An Analysis of Knowledge Management and Organizational Culture at Asda

This report delves into the realm of knowledge management, exploring its significance for organizations like Asda within the retail industry. It examines the importance of knowledge management, highlighting the benefits of improved agility, decision-making, and innovation. The report dissects the SECI model of knowledge creation, differentiating between tacit and explicit knowledge and illustrating how these forms interact through socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. Furthermore, it analyzes organizational culture using Cameron and Quinn's framework, evaluating clan and adhocracy cultures. The report also investigates the role of communities of practice in generating organizational benefits, discussing their advantages for individuals and teams, ultimately offering a comprehensive view of knowledge management strategies and their impact on organizational success.

MANAGING KNOWLEDGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Question 1........................................................................................................................................3
Knowledge management and its importance...............................................................................3
SECI model of knowledge creation.............................................................................................4
Question 2........................................................................................................................................6
Culture introduced by Cameron and Quinn.................................................................................6
Question 3......................................................................................................................................10
Critically evaluate role of communities’ practices to generate organizational benefits............10
Critically discuss the benefits that a COPs can have to individual and team............................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Managing knowledge refers to the process of managing the knowledge of a person and
managing the knowledge of the employees working in the organization and it is very important
for the organizations to maintain all the knowledge of the employees and management. Asda
working retail industries and it is very important for the people who are working in the retail
industry's need to have a good knowledge in both tactical and explicit knowledge. The report
will explain the concepts of knowledge, also the report will further explain how communities of
practice can generate organizational benefits.
Question 1
Knowledge management and its importance
The process of knowledge management refers to the efficient handling of resources and
information within company. The process consists of a set of strategies that are utilised by the
company in order to maximise the outcomes and productivity while aiming to achieve the
business and corporate objectives effectively. The concept of knowledge management is a new
aspect in context to the business. Focussing on knowledge management results in the financial
growth of companies like Asda along with personal and employee growth. The major benefits of
the process are improvement in the agility of Asda, better and faster decision-making skills,
prompt problem solving, higher rate of innovation and creativity, supporting employee growth
and developed, sharing of the know and expertise of specialities, enhanced communication and
overall improvement in the business process (Rahimi and et.al., 2017).
A proper knowledge management system can help in the finding and reusing of relevant
information for the retail business growth of Asda. The collaboration, diverse opinions, various
viewpoints and experiences will bring in enhancements in the decision-making process on the
basis of collective expertise and knowledge for the company. In context to employees, the
potential of individual workers is optimised and used to the best level. Every person that works
in Asda have at least some form of knowledge that can help the company by often goes
unnoticed by supervisors. A workplace environment with development of knowledge and
creativity, innovation and employee participation will improve the productivity of Asda. In
context to the organisation, when knowledge is shared and maintained it increase the process and
business operations will help in reduction of bottom line and generation of better financial results
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along with optimisation of available resources. Asda consists of people, process, tools, physical
space and the imbibe organisational culture, which can be developed simultaneously through
organisational learning and application of knowledge management (Soniewicki and
Paliszkiewicz, 2019).
SECI model of knowledge creation
Concept of knowledge
Concept of knowledge refer to the process of how a person find knowledge from different
things it does in the day-to-day life and how he took and learn from those things which is doing.
It is the process of understanding these different forms of knowledge. there are two types of
knowledge one is tactic knowledge and the other one is explicit knowledge (Baláž and et.al.,
2019).
Tacit knowledge
Tacit knowledge refers to the knowledge which a human gets from the knowledge of
experience and job. It is the knowledge which a person gets through his over the past experience
and the job he had done and gets a tactical knowledge about a particular thing. it is the basic
learning embedded with the minds of people, it is the knowledge which a person gets from its
experience and personal wisdom in a particularly context of work and different things which they
done practically. Tactical knowledge includes insights, institutions. The tactical knowledge is a
basic subjective knowledge and the personal experience of a person which can help the
organization in achieving their goals and objectives and organizations can utilize this knowledge
of the employee in increasing the objectives and the targets of the Asda. The term tactical
knowledge and implicit knowledge are synonyms where implicit means they implied in his
treatment but it's not a explicit said. A tactical knowledge person is very helpful for the
organization as it can help the organization in achieving a lot of Goals and objective due to their
knowledge in the working and a tactical knowledge always help the employees in working on
new duties.
Explicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge refers to the knowledge which person gets through reading off books
and from the digitalise information’s which includes documents, reports, memos etc.
documented information that can be facilitated actions and knowledge what is easily identified,
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shared and employed. Explicit knowledge or the structured knowledge which a person gets, these
knowledges are come from books, documents another report (Moreno, Becerril and Alcalde,
2018). explicit knowledge is easy to codify and easily documented. these types of knowledge can
be shared and transferred two others to learn. They exist of the explicit knowledge is high
volume. The organization can use the explicit knowledge to train and develop their employees in
understanding the new situation and challenges they can face during the process of working in
the environment of the organization.
The SECI model is a conceptual theory initially proposed by Nonaka 1991 and later
expanded by Takeuchi in 1995. The model elaborated the knowledge creation and conversion
process in organisations like Asda by engaging in tacit and explicit knowledge. The SECI model
consists of four modes of conversion of knowledge and the model has slowly become the
foundation of transfer theory and knowledge creation. The model has extensively elaborated how
four ways can combine and convert know, and showcased how these can be shared and
developed in organisations, like Asda (Zhang and Huang, 2020). This model is based on the two
types of knowledge that are described above, tacit and explicit knowledge. These are
socialisation (tacit to tacit), internalisation (explicit- tacit), combination (explicit-explicit) and
externalisation (tacit- explicit).
Figure 1: The SECI model
Source: (Zhang and Huang, 2020)
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 Socialisation is converted and developed tacit to tacit, which means that the knowledge is
transferred by aspects of practice, imitating, participating, observing and guidance in
terms of informal and formal communities. The entire process is generally pre-empted
through the development of a virtual space where the communities tend to interact on
asocial level and share the knowledge amongst each other. The process involves
interactions and spending time where the shared experiences form knowledge. Asda can
gain knowledge from suppliers, stakeholders and even customers (Songkram and
Chootongchai, 2020).
 Externalisation: This is the process of articulation of tacit knowledge into explicit
knowledge as it is majorly internalised. It is a significant conversion mechanism where
the tacit knowledge is codified into manuals and communicated in the entir e company.
The process is driven by models and metaphor analogies. Asda can apply this for making
the workplace a collective group knowledge.
 Combination: This is one of the simplest forms of know management where the concepts
are codified and integrated into one knowledge system. Using this process, the
knowledge is transformed from explicit to explicit know. The finance departments gather
all reports from the departments in Asda and can consolidate it into annual financial and
corporate performance report (Dávideková and Hvorecký, 2016).
 Internalisation: Through this process Asda can create the tacit knowledge which is shared
and communicated across the workplace. When employees read this and practice it, it
tends to widen the spiral of knowledge creation. For this Asda cab provide training
programs at various stages of work procedures through training manuals documents.
Employees internalise the tacit knowledge and develop new knowledge after the process.
Question 2
Culture introduced by Cameron and Quinn
It is essential for the company to have a good culture in the organization so that there is
going to be effective working which is going to be present. ASDA is having a very strong
functioning in the market which is going to make the company be able to have higher
functioning and operations. Company in the market can follow Cameron and Quinn’s cultural
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model so that there is going to be higher functioning which is going to be present making the
organization is able to operate effectively. Collective memories, expectations, underlying
assumptions, self-evidence, etc are going to be discussed in the further report so that there is
going to be higher understanding of the organization which is going to be present (Knein and
et.al., 2020). ASDA is a well-established organization which is present in the market which is a
great factor for the portfolio of the company and the organization will be able to use their
experience and skills in the market effectively. The internal and external factors have to be
analysed by the company so that there are going to be higher and better decisions which the
company can make in order to make sure that they are making the right measures and sense of
direction is present. The workforce have to be monitored, controlled, trained and transparency
needs to be present in the organization so that there is going to be higher functioning and
operations which is going to be present in the company which is a great factor for the
organization to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The following report is going to
discuss the functioning and the cultural method ASDA must use in the market in order to be able
to operate effectively and efficiently so that the company will be able to gain a competitive
advantage in the market (Zgodavova, Hudec and Palfy, 2017).
 Clan Culture
It is important to have team working present and good relationship which needs to be present
in the company to be able to achieve the targets and goals which is going to be a great advantage
for the organization to have in the market. Support needs to be provided to the workforce so that
there is going to be higher functioning and productivity and operations which are going to be
present in the company. The engagement of the workforce in the organization is going to be
higher and there is also going to be effective balance between personal and professional life’s of
the employees which is going to be present. The trust and loyalty of the employees is going to be
present in the organization since the employees will be respected and focused upon making the
company also be able to make the quality of the products be the same (Paro and Gerolamo,
2017). Understanding is going to be effective which means that the changes which are coming in
the market are also going to be adapted in the company effectively which is a great factor for the
company to have. There is going to be a long term achievement which is going to be present in
the company and that is a good factor for the company to have.
 Adhocracy Culture
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In this culture the company will be willing to take risks since there is going to be a lot of
creativity which is going to be involved. The innovators in the company and the team which is
going to be ready to take the risks are going to be focused upon so that there is going to be better
functioning which is going to be present. There has to be good experience and skill which needs
to be present in the company to be able to make these risks in the company which is present in
ASDA but the company presently should focus on the external factors since the competition is
increasing (Arayesh and et.al., 2017). The company will have to invest a lot of amount in the
research and development department in order to make the right products and services and get
more creativity in the products so that there is going to be higher functioning which would be
present. Products and services are the backbone of the organization; those businesses are going
to opt for this method and strategy so that they can focus on one factor. It is very important for
the company to have clarity in the working which is going to be very good for the overall
functioning of the organization which would be present.
 Hierarchy Culture
Hierarchy culture is going to have a structure of working environment which is going to be
good to come extend. There are a lot of changes which are coming in the market therefore the
company will have to have more flexibility which is going to be present. There would be good
monitoring and smooth functioning will also be present in the company but it is very important
for the company to be able to have the right measures which is going to make the company be
able to operate effectively in the market. This is a old method which is being used in the market
and is very predictable for the company which all the employees are aware of but changes have
to be made according to the situations which is going to be good for the overall development of
the company (Nagayoshi and Nakamura, 2018). ASDA is belonging to an industry which is
changing rapidly and this factor has to be controlled so that the company will be able to
maintained their standards and reputation in the market.
 Market Culture
The companies in this culture make sure that they are focused on the stability which they are
having, control and looking forward for the changes which are coming so that there is going to
be higher functioning which is going to be present. The company is going to focus on competing
in the market since they have a strong base and that is going to make the company have a strong
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retailing factor as well (Volkova and Chiker, 2020). The company needs to have the competing
factor in them since retailing industry competition is just increasing and this factor has to be
controlled by the organization which is going to help the organization be able to operate
effectively in the market. The reputation and success of the company is going to be higher since
the company is going to be so focused on the goals and targets which the organization has set for
them. It is important for the company to be able to achieve these factors so that the organization
will be able to have higher productivity. The pricing and leadership style of leaders is also going
to be according to the competitors and external factors of the organization so that there is going
to be higher achievement which is going to be present in the company making the organization
have higher productivity.
ASDA must use market culture so that the company will be able to focus on completing
the work since the organization is belonging from the retailing industry therefore it is very
important for the company to have higher productivity and operations. The leaders play a very
important role and since ASDA is having experienced and skilled employees and leaders this is
going to be a great factor for the company to be able to operate effectively in the market. There
has to be good flexibility as well which the company will have to give for the workforce to be
able to operate effectively in the market which is going to be a great factor for the organization to
have (Aziz, Sumantoro and Maria, 2019). The competition for ASDA is high in the market
which is why it is very important for the company to be able to make the right decisions
according to the external factors and control them as well in the company which is going to make
the organization be able to functioning better and performance and brand value of the company
is going to be higher in the market. The company will be able to attract more customers and
penetrate deeper in the market which is going to be good for the functioning and performance of
the company so that there is going to be higher operations and the demands of the customers are
going to be matched as well. There are a lot of drawbacks which can be present in the company
and in this cultural method the company will be able to understand these factors to make sure
that there are right measures and functioning which is being taken. The company will be able to
have higher winning in the competitive market and also be able to gain higher portfolio for
themselves in the market which is going to be a great idea for the organization to have so that
there are going to be higher results.
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Question 3
Critically evaluate role of communities’ practices to generate organizational benefits
Communities practices (COPs) in a company is a composition of people with commitment,
passion and shared expertise that keeps them together and inspires them to put more efforts
together in fulfilling organization’s goals within defined period. For example, when company’s
have employee grouped based on their job roles and expertise are the two of best to demonstrate
communities of practice (Aljuwaiber, 2016). In other word, communities of practice (COPs) are
planned groups of people who posses’ common interest in a specifical business domain or
technical. Such people communicate regularly to share the information, enhances their skills and
proactively work on advancing the enhance the general knowledge domain. COPs is not only
supporting practitioners to share knowledge and skills with people around the whole company
but also it offers access to a wide range of expertise to support with technical challenges,
constantly improvement and allows huge meaningful contributions to the long-term goals of the
company. Such open membership enhances retention of top talents in the business. It is a type
approach that means sharing and learning knowledge within business. In the community of
practice, members are promoted to practice to their new knowledge to their own work and drives
more positive impact on the company. The communities of practice (COPs) can generate lots of
organizational benefits to the Asda. For example, COPs is the group of people who have same
interest in particular business domain or organization’s success. So, Asda can develop such
communities of practice in the workplace by electing those employees who’s thinking keeps
similarity for the particular point. It is considerable thing that each people have own mind set and
have different personality traits from others but after that they have several similarities for such
factors which encourages them to work in a team. As same concept for the Asda’s staff,
management of the company can build a effective group of genuinely wants to develop their
technical skills and highly dedicated for their job responsibilities (Pohjola, 2017). These group
can stand over the phenomena of community of practices (COPs). This communities of practice
can generate number of benefits to the Asda such as they can exchange knowledge related to
business goal, targeted audience, expectations of customers, market trends, competitive
positioning of the company in the business market etc. together that will support them to take
right decision for the company which will act as trigger for the company. In addition, groupism
of employees in the community of practices will encourage them to learn new skills from each
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other which will enhance expertise of workforce in the workplace then company do not require
to invest huge amount on their training session. It is one of the major benefits that can achieve by
the company such as highly skilled and talented staff. In addition, COPs reduces conflict crisis
among people who works in a groupism because they will understand each employee views
points and gives them values by listening properly. Thus, management of Asda do not have to
apply leadership approach. This community practices can generate lots of commercial benefits to
the Asda by putting more efforts during peak period. Thus, Asda can use this community of
practices (COPs) in the business in order to maintain wellbeing of employees and enhances
success rate of the company in its business sector. It supports organization to have other benefits
such as retain talents, encourages their growth, drives performance as well as resolves conflicts
which arises in the company (McKellar, 2019). Healthy COPs also fosters trust and ensures the
rapid flow of communication as well as shared awareness. But one downside of the communities
of practice is the time constraints and time demands. COPs are often involve in time-consuming
activities due to this company can miss profitable opportunities in the business through which it
can gain have more benefits on it’s business performance and productivity.
Critically discuss the benefits that a COPs can have to individual and team
There are various benefits that COPs can have to individuals and teams such as this
communities of practices is a type of groupism of people who have different roles and
responsibilities but keeps similar thinking for the business domain. Such communities of
practices can lead benefits for the individuals in effective manner such as individuals will get
opportunity to improve their set of skills through which they become career-oriented in the
workplace. Apart from this, individuals will easily enable to deal with complex tasks without
need to help which increase independency level in individuals (Hafeez and et.al., 2019).
Communities of practice exchanges knowledge and skills together that is also one of the major
benefits for the individuals because they can enhance their knowledge by sharing their views
which will help to build good image in the team as well as improves comprehensive power.
While teams also can get lots of benefits from the communities of practice such as team can
enable to improve their understanding level while working together and each member of teams
will maintain their wellbeing effectively during peak period. With the support of communities of
practices, team can complete number of complex tasks within timeframe. It also learns
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individuals adjust in a team while working on common project and matches similarity of
thinking which leads strengthen in the team. Thus, teams of Asda become highly effective and
non-imitable resources of the business which cannot copy by competitors (Manuti, Impedovo
and De Palma, 2017). But the downside of the communities of practice is that it sometimes
become fail due to several reasons such as lack of identification with the network, rigidity of
competences, absence of core group and practice intangibility which can have negative impact
on individual and team performance.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above project that knowledge management is very important
for Asda as it develops improvement in the agility of the company, better and faster decision-
making skills, prompt problem solving, higher rate of innovation and creativity, supporting
employee growth and developed, sharing of the know and expertise of specialities, enhanced
communication and overall improvement in the business process. The SECI model of knowledge
conversion was discussed, along with Cameron and Quinn’s cultural model which indicates
better functioning in making the organization is able to operate effectively. The role of
communities’ practices to generate organizational benefits and the impact upon individual and
teams was critically evaluated.
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