MBA632 Knowledge Management: KM System Implementation at Amazon

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of knowledge management systems at Amazon, detailing the company's overview, the significance of knowledge management, strategic challenges, and applications within the HR department. It explores Amazon's current knowledge management systems, including Zoho Desk, KnowledgeOwl, and Inbenta, and outlines a roadmap for KM system implementation. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing business processes through proper training mechanisms and disaster management strategies. The analysis highlights Amazon's focus on focused differentiation and its efforts to balance economic growth with effective knowledge management, emphasizing the importance of managing shared, personal, and public knowledge. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and solved assignments for students.

Running head: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Name of student
Name of university
Author’s note:

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Executive summary
This report aims to discuss the implementation of knowledge management system in the
Walmart organisation for enhancing the management of the knowledge of the organisation. A
comprehensive discussion of the company is detailed in the report. Brief discussion of the
significance of knowledge management at Walmart stores is discussed in this report. A
comprehensive debate of the strategic challenges related to the KM in Walmart is provided in
this report along with the brief discussion of all applications of knowledge management in
HR department of Walmart is explained in this report. The present knowledge management
system in Walmart is briefly discussed in this report. A roadmap of KM system
implementation is provided in this report. Finally, this report provides some
recommendations for the implementation of the KM system in the organisation.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Discussion......................................................................................................................3
Overview of the company..........................................................................................3
Significance of knowledge management at Amazon.................................................4
Strategic challenges related to the KM in Amazon....................................................5
Application of knowledge management in HR department of Amazon....................6
Present knowledge management system in Amazon.................................................6
Roadmap of KM system implementation..................................................................8
Recommendations..........................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................9
References....................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
This report aims to discuss the topic of Knowledge management system in company,
Amazon. An overview of the firm is clearly stated in this report. A brief discussion of the
challenges in the firm is provided in the report. A brief discussion of the present KM systems
that are available in the firm is clearly described in this report along with the challenges in the
system. At last, some recommendations are provided for the company for enhancing the use
of the knowledge management systems. Lastly, an appropriate conclusion is provided for this
report.
Discussion
Overview of the company
The company Amazon is a multinational technology e-commerce corporation based in
America that runs a chain of huge online stores along with several warehouses in the various
countries. The company was founded in the year 1994 by Jeff Bezos who is currently the
owner of the organization. Presently, the company has achieved growth as it has been
successful in 12 countries, which are situated out of the continent of US (Dalkir 2013) and
including the US it becomes 13. The company completely owns several operation in Canada,
Brazil and United Kingdom. Additionally, along with these international operations, the
company consists of several ventures in the country China and numerous majority owned
subsidiaries. The operation of Amazon is under various banners in several countries but still
their main objective is towards one goal that is the enabling of the customers in saving money
and then live a prosperous life (Matayong and Kamil Mahmood 2013). The knowledge
management denotes to all the practices and the strategies, which are utilised by the company
in any attempt of creating distribution and enabling the adoption of the strategic insights and
the particular experiences. This knowledge could be embodied in organisational or individual

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processes or practises. The successful companies and the business firms have invested
extensively towards the creation of the internal knowledge management efforts. The company
Amazon has also invested immensely towards the effective management of knowledge in the
recent times (Li, Jin and Wang 2014). The aspect of the knowledge needs to be effectively
managed in any organisation for monitoring the growth of the company and enhance the
operations. The knowledge needs to be organised distinctively and appropriately. With the
development of knowledge in any organisation, the companies can understand the gaps in the
business that are being faced in the operations. In the efforts at the development and the
nurturing of the valuable management skills of knowledge, the company focuses on the
objectives of the organisation that particularly involves the enhanced business performance,
competitive advantages and the innovation along with continuous enhancement of the
processes and the operations of the business (Holsapple 2013). The knowledge management
of the company incorporates several important issues like the formal apprenticeship,
professional training, corporate libraries, discussion forums, and mentoring programs. The
company also deployed the particular implementation of several technologies such as the
knowledge bases, group decision support systems, expert systems, and intranets.
Significance of knowledge management at Amazon
The e-commerce system of Amazon have implemented the extensive measures for
achieving growth in the industry of retail business. Among these measures is the
implementation of the effective knowledge management system that is implemented for
retaining the competitive advantage during the times of the fluctuation of the economic
conditions (Liu and Lee 2013). The goals of the company are being constantly achieved
simultaneously by the strict adhering to the aims of the business and the balancing of the
operations with significant economic growth. According to this standard, the economic
balance is achieved throughout the probable strategies of the knowledge management. The

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strategies of the knowledge management of the corporation has enabled the company in
focussing on the strategic operations of the business into a cutting of the costs of operations
and then creating the value for the shareholders (Fidalgo-Blanco, Sein-Echaluce and García-
Peñalvo 2014). The classification of the knowledge can be done in three forms, like the
shared, personal and public knowledge. The accessing of the public knowledge can be done
using the public domains like the books or internet. The shared knowledge denotes to the
knowledge, which is exclusively contained among the employees and this knowledge is
applicable only in the work. The accessing of the personal knowledge is most restricted as
this knowledge is concerned with the personal and daily life.
Strategic challenges related to the KM in Amazon
The company have achieved enormous productivity using the focused differentiation. The
corporation is among the leading companies in their sector that is not restricted to USA but
also to several other countries (Jeng and Dunk 2013). Moreover, the e-commerce operation of
the Amazon have faced several challenges in the attempt of the introduction of the several
strategies of the knowledge management. The analysis of the change management has
immensely overridden the organisational growth of the company. The effective knowledge
management at all the e-commerce operation of Amazon in increasingly contributed by the
ushering in of the significant gains on the annual production. The positive and important
trend has yet reigned over all the huge stores that are associated with this corporation all
across the world (Deshpande, Azhar and Amireddy 2014). The Amazon is increasingly
becoming ideal for the businesses and organisations at this modern age of global value. The
improvement of the skills of employees can be considered as one major method of enhancing
the efficient knowledge management by this company and it has proved to the immensely
successful in the countering of the challenges that are encountered and the challenges that are
threatening the complete mission.

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Application of knowledge management in HR department of Amazon
The sector of human resources provides the strategies for the companies on how to select,
recruit, train and then manage the workforce of the organisations. Various strategies are
implemented for the human resource department of various organisations but each of them
strive towards to achieving of a single goal (Séin-Echaluce et al. 2015). The efficient
strategies of human resources have been implemented in the Amazon which enabled them in
efficient management of their vast resources.
Present knowledge management system in Amazon
Zoho desk: This software is the online platform of customer support from the company Zoho,
which is the creator of almost 40 integrated productivity and business apps. Combining with
the support function, this software provides the required tools for the efficient addressing of
the queries of the customers, enhance the productivity of the agent, and then improve the
decision making for the managers (García-Holgado, García-Peñalvo and Rodríguez-Conde
2015). The capabilities and the features includes the ticketing system, help desk, agent
productivity, call center, social support, organisation spread collaboration, reporting and
insights and the knowledge and forums base. For the corporations and the businesses with the
determined customer support and the service terms, this knowledge management system is
commonly contained in the knowledge base or the centralised hub of knowledge, which can
be assessed by the both agents and customers.
KnowledgeOwl: This is the completely customisable base of knowledge and the software of
customer support that helps in the building of the sites, manuals, knowledge bases,
documentation of software and several other materials (Yun 2013). This helps in the creation
of the personal secure, strong, navigational simplified resource for ensuring the presence of
every person on the same page. This software provides an API for enabling in building the

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personal integrations, pushing the information in this software and if required then extracting
the valuable information from this system.
Inbenta: This system of knowledge management provides an easy platform for the
information that is required in a single place. This allows in the controlling of the information
and then ensure the asking of the any question by the customers and then gaining the accurate
answer (Schmitt 2014). This software employs the technology of the natural language
programming for accurately comprehending the tagging of information, grouping and
classification and then producing the automated content and the answers. With the easy
access to the structured data, the organisation could enhance the knowledge about the various
aspects and then stay more agile.

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Roadmap of KM system implementation
Recommendations
Hence, it is recommended to the company to employ the proper training mechanisms for
allowing the employees in gaining the proper knowledge about the implementation of the
knowledge management system and enhance the business processes. The company should
also implement the proper strategies of disaster management for ensuring the mitigation of
the issues that are presently not viewed by the business.
Collect
Business process
Information flows
plans and strategies of the organisation
It plan and strategy
change management
Analyse
Human, intellectual and social capital best practices
change management
Resolve
policies
process and knowledge flows
metrics
strategic goals
change management
Select
Technology
Change management
Design
Change management
Implement
Change management
processes
metrics
Use
Change management
Evolve
Change management

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Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that the organisation can implement the knowledge
management system for the enhancement of the business process and the knowledge of the
organisation. The company Amazon is a multinational corporation based in America that runs
a chain of huge e-commerce online stores along with several warehouses in the various
countries. The company was founded in the year 1994 by Jeff Bezos who is currently the
owner of the organization. The online environment of Amazon have implemented the
extensive measures for achieving growth in the industry of retail business. Among these
measures is the implementation of the effective knowledge management system that is
implemented for retaining the competitive advantage during the times of the fluctuation of
the economic conditions. The company have achieved enormous productivity using the
focused differentiation. The corporation is among the leading companies in their sector that is
not restricted to USA but also to several other countries. The sector of human resources
provides the strategies for the companies on how to select, recruit, train and then manage the
workforce of the organisations.

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References
Dalkir, K., 2013. Knowledge management in theory and practice. Routledge.
Deshpande, A., Azhar, S. and Amireddy, S., 2014. A framework for a BIM-based knowledge
management system. Procedia Engineering, 85, pp.113-122.
Fidalgo-Blanco, Á., Sein-Echaluce, M.L. and García-Peñalvo, F.J., 2014. Knowledge spirals
in higher education teaching innovation. International Journal of Knowledge Management
(IJKM), 10(4), pp.16-37.
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 Enhancing Multiculturality (pp. 695-700). ACM.
Holsapple, C. ed., 2013. Handbook on knowledge management 1: Knowledge matters (Vol.
1). Springer Science & Business Media.
Jeng, D.J.F. and Dunk, N., 2013. Knowledge management enablers and knowledge creation
in ERP system success. International Journal of Electronic Business Management, 11(1),
p.49.
Li, M., Jin, L. and Wang, J., 2014. A new MCDM method combining QFD with TOPSIS for
knowledge management system selection from the user's perspective in intuitionistic fuzzy
environment. Applied soft computing, 21, pp.28-37.
Liu, S.H. and Lee, G.G., 2013. Using a concept map knowledge management system to
enhance the learning of biology. Computers & Education, 68, pp.105-116.

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Matayong, S. and Kamil Mahmood, A., 2013. The review of approaches to knowledge
management system studies. Journal of Knowledge Management, 17(3), pp.472-490.
Schmitt, U., 2014, March. How this paper has been created by leveraging a personal
knowledge management system. In 8th International Conference on Higher Education
(ICHE) (pp. 16-18).

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Séin-Echaluce, M.L., Blanco, Á.F., García-Peñalvo, F.J. and Conde, M.Á., 2015. A
knowledge management system to classify social educational resources within a subject using
teamwork techniques. In Learning and Collaboration Technologies (pp. 510-519). Springer,
Cham.
Yun, E.K., 2013. Predictors of attitude and intention to use knowledge management system
among Korean nurses. Nurse education today, 33(12), pp.1477-1481.