ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE:
This article tells about the way how organization knowledge can be managed. Firstly it discusses about knowledge management and then how KMS supports to manage knowledge in an organization.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT:

Knowledge management is a systematic process of capturing, creating, storing and applying knowledge in an organization. The knowledge can be effectively shared if only if there is a proper communication exists between the employees.

Knowledge management refers to a systematic and organizationally specified process of acquiring, organizing and communicating both tacit and explicit knowledge of employees so that other employees may make use of it to be more effective and productive in their work. As mentioned by Mryam & Dorothy (1999,p.2)

KMS SUPPORTING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT:

The value for organizational knowledge is limited, if it is not properly shared. Any organizations ability to sustain in a competitive world depends on the ability to integrate and apply its knowledge assets of organizational members.

Traditionally, the creation and transfer of knowledge has occurred through various means like face to face communications, mentoring and staff development. As now a day’s markets are becoming global and organizations are moving to virtual forms, these traditional means prove to be slow and less effective. So, more efficient electronic means is necessary to support knowledge management in the organizations. Only computer systems can have a random effect at best to facilitate communication and information sharing.

As a result organizations are beginning to implement information systems which supports and enhance the organizational process of knowledge creation, storage, retrieval, transfer and application in organizations. Maier (cited in Kaldi, Aghaie & Khoshalan 2008)

These systems are referred as Knowledge management systems which help in managing knowledge in organizations. It creates a new working environment where knowledge and experience can be easily shared and also enables information and knowledge to emerge and flow to the right people at the right time so they can act more efficiently and effectively. Smith ( cited in Mostafa, Peyman, Mehdi & Mohammad 2007)

The following section can provide a clear idea on managing knowledge in NHS pharmacy department through KMS.

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE:

In NHS two approaches personalisation and codification are used to manage knowledge in it. In personalisation approach, workshop presentations, conferences, telecommunications and face to face interactions are used to share tacit and explicit knowledge among the organisational members. Where as in codification approach web 2.0 technologies such as RSS, WIKI’s, pharmacy space , podcasting and along with this meta data and tagging are used. The people who lacks IT skills use personalisation approach and others use the codification process.

This KM system acts as bridge for creating and sharing knowledge among the organisational members. During the conferences and workshop presentations people can know about new thing related to pharmacy sector and will share with fellow members through face to face interactions. They can put this information in wikis, podcasts through which others can connect to it. Pharmacy department can be configured to send an RSS feed about its current status and announcement. If any trouble is detected in the department, an update about the problem is sent to the users. In this way the knowledge is managed in NHS pharmacy department.

REFERENCES:

1. Maryam, A & Dorothy, L 1999, ‘Knowledge Management Systems: Emerging Views and Practices from the field’, system sciences, vol.7, pp. 1-8

2. Kaldi, A ,Aghaie, A & Khoshalhan, F 2008, ‘KMS Adoption in organizations’, industrial engineering & engineering management, pp. 37-41

3. Mostafa, F, Peyman, A, Mehdi, N & Mohammad, F 2007, ‘Iran aerospace industries’ KM approach based on a comparative study: a bench marking on successful practices’, Aircraft engineering and aerospace technology, vol. 79, pp. 69-79