IT Networking Design Report: Knowledge Environment & Strategies

This report provides an analysis of IT networking design, with a specific focus on knowledge management within an organization. It begins with an executive summary and an introduction to knowledge management and its significance. The report then delves into the knowledge environment, examining aspects such as know-how, collaboration, technology systems, and documentation, highlighting inconsistencies between the company's claims and reality. A case study of Manic Marketers is presented, revealing weaknesses in their knowledge-sharing practices and social capital. The role of a mentor in facilitating knowledge transfer is explored, along with the types of information and forms of organizational knowledge essential for new employees. The report concludes by outlining strategies for improving knowledge sharing and addressing the identified weaknesses, emphasizing the importance of training, motivation, and documentation. The report aims to provide insights into how organizations can enhance their knowledge management practices.

IT NETWORKING DESIGN
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EXCUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a description of various aspects of knowledge environment, its importance and things that
can be done to improve organizational knowledge of individuals in an organization. From a case
study that was done at Manic Marketers, several positive things about the company come out.
The organization came out clear during the interview about the knowledge environment inside
the firm. The know-how, collaboration, documentation and sharing of knowledge was alleged to
be good. However, the reality came out to be different when even the history of the organization
couldn’t be traced. The mentor tried to introduce the new employee to the various systems and
processes but failed to even introduce him to other staff members. Various forms of
organizational knowledge such as the what, how and why they should know about various
aspects. Some information about “who” they were supposed to know wasn’t adequately
provided. There were also weaknesses in the social capital factors that were highlighted such as
the staff members not being at ease when consulted, (Greene et al 2010). Organizations such as
Manic marketers should develop and implement knowledge sharing strategies such training
through hiring and motivating mentors and other employees to share knowledge. Impediments to
sharing of knowledge that were identified include little know-how among the employees
themselves and, lack of motivation and reinforcement to share knowledge.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXCUTIVE SUMMARY..............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................2
THE KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENT.....................................................................................2
1. The know-how.....................................................................................................................3
2. Collaboration.......................................................................................................................3
3. Technology systems............................................................................................................3
4. Sharing sessions..................................................................................................................4
5. Documentation of knowledge.............................................................................................4
THE ROLE OF A MENTOR.......................................................................................................4
TYPES OF INFORMATION AND FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE.....5
KEY WEAKNESSES IN THE SOCIAL CAPITAL..................................................................5
KNOWLEDGE SHARING STRATEGIES................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................6
References.......................................................................................................................................6
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INTRODUCTION
Knowledge management is key to success of any organization. Factoring in new employees,
organizations need to provide crystal clear guidelines about how knowledge flows and is shared
at their new paces of work. This report will provide a well elucidated snapshot of knowledge
management, its characteristics, how its acquired, its principles, and an exploration of how
businesses can enhance knowledge. Work than knowledge workers do in an organization and
their specific roles respective of their designations will be explored. Stages of organizational
knowledge and its creation is key since it affects the organizational technical, social and
managerial infrastructure, (Saslis-Lagoudakis et al 2014). A case sturdy of an organization
including its operating knowledge environment will be presented, features portrayed in the
knowledge environment and their relationship with reality. Functions of some ranks in the
organization such as a mentor will be covered and the kinds of support they offer. What such
leaders’ ca do to help new members of organization gain operational knowledge will be
presented. Different forms of knowledge that might be of value to newbies in an organization
will be presented by a review of KM viewpoint 2.1 and 2.2. An intensive evaluation of social
capital factors evident in the case study will be covered with the key weaknesses. Lastly,
approaches to how managers of organizations can disseminate their knowledge, and some
strategies that can be considered in sharing the information will be highlighted, (Lee et al 2009).
THE KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENT
In the study at Manic marketers, the interview was carried out smoothly. Various admirable
features about the knowledge environment are portrayed. One, a very comprehensive portfolio
was provided to the interviewee. This is positive because it ensures the interviewee has adequate
knowledge about the operations of the organization including its goals. The interviewers outlined
their positive, accommodative and inclusive culture, technology systems, and their incessant
focus on the management of knowledge. They literally carried out the interview and provided the
information in a way that filled the interviewee’s heart with enthusiasm. Peer feedback, wide
know-how, information sharing sessions in the organization, a focus on long term relationships
and collaboration among the staff and management were key features that facilitated flow of
knowledge in the organization, (Kümmerer 2009).
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However, there was a relatively big rift between the features that Manic marketers boost during
the day of the interview and the facts in practical daily operations of the organization. Some of
the differences from reality in the organization were:
1. The know-how
According to (Burns et al 2013). The know how that is highly praised among the members of the
organization disappears when Damon comes about an abbreviation np whose meaning was hard
to understand in one of the documents. Interestingly, most people in the organization didn’t
understand the meaning too! He struggles over and over to find out who BG is. The database
unfortunately doesn’t know that either.
Damon had no tangible knowledge of any previous projects the organization had undertaken,
didn’t know anyone else who had handled old projects and absolutely no knowledge of what
other resources might be useful for the apparent project. There was no real history of the
organization documented and there being no one keen to provide some help on all these issues
might suggest maybe they didn’t know either. These was just unbelievable for a knowledge
organization.
The know-how of Manic Marketers as expressed during the interview further differs from reality
when another staff member advises Damon that, it wasn’t what someone knew nor what they can
find out. Who they know was the most important of all. Here, it’s definitely not the knowledge or
ideas they have. They simply know people which is not enough and contrary to what say in the
interview. In addition, this is a tall order as Damon insists.
2. Collaboration
It’s clearly expressed during the interview there is collaboration among the employees. This is in
contrast with reality since few people if not none notices or helps Damon in his struggles
searching for information. When Damon contacts his mentor and nearby colleagues who had
helped him the week before, they all appeared threatened and harassed by his presence at their
desks. So much for collaboration. It’s clear how hard it was to learn from anyone in this
organization. the Garabaldon Brothers he calls for help turn out very unhelpful, (Escribano et al
2009).
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3. Technology systems
The technology systems in the organization were not much helpful, or they didn’t just have
enough information. The organization claims that everything they do is documented
disseminated to everyone in the organization. This is different from what is seen in the case
study, since previous projects can’t be found, and the history of the organization, if it were
documented would been easily found. The database lacks adequate information and is barely
useful, (Wu 2009). Damon looked for who BG was in the firm and couldn’t anything even in the
database. A good technology system would have allowed him to find any information about the
firm in just a click. He also took a long time go through the organization’s website. A good
website should have allowed him to get a rough sketch of the site in a few minutes or hours.
What a technology system!
4. Sharing sessions
It’s not evident anywhere that the sharing sessions to facilitate exchange of information in this
firm took place. Everyone appeared to be busy at their own desk. The unwillingness of other
members to help points out how sharing sessions if they were ever there, were not fun at all.
5. Documentation of knowledge
The supervisor claims all their knowledge is documented for easy retrieval. On the contrary, it’s
hard to retrieve any information about anything in the organization. it’s even hard to tell who
worked on what project and when.
THE ROLE OF A MENTOR
A mentor is very important in an organization and serves several roles. In the Manic Marketers
case study, several types of support are offered by the mentor. First, the mentor clarifies the
main goal of the organization, and the goal was interesting. They don’t want to re-invent the
wheel. The mentor also points out the source of any information Damon would need. Its cited
that everything was documented. Next, the mentor exposes Damon to all the various systems in
the organization; the financial system, the human resource process, the in-house records
management system, the knowledge objects and library systems. These seemed too many
systems but it calls in another role of a mentor. Assurance. The mentor assures him it was very
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easy to navigate, with just a little more extra time. The mentor helped him get to know more
about the knowledge environment of the organization, though he had to learn the bigger junk by
himself, (Harvey et al 2010).
There is more that the mentor could have done to improve Damon’s organizational knowledge.
Some of the things the mentor could have done to help Damon better include:
a) Introducing Damon to all the members and staff of the organization and their functions.
This would have made it easier for Damon to know who to consult for what specific
problem. Knowing the location of everyone and their role would have made it easier for
him to connect, ask for information and share knowledge easily.
b) The mentor should have shown Damon where exactly to find any information he needed.
Where in the documents certain details pertaining her work desk are located, such as the
history of the organization.
c) The mentor should also have been clear on the objectives of the organization. Damon
should know exactly what their business is, which is not the case. Working smarter, not
harder, is not a goal at all. The goal should have been stated in way that mentions or hints
exactly the service or products they deal in. There is no point in working smart when you
even don’t know what you are working on the first place.
TYPES OF INFORMATION AND FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
In reference to (Vahlne & Johanson 2017)During recording data about a client, which is
beneficial to the organization, various types of information should be included. These pieces of
knowledge include the identity of the client, the organization or group and more importantly any
methods of connecting with them. Previous meetings and deals with the clients and any future
planned meetings should be recorded. In the context of the Manic Marketers case study, this
information should have been entered in the database and the clients given an index (number) for
example, client 100/2018 to display even the time when the client was last engaged. The clients
name and other information should then follow in the subsequent columns. This way, all the
information should have been easier to retrieve any time his name, the code (100/28) or any
other piece of information about the client is invoked.
Other forms of knowledge that could have been important to Damon include:
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1. The “know where”: this refers to the identification, evaluation and access to the
appropriate sources of knowledge which Damon appeared to lack.
2. The “know when”: this would help him know how to apply strategies in order to balance
activities, dynamic requirements, competing demands and multiple projects.
3. Damon needed to know people and organizations that the firm usually transact with from
day to day.
KEY WEAKNESSES IN THE SOCIAL CAPITAL
Some social capital factors that were evident in the context of Manic Marketers include:
documentation of key outcomes of business activities, expectations of knowledge sharing were
incorporated into staff during orientation sessions and the staff focused on what was best for the
organization. however, many weaknesses came out clearly in the social capital of the
organization. These include:
i. Sharing of intelligence was mentioned but not put into action and valued among the
staff. They were not willing to help Damon with the knowledge hiccups he was going
through.
ii. The people in the organization did not collaborate to share intelligence as illustrated
above.
iii. Key experts such Damon’s mentor were not readily available when contacted.
iv. Development of the capabilities of knowledge workers and competence wasn’t
supported well enough in the organization. When Damon fails to find answers to who
BG is. He gives up and forwards a name he doesn’t know at all. He also claims
nobody cares after all!
v. The staff are not at ease with consulting others for guidance and help in the
organization.
KNOWLEDGE SHARING STRATEGIES
Different approaches or strategies can be considered. Knowledge can be shared through:
1. Training: training can be implemented by assigning a mentor for each new hire, choosing
another member of the team with the same rank as the new employee or working in the
same department.
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2. Designing an environment that’s conducive for sharing of knowledge: this can be
implemented through making conference rooms, coffee tables where staff sit and talk,
and making common spaces where employees can sit casually.
3. Encouraging different forms of knowledge sharing within the organization. This can be
implemented by setting aside time to contribute and share content and setting aside face-
to-face collaboration time.
4. The organization can come up with a software for sharing knowledge.
Impediments to sharing of information can be little know-how about the organization among the
employees, inadequate resources to facilitate sharing, uncooperative staff members and lack of
motivation to share knowledge. A poor knowledge environment in general is in itself an
impediment to sharing of knowledge.
CONCLUSION
The knowledge environment is a determinant of smooth operations of an organization.
organizations have knowledge workers such as mentors that help providing knowledge to other
employee. Some organizations however, have a poor knowledge environment making it difficult
for new staff members to catch up with the system. Organizations should put in place working
knowledge sharing strategies to improve their success.
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References
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Douglas, W., Baral, S.R. and Savolainen, V., 2014. The evolution of traditional knowledge:
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Kümmerer, K., 2009. The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment due to human use–
present knowledge and future challenges. Journal of environmental management, 90(8),
pp.2354-2366.
Burns, R.G., DeForest, J.L., Marxsen, J., Sinsabaugh, R.L., Stromberger, M.E., Wallenstein,
M.D., Weintraub, M.N. and Zoppini, A., 2013. Soil enzymes in a changing environment: current
knowledge and future directions. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 58, pp.216-234.
Escribano, A., Fosfuri, A. and Tribó, J.A., 2009. Managing external knowledge flows: The
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Harvey, G., Skelcher, C., Spencer, E., Jas, P. and Walshe, K., 2010. Absorptive capacity in a
non-market environment: a knowledge-based approach to analysing the performance of sector
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Vahlne, J.E. and Johanson, J., 2017. The internationalization process of the firm—a model of
knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. In International
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Lee, O.K.D., Wang, M.W., Lim, K.H. and Peng, Z.J., 2009. Knowledge management systems
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environment framework. Journal of Global Information Management, 17(1), p.70.
Wu, W.L., Lin, C.H., Hsu, B.F. and Yeh, R.S., 2009. Interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing:
Moderating effects of individual altruism and a social interaction environment. Social Behavior
and Personality: an international journal, 37(1), pp.83-93.
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Greene, J.A., Costa, L.J., Robertson, J., Pan, Y. and Deekens, V.M., 2010. Exploring relations
among college students’ prior knowledge, implicit theories of intelligence, and self-regulated
learning in a hypermedia environment. Computers & Education, 55(3), pp.1027-1043
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