The Significance of Knowledge Management in the Digital Era

This assignment content presents a collection of research articles, books, and online resources related to knowledge management (KM). The sources cover various aspects of KM, including its importance, organizational culture, leadership behaviors, innovation, project management, and supply chain management. Topics such as customer knowledge management via social media, product design knowledge management, emergency knowledge management, and decision support systems are also explored.

Knowledge Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 3
MAIN BODY........................................................................................................................ 3
Overview of ABC IT Consultancy............................................................................................ 3
Knowledge management strategy for ABC IT Consultancy...............................................4
Knowledge management system proposed to support the KM strategy..........................6
KM tools in KM system that support the KM processes.....................................................8
Impact of trends in knowledge management and recommendations.............................11
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 12
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................. 13

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge management (KM) is the process that controls and expands the
strategic plans, which are created. It also constitutes the knowledge about the
organizational assets and its resources. The tactical and strategical requirements
include initiatives, processes and strategies, which enhance storage, dissemination and
creation of knowledge (Why KM - the importance of knowledge management, 2009).
For conducting the present research, ABC IT Consultancy has been chosen. The
organization deals with activities like developing, managing and implementing IT
solutions for the other organizations. The report comprises of fundamental concepts of
knowledge and it's management methods and techniques to support IT tools for
knowledge management. Furthermore, it will also describe the company’s size,
structure, objectives and organizational culture and strategy. The various knowledge
management strategies are to be discussed to do an effective business. Moreover, it
examines the impact of new and emerging trends in KM and development.
MAIN BODY
Overview of ABC IT Consultancy
ABC IT Consultancy is IT solutions organization which deals in developing,
enhancing and managing IT solutions for the company. The size of the enterprise is
small because they entered the market only four years before. If the company is new
then definitely it has innovative concepts and products because to compete with the
existing competitors the organization has to offer new and innovative products and
services. The purpose of the firm is to expand their business to attract number of users
(Dalkir, 2013). The business enterprise also emphasizes on good reputation which the
company should build among the target market. The organisational strategy for
chosen IT Consultancy is to increase the revenues and develop their business with the
help of new tools and techniques in another way, to create a good reputation among
customers, increased profitability and to expand their market share. The company is
following positive team spirit culture to motivate each employee as well as create a
healthy environment in the organization. Employee engagement is the central aspect
of organization culture because through this only organization will develop and
produce good results (Hislop, 2013). The business strategy is to make it profitable by

using different tools and techniques which help in extending business and increasing
its reputation.
Knowledge management strategy for ABC IT Consultancy
The company is facing many challenges in their day-to-day life. These problems
can be obtained through market place pressures and culture of the workplace. The
solution to this problem is knowledge management (KM) as it helps in tackling long-
term issues through various related strategies. These problems will be solved with the
support of the development of the KM strategies. The strategy should not only consist
of high-level goals, but it should comprise of other various strategies. The company
can focus on the strategies that help in analyzing needs and problems of the business
entity. For solving this, the firm should create a framework for that (Holsapple, 2013).
The strategy should be made in such a way that ensures the challenges and needs of
the organization are met and solved. Knowledge management will benefit the
consultancy firm by using correct KM approaches. These techniques do not only help
in solving issues but are also useful in the development of an organizational strategy.
This approach will assist in the addressing real needs and issues of the company
which they are facing.
The amount of information which is available to business management has
developed instantly. The challenges in the business management can be solved
through different business decisions which are supportive. As the change in the
organization, the demand of the company is also increasing because they now want
skilled and talented staff for their organization (Borghoff and Pareschi, 2013). The
business enterprise should have good decision-making approach, as well as the
decisions, should be based on the accurate, complete and reliable information.
Knowledge management is an important aspect in encouraging information needs of
management staff. It can also help through the mentoring and coaching skills which
are essential for modern managers. The company should retain their key staff as
losing them will surely affect the performance of the organization. The experienced
staffs have the knowledge and vast experience of the working environment as well as
for the organization. If they put the little effort in the organization, then they can
enhance better productivity at the organizational level. So, the company should retain
them which are the major KM strategy for the business enterprise. To expand their
business and have long-term growth, the company should make innovative ideas and

products on a regular interval (Fuller, 2012). This is an essential part of the IT
organization because they are fast moving industry. Many businesses are formed to
have consistency, repeatability, and efficiency of current processes and products.
Innovation helps in creating more ideas for the products and company should try to
compete with competitors with some unfamiliar techniques. The process of
innovating products helps in considering the work of knowledge management which
will nurture in a business environment. Organisation environment also plays a vital
role in knowledge management (Wiig, 2012). To acknowledge the issues, the
company should solve some factors like overall strategic direction, available
resources, marketplace factors, etc. These approaches may have widespread success
in other organizations; they will only succeed in the current environment if they meet
actual staff needs. By amending these strategies, an organization can make an
effective strategy for the company which will help them to expand their business and
their profitability. On the base of this strategy, the integrated knowledge management
model includes KM strategic initiatives, various structures, its culture and removing
the obsolete knowledge. Furthermore, an operational excellence focuses for KM,
which tries to improvise the internal practices and procedures of the organization. The
crucial knowledge considers business processes which ensure that the KM strategy
will be about these processes which are as good as they can be throughout the
organization.
The majority of the knowledge will come from internal sources of the organization.
It has concluded that the strategy will include the development of continuous going
processes, practices, innovative and standardization process. Further, for this
operational effectiveness and efficiency is required for the organization (Power,
Sharda and Burstein, 2015). The company should focus on customer needs and
requirements for which the staff should work on the regular basis. If the customer
relationships are maintained, service levels will go high, and sales volumes will
augment. In ABC IT Consultancy, the business needs crucial knowledge about the
different products and services, knowledge about the customers, market, competitors,
etc. to make the effective strategy. ABC, IT Consultancy has to follow all the
elements in which they are operating and producing various products efficiently and
creating new products to enhance the productivity and performance. By developing
the effective strategy, the company will run successfully and will expand their
businesses.

Knowledge management system proposed to support the KM strategy
There are many approaches which help in developing a knowledge management
strategy which supports the “Holistic Model” of KM processes. This focuses on the
needs analysis activities with staff which develop the different strategies such as
analyzing the key staff group's potential because this will provide greatest business
value which are involved most important business activities. It will conduct
comprehensive and holistic needs which help in analyzing the requirements and issues
of their workforce. The benefits of this approach have to focus on the top – down
approach which identifies high objectives to become knowledgeable organization
(Dent and Whitehead, 2013). The key issues and needs of staff throughout the
organization found some initiatives which are difficult to engage employees in the
required cultural and process changes. This will result in having long-term impact on
the organization despite any efforts. This model mainly focuses on the initial needs
analysis activities which helped in developing KM strategy which has some benefits.
The focus on needs analysis will identify a wide range of issues and requirements.
Some will be organisation-wide while others will constitute specific to individual
business units or job roles.
The need analysis techniques will identify cultural issues, essential business needs,
in consistence in practices, improved policies, and procedures and major business
risks, etc. This approach used to develop the KM strategy which makes no
presumption about the solution which is implemented on the organization's issues.
The utilization of well - tested needs identified techniques which give confidence that
the true issues and challenges in the organisation will be analysed. To make the
effective strategy, small research should be done to know the crucial problems within
the business enterprises (Staab and Studer, 2013). If the initial stages have provided
tangible business benefits then, additional target research can be used to analyse the
different issues. There are many innovative ideas which can be drawn from the field
of knowledge management. The main problem is to analyse those approaches which
will have the greatest impact upon the organisation. By starting with the needs
analysis, approaches can be targeted to be shown, the most critical issues or to deliver
the greatest business benefits. There are various kinds of need analysis tools and
techniques which are carried through knowledge management. The types of the

technique include assisted discussions, focus groups, various surveys, contextual
inquiry and task analysis, etc.
The process of KM is independent which affects the various factors because
knowledge management is very different and can be analysed in different ways. Other
models show overlapping processes in an attempt to simulate what occurs inside an
organization. The issues with the company are that they are often hard to hold and can
only convey limited information so as not to become accessible (Allameh and Zare,
2011). KM is fully dependent on the other disciplines which enabled the wide range
of processes and systems and will become complicated ahead. Each model has their
focus and origin and its challenges. The company has broad categories which deal
with the KM models with its aspects. To discover the knowledge, the company should
explore, research and create new strategies for their KM system. The one of the KM
models can be “The KM Process Framework” which is founded by Bukowitz and
Williams. This KM model analysis the procedures which define the strategy for
management that helps in creating, taking, and raising knowledge assets. It is a model
that focuses the "why" and "when" aspects. The advantages of this model rely on its
strategical aim which essentially puts knowledge management action into context.
The notion of "divestment" should be included which excluding from the KM models.
KM initiatives are the result of the response to tactical and strategic changes and
needs (Ma and Yu, 2010). The model provides a great overview of the strategy behind
KM, but it does not include any details which give the initiatives a suitable instance.
Knowledge organization and assessment can seem like an expensive endeavour,
particularly since the return on investment is indirect. In other words, there is little
visible gain from meticulously classifying and organizing knowledge assets.
However, it is an important step in the knowledge management and reuse process.
Knowledge sharing is a crucial aspect of this process since the vast majority of KM
initiatives depend upon it. Knowledge sharing can be described as either push or pull
which are described as ; library search, newsletter etc. Knowledge sharing depends on
the habit and willingness of the knowledge worker to seek out and be receptive to
these knowledge sources. There three roles for the process of knowledge reuse which
are knowledge producer, knowledge intermediary and knowledge consumer.
Knowledge producer is the creator of the knowledge. Whereas knowledge
intermediary is packages and prepares the knowledge which are stored, retrieved and
shared. This may involve any number of functions such as indexing, categorization,

standardizing, publishing, mapping, etc. On the other hand , knowledge consumers
are the target market which helps the business to make strategies. Knowledge creation
is all about continuous transfer, combination, and conversion of the different types of
knowledge, as users practice, interact, and learn. Knowledge sharing and knowledge
creation are inter related to each other (Sun, 2010). Knowledge is created through
practice, collaboration, interaction, and education, as the different knowledge types
are shared and converted. Beyond this, knowledge creation is also supported by
relevant information and data which can improve decisions and serve as building
blocks in the creation of new knowledge. Knowledge acquisition entirely relies on
knowledge management (KM) focus. However, since KM is unresolvable linked to
corporate strategy which is an overview of the options available to the organization
will be useful in knowing the full potential KM function.
KM tools in KM system that support the KM processes
As per the detailed analysis of the knowledge management system the business
firm can focus on number of tools that can facilitate in collection and storing of
information. Knowledge management tools provides a great support to operational
activities and helps in efficient accomplishment of tools. With an assistance of
knowledge management tools the management of ABC IT Consultancy is attaining
various benefits. One of key benefit is that it allows members to share information
between staff members. Employees can access essential information from any where
in easy manner so that activities can be take placed in appropriate manner (Zheng,
Yang and McLean, 2010). It is also considered as a combination of supportive system
that provides a substantial savings. Moreover, workforce can also speed up its
operational activities through effective use of knowledge management tools.
It has been identified that the classification of knowledge management tools can be
as groupware system, intranet and extranet, decision support system, content
management, document management, etc. With an assistance of groupware system
the organisation can easily communicate with all members. In this, communication
tools and conferencing tools are commonly used. Email helps in sharing of
significant information that provides a great support to organisational development.
Moreover, project management systems and workflow system also facilitate in
creating collaborative system that can accomplish goals in most desired manner (Chua
and Banerjee, 2013). Improved use of Intranet and Extranet helps management of

ABC IT Consultancy to enhance its productivity and socialization in order to create
positive impact. It facilitates in navigation of information so that data can be accessed
and stored in appropriate manner. With an assistance of intranet the different kinds of
search engine can be used in order to search the information. It also provides better
capability to the system and allows user to make transactions in most suitable form.
Other than this, there are various systems that helps in decision making process. In
order to provide a detailed information about the organisation and various supportive
factors the company is focusing on decision support system. It is a tool that allows
business firm to have effective auditing and evaluation of the decision support system.
Management can easily access data and design strategies to overcome issues (Yates
and Paquette, 2011). It is essential to ensure that the system is maintaining standards
in appropriate manner to improve effectiveness. Moreover, the content management
tool is most relevant tool of knowledge management. It provides an easy management
of content so that better control can be attained. It also allows management to have
better control of information in order to boost effectiveness.
Evaluation of the knowledge management strategy and system and how it works in
organization
The issue of knowledge management systems is the key aspect of the knowledge
management (KM). Even though knowledge management systems are not the most
important part of KM, this is still the subject that generates most interest. Knowledge
management systems are defined as a IT system which stores and retrieves
knowledge, improves collaboration, locates knowledge sources, mines repositories for
hidden knowledge, captures and uses knowledge, or in some other way enhances the
KM process. On the other hand, Andreeva and Kianto (2012) argued that
organizations should nit considered in terms of knowledge management systems
(Andreeva and Kianto, 2012). He argues that KM, though enhanced by technology, is
not a technology discipline, and thinking in terms of knowledge management systems
leads to expectations various kinds of solutions. Instead, the focus should be
determining the practicality of the IT systems which are essential for the specific
activities and initiatives within the firm. According to business view, the process of
successful implementation has three procedures: adoption, acceptance, and
assimilation. Based on recognized models and theories, the authors identified three
comprehensive sets of factors affecting these three elements. The resulting model
organized the KMS implementation factors into the following categories:

• Adoption: It is influenced by the design in which includes innovation
characteristics, fit, expected results, communication characteristics. On the other
hand, it is not influenced by the design and its factors includes environment,
technological infrastructure, resources, organizational characteristics (Massingham,
2010).
• Acceptance: It is influenced by the design in which it inculcates effort expectancy,
performance expectancy. Whereas, it is not influenced by the design and it aspects are
social influences, attitude towards technology use.
• Assimilation: It is influenced by the design in which comprises of social system
characteristics, process characteristics. In contrast to this, it is not influenced by the
design and it has factors like management characteristics, institutional characteristics
etc. (Wu, 2012).
Through knowledge management strategy it is possible for ABC Ltd to use the
knowledge along with information in an appropriate manner. Further, it can assist to
work on the areas where business is not performing well and in turn, improvement is
needed. Apart from this, better services can be delivered to target market through the
appropriate knowledge management system, and it can assist in accomplishing all the
aims and objectives of the company (Marra, Ho and Edwards, 2012). An effective
system can support in utilizing the human resource in the effective manner which is
also one of the main aims of the organization and can provide a large number of
benefits such as the rise in profitability level etc.
Effective knowledge management strategy and system support the individual in
sharing and gaining adequate knowledge that further support the overall organization
in improving their performance. However, the advantage of strong knowledge
management system is that it result in reducing the overall cost that is required to
transfer information within the organization by utilizing their resources in the
effective and efficient manner that would support the ABC IT consultancy (Rai,
2011). In addition to this, knowledge management strategy positively supports the
business strategy of ABC IT consultancy in sharing the required knowledge and skills
at the workplace. Furthermore, with the adequate knowledge management strategy in
the firm result in accomplishing their objectives and goals that mainly enhances and
raise the experience of the individual.

Impact of trends in knowledge management and recommendations
It has been identified that the knowledge management is considered as one of most
significant factor for sustainable development. There are various trends that needs of
be consider by the organisation because it impacts operational activities in diverse
manner. Social media is one of most commonly used technique that provides business
firm number of benefits in monetary and non-monetary aspects. It is medium that
allows management to use internet and accomplish goals in most desired form (Tang
and et.al., 2010). Social networking sites are highly effective tools for marketing and
communication. It is a tool that provides an integrated working and application of
business strategies. Moreover, search functionality is also a key trend in knowledge
management. It depends on indexing and helps in effective organising of various
search results. If outcomes of search are not properly managed then business firm can
face number of issues.
Current trends has forced companies to invest more in technological tools so that
effectiveness and efficiency factor can be managed in most desired form. In addition
to this, it can be said that the work culture and knowledge management system of
organisation has been impacted in diverse manner. Business organisations are also
focusing on the extreme use of software systems so that functionality can be improved
(Nguyen and Mohamed, 2011). Moreover, the working and knowledge management
system get influenced by the collaboration. It has been identified that the
collaboration improves the business processes because it provides an effective
connection all members. Number of tools are being introduced in the market that
provides a collaboration to the knowledge management system.
Other than this, mobile technology is also one of key factor that is mostly being
considered by the business firms in order to boost the effectiveness of knowledge
management system. Nowadays organisations are allowing employees to access the
information through use of the mobile the application. It helps management in
effective collection of information and take decisions in appropriate manner. As per
the above study, it can be recommended that the management of ABC IT Consultancy
needs to focus on various changes that can boost effectiveness of knowledge
management system (Lee and Chen, 2012). In this regard, the organisation can
increase its investment in technological advancement so that goals can be
accomplished in appropriate manner. In addition to this, it can be said that the

business firm can also focus on social media tools because it allows business to
communicate effectively with all members. Mobile technology has become a primary
means of accessing the Web for both personal and professional reasons. It means the
management of ABC IT Consultancy can also consider mobile technology as one of
key aspect that can boost knowledge management system (Donate and Guadamillas,
2010). Organization can also set out number of standards in regard to knowledge
management system so that information store and access objectives can be
accomplished in most desired form.
Moreover, IT Consultancy firm can also concentrate on adaptation of various KM
software's so that functionality standards can be managed in most suitable way.
However, the visual aspect of KM software will facilitate in searching for files and
documents (Gasik, 2011). For better communication there are number of software's
that can be accessed by the firm and lead business to impressive level of success.
Social Intranet software eliminates the need to log into several applications. It will
provide user friendly aspects and allows member's to share knowledge in more
efficient form.
CONCLUSION
The report concluded that enhancing a knowledge management strategy provides
the unique opportunity to know the organization runs more effectively. The business
strategy is to make the business profitable by using different tools and techniques
which help in the extending business and increasing its reputation. ABC, IT
Consultancy has to follow all the elements in which they are operating and producing
various products efficiently and creating new products to enhance the productivity
and performance. Organization can also set out a number of standards regarding
knowledge management system so that information store and access objectives can be
accomplished in most desired form.

REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Allameh, S.M. and Zare, S.M., 2011. Examining the impact of KM enablers on
knowledge management processes. Procedia Computer Science. 3. pp.1211-1223.
Andreeva, T. and Kianto, A., 2012. Does knowledge management really matter?
Linking knowledge management practices, competitiveness and economic
performance. Journal of Knowledge Management. 16(4). pp.617-636.
Borghoff, U.M. and Pareschi, R., 2013. Information technology for knowledge
management. Springer Science & Business Media.
Chua, A.Y. and Banerjee, S., 2013. Customer knowledge management via social
media: the case of Starbucks. Journal of Knowledge Management. 17(2). pp.237-249.
Dalkir, K., 2013. Knowledge management in theory and practice. Routledge.
Dent, M. and Whitehead, S. eds., 2013. Managing professional identities: Knowledge,
performativities and the'new'professional. Routledge.
Donate, M.J. and Guadamillas, F., 2010. The effect of organizational culture on
knowledge management practices and innovation. Knowledge and Process
Management. 17(2). pp.82-94.
Easterby-Smith, M. and Lyles, M.A., 2011. Handbook of organizational learning and
knowledge management. John Wiley & Sons.
Fuller, S., 2012. Knowledge management foundations. Routledge.
Gasik, S., 2011. A model of project knowledge management. Project Management
Journal. 42(3). pp.23-44.
Hislop, D., 2013. Knowledge management in organizations: A critical introduction.
Oxford University Press.
Holsapple, C., 2013. Handbook on knowledge management 1: Knowledge matters.
Springer Science & Business Media.
Lee, M.R. and Chen, T.T., 2012. Revealing research themes and trends in knowledge
management: From 1995 to 2010. Knowledge-Based Systems. 28. pp.47-58.
Ma, Z. and Yu, K.H., 2010. Research paradigms of contemporary knowledge
management studies: 1998-2007. Journal of Knowledge Management. 14(2). pp.175-
189.
Marra, M., Ho, W. and Edwards, J.S., 2012. Supply chain knowledge management: A
literature review. Expert systems with applications. 39(5). pp.6103-6110.

Massingham, P., 2010. Knowledge risk management: a framework. Journal of
Knowledge Management. 14(3). pp.464-485.
Nguyen, H.N. and Mohamed, S., 2011. Leadership behaviors, organizational culture
and knowledge management practices: An empirical investigation. The Journal of
Management Development. 30(2). pp.206-221.
Power, D.J., Sharda, R. and Burstein, F., 2015. Decision support systems. John Wiley
& Sons, Ltd.
Rai, R.K., 2011. Knowledge management and organizational culture: a theoretical
integrative framework. Journal of Knowledge Management. 15(5). pp.779-801.
Staab, S. and Studer, R. eds., 2013. Handbook on ontologies. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Sun, P., 2010. Five critical knowledge management organizational themes. Journal of
Knowledge Management. 14(4). pp.507-523.
Tang, D. and et.al., 2010. Product design knowledge management based on design
structure matrix. Advanced Engineering Informatics. 24(2). pp.159-166.
Wiig, K., 2012. People-focused knowledge management. Routledge.
Wu, W.W., 2012. Segmenting critical factors for successful knowledge management
implementation using the fuzzy DEMATEL method. Applied Soft Computing. 12(1).
pp.527-535.
Yates, D. and Paquette, S., 2011. Emergency knowledge management and social
media technologies: A case study of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. International
journal of information management. 31(1). pp.6-13.
Zheng, W., Yang, B. and McLean, G.N., 2010. Linking organizational culture,
structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge
management. Journal of Business research. 63(7). pp.763-771.
Online
Why KM - the importance of knowledge management, 2009. [Online]. Accessed
through < http://www.knowledge-management-online.com/the-importance-of-
knowledge-management.html>. [Accessed on 2nd April 2016].