Knowledge Audit for Business Analysis - Doc

1
Knowledge Audit for Business Analysis

2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Business Case.............................................................................................................................4
Stakeholder Analysis..................................................................................................................5
Business Context........................................................................................................................8
Business Processes...................................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

3
Introduction
Auto Accessories is considered to be a small and medium scale enterprise, which is focused
on selling and distributing of the automobile parts and vehicle accessories to the target
customers. It is a newly developed organisation and has become successful in developing a
strong customer base due to the offering the high quality and unique products. The products
of the company include colourful stickers, decorative stickers, traffic recording camera,
camera viewers for the vehicles for assisting in parking activities, and three-dimensional
designing stickers. Despite the strong customer base and steady growth rate, the company
management of Auto Accessories is facing challenges in the business operation process due
to lack of competitive approaches and core competencies.
The automobile industry has become highly competitive as the majority of the companies are
integrating advanced technological applications in the business operation process. Majority of
the companies are installing advanced ICT applications to improve the degree of inventory
management activities. The use of information communication technology applications is
also helping the organisations to improve the organisational communication process with the
target customers. The employees of Auto Accessories fail to share the information with target
customers regarding the availability of any vehicle part or accessory as poor ICT application
has caused time efficiency in the inventory management approach. In addition, the customers
also have to visit the store despite the installation of ICT application in an inadequate way,
which is affecting the customer loyalty and business growth of the company. This assignment
will analyse the major reason behind the business problem, which will help to develop
effective solutions to address such problems. A stakeholder analysis will also be considered
in this assignment to help the company to ensure effective knowledge management process
within the company to address the particular problem.

4
Business Case
Auto Accessories is a newly developed automobile accessory developing, designing and
distributing organisation. The company has gained huge popularity in the competitive
marketplace due to the consideration of effective quality management of products, effective
differentiation approach, and strong niche marketing approach. Despite all of these positive
aspects, the company management of Auto Accessories is facing different kinds of challenges
in the business operation process due to poor installation and integration of the ICT
applications. The poor application of ICT is affecting the customer service management
activities as the employees fail to respond to the customers regarding the availability of the
products and different auto parts (West and Bogers, 2014). The poor application of ICT is
also affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of the inventory management system of Auto
Accessories. Apart from these, the poor application of ICT by the management of Auto
Accessories is also making the customers to visit the stores in this modern era of
technological advancements to check whether the products are available or not (v et al.,
2015). Overall, it is acceptable that the poor technical feasibility of the company management
of Auto Accessories is affecting the customer satisfaction aspect. Overall, this particular
problem is affecting the business operation potentiality and profitability growth. The six
important “WH” parameters can be considered here to analyse the business problem in this
particular scenario quite effectively.
In terms of “WHY”, it is acceptable and identified that the poor application, integration and
handling of the informational communication technological tools have created problems for
the management of Auto Accessories in the customer service and operation management
process. In terms of “WHO”, the technical professionals and company management including
the decisions makers as well as strategy developers are considered to be the major responsible
individuals. In terms of “WHAT”, it is acceptable that lack of competitive advantages and

5
core competencies can be regarded as the major reasons behind the challenges. In terms of
“WHERE”, the competitive automobile sector can be considered here in which the company
management of Auto Accessories has failed to retain its target customers due to the poor
application and integration of the information communication technological tools (temple et
al., 2017). In terms of “WHEN”, the management and employees of Auto Accessories are
facing real challenges during the customer service and operation management process. In
terms of “HOW”, the company management professionals and decision makers of Auto
Accessories need to adopt and implement information communication technology
applications in the operation management process in a significant way, so that the company
management can adopt and implement different kinds of strategies in the business operation
process quite effectively.
Five implementation plans will be considered by the management of Auto Accessories in
order to ensure successful application of the information communication technology
applications (handfield et al., 2015). Planning activities, enabling activities, doing activities,
monitoring activities and control activities should be considered by the company
management of Auto Accessories to ensure an effective business solution to the business
operation problem faced by the management of Auto Accessories.
Stakeholder Analysis
A stakeholder can be considered as an important individual, who has interest in the business
operation process of a company. The company management of Auto Accessories should try
to consider effective stakeholder satisfaction aspects in the overall business operation
process. The majority of the companies in the automobile industry try to satisfy the needs of
the stakeholders through effective quality management, effective operational efficiency and
effective customer service management activities. Stakeholders are considered to be the

6
important individuals for Auto Accessories in order to ensure business success (Webb, 2017).
The company management of Auto Accessories is facing the business operation challenges in
the business operation process due to the poor stakeholder management.
The stakeholders of Auto Accessories are customers, suppliers, employees, strategic partners,
competitors, regulators, owner, managers and other important individuals. Among all of the
stakeholders, employees and the customers are considered to be the major and important
stakeholders. From the developed stakeholders’ map, it can be stated that the owner and
managers of Auto Accessories can be placed in the “engage closely and influence actively”
segment (Hunter et al., 2015). This is acceptable that the company management and owner
should update all the plans and processes on a frequent basis in order to ensure effective
customer satisfaction level. On the other hand, the employees can be placed in the monitoring
segment of the particular stakeholder map. This is acceptable that the stakeholder map
analysis can help an organisation to ensure a strong business growth.
According to the characteristics of the particular problem and nature of the stakeholder map
analysis, the target customers of Auto Accessories can be placed at the keep satisfied segment
of the particular map. There are different reasons behind this. The level of interest is low of
the target customers due to poor application of the information communication technological
application. On the other hand, the level of the power of bargaining power of the target

7
customers is quite high as the customers are moving forward to other brands due to poor
customer service and business operation process. This is an important aspect to state that the
majority of the companies are trying to adopt and implement advanced technological
applications and information communication technological instruments to satisfy the needs of
the target customers (Inkinen et al., 2015). Some of the target customers also can be placed at
the keep informed segment of the stakeholder map. Such customers are considered to be the
loyal target customers of Auto Accessories with low intention level to move forward to other
brands. Hence, according to the stakeholder plan, customers and employees are the major
stakeholders of Auto Accessories.
The employees are considered to be the important stakeholders of Auto Accessories, who are
not satisfied with the business operation activities. Majority of the companies within the
automobile industry are adopting advanced technological applications to improve time and
cost efficiency of the overall business operation process. Apart from it, the installation of the
advanced technological applications also supports the human resources and employees to
boost the individual performance level (Cohen, 2015). Overall, it can be accepted that the
majority of the employees of Auto Accessories are not satisfied with their job role. Hence,
employee satisfaction due to poor application of ICT applications can be considered as a
major reason behind the problem. On the other hand, the customer dissatisfaction related
challenge also can be considered as the major challenge for Auto Accessories. The target
customers are not satisfied with the business application process of Auto Accessories and this
is the major problem. Majority of the companies are adopting and implementing ICT
application process in the business operation process to improve the quality and efficiency of
the inventory management activities (Friesike et al., 2015). On the other hand, the
consideration of ICT applications in an effective way can help the company management to
improve the overall communication process between the employees and stakeholders of the

8
company. The strong organisational communication helps to improve the degree of the
customer relationship. Hence, it is acceptable that the management of Auto Accessories
should try to use and implement the ICT process in a collaborative approach by engaging the
employees. It will help to improve the degree of job satisfaction of the employees (Manson
and Kaunitz, 2016). On the other hand, the effective employee management process also can
help the management of Auto Accessories to improve the degree of customer satisfaction and
customer loyalty in the business operation process.
Business Context
The company management and operation management professionals of Auto Accessories are
highly suffering from the customer management and employee management challenges. The
poor application of the technological resources and IT applications are affecting the business
sustainability and core competencies of the management of Auto Accessories (Osagie et al.,
2016). The possible system solution for the ongoing business operation process has been
described below.

9
The company management of Auto Accessories is not facing challenges in the validation or
coding or the user acceptability or the designing process. The management of Auto
Accessories is not facing any kind of problem regarding the designing and quality of the
accessories of the products as the quality and the designing of the accessories are considered
to be the major growth drivers and core competencies of Auto Accessories. The company
management and operational professionals of Auto Accessories are facing problems in the
product delivery, and maintenance and support aspect (Van Laar et al., 207). The majority of
the companies within the automobile service and accessory proving industry are finding it
really difficult to ensure a strong business growth due to competition. The consideration of
the installation of advanced ICT generally helps the organisations to ensure high quality and
efficient product delivery approach (Gemunden, 2015). In this process, the customers do not
have to visit the stores. On the other hand, it also improves the quality of the inventory
management activities. This particular solution can help the management of Auto Accessories

10
to improve the degree of online delivery and customer service or support activities. Overall, it
can improve the degree of the system management and operation management process.
Business Processes
Before going into the critical analysis and discussion on the effective business process to
enhance a strong system solution, this is highly important to discuss the business process. A
business process can be considered as an important organisational procedure, which generally
helps the particular organisations to carry out and integrate effective internal operation
process to deliver high-quality products and services to the target customers (Del Giudice and
Maggioni, 2014). In this particular case, the company management of Auto Accessories is
facing problem regarding the quality of the customer service (Stevens and Johnson, 2016).
The following can be considered as the possible business process model for Auto Accessories
in the automobile industry to improve the overall business growth and customer service
efficiency.

11
The company management and employees actually do not know what products are available
in inventory. In addition, the employees are also taking huge time to showcasing the products
as they do not know about the inventory stocks (Mariano and Walter, 2015). Hence, it will be
important for the company management of Auto Accessories to integrate the advanced
technological solutions in the business operation process, such as ICT to improve the overall
customer service efficiency.
According to this particular approach, the company management of Auto Accessories should
consider the demand and needs of the visiting target customers. The employees and company
management should attend all the visiting customers through the consideration of effective
demonstration of the products and services based on the demand of the target customers
(Engert et al., 2016). The time and cost efficiency aspect in attending customers should be
considered, which can actually influence the purchasing decision-making process of the
target customers. Overall, this is also essential to state that the satisfactory demonstration will
ensure quick issuing of payment and purchase order (Chesbrough et al., 2014). Ultimately, it
is a fact that all the employees should be aware of the inventory and stockings to ensure a
strong customer satisfaction process.
The after sales service functions and processes should also be considered by the company
management of Auto Accessories. Registration and following-up target customers can be
considered as the important aspects for the target customers regarding consumption of any
product or a service. The company management of Auto Accessories should consider
transparent registration and effective following up approach to conflict-free business
operation and customer service management process (Bornbaum et al., 2015). The end-
process should be considered and ensured through the effective cost effective and time
effective approaches. Installation of ICT application will help the company management of

12
Auto Accessories to ensure a time effective and cost-effective customer management process
(Carlborg et al., 2014).
Conclusion
Auto Accessories is considered to be a small and medium scale enterprise, which is focused
on selling and distributing of the automobile parts and vehicle accessories to the target
customers. Despite all of these positive aspects, the company management of Auto
Accessories is facing different kinds of challenges in the business operation process due to
poor installation and integration of the ICT applications. The poor application of ICT is also
affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of the inventory management system of Auto
Accessories.
The poor application of ICT is affecting the customer service management activities as the
employees fail to respond to the customers regarding the availability of the products and
different auto parts. Apart from these, the poor application of ICT by the management of
Auto Accessories is also making the customers to visit the stores in this modern era of
technological advancements to check whether the products are available or not. Planning
activities, enabling activities, doing activities, monitoring activities and control activities
should be considered by the company management of Auto Accessories to ensure an
effective business solution to the business operation problem faced by the management of
Auto Accessories. The installation of the advanced technological applications also supports
the human resources and employees to boost the individual performance level. , the
consideration of ICT applications in an effective way can help the company management to
improve the overall communication process between the employees and stakeholders of the
company.

13
References
Bornbaum, C.C., Kornas, K., Peirson, L. and Rosella, L.C., 2015. Exploring the function and
effectiveness of knowledge brokers as facilitators of knowledge translation in health-related
settings: a systematic review and thematic analysis. Implementation Science, 10(1), p.162.
Bouncken, R.B., Gast, J., Kraus, S. and Bogers, M., 2015. Coopetition: a systematic review,
synthesis, and future research directions. Review of Managerial Science, 9(3), pp.577-601.
Carlborg, P., Kindström, D. and Kowalkowski, C., 2014. The evolution of service innovation
research: a critical review and synthesis. The Service Industries Journal, 34(5), pp.373-398.
Chesbrough, H., Vanhaverbeke, W. and West, J. eds., 2014. New frontiers in open
innovation. Oup Oxford.
Cohen, D.J., 2015. HR past, present and future: A call for consistent practices and a focus on
competencies. Human Resource Management Review, 25(2), pp.205-215.
Del Giudice, M. and Maggioni, V., 2014. Managerial practices and operative directions of
knowledge management within inter-firm networks: a global view. Journal of Knowledge
Management, 18(5), pp.841-846.
Engert, S., Rauter, R. and Baumgartner, R.J., 2016. Exploring the integration of corporate
sustainability into strategic management: a literature review. Journal of cleaner
production, 112, pp.2833-2850.
Friesike, S., Widenmayer, B., Gassmann, O. and Schildhauer, T., 2015. Opening science:
towards an agenda of open science in academia and industry. The Journal of Technology
Transfer, 40(4), pp.581-601.

14
Gemünden, H.G., 2015. Success factors of global new product development programs, the
definition of project success, knowledge sharing, and special issues of project management
journal. Project Management Journal, 46(1), pp.2-11.
Handfield, R.B., Cousins, P.D., Lawson, B. and Petersen, K.J., 2015. How can supply
management really improve performance? A knowledge‐based model of alignment
capabilities. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 51(3), pp.3-17.
Hunter, J.P., Stinson, J., Campbell, F., Stevens, B., Wagner, S.J., Simmons, B., White, M.
and van Wyk, M., 2015. A novel pain interprofessional education strategy for trainees:
assessing impact on interprofessional competencies and pediatric pain knowledge. Pain
Research and Management, 20(1), pp.e12-e20.
Inkinen, H.T., Kianto, A. and Vanhala, M., 2015. Knowledge management practices and
innovation performance in Finland. Baltic Journal of Management, 10(4), pp.432-455.
Manson, J.E. and Kaunitz, A.M., 2016. Menopause management—getting clinical care back
on track. N Engl J Med, 2016(374), pp.803-806.
Mariano, S. and Walter, C., 2015. The construct of absorptive capacity in knowledge
management and intellectual capital research: content and text analyses. Journal of
Knowledge Management, 19(2), pp.372-400.
Osagie, E.R., Wesselink, R., Blok, V., Lans, T. and Mulder, M., 2016. Individual
competencies for corporate social responsibility: A literature and practice
perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(2), pp.233-252.
Stevens, G.C. and Johnson, M., 2016. Integrating the supply chain… 25 years
on. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(1), pp.19-42.

15
Temple, C.A., Ogle, D., Crawford, A.N. and Freppon, P., 2017. All children read: Teaching
for literacy in today's diverse classrooms. Pearson.
Van Laar, E., van Deursen, A.J., van Dijk, J.A. and de Haan, J., 2017. The relation between
21st-century skills and digital skills: A systematic literature review. Computers in human
behavior, 72, pp.577-588.
Webb, S.P., 2017. Knowledge management: Linchpin of change. Routledge.
West, J. and Bogers, M., 2014. Leveraging external sources of innovation: a review of
research on open innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(4), pp.814-831.