from this, employees share their experience of using the method, and so it becomes easier for the individuals to accept the best practices of work. The knowledge management system can further be improved by implementing the social network technology. The present day social networking sites enable individuals to share their knowledge in a broader area. Apart from this, it also reduces the total time involved in sharing knowledge and information with other employees. References Argote, L. & MironSpektor, E., 2011. Organisational Learning: From Experience to Knowledge. Organisation Science Vol. 22, No.5, pp. 1123–1137. Argote, L., 2012. 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