Knowledge Management Report: Concepts, Processes, and Issues

This report provides an executive summary and detailed analysis of knowledge management within ASDA, a major UK retailer. It begins by defining knowledge management and its importance, highlighting the significance of both tacit and explicit knowledge. The report explores the concepts and framework of knowledge management, emphasizing the role of organizational culture and the SECI model (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization) in knowledge creation. It also discusses the development of knowledge management programs, the importance of various tools and strategies, and ethical considerations. The report concludes by emphasizing the benefits of effective knowledge management for both society and the business, including improved information sharing, reduced errors, and enhanced innovation. The analysis includes the identification of key areas such as people, processes, technology, culture, and structure, which are critical for the successful implementation of knowledge management programs within ASDA.

Managing Knowledge
1

Executive Summary:
This report has shown different types of knowledge and the importance of their
interrelationship for making the company beneficial. It has been described creation of knowledge
management and its all main types which shows different types of linkage between tacit and
explicit knowledge. Further, it has also been shown importance of different types of
organizational cultures as it helped the company in making all processes and functions in an easy
manner. Community of practices also played an important role because they share common goals
and values which improve their relationship and an effective knowledge management.
2

Table of Contents
Executive Summary: 2
INTRODUCTION 4
MAIN BODY 4
Concepts and framework of knowledge management 4
Importance of knowledge management to society and business 5
Development of knowledge management programs in businesses 8
Knowledge management system 11
Ethical and professional issues raised by knowledge management 11
CONCLUSION 11
3

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge management is a process that shows the way of sharing knowledge and
influences of corporate culture. It can also be said that it is a system that allows employees of the
company to share information’s, communicate and update business knowledge. This present
study is based on ASDA which is the second largest retailer in the United Kingdom. It is also the
largest subsidiary of Wal-Mart. It has approximate 165,000 employees and 633 areas or locations
in which it provides its services. It has approximate 321 stores across the UK and Northern
Ireland. This study is going to shows the main concept and two type of knowledge that are
important at both personal and professional level. It will also show some importance of
managing knowledge for both people and the company along with 4 types of knowledge creation
process. Further, this report of knowledge management will describe different types of cultures
such as hierarchical, adhocracy, clan and market that have several advantages, disadvantages and
purposes. Different types of organizational cultures help an organization in managing knowledge
within its workplace. Lastly, it shows ethical and professional issues related to knowledge
management and community of practices that try to solve all these problems and make the
company able to accomplish its goals.
MAIN BODY
Concepts and framework of knowledge management
Knowledge can be defined as a concept and skills that are being acquired by experience,
education as well as practical understanding of a particular subject. Getting knowledge is not
tough but managing that knowledge and skills in an effective manner at both professional and
personal life is quite tough (Kotabe, Casper and Upadhyay, 2017). Effective knowledge
management can make an individual able to accomplish their goals and getting whatever they
want to achieve. So, it is important for people and the manager of ASDA to have ability to
manage knowledge in an efficient manner at all level of its workplace. For more understanding
knowledge it can be understood by its 2 types. There are mainly 23 types of knowledge which is
the key and central of knowledge management such as Tacit and explicit.
4

Tacit or Implicit: Tacit or implicit knowledge refers experimental, subjective and cognitive
learning. It is being gained by experiences and jobs. Some examples of this type of knowledge is
intuitions and insight that are important to have at workplace. It is personal and sensitive context.
People have to face difficulties in sharing as well as capturing this type of knowledge. After
having difficulties it can also be said that it has high value and a lot of human interpretation and
this is the reason it is hard to document and transfer (Garrick and Chan, 2017).
Explicit knowledge: This type of knowledge is digitized in documents, books, reports etc. It is
just opposite of implicit knowledge because people do not find difficulties in sharing,
transferring and identifying knowledge as it is a type of documented information’s which can be
achieved by anyone. It is easy to share, documented and codify as it is fixed content and
structured. It is objective, rational and technical. It is written down and accessible so, people find
easy to communicate and store in the context of knowledge management (Rogers, Revesz and
Rebuschat, 2016).
So, from the above discussed types of knowledge, it can be understood that knowledge
plays an important role at different level. Both type of knowledge plays a vital role.
For building knowledge management framework there are some steps which need to be
followed by ASDA such as: identification of needs to manage knowledge, identification of
appropriate knowledge resources, and creation of all knowledge resources and storage of
knowledge. It can also be said that these processes and steps should be followed in a systematic
manner as all these are dependent to each other’s and are affected by several factors. Knowledge
management of ASAD is closely related as well as dependent to strategies, information
management of the company. So, making knowledge management more effective, there is a
requirement to focus on other elements and strategies as well. In the context of retail sector and
ASDA, it can be said that innovation is the main key of the success of the business which makes
an individual and company able to take competitive advantages which is the main purpose of
knowledge management.
Innovation is made up of 5 elements such as: learning , strategies, process, building
organizations and linkage that all are dependent with knowledge management as well. Digital
media, advanced technology and other human resources plays an important role in managing
5

knowledge and skills at different levels of the company in a very efficient manner. Skilled and
experienced workforce has tacit knowledge that is essential for the company to have for
managing knowledge.
Importance of knowledge management to society and business
Knowledge management refers a system and skills to manage knowledge of employees
and the company at different levels of workplace which allows people in the company to share,
update as well as access business information’s. There are several tools and stratrgies that can
help the company in managing knowledge. Some tools which are being used by ASDA for
sharing business information’s and knowledge includes:
Cross training program: Mentoring and training program is the best way of making aware to
employees about the importance of knowledge management as well as teach them the way of
knowledge management, It allows employees of ASDA to gain business information’s and
knowledge by watching others (Garg, Pandey and Vashisht, 2018).
Social networking tools: Workplace by Face book and Slack are effective social
networking tools which allows employees to communicate as well as collaborate for sharing
knowledge and business information’s.
Chat bots: Chat bots represent the natural evolution of knowledge management.
Artificial intelligence is the best example which is being used to provide solutions and
responding employees queries.
Some benefits of knowledge management t for society and ASDA are discussed as
below:
Getting information’s: By using effective tools of knowledge and information’s sharing allows
all employees to get the same message and business information’s as soon as possible.
Technology has made it more facilitate which decrease miscommunication. This barrier in
communication improve relationship of employees and also allow customers to get any type of
detail.
Make fewer mistakes: The main benefit of knowledge management is it allows employees to
share and collaborate with each others which decreases the chances of mistakes. On the other
6

hand, it can be said that if employees of ASDA do not share and communicate with other
employees then they commit the same mistakes over and over again. It decreases the quality of
products and services. Decreased and poor quality dissatisfy customers which is not good for the
society (Hislop, Bosua and Helms, 2018).
Knowledge creation process: It refers a continuous combination, transfer as well as conversion
of different kinds of knowledge. In other words it can also be said that it is a creation and
development of new concepts that occur through making an effective interaction between two
type of knowledge such as tacit and explicit in the mind of people. There are mainly 4 types of
knowledge creation process by which is known as SECI model. It represents and stands for
socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. All these types of knowledge
creation are discussed in detail as below:
Figure 1: SECI model
Socialization: This type of process mainly focuses on making linkage between tacit to tacit
knowledge. New knowledge as per this process can be created by using the process of
interactions, discussing and spending time together while living in the same environment. It is
also a process of making and converting new knowledge via shared experiences (Li, Liu and
Zhou, 2018). In the context of ASDA, it can be said that it gains this type of knowledge by
interacting with its people such as: customers, stakeholders, suppliers etc.
Externalization: It is other and important type of knowledge creation process in which,
company focuses on making link between tacit to explicit knowledge. It is known that tacit
knowledge is achieved by its boundaries and experience so, new knowledge can be created in an
efficient manner. The process of externalization is often driven by metaphor analogy and
7

models. Employees of ASDA make a linkage between their learning and experienced for making
a new knowledge and making working environment more innovative. It helps them out in
solving critical problems which they were trying to solve for providing better services to
customers.
Combination: It is other process in which company and people focuses on making a new
knowledge by making an effective link between explicit to explicit knowledge. In this type,
financial department of ASDA collect all necessary financial reports and information’s from
each department of the company and publics a consolidated annual financial performance report .
For getting business report, there is a requirement to make a creative use and combination of
some element and functions such as: adding, sorting and categorizing (Nonaka and Toyama,
2015).
Internalization: In this type, company focuses on creating explicit knowledge by making an
effective use of tacit knowledge as well as sharing it to all departments and areas of the
company. It is stated that when employees read this tacit knowledge then it spread an area of
learning spiral of knowledge creation (Knowledge management System, 2019). When this type
of knowledge is socialization then ASDA tries to innovate and learn this knowledge. For
internalizing this tacit knowledge by employees of the company, ASDA provides effective
training to them. It makes all employees more able to internalize tacit knowledge after the
process of internalization.
So, from the above it can be said that the best process of knowledge creation is externalization
because in this type, knowledge become permanent as well as easier to share with others.
Development of knowledge management programs in businesses
It is stated that knowledge management is an effective process of sharing; creating and
managing information’s of an organization in an effective manner and communicate with all
members of the company. For developing, designing and launching a new knowledge
management program there is a requirement to make an effective planning. There are several
stpes involved in the process that needed to be followed in a sequence otherwise it can become
the reason of failure of the knowledge management. ASDA focuses on 5 key areas at the time of
making planning and developing a knowledge management program such as:
8

People: The main focus is people or employees of the company. Knowledge management
programs should be effective that can provide several benefits to people of the company
(Shakerian, Dehnavi and Shateri, 2016).
Processes: Processes which the company wants to establish at the time of developing
knowledge management should include the best practices for accurate identification and
dissemination of knowledge.
Technology: Chosen technology and all tools should be reliable and have durability
which can make an efficient knowledge management.
Culture: Creating a learning environment and innovative culture makes more able to
employees to develop efficient knowledge management programs.
Structure: Organizational structure of ASDA should be transformed in a way which can
encourage cross discipline awareness.
In the context of culture, it can be said that organizational culture of the company plays
an important role in knowledge management. Organizational culture refers some social elements
of knowledge such as beliefs, values. It also includes a shared perception of reality that it shows
the difference between the form in which things are and it should be. Organizational culture can
be divided into some levels such as;
Artifacts: It refers tangible as well as visible elements such as structure goals, climate,
furniture etc. All these things can be seen by viewers and people but may not understand that
why things are the way things are.
Espoused values: It refers those values that are espoused by leader of the company. They
most often are grounded in shared assumptions of how the company should be run. It shows the
effectiveness of the company and if there is a difference between leadership espoused values and
perceptions that it can put the company in the danger.
Assumptions: It refers the actual values of the company’s culture. It also refers views of
the world itself. For making an effective knowledge management and also making the company
successful then there is a requirement for ASDA to correlate these assumptions to a certain
9

extent to the espoused leadership values. So, it can be said that all these values and levels of
organizational culture can help the company in running their functions more smoothly
(Namenwirth and Weber, 2016).
Some categories of organization cultures are:
Clan: This type of culture is being characterized by loyalty, team working and
commitment that are beneficial for all type of companies.
Ad Hocracy: These types of cultures are being characterized by innovation as well as
freedom that are required to implement for making employees more comfortable.
Hierarchical: It is characterized by stability as well as formalism.
Market: These types of culture have both advantages anf disadvantages as they focus on
goals and results. Relationship is ignored at some levels. So, it can be said that it is goal oriented
approach.
Control: In this type of culture control as well as certainty set the framework for
knowledge.
Collaboration: In this type of culture, all stakeholders are engaged in knowledge
acquisition as well as their use.
Cultivation: In this type cultural enrichment is sought through the attainment of
knowledge-based goals.
In addition, it can also be said that organizational culture behavior and roles of the leader
of the company, ability to select the technology and outcomes. Having a Ad Hocracy type of
culture in which have supportive features, collaboration, team working, trust and learning are
more expected to engage in effective knowledge creation. So, it can be said that collaborative
culture are more effective that makes an organization able to innovate their working environment
and knowledge management.
According to Cameron and Quinn al types of culture are being described in detailed
manner such as:
10

Clan: It is called friendly culture and working environment in which people shares a lot of
common views, things and goals and treat each others as like a family member. Leaders are
positioned and viewed as a father’s position. There is a high level of collaboration, engagement
and loyalty. By caring for the people and openness to the needs of customers’ success can be
achieved (Lee, Raschke and Louis, 2016). This type of culture and organization has great value
of team working and participations.
Hierarchical: It is more structured and formalized type in which process of performing tasks
decides that what employees do. Leaders are more organized and efficiency oriented. The main
key of the success of this type of culture is formal rules and policy. There is a requirement of
smooth planning, reliable delivery and smooth execution of tasks for making it successful.
Market: It is being adopted and developed by those organizations that are more result oriented
rather relationship oriented. Leaders play different roles and act as a competitors and drivers at
the same time. The main focus on this type of culture is brand image and reputation of the
company and results. Employees in this type focus on competitive activities. Market share and
market penetration are the key of the success of this type of organizational culture.
Adhocracy: It is a more dynamic and creative working environment. People in this type are
always ready to take risks and leaders are also risks takers that make them able to help the
company in accomplishing their goals. The main key which helps in making it successful is
commitment to innovation as well as experiments. By developing new ad services, company can
become the pioneer and make itself innovative and successful (Bercea, Lakatos and Bacali,
2017).
Knowledge management system
A knowledge management system refers any type of information technology system that
stores knowledge in order to understand, collaborate as well as process alignment; This system
makes the company more capable to manage knowledge in its workplace in a very efficient
manner. By implementing this system, ASDA can provide satisfactory services to customers and
can also make satisfied to employees which can improves its brand image and reputation in
market (Ray and et.al., 2017). There are several other benefits of implementing and developing
an effective knowledge management system such as: It can decrease support costs, increase
11

customer’s satisfactions and also improve the overall customer experience or return on
investment. All these benefits can directly help to the company in improving its brand image and
attract wider range of customers towards buying their products and services. Becoming the
market leader and taking competitive advantages can also be happened only by implementing the
best knowledge management system.
In addition, it can also be said that Community of practice is one of the main and important
building of knowledge management framework. Community of practice refers a group of people
who share a passion for doing something new and innovative as well as learn the way of making
it better for satisfying customers and the company as well. The main purpose of this type of
group and community is to inspire members to motivate them and participate in their learning
and performance activities for making a better society and community. In the context of
knowledge management, it can be said that community of practice help each other’s by sharing
their skills and knowledge for an effective knowledge management. For instance, if a community
of practices a group of people is being set up for electrical engineers with the main aim of raising
issues and see if anyone in the community provides them suggestions and solutions for
overcoming all that problems. Implication of knowledge management with the help of
community of practices is the best way of knowing some factors such as: Learning is a social
phenomenon, knowledge can be integrated into the values and culture of the community,
employees and people can learn only by practicing and so practice are inspirable (Santoro and
et.al., 2018).
In addition, it can also be said that management of ASDA need to understand advantages
as well as disadvantages of community of practice before making them in consideration in
knowledge management process. For that they need to make an effective use of tools which can
help them out in analyzing all those factors that can impacts on their operations and decision
making process. There are several advantages of community of practices which are being
discussed as follows:
Create a support network: For accomplishing goals, there is a requirement for the company to
have skilled workforce and people by which they can take support. A single individual cannot do
all things. Communities of practices are the best way of getting support of other. Employees and
those people who do not feel supported quickly they become de motivated at workplace and
12