Impact of Knowledge Management on Organizational Performance

This assignment involves analyzing the relationship between knowledge management (KM) and its effects on organizational performance. It delves into a comprehensive review of existing literature, including research papers and studies from various fields such as business, education, and technology. The analysis aims to understand how KM influences different aspects of organizational performance, including innovation, learning, and sustainability. By examining the mediating effects of organizational factors, the assignment seeks to provide insights into how KM can be effectively implemented to drive positive outcomes in organizations.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
International Knowledge Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Executive Summary
This specific provides deep insight about the knowledge management effort implemented in the
business process of HP. This particular effort has left a major impact in enhancing business. HP
is considered as one of the most recognized international brands occupying a prestigious place in
the realm of IT industry. As per the current business scenario, HP has now appointed 287,000
employees from diverse cultural backgrounds and attitudes. In this very specific study, numerous
knowledge management strategies have been highlighted. After identifying the organizational
issues the study has provided some major recommendations for overcoming the issues.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction:................................................................................................................................3
2. Body:............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Issues faced by HP:....................................................................................................................5
2.2 The primary goals:.....................................................................................................................5
2.3 Decision criteria.........................................................................................................................5
2.4 Review of the current approaches..............................................................................................6
2.4.1 Principles of knowledge management:...................................................................................6
2.4.2 Organizational learning and sharing.......................................................................................7
2.4.3 Community of practice and knowledge workers issue:..........................................................8
2.4.4 Knowledge creation and Nonaka:...........................................................................................8
2.4.5 Leadership and organizational culture:...................................................................................9
2.4.6 Human resource management practice.................................................................................10
2.5 Preferred alternatives and justification....................................................................................10
3. Conclusion:................................................................................................................................11
Reference List:...............................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction:
Knowledge management is the systematic method of creating, sharing as well as
managing necessary knowledge and relevant information for achieving the organizational
objectives. In quest of improving the level of organizational performance, companies tend to
give efforts on knowledge management system. HP is one of the most recognized international
brands occupying a renowned place in the realm of IT industry. Computers and peripheral
equipment, test and measurement devices, electronic components, and medical devices are the
core products with which HP has expanded their business in different geographical areas
(Hp.com 2018). As per the current business scenario, HP has now appointed 287,000 employees
from diverse cultural backgrounds and attitudes. The company is known for its decentralized
organizational structure. Due to its mode of operations, the company is known as 'the HP Way.'
The business authority of HP believes that sharing and learning knowledge can develop the
employees’ competency and knowledge. It helps to gain organizational productivity more
effectively. The most effective initiatives of KM that HP has taken for enhancing business
performance include trainers’ trading post, building a network of experts, KM for product
process and so many.
This particular study has provided an in-depth overview on how HP is incorporating the
concept of knowledge management within their business process for the purpose of business
expansion. Knowledge management tool is constituted with two major ways (Cabrera and
Cabrera 2005). Tacit knowledge is primarily embedded into human mind that can be gained
through experience. Employees after serving for several years within an organization can gain
that kind of knowledge. On the other hand, explicit knowledge can be articulated, shared and

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employed in order to improve the performance level of employees. HP in order to make an
effective team rapport among the employees tends to follow explicit knowledge tools so that
employees can share their thoughts and views with each other.
As per Nonakas’ SECI model, knowledge conversion is constituted with four major
steps that include socialization, externalization, combination, internalization. Knowledge
passing from tactic to tactic is otherwise named as socialization (Gourlay 2004). In socialization,
knowledge can be gained through practice, guidance, imitation, and observation. Externalization
represents knowledge passing from tactic to explicit. After gaining enough knowledge from
work experience employees like to share their thoughts and ideas to the employees. Combination
includes knowledge sharing to explicit to explicit. Finally, internalization is the concept of
sharing knowledge from explicit to tactic. After using the explicit sources, knowledge is
internalized by modifying the users’ existing tacit knowledge. However, among the four major
tools of Nonakas’ SECI model, HP tends to follow externalization tool so that senior employees
after gaining their knowledge from experience can exchange thoughts to the new comers.
Knowledge Intensive Firms (KIF) is known as organizations within a knowledge
economy that employs high skill individuals within the business process in quest of creating
effective market value. In the article of Sylvia Walby, it is evident that women in knowledge
incentive work leave less contribution (Johansson and Abrahamsson 2017). Limited number of
work durability, lack of shift flexibility and career development opportunity are the most
effective reasons due to which HP has hired 21% women employees in engineering and 22%
women employees in the department of IT.

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2. Body:
2.1 Issues faced by HP:
While expanding the entire process of business in multi-national countries HP has faced
several issues that highly affected the entire growth of business process. Using the “leveraged
efforts” within services is one of the most effective business issues that HP has faced. It has been
observed that HP has focused to use borrowed capital for expanding the business in other
geographical boundaries (Garrido-Moreno and Padilla-Meléndez 2011). As a result, the business
experts face immense challenges in maintaining the rate of profit level due to the implementation
of leveraged efforts. In addition, HP being a multinational brand tends to recruit the people of
various cultural backgrounds and attitudes form diverse backgrounds. As a result, employees had
to face difficulties in maintaining work synchronization.
2.2 The primary goals:
The primary goal based on which HP tends to draw the attention of international
customers are as follows:
 To create innovative technologies for drawing the attention of international customers
 To give equal priority and response to the customers of different cultural and religious
backgrounds
 To provide superior quality of services for maintaining effective brand image and reputation
2.3 Decision criteria
As per the belief of HP, employees’ brainpower is one of the most effective resources
based on which the success of business is dependent. Therefore, sharing knowledge and

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information would be most effective based on which employees can maintain a good team bond
with each other. This particular method helps in motivating the employees for performing well
towards services (Rasula, Vuksic and Stemberger 2012). As a result, the business experts of HP
have decided to implement some knowledge management initiatives in the following areas:
 Creating trainers trading post by implementing around 2000 educators and trainers for
improving the knowledge of employees
 Building the networks of experts by providing a guide to the human knowledge resources
within laboratories
 Implementing development in product process by enhancing corporate quality, procurement,
product marketing, safety and organizational aspects
2.4 Review of the current approaches
In order to make the employees efficient towards the services the organization like HP
has decided to create trainers trading post for enhancing the professional skill and competency
level of the employees (Obeidat et al. 2016). In addition, the business experts have also felt that
building the networks of experts for providing a guide to human knowledge resources within the
laboratories is highly important. However, in quest of developing the professional skills and
competency level of the employees HP has decided to implement knowledge management
process within the services.
2.4.1 Principles of knowledge management:
Knowledge management is the combination of both knowledge and technology.
Employees after gaining knowledge on developing the level of performances tend to focus on

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implement their skill in the performances. Knowledge management primarily tends to gain
knowledge in two effective ways. One is from experiences and the other is from sharing and
exchanging thoughts and ideas (Bagnoli and Vedovato 2014). HP being one of the most
prestigious brands all over the World tends to focus on following explicit knowledge
management tools based on which the organizational employees can focus on expanding their
thoughts and ideas. As a result, employees can maintain an effective team rapport as well.
2.4.2 Organizational learning and sharing
The primary ways based on which HP tends to share their knowledge and learning
process include face-to-face collaboration, off site meeting and group communication. Face-to-
face communication is one of the most effective ways based on which organizational managers
can directly interact with the employees regarding their needs and demands (Delen et al. 2013).
As per the ethical belief of HP, an individual employee should be motivated towards performing
well. They are the primary resources based on which the success of organization is highly
dependent. In an interpersonal communication, employees get enough scope in sharing their
thoughts and ideas regarding the business goal. As a result, organizational managers do not
impose their decision on the employees for getting an enthusiastic attitude from the performers.
In addition, arranging a group discussion session is one of the most effective ways for learning
and sharing experiences (Dalkir and Beaulieu 2017). It has been observed that around 21% of
the female employees are appointed within the business process of HP. As a result, the business
experts of this organization aim to enhance the number of female employees for making a
balance within workforce. Moreover, arranging meeting for the employees is one of the most
effective ways of sharing knowledge and information with each other.

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2.4.3 Community of practice and knowledge workers issue:
Organizations tend to follow the path of “community of practice” in order to improve the
level of organizational performances (Pietrosemoli and Monroy 2013). The overarching term
community of practice implies a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human
endeavor. In the case scenario of HP, it has been observed that this specific organization is
constituted with a number of employees from diverse cultural backgrounds and attitudes (Von
Krogh 2012). As a result, existing workers had to face difficulties in sharing their knowledge and
skills with each other. Around 22% engineers in IT sector of HP are women. They had to face
immense psychological barriers while sharing their thoughts and views in a meeting. As a result,
large number of customers had to wait for a long time while receiving the services. In order to
overcome the psychological barrier the business experts of HP has focused to follow the path of
community of practice. As a result, the employees with the guidance of business managers have
to attend group discussion session at every weekend. The primary purpose of making this group
discussion session is to share and exchange their thoughts and views regarding business goal.
Managers on the other hand tend to follow participative form of decision making process. As a
result, business managers tend to gather collective decision for making business strategies
instead of imposing decision on them.
2.4.4 Knowledge creation and Nonaka:
Nonaka in regards to the concept of knowledge creation has built an effective model for
implementing within the business services. The model is named as SECI model. As per the
theoretical belief of Nonaka, it has been observed that business organizations can share
knowledge and information in four major ways including socialization, externalization,
combination, internalization. Socialization can be transferred from tacit to tacit knowledge. It

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has been observed that organizational employees based on experience can gain enough
knowledge and information (Noruzy et al. 2013). Externalization is the tools based on which the
knowledge management efforts are followed within the services of HP. Senior employees after
gaining enough knowledge and information from various sources tend to share distribute their
knowledge to the juniors so that they can be educated and experienced.
Combination is the major components where the employees believe in exchanging
thoughts and ideas for performing well towards the services (Donald Hislop 2013). On the other
hand, internalization is the major ways where knowledge is transferred from explicit to tacit.
People from various geographical boundaries and attitudes share their views and ideas at the
workplace. Employees after sharing their views and thoughts at the workplace tend to utilize
those ideas in customer services (Durst and Runar Edvardsson 2012). As a result, the way of
performance is automatically improved.
2.4.5 Leadership and organizational culture:
The business experts of HP believe that an effective leadership and organizational culture
is one of the most effective ways of making knowledge management system more effective and
systematic (Holtshouse 2013). HP believes in the form of participative leadership style where
both the employees and managers equally participate in making effective business strategies. On
the other hand, managers do not impose their firm decision on the employees. The business
leaders of HP intend to follow motivational leadership theory in order to give an enthusiastic
attitude to the experts (Carla et al. 2017). As per the organizational culture of this organization,
giving equal priority and response to the people of various geographical backgrounds and
attitudes is the basic responsibility of the organization.

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It has also been observed that HP is reluctant to hire female employees due to the lack of
career flexibility and work flexibility. As a result, the organization has faced immense issues in
maintaining gender equality. As per the belief of (Van Reijsen et al. 2015), women have least
opportunities for their career growth. In this kind of situation, the organization has to face
innumerable difficulties in maintaining gender equality at the workplace. After facing immense
challenges, the organization has rendered some of the major modifications on their
organizational culture. Human resource managers are hiring women engineers as well in order to
hire both female employees with equal dignity.
2.4.6 Human resource management practice
Van Reijsen et al. (2015) stated that human resource management practices have major
implications in maintaining organizational structure and culture. HP as one of the most
prestigious IT international brand has focused to maintain a flexible human resource
management practices. Human resource managers always intend to facilitate knowledge sharing
by evaluating the performance level of the employees. They tend to keep a constant track on the
overall performance of employees. Based on the performance level, HR managers conduct
individual session for sharing their knowledge how to improve performance for fulfilling
customers’ needs and demands. Before making an interpersonal communication HR managers
have to identify the employees’ strengths and weakness individually.
In quest of getting good performances from the employees and for motivating them
towards services the human resource managers tend to arrange group discussion session, reward
and recognition policies, appraisal systems and so many. Group discussion is arranged in order
to exchange the views and thoughts with each other (Kumar and Che Rose 2012). As a result,

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people of different cultural backgrounds and attitudes would be able to share their thoughts and
ideas. Implementation of reward and recognition policy is one of the most effective factors
based on which employees get motivated towards performing well. The primary objective of
implementing appraisal policy is to appreciate the endeavor of employees that they provide for
rendering organizational profit (Ferraresi et al. 2012).
2.5 Preferred alternatives and justification
After making an effective case study, it has been observed that HP tends to follow
participative form of leadership style in order to give priority to the employees. While
maintaining participative leadership style, employees do not have to face enough difficulties in
sharing knowledge and experience. However, as per the point of view of Jones and Sallis (2013,
participative leadership is not effective enough in dealing with the employees at the workplace.
Organization like HP should follow situational leadership style based on which managers can use
autocratic form of leadership for overcoming any kind of sudden crisis happened at the
workplace (Roblek et al. 2014).
3. Conclusion:
HP has successfully overcome the barriers after implementing knowledge management
efforts within the entire process of business. It has been observed from the case scenario of HP
that the human resource managers are still unable to maintain any kind of gender equality at the
workplace. Around 22% of female employees are associated within the engineering department
of HP. On the other hand, the HR managers have recruited the people of various geographical
backgrounds and cultural attitudes (Bagnoli and Vedovato 2014). Psychological barrier is one of
the most prominent reasons due to which employees face difficulties in sharing their knowledge

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and experience effectively at the workplace. In addition, due to the cultural barrier the business
managers have faced immense difficulties in making an effective interaction with the employees
due to language barrier.
Moreover, as per the business value of HP business experts believe in explicit knowledge
tools for enhancing the level of employee performance. It is undeniable that sharing knowledge
helps an individual in making collective decision regarding the business success. At the same
time, explicit knowledge is not sufficient in enhancing performance level. Employees need to
gather experience from the workplace sequences (Dalkir and Beaulieu 2017). As a result,
employees would be able to gain knowledge about the needs and demands of employees.
However, in the current business scenario the organization has rendered some of the major
modifications. The business experts have systematically trained everyone after identifying the
customers’ issue. Three major modifications that HP has rendered on their overall process of
business are as follows:
 Reduced publishing time from days to 32 minutes
 Reduced foundation support case volume by 9.35% annually for two consecutive years
 Demonstrated that 27% of foundation knowledge articles represent 80% of customer usage
However, despite some of the major modifications HP is facing several issues that affect
the entire business process. In order to overcome the issues few relevant recommendations are
given:
 Providing an effective training and development session:
Employees of HP should be given an effective training and development session in order
to enhance their communication skill and professional competency. Due to psychological and

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linguistic barrier employees fail to make a proper interaction with each other (Delen et al. 2013).
In this kind of situation, the entire process of making strategic plan becomes failed. Before
sharing knowledge and experience, the human resource managers should arrange an effective
training program so that employees can share their views and thoughts properly for making a
collective decision.
 Maintaining gender equality at the workplace:
The number of female employees in the IT department is very less. The human resource
managers in order to maintain gender equality would have to increase the rate of female
employees. Employees should be recruited as per the skill and competency level rather than their
gender and cultural backgrounds. The business experts should increase from 22% of female
employees to 50% so that both male and female can get equal opportunities for showing their
skills.
 Collecting feedback from the customers:
Before making business decision and sharing knowledge, the business experts should
collect an effective customers’ feedback regarding the quality of products and services. Based on
the customers’ response the employees tend to share their knowledge and information. HP being
one of the most recognizable IT brands tends to focus on collective customers’ feedback with the
help of social media (Donald Hislop 2013). However collecting direct feedback from the
customers is also very important for making immediate strategic decision. In addition, the
business experts after collecting an immediate feedback from the customers can get an overview
about their needs and demands.
 Maintaining effective communication between managers and employees:

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It has been observed that language barrier is one of the most effective reasons due to
which the business experts fail to make a proper communication with the employees. After
getting a proper training on communication skill, employees should be engaged towards a group
discussion session where the business managers tend to collect the decision of employees as
well. An effective communication between managers and employees renders immense
motivation on the employees for performing well towards the process of business (Johansson and
Abrahamsson 2017). In addition, an effective communication enables the employees for sharing
their personal issues faced at the workplace.
 Modifying human resource practices as well as organizational culture:
Maintaining anti-discrimination act at the workplace is one of the most important ways
of following organizational culture. The human resource manager should give equal priority and
response to the people of every geographical background. The human resource managers should
implement reward and recognition policies for motivating the employees in order to give their
best endeavor (Ferraresi et al. 2012). In addition, HR managers should hire employees from
various cultural backgrounds for maintaining work diversity. With the help of an effective
interpersonal communication, the business managers should resolve the issues faced by
employees at their workplace.

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