Strategic Positioning of HRM in a Knowledge-Based Economy - Coursework Example

Running Head: STRATEGIC POSITIONING OF HRM Strategic Positioning Of HRM In A Knowledge Based Economy [Name Of Student] [Name Of Institution] INTRODUCTION Human resources management alignment deals with integrating the decisions about people with the goals that the organization is attempting to achieve and has in its vision. It is apparent that the only one-off wealth every company owns is the capability and knowledge of its employees. The efficiency of this asset is dependent on the efficiency of those who are able to use it well. In this current age of global advancement and cut throat competition, the key wealth of any organization is not its natural resources or labor, rather it is knowledge. It is no longer the survival of the fittest but the survival of those who are flexible and respond in time to change (Alvesson, 2001). Changes are not only taking place at the technological front but also on economic, political and social fronts. For any organization to stay in competition, it is essential for it to have a strong knowledge base and hence the need for proper knowledge management (Rodiguez, 2003). Aim This topic investigates the strategic linkage and interface between Strategic HRM and Knowledge Management. In this essay, I shall explore how HRM facilitates knowledge sharing in the contemporary learning organizations Defining Knowledge Management It is best defined as a business activity that has two main features; firstly to handle the knowledge part of all business processes as a separate aspect that is visible in the business plan, vision, policy and implementation at every level of the organization, and secondly, to establish a direct link between the intellectual assets (both recorder and tactical) of the organization and the outcomes as positive results. (Merali, 2000) In actual business implementation, knowledge management usually comprises identification and then proper mapping of the intellectual wealth of the organization. This produces intelligent knowledge that helps gain the competitive edge that every business desires. Data when organized in a proper form becomes information. Information in a structured form becomes knowledge and this knowledge when aptly used becomes wisdom that can be utilized for the organization’s advantage. According to a definition of knowledge management, it is a combination of procedures that facilitate knowledge to be used as a major element in creating value and worth. This makes it possible to differentiate between the operational and strategic management of knowledge. Figure 1 illustrates operational management that utilizes computer technology to structure and then dispense useful data to employees. This process establishes a link between the organization’s knowledge and the basic structure of the company that encourages knowledge, the strategy of the organization and with the overall growth of professionals. DISCUSSION The progression of knowledge management owes its credit to a number of theorists like Paul Strassman, Drucker and Senge etc. (Schultze, 2000) Some of these management theorists focused on the increasing significance of knowledge and it being an important asset to the organization. Then there were theorists who believed in the concept of learning organizations which is another cultural paradigm of handling knowledge. In the late seventies, Rogers’ research at Stanford regarding the distribution of modernization and Thomas Allen’s work the domain of information and technology transmission, made noteworthy addition to the understanding of how knowledge is formed, utilized, and spread within business organizations (Rodiguez, 2003). With the advent of the eighties era, the significance of knowledge as a key resource for the progress of the business was firmly established despite the fact that many theories ignored the value of knowledge in the form of an asset to the organization mainly because organizations were not well-prepared to implement strategies for proper management of knowledge (Becker, 2001). There was a rapid increase in knowledge along with the establishment of knowledge as an asset to business organizations. Hence, the issue of handling and organizing vast amounts of data at hand become more apparent (Zhou, 2004). With the advent of computer technology, there was a superabundance of data that started to be a part of solving issues in different sectors of the business. With this development, the eighties era witnessed the progression of proper systems to manage knowledge based on research done in the domain of artificial intelligence hence introducing terms such as knowledge acquisition and knowledge based systems etc. Some people also perceive knowledge management as an alternative for failed total quality management and also business process re-engineering proposals. Furthermore, a lot of business organizations with interest in regions such as best practices, benchmarking, risk/change management are trying to establish links between knowledge management and their given domains of expertise. There is a strong link between business strategies and practices with knowledge management; business activities such as change management, implementation of best practices, proper benchmarking and appropriate risk management etc. (Zhou, 2004) It is quite obvious that data must be aptly managed to form intelligent information on which decisions are made, yet knowledge management is not a widely adopted practice in organizations. Some companies have started taking action which may vary from new methods based on advanced technology or ways of disseminating information in a huge effort to bring about organization change (Senge, 2005). There is a lot of debate on the methods, ways and the aims of knowledge management. A few amongst them stress on increasing originality and creativeness which will in turn foster new worth for knowledge, while others focus on making the best use of knowledge at hand. The ability of any organization to adapt to changes and to take better advantage of learning and make better use of knowledge than other companies adds to its competency which is essential for success in the contemporary business environment ruled by cut-throat competition. Research has proven that the organizations with better performance as compared to their competitors were the ones that actively participate in organizational learning (OL) and then sharing of the learned activities (Accenture, 2004; Breene & Thomas, 2004; Hsu, 2006; Stewart, 2001). The arrival of KM has somewhat dominated the research and less attention has been paid to OL since then as increasing knowledge and utilizing it to maximize business avenues has become a vital challenge (Magalhaes, 1996:23; Senge, 2003). Learning organizations are faced with another task of facilitating and fostering such an environment with the help of HRM, which encourages knowledge acquiring by the human resources of the firm. The extent to which sharing of knowledge can transform and revolutionize any individual’s capabilities to make him/her a more useful pillar of the organizational structure, is discussed in a lot of researches. Facilitating chances and sharing of knowledge are the main themes of knowledge management for learning organizations (Bartell, 2001; Hsu, 2006). Furthermore, professional organizations, technology firms etc, which are all knowledge intensive organizations depend on knowledge more than other type of businesses and therefore the significance of sharing knowledge in such organizations is relatively high (Lee & Ahn, 2007). A few areas of business that in particular call for knowledge management in the current age are the highly competitive marketplaces where the pace of innovation is increasing everyday. Hence, with lesser employees the aim, it becomes essential to substitute informal knowledge by proper systems. Also due to increased pressure, the size of the workforce is reduced which possessed priceless business knowledge. There is less time for experience and hence the phenomenon of acquiring knowledge has decreased, hence requiring knowledge to be available readily. Nonetheless, loss of knowledge also happens due to extremely mobile workforces and lesser work tenure (early retirements). Plus any change in the strategic course can result in great loss of knowledge in that particular area. (Schultz, 2003) Knowledge Management and Its Connection to HRM In today’s business environment knowledge is not only linked to growth and competitive advantage but also to survival of organizations. The wide scope and the interdisciplinary context of knowledge management encompasses all; from accountants, IT experts, change management experts and development managers. An important and common aspect of this extremely versatile activity is the stress that it lays on knowledge work and workers and also the type of knowledge best suited for any organization. Usually the discussion has varying and diverging opinions but it leads to novel chances of association across people belonging from diverse functional and professional boundaries. A significant area for association is among the rising group of experts who focus on administration of the knowledge resources and the sounder and functionally entrenched set of human resource management professionals. Lot of focus has shifted to the relationship between HRM and KM as both have become more complex and diverse with the changing business environment. The current era of knowledge economy has a huge influence on the way the HRM functions and has resulted in a drastic shift from the HRM formerly as a routine ‘employee management’ to a more broad term HRM which has diverse set of functions and responsibilities. Moreover, this has given rise to the need to integrate functions that uphold competitive benefit and result in a more strategic driving force. Another aspect proposed by experts is that unless HRM adapts and responds effectively to change, it faces the threat of extinction in a knowledge driven economy (Stewart, 1997). Researchers also advocate that HRM should remodel itself by playing a more vital role in linking capital management to knowledge management inside organizations (Saint-Onge, 2001). Such a reinvention of the HRM roles to adapt to the current needs of knowledge driven economy and also to formulate links between KM and HRM shall bring about positive changes and would result in competitive advantage for the company. This calls for major changes in four main regions, which are Roles, Responsibilities, Strategic Focus and Learning Focus as depicted in the figure below. Links Between HRM and KM In A Learning Organization The association between knowledge and expertise which is a by-product of human resource and knowledge management can function as instruments to bring strategic development in a learning organization. The chances for formulating efficient leadership and management capabilities, that support strategic progress, increase with wider knowledge and its better sharing. The key focus remains on innovation and creativity of the internal dynamics of the company and also the social rules which govern human association within it. The way human interaction takes place has a lot of impact on the sharing and transfer of knowledge. It sets the routines and practices within an organization within the framework of which useful knowledge is taken advantage of by all as a collective resource of the organization rather than just an individual resource (Carlisle, 2000). The link and synergies between the competencies and aptitudes, the learning environment, culture of sharing depict the efficiency of the link between human resource and knowledge management. From the view point of HRM a wide range of goals have to be met. Strategic management of human resources can facilitate sustainability by recognizing those potential which are required for sustainability and by exploring avenues to align staffing and training practices to achieve the desired goals. Also, the most effective way to make best use of knowledge management in a strong practice such as that of HRM is to explore further and create awareness about the wide ranging benefits of the different types of knowledge management. This calls for a better understanding of the values and propositions along with a proper alignment strategy between knowledge and human resource management. CONCLUSION In any business organization’s setting, data stands for results or facts, links between different sets of data stand to represent information. Furthermore specific patterns of information and data represent knowledge. For the sake of clear understanding, for any representation to be of any value to the organization, it ought to be clearly understood and hence this information pattern which is clearly conceivable by the people in the domain becomes worthwhile intelligent information. (Senge, 2005) Therefore, it is essential to structure information for it to have any value in the business domain. The significance of Knowledge Management links it to the efficiency with which the structured and managed information (knowledge) allows the employees of the business organization to handle day to day business transactions more strategically and furthermore, successfully predict and form their potential future (Zhou, 2004). It is important to note here that without on-demand right to use of structured knowledge, each condition is dealt with on the basis of what the individual or assemblage conveys to the circumstances with them (Rodiguez, 2003). However, with on-demand admission to managed facts, each condition is handled with the summation total of the whole lot anybody in the group has at any point of time learned with reference to a condition of a comparable nature. It is obvious that the second approach is the key to success for any knowledge intensive organization. REFERENCES Accenture. (2004). The rise of the high performance learning organization: Results from the Accenture Learning 2004 Accenture. (2004). The rise of the high performance learning organization: Results from the Accenture Learning 2004 Survey of Learning Executives. Alvesson, M. & Karreman, D. (2001) Odd couple: making sense of the curious concept of knowledge management. Journal of Management Studies, 38(7), 995-1018 Bartell, S.M. 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