Barriers to Effective Knowledge Management - Coursework Example

Knowledge Café Report Name Institution Knowledge Café Report Section 1: Literature Review Knowledge management is one of the organizational innovations, which has been in existence for more than a decade, thus, the platform to discern the principles, tools, and tools to make it a valuable and unique tool. From the discourse perspective, KM has been essential in incorporating diverse concepts, as well as characteristics, which make it vital in understanding the approach by organizations to utilize knowledge in the creation of value. There is a need to explore developments in the evaluation and investigation of the theoretical models determining the functioning of the knowledge management frameworks among the business entities. The purpose of this literature review is to explore literary critical works on the evaluation of the theoretical models and elements of knowledge management. In the first instance, researchers have focused on the evaluation of the importance of KM in four critical contexts. In the first instance, there is the issue of globalization in which organizations tend to operate on the more global-multisite, multilingual, and multicultural, thus, increased importance of KM. In the second context, KM proves to be valuable in the desired leaner organizations for efficiency and effectiveness in the maximization of the goals and targets at the end of each fiscal period. KM plays a critical role in the maximization of the technological developments in addressing the demands and expectations of the consumers in the market and industry of operation. KM tends to incorporate diverse steps relating to creation, sourcing, compilation, transformation, dissemination, and application of information towards the creation of value by the business entities. The achievement of a knowledge management initiative in the organization must relate to the adoption and integration of the most effective and efficient theoretical perspective. Researchers have focused on the exploration of the most effective theoretical or conceptual frameworks for the operation of the aforementioned components or elements of KM. The studied models are vital in the course of offering appropriate infrastructures for the integration of the knowledge management. For instance, research practitioners have focused on the exploration of the von Krogh and Roos Model of Organizational Epistemology. This theoretical perspective elaborates on the differences between the individual knowledge and the elements of the social knowledge from an epistemological perspective in the management of the knowledge. The theoretical model is valuable in illustrating how and why people and social entities gain knowledge in the organization. Similarly, the theoretical model illustrates the impediments of the KM in the organizational context, thus, the platform towards understanding the existence of knowledge at the individual and social levels (Dalkir, 2011). Similarly, Nonaka and Takeuchi focused on the exploration of the success in the Japanese business entities did manage the spiral knowledge model in the form of The Nonaka and Takeuchi Knowledge Spiral Model. This model is essential in the course of demonstrating the greater influence of knowledge management in the maximization of the profit levels and revenues at the end of each fiscal period. This theoretical framework is essential in demonstrating the necessity towards integration of the cultural and operational perspectives, thus, a platform for the utilization of Western and Japanese schools of thought. The knowledge creation begins with the individual while utilizing four critical elements such as socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization towards the management of the knowledge. Researchers have also focused on the exploration of the Choo Sense-making KM Model. This model plays a critical role in the course of elaborating sense making, knowledge creation, and decision-making in the understanding of the knowledge management. According to Choo, KM model should focus on the evaluation of the selection of information elements, as well as the integration of such elements into the organizational actions. There are diverse stimulus trigger each phase of the sense-making KM model. In the case of the sense-making phase, individuals aim at making sense of the information from the external environmental context. Similarly, the phase engages in the identification and utilization of the priorities in filtering the information, thus, the platform for the construction of the common interpretations of exchange and negotiation of information. Research practitioners have also focused on the exploration of the Wiig Model for Building and Using Knowledge, which aims at the organization of the knowledge to achieve its value and usefulness in addressing the demands and expectations of the organization. From this perspective, there is a need to organize the knowledge in diverse components depending on desired outcomes of the knowledge management. The model tends to consider diverse dimensions such as connectedness, completeness, congruency, and perspective and purpose. These components and dimensions are critical in the course of maximizing the output of knowledge management following the demands and expectations of the target audiences. Wiig’s model is also valuable in the exploration of the levels of internalization of knowledge; thus, the platform to refine Nonaka and Takeuchi’s internalization. The model is also valuable in defining three aspects of knowledge regarding the public knowledge, shared expertise, and personal knowledge. The Boisot I-Space KM Model is also a critical model of KM, which has been of the great interest to the research practitioners. This model is valuable is based on the key concept of information good rather than the physical aspect of the knowledge. According to this model, effective and efficient knowledge sharing demands that senders and receivers share the context and coding scheme, thus, the need to structure and convert data into information easily. Finally, researchers have also focused on the exploration of the Complex Adaptive System Models of KM, which incorporates numerous independent agents interacting with others in the local contexts. From this perspective, the overall patterns of complex behavior tend to emerge because of the interactions. These models have been essential in the maximization and evaluation of the role and implication of the KM in the modern organizational context. The theoretical frameworks are valuable in the illustration of the holistic approach regarding KM due to their comprehensive nature and consideration of people, procedures, processes, practices, and technological aspects. Similarly, these theoretical frameworks have been essential in the development of the platform for the KM practitioners and academics, as well as the implementation of the models regarding reliability and validity. Section 2: Applied Report Introduction The knowledge management field continues to draw diverse perceptions and opinions, thus, increased interests of the researchers to evaluate and explore its components and elements. According to modern research practitioners, the potentiality to manage knowledge continues to become more crucial in the contemporary knowledge economy. From this perspective, the achievement of competitiveness and sustainability in modern corporations relates to the creation, as well as effective and efficient diffusion of knowledge. These practices continue to demonstrate the importance and significance of knowledge management in the contemporary globalized economy. Researchers continue to cite the influence of the internet technology, as well as the World Wide Web innovation in the generation of unlimited sources of knowledge available to the society members. Conceptualization of Knowledge Management Knowledge management refers to the processes and procedures of integrating systematic mechanism in capturing, as well as structure and management of knowledge in the organization with a view of enhancing efficiency while reducing costs of operations. From this illustration, knowledge management aims at capturing, storing, and disseminating information in the course of creating value in the modern context. KM tends to deal with knowledge and information, thus, the subjective approach to gain an understanding of the values, perceptions, and experience. In the modern context, there has been increased the assessment of the organizational perspectives in the course of understanding the role and influence of knowledge management. This exercise has been essential in generating three critical perspectives through integration or implementation of the KM in the organizational context. In the first instance, there is the concept of the business perspective, which concentrates on addressing why, where, and what implications relate to the investment and exploitation of knowledge by diverse organizations. In this context, researchers have focused on the strategies, products, services, acquisitions, and alliances towards understanding maximization of the knowledge in the modern context. Secondly, researchers have focused on the exploration of the management perspective towards understanding the role and influence KM in the organizational context (Dalkir, 2011). This perspective relates to the determination, organization, enabling, and monitoring of the knowledge practices and activities to aid the achievement of the desired strategies and goals in the organizational context. It is valuable for the organization to incorporate these practices and principles in the capturing, storing, and comprehending knowledge in the creation of value. Thirdly, researchers have focused on the exploration of the hands-on perspective, which relates to the application of the expertise to execute knowledge-related works, as well as tasks. Evidently, the business perspective demonstrates the strategic element of KM while the management perspective emanates as the parallel practice to the strategic layer. Similarly, the hands-on perspective is valuable in the demonstration of the operational aspect of KM in the organizational context. Knowledge Management Cycle Knowledge management cycle refers to the processes of the knowledge creation or production, as well as the integration of knowledge to the organizational context, beliefs, and culture or environment. From the literature review, it is valuable to consider distilling the KM processes and procedures into three critical aspects: capture/creation, sharing/dissemination, and acquisition and application. The transition of the knowledge from capture to knowledge sharing and dissemination provides the platform for the assessment of the content of the knowledge. Contextualization of the knowledge is valuable for acquisition and application of knowledge. In the first phase of the KM cycle, there is the essence of the knowledge capture, which relates to the identification, as well as consequential codification of the existing internal knowledge, as well as the expertise within the organization and external knowledge environment. Creation of the knowledge refers to the development of the new forms of knowledge and expertise or innovations, which might have been absent in the context of the company. The invention of the knowledge in this manner is essential in the presentation of the platform for the assessment of the content against selection criteria in agreement with the organizational goals. The approach is essential in the determination of the validity of the knowledge content, as well as significance in the transformation of the business entity in addressing the demands and expectations of the consumers. Similarly, practitioners focus on the evaluation or exploration of the sufficient value of the knowledge towards addressing the goals and objectives of the organization in the modern context. Following the identification of the new content of the information, as well as its sufficient value, there is a need to facilitate the contextualization of the content. This is valuable in the maintenance of the link between the knowledge and the individuals with the knowledge on the existing content. These relates to the author and the target audiences seeking to maximize the knowledge content in the maximization of the KM and its components with reference to the image and reputation of the firm in the industry of operation. Additionally, the second phase, contextualization relates to the identification of the critical elements or characteristics of the content with the intention matching the needs of diverse users (Dalkir, 2011). For instance, there is need for the personalization of the knowledge with the intention of translating the content into the preference of the key attributes to the end user. The success of contextualization is achievable through the effective integration of the knowledge in the business processes of the business entity or organization. Similarly, the KM cycle facilitates the acquisition and application of the knowledge in addressing the goals and objectives of the business entities. The users have the potentiality of validating the usefulness of the knowledge content, thus, platform to signal the authenticity of content and applicability to address the competitiveness of the business entity. Various research practitioners have focused on the evaluation of the processes or elements of KM while identifying the influence of diverse factors to facilitate the execution of each phase for effective and efficient utilization of the knowledge. For instance, Meyer & Zack (1996) believe that KM incorporates five critical stages. These stages relate to acquisition, refinement, store/retrieve, distribution, and presentation of the knowledge. Moreover, McElroy (1999) focused on the refining or exploration of the KM cycle to incorporate five critical components. These components include individual and group learning, claim validation of knowledge, acquisition of information, validation of knowledge, and integration of the knowledge. According to Bukowitz & Williams (2003), there are seven critical stages for the development and maximization of the KM in the modern context. These stages include get, use, learn, contribute, assess, build/sustain, and divest. Wiig (1993) sought to oversee the integration of seven critical components of the KM cycle, thus, the perfect platform for the maximization of the knowledge in the creation of value in the modern or contemporary context. These components include creation of knowledge, sourcing, compilation, transformation, dissemination, application, and value realization. These components and perspective have enormous in the categorization of the role and influence of the KM cycle into three critical elements: capture, contextualization, and application or dissemination of knowledge to facilitate the execution of KM to generate value among the business entities. Technology and Knowledge Management ICT continues to play a critical in determining the perception of the individuals and business entities, as well as other organizations in the contemporary context. From this context, it is valuable to demonstrate the fact that ICT in education has been essential in enabling students to facilitate acquisition, contextualization, and dissemination of information in the course of making sense in accordance with the external environment. Additionally, there are diverse ICT components or tools, which play critical roles in the course of enabling the individuals to acquire, as well as disseminate or maximize information. One of the most essential ICT components in aiding effective KM is the USB. This tool plays a critical role in the course of enabling students to store information, which relates to the assignments or notes on specific topics, thus, platform for the realization of the effective KM. Utilization of the USB is essential in generating diverse benefits such as minimization of the cost of storing, accessing, and disseminating information. Similarly, USBs plays critical in bridging the gap between the students with and without effective storage platform for the acquisition of knowledge. On the other hand, there might be diverse limitations towards adoption and integration of this technological approach in the maximization of the storage and utilization of knowledge. Some of these limitations might relate to the increase in the costs of management, especially among the target audiences in the remote areas, as well as individuals without the computing systems and devices. From this perspective, there might be limitations on accessibility by the individuals with lack of access to such devices in enabling effective and efficient maximization of the knowledge. ICTs also relates to the utilization or integration of the Wi-Fi City Hotspots, as well as hubs, which facilitates accessibility or exploration of information on the internet platforms. For instance, this ICT platform reduces the cost of accessing information with the internet-enabled devices. There is also ease of the accessibility of information on the internet platform, thus, the opportunity for the students to maximize the enormous pool of information through diverse search engine for contextualization. Alternatively, business entities within the vicinity have the perfect platform to maximize their images and reputations through increased awareness among the target audiences. Nevertheless, the ICT tool tends to have diverse limitations such as lack of convenience and flexibility. There is also high cost in the procurement of the internet-enabled devices to facilitate ease in accessing information. Students also have the opportunity to gain or capture information and knowledge through utilization of the lecture bundles. This approach is highly effective of the precise nature in the course of learning diverse topics by the students to enhance their awareness of the existing issues in the global context. The ICT perspective is also ideal for personalizing the learning experience, thus, the platform to facilitate maximization of the acquisition and dissemination of the information among the target audience. The approach is also valuable in the illustration of the innovations of mechanisms to acquire and apply knowledge by the students. However, there might be diverse pitfalls relating to the utilization of this ICT aspect of the knowledge management. For instance, this approach adopts individuality perspective to the learning. Similarly, the approach might play a critical role in neglecting the self-learning experience to facilitate realization of diverse objectives and goals among the different target audiences. Modern technology also associates with the shared bike service in facilitating acquisition and dissemination of information among the target audiences. This is valuable in enabling the research practitioners and other scholars to save the cost of accessing and utilization of knowledge to enable creation of value in diverse contexts. ICT also associates with the customised UoN programs for the students to innovate the learning process in the higher education environment. Students have the ability and opportunity to acquire information on the technological aspects such as Kindle in the course of enhancing their awareness on specific topics of interest. Such approaches are essential in enabling easier access to the information hub by the students and other scholars while providing the platform for the utilization of environmentally friendly approaches. From the above illustration, it is valuable to demonstrate the fact that technology plays a critical role in the maximization of the outputs of KM. This is through improving the efficiency and access to information or knowledge by the target audiences in the course of addressing the demands and expectations of the market segments. In addition, ICT aims at conservation of the environment, thus, the platform for the maximization of the internet technology for the transformation of the mechanisms through which individuals acquire information in the modern context. These approaches are crucial in the transformation of the KM cycle to reduce the cost of managing knowledge in the contemporary society. Nevertheless, utilization of technology in the modern context associates with diverse pitfalls, which might relate to the illegal access of the sensitive information. From this perspective, there is need to integrate diverse security mechanisms to improve efficiency of the information in the creation of the value for the target audiences in the diverse contexts. Barriers to Effective Knowledge Management Effective knowledge management must relate to the realization of efficient and flexible transfer of information from the author or creator to the target audience or receiver. Nevertheless, there are diverse barriers or obstacles, which might limit realization of effective knowledge management. One of the potential barriers to the knowledge management is the utilization of highly specialized vocabularies. In most cases, research practitioners tend to view this element as the utilization of the jargons in the transfer of knowledge from the creator to the receiver. This tends to create misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the concepts in the dissemination of information or knowledge to create value. There is need for the author or creator of the knowledge to have adequate knowledge about the target audiences, thus, the platform to maximize the influence or implications of the knowledge in addressing the demands and expectations of the target audiences (Ray, 2014). Secondly, realization of effective knowledge management might associate with the diverging reward and incentives in the utilization of the information or knowledge in addressing the demands and expectations of the target audiences. In this context, there is need for the creator and receiver of the knowledge to form a quality collaboration to facilitate sufficient value from the valid information and knowledge in the business context. Similarly, business entities and corporations might lack adequate or sufficient resources to facilitate effective and efficient R&D programs related to the existing technology transfer in the modern or contemporary contexts (Bloice & Burnett, 2016). This limits the ability and potentiality of the target audiences to capture substantive amount of information in maximizing the image and reputation of the corporation in focus. There might also be issues relating to divergent procedures for the licensing and contracting the operations of the organizations in the modern or contemporary context. Lack of effective knowledge management might also relate to the resistance to change among the target audiences in the organizational context. From this perspective, it is valuable for the organizations to adopt and maximize quality mechanisms of KM, which limit potential resistance among the target audiences within the corporation. Overcoming these KM barriers must relate to the ability of the organizations or institutions to integrate the concept effectively and efficiently in the operational culture (Haas & Cummings, 2014). This approach aims at generation of the harmony in the maximization of the goals and targets at the end of each fiscal period. Conclusion Conclusively, knowledge management is one of the organizational innovations, which has been in existence for more than a decade, thus, the platform to discern the principles, tools, and tools to make it a valuable and unique tool. This report has been able to explore the influence of ICT in facilitating realization of effective KM. On the other hand, the research report has been critical in the identification of diverse barriers, which limit the achievement of effective KM. Some of these obstacles include use of specialized vocabularies, lack of sufficient financial resources, and resistance to change among the business entities. It is valuable for the business entities to consider elimination of these obstacles to facilitate creation of value through acquisition and dissemination of information. References Bloice, L., & Burnett, S. (2016). Barriers to knowledge sharing in third sector social care: a case study. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(1). Bukowitz, W., and Williams, R. (2000). The knowledge management field-book. London: Prentice Hall. Dalkir, K. (2011) Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice (2nd ed.), The MIT Press. Haas, M. R., & Cummings, J. N. (2014). Barriers to knowledge seeking within MNC teams: Which differences matter most [quest]. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(1), 36-62. McElroy, M. (1999, April). The knowledge life cycle. Presented at the ICM Conference on KM. Miami, FL. McElroy, M. (2003). The new knowledge management: complexity, learning and sustainable innovation. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Meyer, M., and Zack, M. (1996). The design and implementation of information products. Sloan Management Review, 37(3): 43–59. Paulin, D., & Suneson, K. (2015). Knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing and knowledge barriers–three blurry terms in KM. Leading Issues in Knowledge Management, Volume Two, 2, 73. Ray, D. (2014). Overcoming cross-cultural barriers to knowledge management using social media. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 27(1), 45-55. Wiig, K. (1993). Knowledge management foundations. Arlington, TX: Schema Press. Read More