MITS5505: Knowledge Management Case Study and Employee Motivation

This assignment addresses key aspects of knowledge management through a case study and practical exercises. It begins with a brainstorming session to identify non-financial rewards for employees to increase their perception of personal worth, followed by the application of the nominal group technique and consensus decision-making to select the best solution. The assignment then delves into knowledge codification, using frames to describe entities like a horse, a student, and an airline pilot. The document explores the importance of interpersonal skills in knowledge development, emphasizing the value of a user-friendly and analytical approach. Finally, it examines the implementation of knowledge management in a global company, analyzing its failure across five distinct stages: advocate and learn, develop strategy, design and launch KM initiatives, expand and support initiatives, and institutionalize knowledge management. The assignment concludes with references to key literature on the subject.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
ASSIGNMENT 4.2
TASK 4.2: a
One of the greatest challenge for every organization is constantly rewarding employees’
efforts and boosting their perception of personal worth without issuing pay increases. Employees
in every organization want to feel valued by their employer because that is an important
requirement for increased output in the organization [1]. Normally, all employers should give
their employees regular pay increases, and hold appreciation parties every so often. Nevertheless,
that is not normally the case due to many competing demands that require the attention of the
organization’s finances.
However, there are many non-financial rewards that organizations can use in rewarding
employees and most of these do not cost much. Companies have many options in which they can
reward the efforts of their employees and these are cheaper and they leave a long-lasting
influence on the employee’s perception [2]. The suggested solutions include simple gestures that
are supposed to encourage employees and they all go a long way in making the employees self-
worth appreciated. In addition, the solutions are applicable and they are supposed to show
gratitude to the employees for their service to the company. The group came up with four
solutions other than the common pay increase approach for making an employee may have their
person of personal worth appreciated. These are as discussed below:
1. Regular Praise
In every organization praising employees that have done well is a necessary and is a
recommended morale booster [1]. The use of praise really costs nothing but it leads to a
substantial increase in the employee’s perception of personal worth. The employees feel
appreciated and that is one of the simplest non-monetary approach applicable. Praising
employees can probably start with a simple act such as sending the employee of interest a
handwritten thank-you note. The thank-you note is supposed to be drafted by the seniors and is
supposed to detail the exact reasons of the gratitude the company has for the employees.
Additionally, the employee can be summoned by a ranking officer at the company and
thanked verbally. The officer must explain to the employee the reasons why the company
appreciates their role and why the company management values the employee’s contribution [1].
Dialogue is very vital because it leaves the employee with a lasting feeling of personal worth to
the team and to the company as a whole [3]. The only thing that is discouraged in this approach
is the use of general emails and generalized praise that is sent by general managers to every
employee. The thank-you notes suggested must be hand written and the conversation must be
genuine.
2. Showcasing
The most important members of any organization are the best performing and the
dedicated employees. Such employees are key in making the company profits and deserve proper

showcasing that will motivate them adequately. Therefore, in an organization there is a need to
make sure that they get an opportunity for recognition where they will have their personal efforts
recognized. The leading performers in every category must showcased and that will surely make
them feel well appreciated [1]. Therefore, there should be a leaderboard up that shows the best
performers in every department and the winners must be known and their achievements well
listed. The top employees that do not make it will compete for the top and this will bring about
healthy competition while at the same time boosting personal worth to listed employees. The
inspiration that comes from the showcasing is a very important boost for all involved and will in
the long run lead to better results.
3. Increased Responsibility
The sum of responsibilities given to employees directly correlate with their capability.
However, even the knowledge that they are trusted by the company and are allowed to take lead
in important tasks and roles and that their ability to decide in some matters is very important for
their personal growth. The feeling that their involvement is very vital and a key requirement for
the operation of the company shows them that the company believes they are a mainstay. Indeed
that also demonstrates that these employees have the ability of taking their career goals much
more seriously and that their personal worth grows as their responsibilities increase [1].
4. Small Company Events and Parties
As a way of making employees feel appreciated and valued, it is important that a
company sets a small part of its budget for some small parties and events. The employees will
definitely feel relieved from the work of the day and the break that comes with the celebration
for the good work they do is necessary. The option is a direct substitute to a pay increase and it
can be done in many ways [4]. For instance, the company can choose to celebrate monthly
birthdays of the company employees born at a certain month and that improve the personal
perception of the employee and makes them feel valued and loved.
The company could may be opt for regular and well served catered luncheons on the
important days of business. For example when the times at work are very busy, the luncheons
can be a good way of showing the employees that they are valued and that the company minds
about them. Such strategies are easy to come up with and they will all serve the purpose of
making the employees in the company feel as valued members of the team they serve.
Task 4.2: b
Nominal group technique
The technique is applicable when used by a small group of people with the goal of trying
to come up with a decision that best tries to represent the group's views. The process uses several
voting cycles and the cycles results are representative of the end result. The seven members of
the group met and the group leader explained the reason for meeting. The members were
supposed to find the best solution to the employee personal-worth perception problem. In doing
so they considered the four suggestion from the brainstorming exercise on 4.2(a) above. The

members were part of the group that came up with the four solutions and so they were familiar
with them and so they were ready for voting using the ranking method.
The voting was done using the ranking method which places emphasis on just a few
ideas. During voting, the recording of the vote was done after the leader assigned a number for
each idea. The option that each member opted was recorded and the rank assigned out of a
maximum rank of 10. After the actual votes were recorded, the rank was assigned and the
breakdown was as follows:
SOLUTION # Mike May Mason Melanie Moby Mia Missey TOTAL
1 4 3 5 5 4 4 4 29
2 3 4 5 8 5 5 5 37
3 5 6 6 8 8 7 6 49
4 8 7 9 9 8 9 9 63
Based on the breakdown in the ranking method above, solution 4 was the most popular solution
opted by the group members based on the nominal group technique.
Task 4.2: c
The seven through consensus agreed that the best solution to the employee personal-
worth perception problem is solution. After brainstorming on the four solutions and discussing
them at length, the members agreed that giving employees regular small parties and events will
definitely make them feel relieved from the work of the day. The parties will help them have a
break and that will be the best remedy for employee personal-worth and perception.

ASSIGNMENT 5.1
TASK 1: Knowledge Codification
General frames are applied in natural language and they are used in understanding a collection of
attributes that are linked to values that describe a real world entity. Below are frames codifying
three different entities are a horse, a student and an airline pilot.
Horse
HORSE
Slot Facet
Breed Flash-dance
Type 18-hand thoroughbred
Student
STUDENT
Slot Facet
Name Brenda
Height Cluster Medium-height
Year Fourth year
Course Liberal arts
Pilot
PILOT
Slot Facet
Name Fred
Age in the Profession 30
Status Veteran
Profession Pilot
Assignment 5.2
Knowledge developers
Based on the two statements suggested by two types of potential knowledge developers, the
second approach appeals to me more. The approach would be more successful in knowledge
development is the second one. Based on the Florence Nightingale influence and contribution in

nursing knowledge development, the need for the development of interpersonal skills always
supersedes the overreliance on the hard skills. The soft skills are very vital because a person with
the soft skills can still learn the hard skills through collaboration and through being part of the
team. For instance the skills that the first person promises are hard skills required in computer
programming. A computer programmer needs the computer languages mastery for him or her to
be a star programmer. However, a talented generalist in the field can still attain more success
when he or she gets sharpened based on the skills of interpersonal skills that they already
possess. Furthermore, the user friendly person with a very rigorous and analytic mind will even
learn more when teamed up with a competent knowledge developer. Therefore unlike the first
statement, the second suggestion offers more in terms towards a more successful trend in
knowledge development.

ASSIGNEMENT 7.1
Stage 1: Advocate and learn
Being a global company, the knowledge management had to be part and parcel of all their day to
day activities. The teams tasked with the operations in all the departments were supposed to
come up with ways and means of advocating for the minor and changes required based on the
incoming information. The advocacy is a key part of knowledge management because as
witnessed in the case at hand, the failure in integration of the solutions offered by Alpha was the
trigger to failure. As a solution, the team tasked with sourcing and carrying out the due diligence
resulting from the feedback from Alpha was supposed to have done better than they did at the
time.
Stage 2: Develop strategy
Matters of strategy are vital in organizational management. Furthermore, the matters of strategy
are even much more vital when it comes to knowledge management. Knowledge management
building block for the growth of an organization and it should be well manage. The best strategy
that would have been applicable in this case would be to manage knowledge by spreading it to
all the departments instead of using a silo-oriented community approach that hoards information
works against the company and does not result to proper knowledge development. The other
shortcoming is the over-reliance on the IT systems whose greatest disadvantages are failure and
restricted access.
Stage 3: Design and launch KM initiatives
The failure of the design and the launch of the knowledge management initiatives arose from the
poor management and the high costs. The cost to sustaining the knowledge management
initiatives grew and the company would no longer sustain them. In addition to the limited access
and sharing of the feedback, the company ended up deciding to cut down the losses and
terminating the entire initiative altogether.
Stage 4: Expand and support initiatives
As explained, the team tasked with the expansion of the system failed to complete even the
initial worktable. The sales function was not done on schedule and that greatly affected the entire
system. The delays led to a general delay in the workings of the company due to the absence of a
proper knowledge management system.
Stage 5: Institutionalize knowledge management
The company failed to institutionalize knowledge management and instead relied too much on
gathering information and storing it in computers. A proper way of approaching knowledge
management should be to spread it and have it passed on to the people. The overreliance on the
external and internal IT resources only led to losses and undistributed knowledge.

REFERENCES
[1]. Hislop, Donald, Rachelle Bosua, and Remko Helms. Knowledge management in
organizations: A critical introduction. Oxford University Press, 2018.
[2]. Donate MJ, de Pablo JD. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge
management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research. 2015 Feb 1;68(2):360-70.
[3]. Liebowitz, Jay, and Michael Frank, eds. Knowledge management and e-learning. CRC
press, 2016.
[4]. Todorović, Marija Lj, et al. "Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based
approach in project management." International Journal of Project Management33.4 (2015):
772-783.