Knowledge Management Concepts and Theoretical Frameworks - Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods - Case Study Example

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (Name) (University) Introduction Different schools of thought may define the term knowledge in many ways. However, regardless of the concepts underpinned by any definition, knowledge can be seen as an equivalent to the understanding, familiarity or awareness with respect to a person or any other subject (Wiig, 2012). Such awareness or understanding concerns information, facts, skills or descriptions of the subject. Knowledge is acquired in multiple dimensions that overlap each other in forms of education, experience, discovery, perception and learning. A person may possess theoretical or practical knowledge, which is then referred to as implicit or explicit knowledge respectively. The study of knowledge is referred to as epistemology (Quinn & Strategy, 2013). Knowledge management is therefore the ability to capture, develop and share organizational knowledge (Argote, 2012). This process also encompasses the effective and efficient use of the knowledge. Bassi (2014) points out that if knowledge in any organization is put to its best use, while multi-disciplinary participation is employed, then it is significant in the achievement of organizations’ goals and objectives. This definition of knowledge management makes it a critical, vital and invaluable tool for the utilization of the intellectual assets in an organization. Knowledge management goes a long way into controlling the operations of organizations as well as determining various changes and adjustments in operations to suit client or consumer expectations (Akhavan et al., 2014). This is with an intention of creating or sustaining competitive advantage in highly competitive sectors. This paper looks into a case study examining knowledge management within a fictionally conceptualized organization. However, in the discussion, knowledge management concepts and theoretical frameworks are used. Event Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods was established in 2009 fast as a restaurant only offering hotel service but slowly added fast food chains to its service list after only two years. The restaurants have been so far doing well and gained recognition in various regions of the United States. This is can be attributed to world class service rendered to our customers by a team of well trained and efficient waiters and waitresses. One of our major advantages however, that makes us uniquely stand out among all the other hotels, is our strategic use of the service tables as the kitchen. The marketing team has been responsible for offering various advices that in most occasions the restaurant has put to considerations hence raising and sustaining competitive advantage in the highly competitive hotel sector. One of the major recommendations the marketing team once made is the slogan ‘Your table, My Kitchen’. This was after a ground research that revealed that a huge number of people in the US love watching their meals being prepared. After introducing this concept virtually 6 months after entering into the market, our customer turnover has been something no entrepreneur can ever complain about. As such, the restaurant has been able to quickly expand and venture into different regions of the US, taking pride in having so far established 18 branches and 20 fast foods outlets. In this success, the marketing department has been tantamount. Servy Hotel and Fast food intends to expand its growth and mark its firmness in the American hotel industry through increasing the restaurant outlets and expanding the fast food chain. As such, the marketing department is once again key in conducting research and advising on various key issues regarding venturing and establishing into new markets. The marketing department goes out and conducts research through observation of hotel users’ behaviour and conducting interviews where necessary. As such, they are able to advice on issues concerning potential locations, target markets, marketing strategies and significant service improvements. Using their knowledge and experience in marketing, the team is able to gather the information and access its reliability and use it to suggest recommendations. The management uses this knowledge and information from the marketing department to make crucial decisions appertaining the services offered and establishment of new outlets. As such, this case study focuses on the marketing department from their various ways of accessing marketing information, analyzing the information to making recommendations relying on the information. Analysis using Knowledge Management Concepts Considering the fact that Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods is a hotel on the rise in the United States, it strongly relies on the group of marketers in making significant decisions about service. Most importantly, the restaurant values the advice regarding food behaviour and trends in food behaviour of the Americans. This information is particularly crucial in making important decisions regarding the menu, service and to a greater extent determining the establishment of new ventures. The diagram below illustrates the channels involved in knowledge flow within the marketing department. The knowledge source in this case is mainly the hotel users. Being a service industry, the restaurant and fast food outlets strongly rely on customer satisfaction and opinion about service. The hotel industry cannot undervalue customers’ response towards service delivery and quality. As such the marketing department reaches out to both the regular and irregular hotel users so as to be able to understand their considerations and preferences when it comes to the use of restaurants. The department has a strategy through which they reach the hotel users. For example, they understand that most work places situated along streets have their workers mostly breaking for lunch and using the restaurants around. As such, these workers are significant information tools with regards to restaurant service. Our marketing team, makes a point of reaching them through interviews that mainly targeting at getting their attitudes and response towards restaurant service in line with their expectations. Moreover, our marketing department also acquires information through frequent visits to other restaurants and monitoring their service delivery with an aim of drawing the positives and highlighting the flaws. These sources of knowledge are relevant to the successful operations of restaurant entities. In addition, the marketing team has in place and effective knowledge management system which is integrated in our website services. Through this system, the marketing department is able to receive customer feedback on our services. Besides that, they are also able to carry out online surveys about market responses to hotel and restaurant services. Using this system, the department is able to trace the knowledge sources, interpret the relevance and reliability of the knowledge and respond appropriately by advising the top management on the course of action. Fuller (2012) explains that as from the 20th century, there has been massive increase in the use of technology in business sector. Aspects such as knowledge bases and knowledge repositories, expert systems and decision supporting systems have all been incorporated in the knowledge management systems (Handzic & Durmic, 2014). Our marketing team has been effectively engaging these technological adaptations in management of knowledge, which has equally been crucial in sense-making. As Dave Snowden observes, our personal experiences strongly influence and determine our interactions, actions and decisions (Hislop, 2013). As such, factors such as personal experience and collective experience are key in influencing choices (Argote, 2012). Using our knowledge management systems, the marketing department engages the Cynefin framework in the management of knowledge. The department uses hotel experiences of consumers in strategic decision making. Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods has specific targets for knowledge. Knowledge targets could be looked at using two dimensions, which are; the recipients of the knowledge and the purpose of the knowledge (Fuller, 2012). These targets are designed within the operational scope of the business and are focused towards achieving exponential growth and expansion. Effective management of knowledge is essential for business growth. Most importantly, it is important to set targets for the knowledge in order to maintain objectivity in knowledge management. Knowledge targets are important in directing the entire cycle of knowledge management (Lim & Nowell, 2014). It ensures that knowledge and information gathered are relevant to the operations, objectives and goals of the entity. In Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods, the knowledge recipient is the operations manager who is controlled by the following set of targets/objectives: Use of knowledge in improving menus: This includes inclusion of a variety and diverse foods for different people with different demands. Use of knowledge in improving customer service: This entails processes involve in serving meals to the customers according to various preferences. Use of knowledge for business expansion: This includes setting up of new hotel and fast food outlets. For instance, knowledge in this case is essential in determining new potential locations. Use of knowledge to improve dietary and nutritional value of food: Servy Restaurant and Fast Foods targets to reduce food and diet related diseases by improving the food content in terms of nutritional value while maintaining the appeal to taste and preference. Use of knowledge in recruitment of staff: Through knowledge acquired, various aspects may need to be addressed only through acquiring skilled and expert experience in various departmental sections of the hotel business. For example, consumer inclination to a particular type of meal may demand acquisition of chefs with special training and experience in the preparation of this kind of meal. Use of knowledge in projecting future results, market performance and market expectations. This knowledge targets provide a bench mark through which the marketing department evaluate knowledge against the targets for these knowledge. According to Dalkir (2013), important data to meet the knowledge targets for businesses would be both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative knowledge entails aspects such as customers’ food behaviour, opinions and views, reasons for certain preferences, particular specifications and certain influences among other things, all related to the hotel sector. On the other hand quantitative knowledge would entail effective numerical data about estimate number of target consumers, figures regarding certain similar or dissimilar preferences, market prices of various meals among other details. All this knowledge will be important in the shaping up of our services to maintain a competitive advantage over other hotels. Furthermore, it would be relevant in projecting the future prospects of our business and encouraging further growth and development. As such it is important for this knowledge to be objective and factual in order to make correct, rather, appropriate knowledge-informed decisions. Conclusion From this analysis of knowledge management, it can be concluded that knowledge management is significantly important in the management of organizations. In not only plays a role in controlling current operations but also goes a long way in determining the future aspects of the entities growth (Fuller, 2012). It is important for knowledge controllers in institutions to be able to understand the sources of knowledge, the knowledge management systems in place and the knowledge targets. Each of these factors plays a major role that cannot be undermined in effective management of knowledge in organizations. Holtshouse (2013) posits that knowledge sources must be strategically identified and selected in order to access reliable data and information. In addition, organizations are required to have in place proper and efficient knowledge management systems to scrutinize the knowledge in relation to relevance, reliability and appropriateness to the knowledge targets. Lastly, it is essential to have clearly defined knowledge targets that would control all the knowledge management procedures. In conclusion, it is not just important to have knowledge but it is important to have it and effectively manage it in line with the entities’ operations so as to achieve business goals. Effective knowledge management is as good as solving half of the business related challenges in striving to boost or uphold competitive advantage (Dent & Whitehead, 2013). Glossary i. Awareness: The condition or state of being conscious about something. ii. Data: Individual facts, items of information or statistics. iii. Explicit knowledge: The kind of knowledge that one knows only theoretically. iv. Expert systems v. Decisions: Conclusions made after thorough considerations of situations. vi. Decision making: Act of making decisions based on analysis of circumstances. vii. Decision supporting systems: Computer application programs also referred to as DSS that present information in a way that makes it easier to make decisions. viii. Implicit knowledge: The kind of knowledge that one knows practically. ix. Information: Knowledge acquired through communication, study, research or instruction. x. Information tools: Sources of information. xi. Interview: Process of seeking knowledge and information through asking questions from various identified sources. xii. Knowledge: The understanding, familiarity or awareness with respect to a person or any other subject. xiii. Knowledge bases: Technology used to store information. xiv. Knowledge flow: The movement of knowledge through knowledge management channels. That is from the source to the target. xv. Knowledge management: The ability to capture, develop and share organizational knowledge. xvi. Knowledge Management Systems: Channels, including technological channels, which are used in analyzing the reliability, effectiveness and applicability of knowledge. xvii. Knowledge repositories: Computerized systems that capture and organize organizations’ knowledge systematically. xviii. Knowledge Sources: Identified carriers and givers of information and knowledge to researchers. xix. Knowledge Targets: The recipient of knowledge or the intended goals of the acquired knowledge. xx. Qualitative: Involving nature or properties that can only be described theoretically or using words and statements. xxi. Quantitative: Involving nature or properties that can be described using numbers, statistical figures and representation. xxii. Research: A survey conducted by experts to collect data, information and knowledge from various identified sources, either primary or secondary. xxiii. Sense-making: The process involved in understanding unfamiliar concepts and ideologies by breaking them down into simpler understandable entities that could be used in influencing decision making. Reference List Akhavan, P., Ebrahim Sanjaghi, M., Rezaeenour, J., & Ojaghi, H. (2014). Examining the relationships between organizational culture, knowledge management and environmental responsiveness capability. VINE: The journal of information and knowledge management systems, 44(2), 228-248. Argote, L. (2012). Organizational learning: Creating, retaining and transferring knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media. Bassi, A. (2014). Project Management: Human and Organizational Learning. In Human Capital without Borders: Knowledge and Learning for Quality of Life; Proceedings of the Management, Knowledge and Learning International Conference 2014 (pp. 459-466). ToKnowPress. Dalkir, K. (2013). Knowledge management in theory and practice. Routledge. Dent, M., & Whitehead, S. (Eds.). (2013). 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