Knowledge Management in a Team - Coursework Example

Knowledge Management in a Team Introduction Management of data is important to any organization or team. The reason why it is important to manage data is because it is just like any other resource for an organization. Data is used by organizations and learning teams to run projects that they have to handle. Sharing of these data resources should be done with a lot of professionalism to so that the data become useful to the organization. This paper is going to look into how teams can better manage the data resource they have and also improve their knowledge management systems. The strategies that can be used in this process are also going to be highlighted in the paper. (1)How should your Learning Team manage data resources for your team projects? One way through which people working together can enhance better work relationship among themselves is through forming active learning teams. Through the learning teams, knowledge is obtained by getting access to data and information about specific ideas in the team projects. Managing the data resources available for a team is among the hardest hurdle to handle. My learning team is also faced with the same challenge therefore the following recommendations can be useful[Che122]. The management of the learning team should first work towards properly knowing the team projects ahead of the team. Doing this entails looking at what data resources are going to be required for the tasks to be done. Every project usually requires some resource for them to be worked on. However, in cases where we have more than one project, some of them require similar data resources. Conducting a pre-analysis of the team projects is a good example of how the requirements can be revealed.[Che122] Since some projects have similar requirements, it is advisable to group these projects together when data resource allocation is to be done. By grouping, the management becomes more efficient as it will be easy to make the resource allocations. The groups will avoid duplication of roles within the team as the required number of stuff will be assigned to collect the knowledge needed. Therefore, the management would help the team not to waste a lot of time and resources capturing the same data for the projects[Bos14]. The other recommendation is that the management should know which team members are needed for particular projects. This starts with knowing the team members we have in our team. Through this we get to know the roles that every team player can engage in properly. After this is known, it becomes possible to assign the members areas where they able to capture data efficiently[Fer121]. It is also recommendable that assessment of the sources of data and the channels data resource pass through be done frequently. The assessment will to identify areas where flow of data is not effective and thus improvements are made appropriately. This might call for accessing other sources which were not used before if there is inadequate data resource in the team. Therefore, it is reasonable to adapt the idea of continuous assessments of the knowledge flow into the team as it helps in noticing areas that need improvements[Gil14]. (2)How could your Learning Team better manage the shared knowledge on your team? Sharing of knowledge is the next step after it has been captured by team members from various sources. Sharing of information makes it more productive thus the need for the learning team to come up with better ways of managing the shared knowledge in the team. The following recommendations are useful in improving the management of shared knowledge. Putting importance to both the explicit and tacit knowledge is one great step that team management should consider[Gil14]. Many organizations rely on the explicit knowledge which is easy to pass across team members. It can be shared to others by studying or issuing of handouts such as journals and books. Tacit knowledge is the type that is usually hard to pass to team members since it entails presence of an experienced fellow or one going through the same experience that might take long. Many people forget about this knowledge, while it is important as the explicit. Tacit knowledge is the one responsible of equipping people with unique skills that enhance better performance[Jaa11]. Therefore, emphasis should be on both types of knowledge. It is also recommendable that the team gets prepared for departure of members. Team members can leave our organization due to reasons such as illness, retirement or finding other jobs. It is crucial that the knowledge that these members who are leaving our organization be captured and shared among the remaining team members. The knowledge can also be stored in the organization’s systems for future uses. There are various ways through which a team can get prepared for the exodus of their members. For example, conducting exit interviews is an important strategy that the knowledge management team can use to capture some idea from the leaving fellows and later on share it to the remaining members[LiZ14]. It is also recommendable that the process of sharing information be made easier for all the team members. The easier the process becomes, the more knowledge will be shared across the team and organization. Therefore it is good that all the measures that can be taken to make the flow of information and knowledge be instilled in the organization. An example of how this can be made possible is the introduction of advanced technology in the process. For instance, use of team portals to communicate about work stuff is an effective way of making the process of managing shared knowledge easy. Through the portal people can be discussing issues without being forced with attending many meetings[Ric123]. (3)What strategies or resources would help facilitate Learning Team knowledge management? For the success of any learning team or organization, proper knowledge management is a necessary activity. When knowledge is effectively managed it becomes easier for the team to be able to use the available data resources to achieve its set goals. Knowledge management involves capturing organizational knowledge, storing the knowledge and data resource, and finally sharing this knowledge. There are several strategies that any organization or learning team can put into practice to help improve their knowledge management system[Bou15]. Issuing of rewards to those who are active in issuing out data and knowledge to the team is one of the best strategies used to manage knowledge in an organization. When people are rewarded for what they do it pushes them to keep performing better than before. Therefore, it is justified that the team members be motivated by awards so that they can improve the knowledge base of the team or organization[Shi121]. Giving room for storytelling is another strategy that is important in ensuring improved knowledge flow in an organization or team. The storytelling session is going to give room for the experienced employees and members of the team to share the experiences to the new members. This is to help instill quality skills to these new team members[Van11]. Conclusion Since every team and organization is aimed at becoming the best in doing its work, it is also important that enough time and resources be invested in knowledge management. The recommendations stated in this paper are going to help teams in making sure that knowledge is captured, stored and shared without a lot of challenges. In this paper, there are various mechanisms such as introduction of storytelling sessions that can be used in improving the knowledge sharing and capturing of teams. The different strategies that should be used to improve how teams and organizations van manage their knowledge base are also looked at in this paper. The strategies can only be productive when the entire team and stakeholders in an organization play apart in their implementation. Therefore, it is possible for every learning team to improve its knowledge management system. References Che122: , (Chen, 2012), Bos14: , (Bosch-Sijtsema, 2014), Fer121: , (Fern, 2012), Gil14: , (Gil, 2014), Jaa11: , (Jaakkola, 2011), LiZ14: , (Li, 2014), Ric123: , (Richter, 2012), Bou15: , (Bourbousson, 2015), Shi121: , (Shin, 2012), Van11: , (Van den Bossche, 2011), Read More