Special Tools for Knowledge Management - Assignment Example

Question summary of chapter 5 The book is about the use of social media to encourage growth within an organization.This is one of the main phenomenons in the world of business that has gained popular in the 21st century. It is geared towards the flow of information within the departments to ensure growth and development. It is one of the cheapest ways through which an organization can communicate to its employees. It also demonstrates how knowledge flows within the organization despite geographical location and distance. The chapters include ‘organization is not the web, why should you care about the social media, getting started, roles and driving for success,’ respectively. This book focuses on the importance of social media as a way of managing knowledge rather than the use of traditional documentation (Leistner 22). In the first chapter, sharing of information within the organization through various social interaction media is discussed. It is indicated that this is one of the best ways of managing information within an organization as well as the cheapest. One of the main common ways through which organizations share knowledge through the social media is through links (links which are made specifically for a given company to pass information). For instance, if the organization wants to provide information to the employees, it can do this through the creation of an important link. In ‘why do you care,’ chapter, the authors focus on the need to embrace social media for the purpose of including all individuals. It is meant to avoid isolation of certain members of the organization by encouraging communication between the members. Employees are able to interact with the management through contribution of important information. They may also have an opportunity to clarify on certain issues which are not clear to them. In the same chapters, especially 3, the organization focuses on whether to important technology or to invent one within the organization. There is a need to lay down the foundation within an organization to facilitate communication for all members. This is especially through a network of computers throughout the organization. Certain social platforms such as LinkedIn have been imperative in fostering communication within the organization. This type of communication enables international businesses to manage the human resources effectively. However, these chapters also highlight some of the hindrances to the adoption of social media as a means of transferring knowledge. Lack of connectivity is said to be one of the main challenges. Having the whole organization connected to the social media requires massive investment. Certain organization may not have the funds to ensure that this goal is achieved. This may create a breakdown in communication, which may also hinder knowledge transfer. Issues of trust on the other hand affect social media transfer of knowledge. This is explained by the fear that the knowledge shared through the social media could be used by competitors. Knowledge being a competitive advantage should be safeguarded against any external forces. Question 2 Knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and knowledge skills This has been defined as the process through which an organization creates an environment for skills and information sharing. The employees are encouraged to share knowledge amongst themselves. This is considering the fact that there is need for an organization to have competitive edge over its main competitors. Knowledge within an organization is seen as one of the ways through which competence and professionalism can be achieved. Apart from sharing of knowledge amongst the employees, the management also educates the employees. This is especially through workshops and seminars. The main aim is to make need to make the employees more competitive (Leistner 54). However, it is indicated that there are various hindrances to sharing of knowledge within an organization. Most of the people within the management may not want to share knowledge. This is especially if they deem that act as a threat to their career. For instance, some members want to remain with the knowledge to protect their status and position within the working environment. Secondly, one may not share knowledge is they are not assured any positive returns. The organization may fail to recognize the people who have added value to the organization through sharing their knowledge (Galbraith 64). It is imperative that the management gives various incentives to such people to encourage sharing of knowledge. Changing the culture of the organization is one of the most imperative ways of encouraging the sharing of knowledge. This is the responsibility of the leadership to encourage those with the knowledge to share with the rest. Knowledge transfer is closely related to the knowledge sharing. However, knowledge transfer refers to how the skills and experiences of one group may affect another. This transfer of knowledge is from one experienced group or individual to those who lack such skills. This is especially from the experts within the organization. This is aimed at ensuring that the working force has the required skills to perform. Apart from that, the management needs specific leadership skills to guide an organization through positive changes. They are trained by experts on issues of leadership especially on how to ensure favorable working conditions to foster growth and development within the organization. There are various types of knowledge that transferred within the organization. They include embrained, embodied and embedded knowledge. In the former category, an individual may have inborn skills and knowledge which is required in an organization. This includes mostly the cognitive skills necessary especially in the leadership positions. This type of knowledge is special in the sense that it does not have to be gained through learning. Embodied on the other hand is the type of skills and experiences which have been gained through acquisition. This is especially though attending the former education. Depending on the institutions of higher learning which different employees went through, they are likely to possess different kinds of knowledge. There is creation of synergy when people with unique knowledge come together and share. However, there are various hindrances to transfer of knowledge within the organization. One of the main setback is said to be the assertion that, ‘knowledge is power.’ This is an organization culture which does not encourage transfer of information especially from the management to the employees. For instance, the management may refuse to transfer some important knowledge to its members for the fear that the competitors may have access to it. Knowledge is a form of competitive advantage which needs to be safeguarded at all times. The management may therefore fear that by transferring this form of knowledge, the organization may be putting it in a bad position especially is such employees transfer to other places. The other types of challenges include the generational and internal conflicts. The former refers to the differences in age of employees working in a given organization. This difference in age may hinder good relationship between the two groups of people. This on the other hand makes the sharing of knowledge difficult. Internal conflicts within the organizations hinder a favorable environment through which knowledge can be shared. However, there are various ways through which an organization may encourage transfer of knowledge. It begins with the need to identify the employees with special talents within the organization. To identify such talents through, it is imperative for the management to work closely with the employees. Secondly, the organization should motivate the employees with special skills and knowledge to transfer them to others. This is done through specially incentives. For instance, individuals transferring such knowledge ought to be paid for their special skills. Recognizing them makes them trust the system and therefore give their best. Finally, the management should create an environment necessary for transfer of knowledge. As indicated above, one of the main hindrances is the fact that some managers want to keep knowledge to themselves for fear of leaking it to main competitors. 3. Tools of knowledge management These two books focus on the tools which are used in knowledge management. Technology is the main tool that has been used in the recent past not only to share, transfer and manage knowledge but also to safeguard (Holland 87). Technology as a tool has been used to create unique sites for a given organization. The site can be private or public. However, the public sites are meant to convey knowledge to people who are important to an organization. These people may include the customers, suppliers and investors. The organization site may provide imperative information vital to those particular individuals. However, an internal site may also be used by the organization for the purpose of passing information relevant to the organization members. This site is private and therefore only accessed by members of the organization such as employees and employers. One of the major tools in technology being discussed is the database. This is used to store data which is of vital to the organization for future reference. With the organization aware of the danger associated with technology, there is need to have backup systems. Data may be lost through virus attack and also hacking (Davenport 98). The two incidences are common in the current world due to competition. When such acts happen, an organization may lose its competitive advantage. Backup system tools become important since lost data can be recovered easily. Story telling is another important tool/instrument which enables knowledge management according to the two books. Through stories, employees and employers are able to exchange their knowhow. Rewards have also been highlighted as an important tool for managing knowledge. It is the provision of incentives which encourage those with knowledge to share and transfer. For instance, the organization is expected to recognize the contribution of individuals through increased remuneration. They should also protect the creativity of such individuals against external threats. Another form of tool that has been used to foster knowledge and management has been the expert directories. This is a tool which contains experts and their contacts. The organization can refer to such people when there is need. Work cited Blackler, F. "Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation". Organization Studies (6): 1021–1046. 1999 Davenport, T. H. and Prusak, L. Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN: 1-57851-301-4. 2000 Galbraith, C. S. "Transferring core manufacturing technologies in high-technology firms". California Management Review 32: 56–70. 1990 Holland, G. "Foreword". In Gray, H.; the Society for Research into Higher Education; and Open University Press. University and the creation of wealth. 1999 Leistner, Frank. Connecting organizational silos: Taking knowledge flow management to the next level with social media. Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-38643-9. 3, 4, and 5 are the articles. 2012 . Read More