Codification and Personalization Orientations of Knowledge Management According to Hansen - Literature review Example

THЕ ‘СОDIFIСАTIОN’ and THЕ ‘РЕRSОNАLISАTIОN’ KNОWLЕDGЕ MАNАGЕMЕNT (KМ) ОRIЕNTАTIОNS ОF НАNSЕN ЕT АL (1999) Student’s Name: Course Code: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission THЕ ‘СОDIFIСАTIОN’ and THЕ ‘РЕRSОNАLISАTIОN’ KNОWLЕDGЕ MАNАGЕMЕNT (KМ) ОRIЕNTАTIОNS ОF НАNSЕN ЕT АL (1999) Introduction Knowledge management is the process through which knowledge is created, shared, used and managed in an organisation (Sveiby, 2001). It is the process through which the goals of an organisation are achieved through making good use of the acquired knowledge. Information is usually very important in any organisation (O’Leary, 2002). Handling information within an organisation is part of knowledge management which determines how the organisation will achieve its objectives. There have been different frameworks used to differentiate the various types of knowledge. According to Massingham (2004), knowledge can either be explicit or tacit. According to Hansen, Nohria and Tierney (1999), codification and personalization are knowledge management strategies which can be used by an organisation for it to be successful. Codification usually focuses on collection and storage of codified knowledge in electronic databases. The codified knowledge is made available to the organisation’s stakeholders who use it to increase the profitability of the business (Hansen, Nohria and Tierney, 1999). It, therefore refers to explicit and tacit knowledge. In this strategy, knowledge is extracted from an individual, made independent and then used later for other purposes. The knowledge can be useful without the person who came up with it (Massingham, 2004). Personalization, on the other hand, focuses on encouraging individuals to share information and knowledge directly. Here there is dialogue between different individuals for the knowledge to be passed from one person to another (Sveiby, 2001). Electronic devices have fewer roles to play in personalization, but they are usually responsible for communication. This paper will analyse the codification and personalization orientations of knowledge management according to Hansen, Nohria and Tiemey. Characteristics of codification knowledge management initiative Knowledge management processes usually transform information as well as data into valuable and useful knowledge. While using codification orientation in an organisation, there is a codification of knowledge which is kept in a database for future reference (Sveiby, 2001). The stored information can be retrieved and used again by other stakeholders in the organisation regardless of time. According to Hansen, Nohria and Tierney (1999), some factors affect the success of codification orientation. These factors include people, process, and leadership as well as information technology. In leadership, the management pays attention and executes regulations as well as policies regarding the business. They provide resources and time to enable people in documenting knowledge in the organisation’s database (Hislop, 2013). Leadership controls the manager’s practical contribution using knowledge documentation and systems of information. Allameh, Zare and Davoodi (2011) say that information technology in codification initiative requires high investments in the technology and development of the management systems of the information. It also requires the creation of support systems for decision making as well as database integration. Knowledge management processes in codification initiative focus on documenting knowledge for it to be used by other stakeholders, legislation as well as facilitating storage of the knowledge (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). Roles and responsibilities of people in the organisation are usually apparent for the job security of the employees to be realised. There are a reward and motivational system for documenting knowledge with the help of management system processes and use of automation systems (Al-Hakim and Hassan, 2011). The staffs are employed on the basis of their experience concerning information technology knowledge. People’s ability to use information technology such as computers and their ability to search content is equally important while using codification orientation of knowledge management (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). They also need to have documentation skills for the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives, therefore, gaining competitive advantage. It is also evident that codification is associated with quality and reliable information technology systems which must be provided by the management (Fang and Wang, 2015). This includes databases of information with previous presentations as well as reports. Knowledge in this orientation or strategy is not owned by an individual or a particular person; it is stored to be used in future for other multiple projects in the organisation for better realisation of the organisational goals and objectives (Nonaka, Toyama and Konno, 2000). The main advantage of this orientation is that knowledge which is explicit can be retrieved easily and reused in the future. The same knowledge can help in the implementation of other projects within the organisation regardless of time. According to Hansen, Nohria and Tierney (1999), codification strategy is also associated with storing large amounts of knowledge which can be retrieved and accessed in the future. This helps in reducing the costs of knowledge creation, and therefore the organisation becomes more competitive. The strategy is usually easy to understand and make use of the knowledge for the experienced staff (Nonaka, Toyama, and Konno, 2000). However, the strategy attracts high investments in information technology as well as the workforce due to the required training. Using the same knowledge repeatedly may hinder the quality of the outcome of the tasks being performed with the help of the knowledge (Hislop, 2013). This is because individuals must always be innovative to come up with new ways of doing their work other than relying on the past knowledge. Characteristics of personalization knowledge management initiative Hansen, Nohria and Tierney (1999) argue that personalization strategy is associated with some features that enable organisations using the orientation to achieve success. Profitability and competitive advantage of these organisations increase due to the adoption of this strategy (Hislop, 2013). The factors such as people, process and leadership are used to determine the success of knowledge management with the use of personalization strategy. In personalization orientation, knowledge is tied closely to the developer or the person who developed the knowledge (Massingham, 2004). It is shared with the use of dialogue or one on one contact between persons in the organisation. The role of information technology in personalization strategy is minimal because it only facilitates knowledge sharing and communication. Leadership facilitates and provides coaching on the role of the managers in the organisation. It encourages the people on collaborating and empathising (Al-Hakim and Hassan, 2011). This orientation supports innovation by individuals in the organisation together with risk acceptance as well as clarification of the organisational goals and objectives. Leadership has the role of encouraging people to share knowledge as well as showing the value of this sharing. It also motivates and encourages other stakeholders in the organisation and creates chances of self-learning (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). Leadership in personalization initiative has to create job satisfaction as well as commitment to the organisation. In this initiative, information technology facilitates knowledge sharing with the use of supportive software and hardware. The processes in this orientation include the creation of teamwork and structures by availing systems of participatory decision making and learning the oriented educational system. There is also employment reformation on the absorption of creative and innovative labour in the organisation (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). There is the organisational commitment as well as affiliation with people in the organisation who have to trust each other for the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives altogether. They need to use dialogue in passing information and this forms the basis of knowledge management in organisations taking this initiative (Massingham, 2004). Implications of human resource management practices in knowledge management According to Hislop (2013,), knowledge management cannot be accomplished without some crucial human resource management practices. These practices involve recruiting, as well retaining human resources in an organisation. The two orientations, that is codification and personalization will adopt different human resource management practices for the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives (Nonaka, Toyama, and Konno, 2000). Codification strategy requires managers to develop systems that encourage the people to write down what they know (Fang and Wang, 2015). The written documents are then stored in the electronic repository. The quality, as well as levels of the people's contributions to the database, makes part of their performance reviews (Allameh, Zare and Davoodi, 2011). Managers should attract all the employees with different expertise knowledge to give out their knowledge in written form for it to be incorporated in the company’s database. Managers are also supposed to make sure that knowledge which had been stored previously by the employees is accessed by the current workers at any given time (Sveiby, 2001). A good example is the Amazon Company that deals with online selling. The company has used codification management initiative which ensures knowledge is stored in the company’s database for use in future developments. This will enable them to accomplish their responsibilities in the organisation with the use of high-quality knowledge and the organisation increases its competitive advantage. Organisations that use personalization strategy should enhance better inter interpersonal contact. They are required to hire a highly trained professional who will assist other workers in managing their knowledge and sharing with them what they know (Allameh, Zare and Davoodi, 2011). IKEA Company, for example, has been using personalization initiative; it has succeeded in increasing competitive advantage through knowledge sharing among the workers. Managers should make sure that people in the organisation get incentives which stimulate sharing of knowledge (Massingham, 2004). Employees are supposed to be rewarded for sharing their knowledge. This will increase socialisation in the organisation and more innovative knowledge will circulate among the employees for the organization to improve and increase its competitive advantage (Fang and Wang, 2015). Managers are also supposed to install high trust institutional forms. This will have an impact on the employment relationships or the relationship between employees with their employers (O’Leary, 2002). Organisations are expected to make strong employee trust for them to improve their capabilities in knowledge management. Knowledge sharing and reuse in knowledge management call for trust, teamwork, cooperation as well as good personal communication (Sveiby, 2001). This enhances the better relationship of employees in the organisation regardless of the knowledge management strategy that has been adopted. Due to the high rate of globalisation and technological advancement, firms using codification knowledge management as well as personalization orientation will be less reliant to the traditional promises of job security together with the development of long-term jobs in single organisations (Nonaka, Toyama and Konno, 2000). An employment relationship will become a short term in nature, and the workers will rely more on labour markets that are external for future careers. Implication of information technology on knowledge management According to Hislop (2013), information technology is equally important to any organisation adopting any form or strategy of knowledge management. Those who adopt codification orientation have to invest heavily in information technology. They need to develop systems for storing data or information which can be transformed to knowledge (Allameh, Zare and Davoodi, 2011). Employees need to be computer literate in that they will be required to feed information to the system. The system will facilitate sharing of knowledge to the different stakeholders as well as store the knowledge for future use. Systems development and database development will be significant in these organisations (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). This will call for more reliance on information technology for the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives. There will be a need for a continuous development of professionals due to the technological advancements in information technology (Fang and Wang, 2015). Knowledge workers need to be aware of the developments within their specific professions as well as disciplines. Organisations that have adopted personalization initiative in knowledge management will also be required to employ information technology to make the personal sharing of knowledge more effective. This will include making good use of social media platforms where workers can engage in fruitful knowledge sharing regardless of their location and the time for sharing (O’Leary, 2002). They also need information technology for facilitating communication between the different departments in the organisation. This means that organisations must make use of information technology regardless of the knowledge management orientation they adopt at the organizational level (Nonaka, Toyama and Konno, 2000). Development and mobilisation of strategic assets with knowledge management Knowledge in many organisations has taken different forms. It may take the form of competencies as well as capabilities of the workers (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). The organisation’s knowledge regarding the customers as well as supplier’s knowledge in delivering some processes which are specific in nature is equally important (Nonaka, Toyama and Konno, 2000). Knowledge as a product of collective and individual learning is usually embodied in systems, products as well as services. The organisation’s assets which are strategic are very crucial for the organisation to achieve its competitive advantage. Knowledge management is very crucial in increasing the employees’ output, and the management needs to incorporate codification or personalization orientations to manage the various resources in the organisation with the help of knowledge (Hansen, Nohria and Tierney, 1999). Stored knowledge regarding assets management in the codification initiative will help in making the best out of the available knowledge. Managers can also retrieve and access knowledge from their database about increasing productivity of the organisation. Codification orientation will also help managers in knowing the available knowledge on how to efficiently allocate the human resources as well as other resources for the organisation’s competitive advantage to increase (Allameh, Zare and Davoodi, 2011). The properties in the organisation can also be managed with the help of the available knowledge for better results to be achieved. According to Sveiby (2001), personalization strategy of knowledge management will also help the organisation’s management in sharing the knowledge they have and mobilise the employees to work towards a common goal. The experienced personnel in the organisation can help the junior and less experienced ones through sharing the knowledge have with the use of personalization initiative of knowledge management (Davenport and Volpel, 2001). This can help in making use of the available resources better in the organisation and this will help in making the organisation more profitable. Strategic assets in the organization can get more usefulness with the help of either codified or personalised knowledge (Massingham, 2004). The two orientations will be significant in mobilising as well as developing assets in the organisation ranging from human resources as well as the inputs of the organisation. Conclusion Knowledge management facilitates the creation, sharing as well as use and management of knowledge in organisations. Knowledge acquired in an organization can be codified and stored in the electronic database through the codification orientation of knowledge management. It can also be shared through dialogue or person to person interaction in the personalization initiative of knowledge management. Hansen, Nohria and Tierney (1999) differentiated the two orientation or strategies of knowledge management by the fact that codification used information technology for storing the information that can be accessed in future to be used for the organization's betterment. They also analysed personification strategy where the knowledge must be shared among the experienced employees or the highly trained to the less experienced workers in an organisation. Managers have to use either of the two orientations for any business to achieve its competitive advantage. The increased advancement of technology and globalisation has increased the utility of information technology in knowledge management using codification. Personalization initiative also needs to incorporate information technology for sharing the required information so that a firm can be more competitive. In conclusion, Organisations then are expected to make strong employee trust for them to improve their capabilities in knowledge management. Knowledge sharing and reuse in knowledge management call for trust, teamwork, cooperation as well as good personal communication. The two orientations of knowledge management will be significant in mobilising as well as developing assets in the organisation ranging from human resources as well as the inputs of the organisation for more profitability in organisations. References Allameh, S.M., Zare, S.M., and Davoodi, S.M.R. 2011, Examining the Impact of KM Enablers on Knowledge Management Processes, Procedia Computer Science, Vol 3, pp. 1211- 1223. Al-Hakim, L.A.Y. and Hassan, S. 2011, 'The role of middle managers in knowledge management implementation for innovation enhancement', International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp.86-94. 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