In the new human-focused, knowledge-based economy: "Workers own the means of production-their knowledge. They can sell it, trade it, or give it away and still own it" (Allee 2010)
The worker's personal orientation, worldview, and skills that must be built upon are all part of his or her knowledge. The ultimate aim is to transform tacit knowledge into the fungible currency of explicit knowledge, but tacit knowledge-driven strategies recognize the need for greater organizational efforts to tease out hidden assets, promote organizational sharing and collaboration, and create effective teams (Klein 2008)
In contrast, when barriers and obstacles to knowledge transfer are created, and when individuals hoard knowledge and resist collaboration, organizations can lose their competitive edge. "Altering one's business approach to accommodate fluctuating KM demands is imperative…Change strategies target organizational structures and culture to meet global needs…Unlocking the existing tacit knowledge within organizations will amplify the value placed on tacit knowledge which can provide leverage for negotiating success" (Ledford & Berge 2008)
Most often, generating value from such assets involves codifying what employees, partners and customers know, and sharing that information among employees, departments and even with other companies in an effort to devise best practices. it's important to note that the definition says nothing about technology; while KM is often facilitated by it, technology by itself is not KM" (Levinson 2007, p
Explicit knowledge-sharing has received the lion's share of attention in most KM-focused organizations. This could be because many organizations find the use of tacit knowledge to be difficult, as tacit knowledge is part of the employee, not external to the worker (Pena 2002)
At some organizations, KM is used as a "mechanism that attempts to capture explicit knowledge in a way that is seamless to the person creating that knowledge," in other words, so that employee knowledge is maximized in terms of the way defined expertise is shared within the organization (Tacit KM, 2010, Three Geeks). "The explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminate articulated knowledge within an organization" (Sanchez 2004)
As the company gained expertise in managing knowledge in its own operations, it has increasingly sought to apply these practices to and with its supply chain partners (Kumar 2004). This level of knowledge management expertise, though, did not just fall out of the sky but has been the legacy of the company's founder, Jamshed Nusserwanji Tata (D'Costa 1999)
Because time and knowledge are money, the company has taken steps to wring every last bit of knowledge possible from its far-flung operations to identify best practices that can be applied to its businesses as well as its supply chain partners in ways that are reflective of the codification of knowledge management approach. This approach to knowledge management is termed the codified knowledge management strategy or simply codification (Jahn, 2013)
In fact, a growing body of research suggests that Tata Steel has succeeded in creating value for all of its stakeholders by practicing knowledge management techniques that have improved organizational effectiveness, delivered customer value, and improved product innovation and delivery rates (Motwani 2006). In the first place, the corporate culture established by the top leadership at Tata Steel (hereinafter alternatively "the company" or "Tata") makes it clear that knowledge management is the watchword and all employees are expected to share and seek the knowledge needed to achieve a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace (Kumar 2004)
Important findings concerning these issues are presented in the conclusion. Review and Discussion Irrespective of the industrial or commercial setting that is involved, it has become widely recognized that knowledge management practices are among the most innovative and significant business management concepts to be advanced in recent years (Motwani 2006)
According to Singh (2008, 119), the company's core values are a legacy of its founder, and focus on ensuring that all stakeholders are regarded as important and valuable, and essentially irreplaceable. While these knowledge management principles may appear straightforward, the research to date also indicates that companies of all sizes and types can achieve a competitive advantage by applying the KM practices mastered by Tata Steel (Williams 2011)
As the company gained expertise in managing knowledge in its own operations, it has increasingly sought to apply these practices to and with its supply chain partners (Kumar 2004). This level of knowledge management expertise, though, did not just fall out of the sky but has been the legacy of the company's founder, Jamshed Nusserwanji Tata (D'Costa 1999)
Because time and knowledge are money, the company has taken steps to wring every last bit of knowledge possible from its far-flung operations to identify best practices that can be applied to its businesses as well as its supply chain partners in ways that are reflective of the codification of knowledge management approach. This approach to knowledge management is termed the codified knowledge management strategy or simply codification (Jahn, 2013)
Just as the apprentice learns the tools of the trade from a master, businesses gain from the knowledge shared by mentors, supervisors, coworkers, project team members, and tenured employees. The business world is in the midst of an era characterized by the boundary less career (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996)-- one where median employment tenure is just four and a half years, new job creation accounts for only one tenth of all career moves, and large firm decentralization is an ongoing occurrence
These data filed are termed knowledge profiles, and can be created through third party testing and review processed such as: K-PAQ: knowledge management profile analysis questions K-Quest: knowledge questionnaire Preanswer construction of the knowledge-core questions in K-Quest. (Beazley et
Incentive programs such as this may provide a context for encouraging interaction, collaboration, knowledge sharing and diffusion. (Droege, and Hoobler, 2003) Bibliography Arthur, M
In addition, the implementation requires an alignment of the needs of knowledge management with the business strategy, a focus on the people in change management rather than on technology, and the recognition of the benefits of knowledge management.(Han, 2001) One of the difficulties is the cultural resistance to change
Reward systems may be used to motivate employees to engage in knowledge sharing. For example, Context Integration, a Web consulting firm, rewards its employees for collaborating with other employees via a company-wide database (Koudsi, 2000)
The business world is in the midst of an era characterized by the boundary less career (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996)-- one where median employment tenure is just four and a half years, new job creation accounts for only one tenth of all career moves, and large firm decentralization is an ongoing occurrence. "I know I can't stop people from walking out the door -- but how do I stop them from taking their knowledge with them?" (Labarre, 1998:48)
Another high tech manufacturer that has extensive KMS platforms and workflows in place is Dell. Their entire value chain is predicated on a very rapid, accurate flow of tacit and implicit knowledge throughout their manufacturing operations (Gunasekaran, Ngai, 2009)