Knowledge Management and Information Systems Report on Colgate

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Colgate Palmolive's knowledge management and information systems (KMIS). It begins by defining the company's corporate objectives, business overview, and organizational structure, including its flat corporate structure. The main body of the re...Read More

KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT AND
INFORMATION SYSTEM

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Defining corporate objectives, overview, structure and business model...............................3
Critical evaluation of company with help of different model................................................4
Recommending appropriate knowledge management information system............................9
Three management implementation challenges company may face....................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
The knowledge management is a system or process through which the information or
knowledge is created and shared through different channels and medium throughout the
company (Liebowitz, 2019). On the flip side, information system is defined as a channel or
medium through which the employees within the company interacts with one another with help
of some technology. The present report is based in Colgate. Colgate Palmolive is a company
founded in 1806 by William Colgate which deals in consumer products and personal care
products.
The present report will start by defining the objectives and structure of the company
along with the business model used by the company. Further, with help of different models the
evaluation of the company’s strength, weakness, opportunities and challenges will be made. Next
some strategy for the improving the knowledge management information system and how they
improve the performance of the company are discussed. In the end the challenges which the
company faces in implementing the strategy will be highlighted and discussed.
MAIN BODY
Defining corporate objectives, overview, structure and business model
Corporate objectives- for the successful working of the company it is very necessary for
the company to set some objectives. It is necessary because of the fact that these objectives help
the company to find a direction for its working. This will build all its activities in the same
direction that is achievement of the group goals. The major objective of Colgate is to strive to the
best global consumer product company and is committed to do the business with respect and
integrity all over the world. Another objective of the company is to plan the strategies in such a
way that it sustains growth for number of years to come and promote the values of caring and
continuous improvement for the consumers.
Business overview- the company introduced its first product in the year 1896 as a
Colgate’s ribbon dental cream. This company is known for its production and distribution of the
different items relating to the personal and health care, household items such as toothpaste,
soaps, detergent, toothbrushes and many other similar products (Grover and Froese, 2016). The
company has many different subsidiaries which are situated in more than 200 countries. The
main categories in which the company deals are the oral care, personal care, home care and pet
nutrition.

Corporate structure- the structure is defined as the division of the different departments
within the company. This includes dividing all the business activities under different which aims
at achieving the business objectives (García-Holgado, García-Peñalvo and Rodríguez-Conde,
2015). These departments are like marketing, finance, human resource and many other
departments which come under the structure of the company. The company uses the flat
corporate structure because of the fact that this includes less level in further one department. This
is majorly used by the company as this promotes decision making to be fast as there are less
people in the structure thus, this fosters the decision making.
Business model- the business model is defined as the model which displays the plan of
the business for the successful operations of the company and identifying the different sources of
revenue and the identification of the customer base and different range of products.
Critical evaluation of company with help of different model
PESTLE analysis- this is a tool which is used by the company to analyse its external
environment and to identify the different factors which impact the working of the company. The
PESTLE analysis of company for identifying the impact of external forces are as follows-
Political This includes the factors relating to the changes
in the government and political factors
impacting the business in both positive and
negative manner. For the company the political
factor includes the tax rate. The prevailing tax
rates are higher for the consumer goods and for
this the company has to pay more taxes. This
will increase the cost for the company as now
they have to pay for more taxes if they earn
more of the profits.
Economical This factor is the changes taking place in the
economy of the country such as interest rates,
inflation, foreign exchange and many other
changes. All these changes impact the working
of Colgate in both the positive and negative
way. For instance, currently there is

inflationary situation in the economy. Thus,
this is a negative factor for the company
because if there are high prices in the market
then the sales will be low for the company.
This is due to the fact that in high prices the
consumers will not buy the products and this
will lower the revenue for the company.
Social This refers to as the impact of behaviour and
attitude of the people living in the society and
this also impacts the working and operations of
the company. This factor majorly impacts the
business because if the consumers and people
within the society will not like the product and
services then the product will not run in the
market. The major social factor impacting the
company is the changing taste and preferences
of the consumer. This majorly impacts the
business as because of modernization more
new trends are coming in the environment
which impacts the preferences of the
consumers. Like the latest trend of organic
ingredients in the toothpaste.
Technological This includes the changes taking place in the
sector of technology. This also majorly impacts
the business both in positive and in negative
way (Jan and Contreras, 2016). Thus, it is very
essential for the company to have proper
knowledge of the use of that technology. Like
for instance the company must leverage the
opportunity of digital marketing. It is due to the
fact that this is the latest technique which is

being used in marketing of the goods and
services.
Legal This is also an essential factor impacting the
operations of the business both in positive and
negative way (Omotayo, 2015). For this the
company has to follow many different types of
law. Also, as the company trades in many
different countries so there are many different
types of trade laws and other trading laws.
Thus, it is very difficult for the company to
comply with different laws like employment
law, health and safety law, data protection act
and many other different types of laws.
Environmental This is also a major factor because of the
reason that the company works in the
environment and for this it is necessary for the
company to take care of the environment.
Thus, for this the company has to lay more
emphasis on the green products, different laws
relating to the protection of environment, waste
management so that it does not harm the
environment.
Porter five force model- this is a model which help in analysing the competitive position
within the market of Colgate. The porter analysis of the Colgate is discussed in the following
points-
Threat of new entrant This is defined as the degree of new entrants
coming in this field for business. There are a
number of varieties of the barrier for the new
company to enter into the market (Donate and
de Pablo, 2015). Thus, this reduces the new

entries in the market and this decreases the
threat of more competition.
Bargaining power of suppliers For the production of any product the most
important thing is the relation and prices of the
supplier. It is due to the fact that if the supplier
is not enough then the company will have
fewer suppliers and this will impact the
production of the products. Thus, the barging
power of the suppliers is high.
Bargaining power of the buyers The buyers are treated as the god for the
company. The reason behind this is that if the
consumers will not like the products then the
company will not be able to earn many profits.
Thus, for this it is very necessary for the
company to understand the need of the
consumers and then produce the work in
accordance with this need fulfilment.
Threat of substitute goods This is defined as the same or some different
products which can be used instead of Colgate
toothpaste. Within the consumer industry there
are many different companies dealing in same
product thus, the consumers can use many
different products instead of the products of
Colgate. Thus, it is very essential for the
company to increase the cost of switching to
other substitute product.
Rival competition This is the main point which outlines the
competitiveness of the company within the
market (Rezaei, Karimi and Hosseini, 2016).
Thus, this outlines all the competitors within
the market which can affect the sales of

Colgate. The competition is at higher level and
main competitors of Colgate are Unilever,
Kraft foods, Group DANONE and many other
different competitors. The management of the
competition is very necessary as if the
competition is not take care then it will be very
difficult for the company to run its business
successfully.
SWOT analysis- this is used in order to know the internal position of the company that is
the strength and weakness of the company and the different opportunities and threat present in
the environment. The SWOT analysis of the company is discussed in the following points-
Strengths From the above both tools it is extracted that
the major strength of Colgate is that it is the
leading brand in the consumer goods. This is
strength because here the company rules the
market. Strength is that the company is really
good at research and development. This is a
strength because for working in the
competitive market the essential thing is to
have the ability of researching. It is so as there
are many changes taking place in the market
very frequently.
Weakness From the above two model the major weakness
outlined is the major changes in the
technology. This is a weakness because for this
the company has to invest a huge amount of
money (Kianto, Vanhala and Heilmann, 2016).
One more weakness is that the company is
dependent majorly on the single product
category that is oral care.

Opportunity From the above discussion the major
opportunity highlighted is that the company
can go for the use of digital marketing (Khan
and Vorley, 2017). This is an opportunity as
this will increase the consumer’s interaction
and that to with less amount of investment.
Another opportunity is that the company can
bring in many new innovation and creativity in
their existing product range as well as new
product line.
Challenges The major threat outlined with help of Porter
five forces is the high competition in the
consumer goods industry. This is a threat
because there are many companies’ dealings in
same products hence, reducing the sales of
Colgate. Another challenge for the company is
to manage the technology for the knowledge
management so that the employee of the
company can manage the knowledge
management system within the company.
Recommending appropriate knowledge management information system
Thus, from the above internal and external environmental analysis of the company it is
found that the main challenge for the company is in implementing the latest knowledge
management and information system. This is due to the fact that there are much technological
advancement in the business environment relating to the knowledge management. More
emphasises is given on knowledge management because if the knowledge is not being shared
properly then this might result in reduction of the quality of the work (Del Giudice and Della
Peruta, 2016). Thus, for dealing with this change the recommended strategy for Colgate is
discussed in the point connected below-
Recommended strategy

There are many different changes taking place in the business environment which impact
the working of the company. Thus, it is very essential for the company to have implemented
different strategy which helps the company in assessing the importance of knowledge
management system (Centobelli, Cerchione and Esposito, 2017). These knowledge management
systems are a kind of IT system which store and retrieves that knowledge in order to improve the
collaboration and locate the knowledge sources and the hidden knowledge and different ways of
enhancing the knowledge.
For improving this challenge, the company is using the strategy of groupware. This is a
type of software which is recommended to be used by Colgate in order to meet the knowledge
management needs of the company. This is a type of software which allows group to
communicate with individual members in a better and clear way. The groupware can be made
with help of a variety of programs that can be used under groupware. These variety of programs
includes newsgroup, project collaboration, scheduling, shared contacts, emails, chats, shared
phonebooks and many others different mediums. This system is best suited for Colgate because
of the reason that this helps the company in solving the problem in no time (Valmohammadi and
Ahmadi, 2015). This is pertaining to the fact that this group discussion or brainstorming activity
of the different people of the society helps the group member to find different solutions to the
problem. Also, the major benefit of using this is that the problem is solved with expertise
because all the employees communicate by way of different mediums and this increases the
knowledge as many people brainstorms on the same topic so it comes out with new and
improved idea.
Decision Support System- this is a computerized program used to support different
determinants and judgement which affects the actions of the company and its working and the
decisions made by the company. This is an interactive computer based system which is made in
order to help the decision maker to take the correct and accurate decision with the help of
different communication technologies. This system of decision support system presents the
information in the graphical form or with help of artificial intelligence.
In particular decision support system also there are five different types of support system.
These are like communication driven DSS, data driven DSS, document driven DSS, knowledge
driven DSS and model driven DSS (Tseng, 2016). In this mainly Colgate uses the
communication driven DSS and the knowledge driven DSS. The communication driven DSS is

being used by the company because of the reason that this system targets the internal team of the
company. This is done for the purpose of the conducting the meeting and to use to meet the
collaborators. The knowledge driven DSS is used for covering all the broad range of the
knowledge system which can be applied within the business.
Improving performance with this strategy
Both this strategy that is Groupware and decision support system helps in improving the
performance of the business. This is due to the following points-
Allow communication- this system of knowledge management information system helps
the company in allowing communication between a group of people and the message can be
modified changed and again send it back to the original sender. With help of this software the
track can be made of the changes done in the message. Thus, with help of this the performance is
improved as the employees of Colgate can also see these changes in the future as well.
Telecommuting- for communication with help of this software is very easy and simple.
And also the person in the communication need not be present physically present at the
communication point. This is pertaining to the fact that this software also promotes
communication by way of online or through video conferencing. This saves the time and cost of
the company and thus, enhances the performance of the company (Grant, 2015).
Helping in attaining corporate objectives
This strategy of Groupware and decision support system helps the company in managing
the work of the company in effective and efficient way. Thus, both these management
information systems help the company in storing all the information in the system so that it can
be utilized for future reference. Also, this system helps the business in attaining the business
objectives of Colgate because it is software which helps the business in communicating with the
different employees through the system of software. This help in clear and effective
communication and this help in achieving group goals of business. It is so because of the reason
that with help of this clear communication the all the employees will know that what work they
have to do and will perform in much better and effective way.
Three management implementation challenges company may face
For implementing the strategy of Groupware and Decision support system Colgate faces
many of the different challenges which hampers the working and operations of the company. The
major three different challenges which are faced by the company are as follows-

Lack of top executive support- this is a major issue while implementing the groupware
and DSS in Colgate. This is pertaining to the fact that the top management of the company not
much supports the company in this system as this encourages the employees of the company to
communicate with one another and take decision for the company (Venkitachalam and Willmott,
2017). This dilutes the power of the top management thus; they do not like to support the
company in implementing the software.
Installation with inadequate tools- this is yet another major challenge which is faced by
the company in order to implement these software of groupware and DSS. This is as a result of
the fact that if the adequate tools of the implementing the system are not present within the
company then it is not at all possible for the company implement these software within the
company. Also, if Colgate is implementing these system of groupware and DSS and if the
employees within the company do not have much knowledge of the use of these system then it is
a waste for the company. This is pertaining to the fact that now first the company has to hire
some expert in the use of these system and they need to give training to the employees. This will
add on to the cost for the company. This is because of the fact that first the cost of implementing
the system is being charged and now also the cost of hiring a professional will be charged for the
company. Thus, this will increase the cost for the company, also, this will consume a lot of time.
This is due to the fact that it is not possible that within seconds the employees will learn how to
use and operate these systems. Therefore, this will also take a lot of time.
Standardization- this is the latest issue in the implementation of the system of groupware
and decision support system. It is so pertaining to the fact that if the company does not follow the
latest rules and regulation and the standard policy of using these system then the implementation
of these software is a waste (Chung, Boutaba and Hariri, 2016). It is necessary for the company
to use all the standard policies and procedures set with the implementation of groupware and
DSS in the company. It is because of these standard policies and rules and regulation are not
followed by the company then the expected results will not be attained by the implementation of
these strategies.
CONCLUSION
With the help of the study it is concluded that the implementation of knowledge
management and information system within the company is very necessary. It is pertaining to the
fact that there are constantly many changes taking place within the business environment. It is

very necessary for the company to store and analyse all this information so that these changes
can be used in the application of the business. Thus, the report started by a discussion on the
objectives of the company and its overview. Also, it highlighted the corporate structure used by
Colgate that is flat corporate structure. Further the environmental analysis was done of the
company in order to assess its strengths and weakness along with challenges and opportunities.
This was done with the help of three different models.
These models are like PESTLE analysis for analysing the external environment, Porter
five forces for knowing competitive position and with combination of both these the SWOT was
conducted. Next in accordance with the challenges a strategy was recommended to company that
is Groupware System and KM 2.0 and Decision Support System. In the end different challenges
faced by the company at time of implementing these recommended strategies was discussed.
With help of this discussion it was outlined that the major challenges faced are __.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R. and Esposito, E., 2017. Knowledge management in startups:
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Chung, K., Boutaba, R. and Hariri, S., 2016. Knowledge based decision support system.
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systems on internal venturing and innovation: a structural equation modeling approach to
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García-Holgado, A., García-Peñalvo, F.J. and Rodríguez-Conde, M.J., 2015, October. Definition
of a technological ecosystem for scientific knowledge management in a PhD Programme.
In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for
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Kianto, A., Vanhala, M. and Heilmann, P., 2016. The impact of knowledge management on job
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Liebowitz, J., 2019. Building organizational intelligence: A knowledge management primer.
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Venkitachalam, K. and Willmott, H., 2017. Strategic knowledge management—Insights and
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