UNIT 3

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

KNOWLEDGE CREATION CYCLE

Personal Cycle: Personal knowledge is created through the experiential exposure to information. The input can and does take several forms. It can be conversational, reports, memos, papers etc. The input is then refined based on personal experience, expertise and through the serendipity factor, which has effect of building upon or adding to ones existing knowledge that can then be used as new input to the cycle.

 Collective Cycle: It is viewed in terms of information within the context of the organization. It is created by the application of context, sensitive personal knowledge derived through the personal knowledge creation cycle, as well as the explicit information contained in systems (process and or technology based). Ideally information should be acquired, shared and then acted upon.

 End product: The two knowledge creation cycles form a system that feeds on itself to create and reuse knowledge, and also openly accept external input. This external input helps to refresh our collective and personal knowledge by providing new information and insight.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge (i.e. information, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, friends, or members of a family, a community or an organization. There is no universal definition of knowledge management. Knowledge management means different things to different people, Microsoft explains it as a discipline that treats intellectual capital as managed assets. The primary "tools" applied in the practice of knowledge management is (a) Organizational Dynamics (b) Process Engineering and (c) Technology.

Organizations have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages. Knowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems. However, technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge in organizations, such as organizational culture, trust, and incentives. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a major challenge in the field of knowledge management because some employees tend to resist sharing their knowledge with the rest of the organization.

Knowledge Sharing Process

Benefits of Knowledge Sharing

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Foster innovation by encouraging the free flow of ideas. Help in understanding markets and customers. Development of product and services. Development of vision and strategies. Building competencies. Improve customer service by streamlining response time. Boost revenues by getting products and services to market faster. 8) Enhance employee retention rates by recognizing the value of employee's knowledge and rewarding them for it. 9) Streamline operations and reduce costs by eliminating redundant or unnecessary processes.

Barriers to Knowledge Sharing Implementations

1. Psychological fear of IT. 2. Lack of understanding of Power of Knowledge Management. 3. Inappropriate decision making and operational structure. 4. Lack of simple, easy-to understand-and- implement powerful tools.