Knowledge and Information Management Skills

This report analyzes the importance of knowledge management in the context of Morrisons, a leading supermarket chain. It examines the relationship between data, information, and knowledge, and the interplay between individual and organizational knowledge. The report also explores the requirements for integrating, storing, applying, and creating knowledge, highlighting the importance of intellectual property rights. It evaluates the framework for establishing a knowledge management culture and information sharing within Morrisons, providing recommendations for improvement.

Knowledge And
Information Management
Skills

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................1
LO 1 ................................................................................................................................................1
A. Relationship between information, data and knowledge ......................................................2
B. Relation between individual and organisational knowledge .................................................3
C. Modelling techniques for identification of knowledge assets................................................4
D. Evaluation of actual and potential knowledge assets ............................................................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
A. Requirements to integrate, store, apply and create knowledge .............................................6
B. Significance of intellectual property rights ...........................................................................7
LO 3 ................................................................................................................................................7
A. Contribution of knowledge assets on organisation ...............................................................8
B. Evaluation of knowledge requirements for organisation .......................................................9
C. Framework to enable knowledge sharing ..............................................................................9
D. Improvement strategies for current framework ...................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Information and knowledge are the valuable assets which plays a significant role in
successful implementation of business processes and activities. Knowledge assets are defined as
the intellectual resources of the business and the Knowledge used by the organisation in the form
of understanding, memory, technical skills, cognitive abilities, ideas and learnings. The policies,
database, guidelines, patents, documents and software are considered as the repositories of
knowledge assets. In order to sustain the growth and business benefits it is important to manage
these informations and knowledge assets so that organisational assets and procedures can safely
and effectively accomplish their purpose (Hislop, Bosua and Helms, 2018).
The report will evaluate the significance of knowledge management with the help of case
example of Morrisons. The organisation is among the largest supermarket chains with its head
quarter located in England. The document will discuss the relation between data, knowledge and
information as well as interrelationship between organisational and individual knowledge. It will
also explain the requirements to create, apply and manage the knowledge integration. The report
will also analyse the framework for building a knowledge management culture and information
sharing. It will also provide recommendations to improve the existing framework used by
Morrisons and role of intellectual property rights on organisation's functionality.
LO 1
Importance and rationale for managing knowledge
Earlier business groups were giving more priority to concept of capturing knowledge in
centralised system so that these knowledge assets can be used in the future. However, this
approach was less effective and thus new management strategies for knowledge management
were promoted. Based upon such approaches instead of working on the knowledge assets
Morrisons focuses on individuals who have knowledge assets and can share, use or hold it.
Knowledge management is crucial strategy for preventing the knowledge assets from being
misused or getting waste (Grover and Froese, 2016). It is essential for Morrisons to implement
these managements approaches so that it can use these valuable assets in its business activities.
The proper management of information makes it easy for the Morrisons to access
information very quickly and with accuracy. The quick access of knowledge is essential for
problem solving and to enhance the productivity. Without sharing and collaboration of different
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knowledge skills it is impossible for the organisation to bring innovations and cultural changes
which are key success elements for the company. The ineffective decisions can greatly affect the
long term success goals of the company. Thus, it is necessary that before making any decisions
Morrisons group must use its knowledge resources from different individuals so that it can have
better analysis of the expected outputs and risk associated with the decisions. In order to deliver
high quality services as per the needs of consumers organisation must manage its resources so
that operational units can function with accuracy and minimum errors (Becerra-Fernandez and
Sabherwal, 2014).
A. Relationship between information, data and knowledge
Data can be defined as the collection of facts, statistics or events which does not have any
reference to time and space. It can also be called as unprocessed information because data can be
categorised or processed to get a meaningful information. On the other hand when data is
processed to draw any conclusion it is termed as information. The information gives rise to
knowledge by application of judgement and experience. For instance the sales records of
Morrisons are called merely data.
However, with suitable analysis and statistical tools it can be concluded that in a
particular month the sales were lower. This conclusion is called information. Morrisons can
apply its further jurisdiction that due to lack of ineffective marketing strategy sales were low or
the quality of product in last month was not up to standards so this month sales have fallen down.
The conclusions in the form of information are important for the organisation and they cannot be
visualised as an isolated part of the knowledge acquisition (Donate and de Pablo, 2015). The data
are the building blocks for formation of image while the reprocessing of information results in
knowledge formation.
Thus, there is a linear transition from data to information and then to knowledge.
However, there are instances when it is not simple and straightforward to extract information
from data. For instance if sales records are given then working teams in Morrisons cannot simply
make conclusions that if results are satisfactory or not. The organisation will require conducting
deep research to compose the raw facts of data into useful information. Thus, it can be concluded
that Morrisons will not be able to accurate apply its knowledge assets without proper analysis of
information assets which are originated from data.
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B. Relation between individual and organisational knowledge
The individual knowledge is defined as the processed information which is accumulated
by the individuals and forms strong basis for the decisions, actions and beliefs of an individual.
On the other hand the organisational knowledge is defined as the various knowledge skills which
is developed by the beliefs and ideology of different individuals who are part of the organisation
(Dayan, Heisig and Matos, 2017). The organisational skills make its practices and decision
making abilities distinct from the others. The individual and organisational knowledge are
greatly dependent on each other. The knowledge assets of the individuals forms the basis of their
skills and abilities to perform the functional tasks.
During the selection and recruitment process Morrisons ensures that the selected
individual has higher and innovative level of knowledge skills so that the business goals of the
organisation can be achieved. However, the organisational knowledge defines the way in which
individual has to behave and act within organisation. Thus, there are possibility that the
individual knowledge may have contradictions with respect to organisational one. In such cases
it becomes very difficult for the organisation to manage those differences. For instance if
employees of Morrisons have different perspective of solving problems then it may be difficult
for such employees to adjust their practices and failure to accomplish this can result in poor
quality of results (Wang, Noe and Wang, 2014). Most of the knowledge within organisation is
based upon practical situation which may not be known by the individual knowledge.
Thus, it is required for the success of Morrisons that only those individuals becomes part
of the organisation which are capable to transform and integrate their personal knowledge with
organisational knowledge so that both participants can develop. For instance if Morrisons wants
to conduct a training sessions on digital technology so that its functional activities can be
performed with more efficiency than its existing human resources must have sufficient level of
individual knowledge. This sufficient knowledge will help them to gain this new information
assets which will bring new profits to company as well as development of their skills and
knowledge.
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C. Modelling techniques for identification of knowledge assets
The knowledge assets are the vital elements which can affect the performance of
organisation. Thus, it is very important for company to identify its knowledge assets so that they
can be managed properly (Geisler and Wickramasinghe, 2015). In order to identify this asset
organisation is required to first implement knowledge management (KM) policies which gives
detailed description of procedures on how knowledge can be created and stored.
The analysis of the resources, consumer behaviour and market elements are vital for
assessment of the knowledge assets. For instance to assess the knowledge of individuals
Morrisons can evaluate their skills. To develop understanding of the asset advice and monitoring
from the experts is necessary. These experts and leaders can evaluate the strategies and skills of
individuals to analyse that which knowledge assets are possessed by them and what
enhancements can be made in skills by various training and development sessions. Morrisons
can use following models to identify its knowledge assets:
Explicit models: Organisation can review its existing data or records so that knowledge can be
discovered within these data (Todorović and et.al., 2015). The information technology tools such
as data mining, data monitoring tools can be used by Morrisons to analyse pattern between data
and text. This type of identification strategy can be used to identify the knowledge from an
expert.
Tactic knowledge: It is considered as one of the complex and the most valuable way to identify
the knowledge assets. It involves observation, analysis and awareness to gain competitive
advantage through assets. The organisation can use different quantitative and qualitative methods
such as survey, interviews, group discussion, network analysis and debate to evaluate the tactic
knowledge.
Embedded knowledge: A large portion of the knowledge is trapped within process, policies and
product routes of the Morrisons. The organisation can analyse and evaluate the ways in which
certain task can be performed with innovation or more effectiveness. It will help company to
discover new knowledge and to enhance the efficiency of existing assets by using reverse
engineering tools (Martín-de Castro, 2015).
Apart from the above discussed sources knowledge can also be extended outside the
organisational framework such as from customers, suppliers, distributors and alliances. The
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analysis of consumer requirements can be very helpful to evaluate and search the knowledge
assets of organisation.
D. Evaluation of actual and potential knowledge assets
The knowledge assets of the Morrisons can be classified as the actual and potential
assets. There are certain assets which are necessary for the organisation to execute its functional
operations. For instance the technical knowledge is important for all team members of the
organisation because organisation is also expanding its business through digital tools. On the
other hand there are certain information and knowledge assets which have great potential to
bring success to the organisation (North and Kumta, 2018).
Though currently Morrisons do not posses these assets but the acquisition of theses assets
will promote huge changes to performance and growth aspects of the company. For instance
Morrisons can explore its business to international market. The existing brand value of the
organisation will help it introduces itself strongly among customers of different culture.
However, to achieve the success in its business at global level also the organisation must have
knowledge to address and understand the diversified needs of various consumers. This
knowledge can be created and stored only through analysis skills and experience. If Morrisons
group will aim at improving these potential knowledge assets as well as it will be very helpful
for the organisation to deal with the emerging challenges in market.
LO 2
Knowledge management process
For the success of organisation it is important for Morrisons to effectively manage its
knowledge assets. The first stage of this management process is to identify its knowledge assets
so that they can be explored to growth opportunities (Becerra-Fernandez, Leidner and Leidner,
2014). Morrisons supermarket chain can use above discussed strategies to identify its knowledge
assets. The mere identification of knowledge is not sufficient for the organisation for application
of the knowledge. It is required that organisation must have suitable strategy to store the new as
well as existing organisational knowledge.
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For instance various records such as sales analysis, business policies or plan can be stored
in digital communication tools so that the knowledge can be accessed and used anytime. With
additional analysis and assessment Morrisons can implement its knowledge into practical use.
During knowledge processing it is also analysed that how knowledge can be implemented and
processed within organisation. The next stage in the knowledge management process is to share
the knowledge assets with other individuals or teams in organisation so that these assets can be
used on large scale for assuring the success of organisation.
A. Requirements to integrate, store, apply and create knowledge
For utilising the information and knowledge assets of the organisation effectively and
with maximum profitability Morrisons must fulfil the requirements which can integrate and
manage the knowledge assets (Masa’deh and et.al., 2017). Morrisons must develop its business
culture in a way which supports and identify the existing knowledge assets as well as the need of
emerging knowledge. The organisation must have favourable business culture which can detect
and identify the knowledge. If there is requirement of additional knowledge for achieving certain
goals then training programs can be used for this purpose.
The mentoring and leadership are necessary to analyse the needs and requirements of
knowledge. It is also required that the identified knowledge is stored with care and securely. For
instance if Morrisons have developed new knowledge assets regarding innovations in its
products then organisation must use intellectual property rights which can give protection to
these assets. Thus, in organisation there must be legal framework which monitors that how
information is processed and exchanged. The knowledge can be integrated into successful
business processes only when team leaders can identify the skills and knowledge assets of the
individual team members.
Hence, for accurate integration of these assets with practices organisational culture must
have open and effective communication network which can improve the quality of services by
integrating it with most advance knowledge (Meihami and Meihami, 2014). Another effective
requirement which can be helpful to share the knowledge is cross cultural teams and story telling
approach in the practices. The leaders of Morrisons can use cross functional team so that
individual members can link their knowledge with the different operational perspective of the
company. Similarly, with knowledge management training sessions the employees of Morrisons
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can ensure that their knowledge is regularly improved and it does not overshadow with time. The
creativity, emotional appealing, motivation and communication between leaders and employees
can be considered as the basic requirement to enhance the knowledge creation.
B. Significance of intellectual property rights
Intellectual property rights (IP) aims at providing legal protection to the information or
knowledge assets of an individual or organisation. The IP rights such as trademark, patent,
copyright and trade secrets enables Morrisons to protects its intellectual properties against
unauthorised access or usage. These rights helps organisation to distinguish Morrisons from
other retail stores which is very essential for the success of company. The major revenue stream
of organisation is through selling and licensing (Inkinen, 2016). In the absence of IP rights the
knowledge assets can be copied by other competitors of Morrisons and thus its revenues can be
affected adversely.
The various aspects of the business activities of Morrisons such as its logo, brand name,
tag lines which are used in advertising campaigns, innovations are protected by intellectual rights
so that organisation can get competitive advantage on the behalf of these assets. Morrisons is
well known brand in UK thus using these rights it can sell or license its logo or innovations it can
earn loyalty and can even explore its business to global market. However, it is also possible that
some other organisations which are not well established can use the existing brand value of the
Morrisons and can supply degraded quality of product in the name of Morrisons. Such
fraud schemes can have long lasting inverse impact on the performance of organisation. Hence,
these intellectual property rights will protect Morrisons against infringements. Without bringing
innovations into business practices it is difficult for the organisation to sustain its position in the
competitive market (Birasnav, 2014). If organisation will not protect these innovations then, it
may not be able to grab full advantage of their innovation and handwork which they introduced
in research and development. Intellectual rights are essential for fostering these innovations.
LO 3
Framework for establishing knowledge management (KM) culture
KM framework aims at achieving the goals of utilising knowledge with full efficiency.
The framework consist of various elements and procedures. The different processes of KM
framework are independent of each other and Morrisons can pay more attention to any of the
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specific stage. The framework used by Morrisons first identity its business needs as well as the
needs of its various stakeholders so that it can develop policies accordingly.
In order to fill the needs of its business organisation acquire, create as well as update the
existing knowledge assets. To integrate the individual knowledge with the knowledge assets of
Morrisons identified assets are then shared and stored so that they can be retrieved anytime when
there is need to implement them (Martín-de Castro, 2015). This framework works on the
principle of managing knowledge assets in a way that organisation can easily integrate them with
benefits.
A. Contribution of knowledge assets on organisation
The contribution of knowledge assets (KA) can be considered as significant to the
performance of organisation. The practices and methodologies followed by Morrisons to execute
its routine functional activities are based upon its KA. If organisation will not have effective or
updated KA then its practices will also be outdated and insufficient to meet the requirements of
consumers and market. The innovations are the key factors which must be introduced with time
in business so that organisation is not substituted by new emerging technologies and
organisations.
The knowledge assets of the company also defines its position among the industry. For
instance Morrisons is one of the leading supermarket chain and thus have to face tough challenge
from other companies to sustain its top position (Why Knowledge Management Is Important To
The Success Of Your Company, 2012). The logo, tag lines, symbol, packaging and promotional
strategies are few of the elements which distinguish Morrisons from other organisations. If these
knowledge assets are not protected then, other business groups can follow the same strategies
which are followed by the Morrisons and hence there will be no unique factor in the services of
Morrisons. It will definitely reduce the growth and profit generation of the organisation.
The human resources are the fundamental blocks of the organisation which performs all
operational activities thus they must have the highest efficiency and skill. There is a wide gap
between individual and organisational knowledge which must be filled so that business groups
can reach to their goals. The knowledge sharing among people within Morrisons encourages
more effectiveness in the working strategies by improving the performance of individuals and
teams. The lack of required knowledge assets among human resources of organisation can lead
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to failure in achieving goals and thus it results in employee dissatisfaction (Top 5 Reasons Why
Knowledge Management is Necessary, 2016). The organisation can provide quality services to its
target audience only if there is regular flow of information and knowledge within organisation.
This regular flow ensures that all team members are effective in their part and they can deliver
the required standards of services in terms of quality and functionality.
B. Evaluation of knowledge requirements for organisation
Morrisons has huge number of employees and is providing its services at wide level.
Thus, it requires variety of knowledge assets for accomplishment of its business activities. The
team work is an integral component of the business. Without effective team works it is
impossible for the Morrisons to explore its business activities at such huge level. Thus, the
organisation must have knowledge of team work and management so that it can use its available
resources effectively and with minimum risks. The project management and marketing are the
basics for business organisations. Morrisons must have detailed knowledge of these skills so that
it can establish itself among other competitive organisations.
With the digital advancements Morrisons is also using digital tools to attract more
consumers towards its services. Thus, the insufficient knowledge of the technological skills can
be harmful for the success of organisation (Martín-de Castro, 2015). If Morrisons will not update
its technical knowledge then, its target audience may not consider its suitable for their
requirements. The production and product delivery are the basic functional requirements of the
teams at Morrisons. Thus, all team members of Morrisons must have capability and knowledge
skills related to procedures which are followed at the organisation so that there is minimum risk
of failure.
C. Framework to enable knowledge sharing
The team work requires the knowledge sharing channel at workplace so that workforces
at Morrisons can achieve their task objectives. For enabling the sharing of knowledge
organisation can implement various frameworks. The most simple and easy frameworks which
promotes the sharing of KA is the open communication networks. When employees of
Morrisons have free channels to communicate with their leaders, colleagues as well as
consumers then it is easy for them to understand the requirements of their target audience,
market as well as other stakeholders of the company.
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If there will no path for sharing the knowledge then functional units of the company will
never be able to deliver the services required by the customers of Morrisons. Another framework
which can be used by Morrisons to encourage the sharing of knowledge assets is the cross
culture training (Geisler and Wickramasinghe, 2015). When human assets of the organisation are
given knowledge of different roles and tasks then it enhances their ability and skills to perform
their tasks with more efficiency. The informal get together functions or fun events can also help
individuals to share their knowledge with ease and comfort. Such approach of knowledge sharing
helps to build effective teams at workplace.
With time there is urgent need for the Morrisons to improve its strategies. For instance
with technical advancements the organisation has shifted more towards digital marketing as
compare to the conventional approaches of marketing. Such transformations are not possible
without sharing of knowledge in a more formal and regulated way. Training and development
sessions are effective examples for such approach. Morrisons can conduct training sessions in
which experts can share their knowledge to other employees of the organisation. Such type of
sharing approaches are more effective and also provides practical knowledge so that shared
knowledge can be brought into practices.
D. Improvement strategies for current framework
Currently the framework used by Morrisons to manage and share its knowledge resources
needs some improvements. The supermarket and retail organisations are rapidly shifting towards
the concepts of digital technology. However, most of the team members and employees of
organisation are not aware with the detailed knowledge of these advancements and thus it is
reflected in their performance as well. Hence, Morrisons must provide technical training to their
staff members so that they can also coordinate with the incoming changes. The sharing and
retention of knowledge within existing framework of organisation is not very effective (Martín-
de Castro, 2015).
One of the key reason for this fact is that there is lack of communication between leaders
as well as team members. It also limits the development of knowledge assets in the form of
creativity or innovation. To enhance the knowledge creation organisation can use motivation and
reward strategies which encourages people to think beyond the existing framework and to
suggest new effective methodologies for performing their routine task.
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Most of the employees are still unaware about the intellectual rights and thus they do not
understand the importance of knowledge assets. Morrisons must form a KM team which can
regulate the creation, flow and protection of these knowledge assets of the company. The
organisation can also conduct debate or discussion sessions with its team members so that it can
be analysed that up to which extent they are aware of the existing knowledge assets and what
possible improvements and innovations can be made to the organisation (Geisler and
Wickramasinghe, 2015).
These improvements in the existing framework of Morrisons will definitely help organisation to
improve and protect its knowledge management approach.
CONCLUSION
From the report it can be concluded that the KM system is vital strategic and
management concept for assuring the successful execution of business activities. The
information and knowledge assets helps organisation to achieve its targets. However, if these
assets are not protected or managed properly then it may cause significant damages to the
business. The report has explained the importance of knowledge assets and various ways through
which organisations can manage and identify their assets. It has also discussed the methods to
store and share the knowledge assets so that business profits can be optimized. The individual
knowledge forms the strong relation in defining and affecting the organisational knowledge.
The document has discussed the interrelationship between these two aspects and how it
influences the overall performance of the company. It is also analysed that intellectual rights are
significant measure to protect these resources and to fulfil the knowledge requirements of the
business. The report has discussed that how IP rights contributes to achieve the long term success
in business. It has also evaluated the framework for implementing KM system and its sharing.
The report has also provided recommendations to make KM system more transparent and
effective.
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