Knowledge management is an array of procedures that control the formation, distribution, and use of information. Knowledge management value chain comprises four stages these are knowledge acquisition, storage, dissemination, and application. Knowledge is an intangible firm’s asset. Therefore, its use requires adequate control (Wake, 2010). This paper discusses knowledge management at XYZ Company.
Current Knowledge Management Strategies at XYZ Company
Knowledge Creation
Reflectively, “knowledge acquisition or creation is the first step of knowledge management. Knowledge acquisition comes about after interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge in individual human minds” (Wallace, 2007). Knowledge moves from the human mind to the organization. Teamwork is essential in creating knowledge. Since in these forums, companies acquire knowledge from employees.
XYZ Company should rely on data mining for the creation of knowledge. It can use data mining techniques and software to obtain customers’ information. Also, the company may use neural networks in speech recognition and image analysis. Currently, the company makes use of experts in knowledge management to help in knowledge discovery. Also, the company creates knowledge using knowledge work systems such as CAD and VRML. These systems aid employees in the creation and integration of new knowledge in the organization. Finally, the company owns the XYZ Corporate Social Responsibility Centre.
Knowledge Storage
Knowledge storage takes place in different ways. It can either be in soft or hard copies. Storage can be as simple as keeping the information in books. XYZ Company stores information in databases. At the company, storage keeps knowledge created visibly. Besides, it enhances the resource base of the organization. This improves the competitive advantage of XYZ Company. Also, storage supports the company with up to date and accurate market intelligence for other departments. This ensures that they have the best sources for investment decisions. Finally, storage helps the company in handling the vast information they receive daily. This ensures the smooth running of the business.
Knowledge Dissemination
Companies use various ways to distribute information across the organization such as search engines, collaboration tools, e-mails, and portals. Dissemination of information need should be properly managed so that correct information is directed to the intended staff members (Wallace, 2007). XYZ Company uses intranet and groupware tools to disseminate information. Also, the company makes use of seminars and workshops.
Knowledge from management is received in several ways such as intranet, staff meeting forums, employee meetings. Often, “some of the information management disseminate are changes in procedures and policies, changes in daily routines and major changes in the organization that affects employees and the business as a whole” (Wallace 2007). XYZ Company has a knowledge management department. The department controls the dissemination of information using security controls. This ensures that employees access what is relevant for their line of duty.
Knowledge Application
Knowledge application is the use of knowledge in the decision-making process. It aims to add value to the organization by coming up with new products, new business practices, and new markets. XYZ Company gains a lot from the knowledge management department. The department provides adequate information on market surveys and customer information. It facilitates the growth of the company. Based on innovation, the XYZ Company will be ranked as successful in making use of knowledge.
Weaknesses in the Knowledge Management Strategies
Sustainable development is vital in a business environment. Reflectively, this concept defines the feasibility of a company and its solvency within a specified period. In contemporary society, the term sustainability refers to the ability to survive within a profitability model. In a business environment, sustainability is affected by forces in the market, decision science, corporate structure, and real financial management, in the short and long term.
XYZ Company has a very weak communication system. This verifies risk proportions before informed decisions are made. This procedure is necessary for monitoring decision science and distribution of risk elements and forecasting future swings in the economic climate market (Wake, 2010).
Knowledge Management Rationale at XYZ Company
Knowing how to improve quality is crucial in the growth of an organization. Consumers normally go for products that performed best. Besides, quality improvement will serve the organization’s needs to improve performance, durability, maintain economic viability, maintain visual and aesthetic appeal, maintain superiority in service delivery, and keep a good reputation due to quality assurance. Thus, quality improvement deployment and organizational change action plan present an action plan that would facilitate the organization’s gain in long term operations is value and quality improvement.
The success puzzle for quality improvement and organizational change implementation management strategy delivery operates on the periphery of the soft skills involving the timeless vision of organizational principles. Besides, defining the value of the business, determining requirements, clarifying the vision, building teams, mitigating tasks, resolving issues, and providing direction complete the response projections which shall be addressed in the proposed quality service delivery system (Dalkir, 2005).
Quality planning is an important policy that aims to promote long term success in business objectives. Furthermore, quality planning focuses on benchmarking of efficiency of the operations and service delivery initiative, accreditation initiative, and staff performance and skills assessment initiative which this chapter will endeavor to expound on. From the above reflection, it is important to remodel the communication model to make the XYZ Company very competitive.
Ideal Knowledge Management Strategies for the XYZ Company
XYZ Company should embrace quality operations management model that supports communicational culture, efficiency, and optimal resource use in its production lines. The operations management systems at XYZ Company should include the aspect of cost, dependability, speed, quality, and flexibility. These variables determine success or failure in business. These variables are achievable through value delivery, value addition, and creativity (Dalkir, 2005).
The company has poor functionality within a competitive advantage parameter. To achieve this, its existing forms of system monitoring should be periodically upgraded to introduce multiple operating system models such as ratio analysis in operation management that is compatible with tracking and analysis within and without the company. For the implementation of the strategy, the management is to balance both the short term and long term consideration towards decision making. Management that ensures long term obligations are fulfilled considers mostly the role played by resources invested in technology, continued innovations in the production of new products, and conducting intensive researches in the market to identify fresh market niches (Dalkir, 2005).
Despite having this efficient operations management system, the company has not fully established a mechanism for monitoring progress at the micro-level and majorly depends on macro auditing in decision making but has to deal with the risk of internal fraud and redundancy. The major part of success puzzle for operations management delivery operates on the periphery of the soft skills involving the timeless vision of organizational principles, defining the value of the business, determining requirements, clarifying the vision, building teams, mitigating task, resolving issues, and providing direction (Amin, William, and Joseph, 2008).
Thus, the company should create a decentralized system to ensure that the decision-making process is shortened thus, avoidance of bureaucracy in its product lines. This is possible because this model of operations management system allows for operations process competitiveness as it cut down unnecessary overhead costs from waste and underutilization (Dalkir, 2005).
In the success measurement parameters, the operations management systems of the company should incorporate planning, development, implementation, and discovery scores. Reflectively, the process captures organization chart, status reports, process map, compliance requirements, review structure, activities, dates, and resources employed within a specified period (Dalkir, 2005).
Recommendations
After the quantitative analysis, it is apparent that the XYZ Company should invest further in technology for its production sustainability. Besides, technology will work alongside a labor efficiency strategy to create an all-round, relevant, and practical marketing system. Since the operations management system determines the success of business decisions, the company should introduce a micro auditing unit for internal decision making rather than depending majorly on the macro market environment.
Also, the decisions made should be dependent on available resources such as investment portfolio, infrastructure, personnel size, experience, and efficiency, for a specialized high skill assignment requiring specific qualifications. As a result, a conflict of interest in executing the deliverable variables will be minimized since the coordination bridge is assured. In a practical project management environment, the risk register is applied in designing an encoding-decoding channel of communicating potential risks and reviewing project dynamics at minimal risk level. Thus, through the application of the soft skills possessed by the human input in product management, these tools would offer appropriate progress tracking devices necessary in successful production execution at the XYZ Company (Dalkir, 2005).
Control as Part of Knowledge Management at XYZ Company
Quality control is commonly utilized to promote the quality of business products through the six sigma control which can develop high quality of products by reducing defects. Internal control is a systematic measure that is instituted by an organization to maintain an efficient and cost-effective operation matrix. Further, internal controls aid in safeguarding assets and resources of an entity helps in deterring and detecting errors, fraud and theft, ensure the accuracy and completeness of its accounting data. Also, they produce reliable and timely financial and management information and ensure adherence to its policies and plans (Dalkir, 2005). Therefore, it is important to have effective internal controls within the XYZ Company to ensure efficiency.
The main control activities in the control matrix of strategic management are the input and output tracking. These activities occur at the micro and macro levels of strategic management. The activities are influenced by environmental, internal and external factors in the project management strategy. Reflectively, the process captures organization chart, status reports, process map, compliance requirements, review structure, activities, dates, and resources employed within a specified period through benchmarking. The benchmarking initiatives for the XYZ Company should involve streamlining control activities to ensure efficiency via a proactive quality mitigation channel that reports the progress of the intended quality improvement system (Dalkir, 2005).
Changing the structure of an organization from an inflexible corporation to a flexible and desegregated organization results in major shifts in culture and structures and it requires an efficient change management team. A crucial issue comes along with massive implementations of changes. In essence, these shifts in functionality and management will not be taken as normal by employees. Not all changes that are introduced are greeted warmly by the members of an organization.
The implementation of a new idea or technique quite often results in resistance by those who will be affected by it mostly. Resistance is common and managers need to understand and overcome resistance to change. Managers of the XYZ Company in the change management department should first identify major reasons for resistance to change and develop methods for overcoming resistance to a change. People will always be contemptuous of any change as long as they are in a dilemma of understanding the implementation and its effect on them (Dalkir, 2005).
Change management ensures employees of the XYZ Company get some help to comprehend change and actively participate in the implementation process. According to this content resistance is normal and always carries a genuine reason behind the need for attention from the organization. The best strategy for reacting to resistance is by presenting a logical response to it and giving due consideration to the emotional dimension.
This is important because emotions play a vital role in bringing resistance, which conducted intellectually or directly through outbursts. To avoid delaying the implementation process organization should address resistance to change as soon as they arise. Failure to address it at the time cause delays and this will mean that the organization has to prepare to address it at each stage of change implementation (Dalkir, 2005).
One of the ways effectively applied in addressing resistance is by constantly communicating to them the perceived implications of the change. Training employees about the change to help them build a clear picture of what the change is all about and what is required of them should accompany this. It is necessary that employees taught on how to accommodate the change and embrace it in their delivery of services under the proposed change. Once employees of the XYZ Company are fully aware of the change, they should be involved in the process of implementing the change to make them accept and embrace the change. This is summarised in the knowledge management tracking sheet below.
References
Amin, M., William, G., & Joseph, P. (2008). A taxonomy of organizational impressions management tactics. Advances in competitiveness research, 7(1), 108.
Dalkir, K. (2005). Knowledge management in theory and practice. New York, NY: Elsevier Publishers.
Wake, W. (2010). Knowledge creating company. Web.
Wallace, D. (2007). Knowledge management: Historical and cross-disciplinary themes. New York, NY: Greenwood publishing Group.