INTRODUCTION

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established
on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead
and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.
Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that
everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the
option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a
mandate to help stateless people.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, protects people forced to flee their homes because of conflict
and persecution.  We work in over 130 countries, protecting millions of people by responding
with life-saving support, safeguarding fundamental human rights and helping them build a better
future.
The primary purpose of UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. In its
efforts to achieve this objective, UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to
seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, and to return home voluntarily.

In evaluating the knowledge management practice of my organization, UNHCR, I will be using

Zack's Knowledge Management Model as well as other indigenous knowledge management
practices.

The Zack knowledge management cycle consists of four steps: identification, collection,
organization, and dissemination. Identification is the process of determining what knowledge is
needed. Collection is the process of gathering that knowledge. Organization is the process of
sorting and categorizing the knowledge. Dissemination is the process of sharing the knowledge
with those who need it.

 Zack knowledge management cycle is a process that identifies, collects, organizes, and
disseminates information about knowledge in a sequential order.
 The first thing that needs to be done is identification. The process of deciding what kinds
of knowledge are required begins here. In order to accomplish this goal, companies need
to first determine where inside the organization there are knowledge gaps. This can be
accomplished using a variety of approaches, including surveys, interviews, focus groups,
and so on. After determining where there are holes in the organization's knowledge, the
next step is to figure out what kind of information is required to fill those holes.
 For instance, a company may determine that there is a knowledge gap about the provision
of service to customers. It's possible that the company will need to educate itself on many
topics, such as the most efficient methods of communication and best practices in
customer service, in order to close this knowledge gap.
 The collection stage is the second step. The act of accumulating the necessary knowledge
is represented by this process. In order to accomplish this goal, organizations need to
pinpoint the locations of the knowledge's origins. This may be specialists from within the
organization, experts from outside the organization, or research that has been published.
After the sources have been located, the organization can next begin to compile the
information that is available from those locations.
 For the purpose of gaining knowledge regarding customer service, for instance, the
business can look for professionals who are already employed by the organization and
have experience in the field of customer service. The company may also hunt for
specialists from outside the company, such as consultants or researchers who have
written papers on the subject. Additionally, the firm may look for previously released
research, such as surveys or studies regarding customer service.
 The next step is to organize everything. The act of organizing and classifying the
information is represented by this process. Several approaches, such as mind mapping,
concept mapping, and taxonomies, are all viable options for accomplishing this goal.
After the information has been sorted and arranged, it can be entered into a database
known as a knowledge base.
 The transmission of information is the fourth and last step. This is the process of
disseminating the information to people who have a requirement for it. In order to
accomplish this, businesses need to determine both the people who will benefit from the
 knowledge and the most effective means of imparting it to those individuals. The
training, the manuals, and the online resources are all examples of this.

Knowledge Management Practices and UNHCR

The increasing importance of knowledge as a key resource in gaining competitive advantage in

today’s international organizations like UNHCR. The major barriers to implementing knowledge
management that emerged include inadequate understanding of knowledge management, lack of
management support, inappropriate information and communication technology (ICT),
organizational culture and structure, difficulty in communicating the benefits of knowledge
management to employees, lack of resources, difficulty measuring the value added, and a narrow
organizational focus on knowledge management.

Organizational knowledge management system information requirements

Within my current organization, as we manage a cloud data center platform for 100+ clients,
providing services such as security, cloud hosting, managed backups, and disaster recovery, it is
essential that we have an excellent knowledge management system. A knowledge management
system is an essential tool for any company to capture, organize, and analyse information. For
our organization an effective knowledge management system enables improved collaboration,
decision making, problem solving, communication, innovation, and time management among
employees and translates to a more efficient and satisfactory customer experience.

Information captured within our knowledge management system will include company
documents; data related to product development, presentation decks, product feature
breakdowns, case studies, and best practices. A knowledge management system can also be used
as a historical library that captures personnel
information, org-wide company news, system update and a secure location for password store.

Having an effective knowledge management system, we hope will set up a knowledge driven
culture that can help boost effectiveness, improve customer experiences, and give our team back
time they have previously had to spend hunting down the information they need to do their job.

Key Feature Requirements

Through years of working within a very fast paced and high-performance driven environments, I
believe that when it comes to choosing a knowledge management system, you want a software
that captures the information you need from a wide variety of sources and ensures fast, accurate,
relevant search results for your
users. The ideal knowledge management system should also allow for us to easily migrate
existing knowledge and content, add and update content as needed.
Even when team members are working remotely, spread throughout the country or the globe, the
knowledge management system should be able to deliver the knowledge for each of our
employees needs wherever they are working, without the need for a time-consuming and
complicated search process. The most effective
knowledge management systems can also be customized based on users’ needs and include
features that encourage interaction and collaboration.
Below are the key features that I believe need to be considered when it comes to choosing the
right system.
 - Ease of use/adoption – Choosing a knowledge management system that shows users its
value from the start. The deal system should allow team members to easily import and
format content or data or write information from scratch.
- Intelligent integration – A system that can capture the team’s knowledge and expertise, as
well as the knowledge they seek, from every interaction and web search. Additionally,
the ability to integrate with the tools already used within the organization and to sync
content so that internal- and external-facing content will be easily stored, verified, and
accessed in one place.
- Organization – Collections, groups, tags, and other organizational features that help
determine who sees what and sort content for simpler, more intuitive searches.
- Accessibility – Employees should have easy access to the knowledge they need to do
their jobs, no matter where – or on what device or browser – they are working.
- Customization – A system that allows us to customize specific knowledge suggestions
that will appear based on a user’s field or content focus.
- Smart suggestions – Knowledge should be surfaced for employees in real-time as they
have conversations with customers or fellow team members on calls or chat tools.
Utilizing a knowledge sharing tool that will suggest specific information will encourage
adoption and bring teams the information they need before they even know that they need
it.
- Collaborative features – Connecting teams and people to one another so they can share
their expertise is essential to effective collaboration, as is delivering knowledge to those
people at the right moment in the right place. By making knowledge management a
collaborative process, to utilize subject matter experts to get everyone in the org on the
same page.
- Content verification/insights – Expert verification, flagging of out-of-date or inaccurate
content, duplicate content alerts, suggested tags, and deep insights to track and improve
knowledge through artificial intelligence (AI)-integration are all powerful knowledge
management features.

Organize information according to organizational requirements

From personal experience it is very frustrating when we misplace a document, search for a
document, or just trying to find answers within an organization. Wasting time and energy with
the effort that could have been avoided simply by being more organized. The consequences of
lack of organization can be catastrophic not only for you but for the entire company. For
example, in the event of disaster recovery scenario, not knowing where the relevant processes
and procedures are can have a significant impact on the business.

The top benefits this has made through the organization of information within our organization
are:

- Efficiency - The greatest advantage of organizing information within a company is the

efficiency of the resources. An organized professional will spend less time correcting
mistakes, searching for information, and fixing any clutter. The time saved means more
time for doing productive things and more resources for other projects, therefore more
money. Apart from the positive impact on time management, organizing information will
make it more comfortable for our employees to share any information with each other,
thus working better as a team.
- Tracking progress - Having a clear overview of our company’s projects, activities and
resources help management with decision-making. Compiling and recording the data of
our company’s incomes and expenditures will help timely identify bottlenecks and
support the decision to redirect resources and energy to more profitable elements.
- Better management skills - For our business to keep information organized is all about
keeping things in proper to ensure the path from search to result is clear and time-
efficient. Having all needed information easily accessible allows us to locate the
information easily and quickly, with confidence in its location.
- Instilling trust - Organizing information establishes a sense of trust and professionalism
in the workplace. A well-organized company projects an image of reliability and control.
The strategies adopted by rational decision-makers with the help of thoroughly
disseminated information help win the trust of our employees, clients, and associates
effortlessly.
 - Reduced stress - A well-organized information culture triggers a more relaxed working
environment, as opposed to a cluttered or disorganized knowledge management system
where you are constantly searching for items or through countless threads of emails,
attachments, and files. It also my organization to adapt to modern working models,
including remote resources or working from home.

Step-by-step explanation of Knowledge Management in UNHCR

Knowledge management is the process of collecting, storing, organizing, and using knowledge
and information within an organization. It is an essential part of any successful business, as it
allows organizations to make better decisions, develop new products and services, and remain
competitive in their respective industries. Zack's Knowledge Management Model is a widely
used model that outlines the key components of knowledge management, including knowledge
creation, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, and knowledge management. 

The primary components of knowledge management that I will be focusing on include

knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, and knowledge management.

Knowledge Creation: In my organization, knowledge creation is mainly done through our

internal meetings, workshops, brainstorming sessions, and other knowledge-sharing activities.
We also use external sources such as research papers, case studies, and different other reports to
gain insights and develop new ideas.
Knowledge creation is the process of creating new knowledge and ideas. This can be done
through various methods, such as internal meetings, workshops, brainstorming sessions, and
other knowledge-sharing activities. It can also be done through external sources, such as research
papers, case studies, and industry reports. Knowledge sharing is the process of sharing
knowledge and experiences between employees within an organization. This can be done
through online platforms, meetings, workshops, and training sessions.

 
Knowledge Sharing: My organization has an internal online platform through which employees
can share their knowledge and experiences. We also have regular meetings and workshops for
employees to discuss ideas and share their experiences.

 
Knowledge Utilization: We use a variety of methods to ensure that knowledge is utilized
effectively in our organization. These include regular meetings, workshops, and training
sessions, as well as mentorship programs and feedback loops.

 Knowledge utilization is the process of utilizing knowledge and information in order to make
better decisions and develop new products and services. This can be done through various
methods, such as regular meetings, workshops, and training sessions, as well as mentorship
programs and feedback loops. Finally, knowledge management is the process of managing,
storing, and retrieving knowledge and information. This includes a document management
system, a database of best practices, and a knowledge repository.

Knowledge Management: We have a comprehensive knowledge management system in place

that is designed to ensure the efficient management, storage, and retrieval of knowledge. This
system includes a document management system, a database of best practices, and a knowledge
repository.
Overall, Zack's Knowledge Management Model is a comprehensive model that outlines the key
components of knowledge management. It emphasizes the importance of knowledge creation,
knowledge sharing, knowledge utilization, and knowledge management. By utilizing this model,
organizations can ensure that knowledge is created, shared, and utilized effectively. This helps to
improve organizational productivity and efficiency, as well as remain competitive in their
respective industries.