MGT703 Case Study: Evaluating Knowledge Management at Hewlett-Packard

This case study delves into Hewlett-Packard's knowledge management initiatives, examining the Training Trading Post, Connex, and building a network of experts. It analyzes the impact of these practices on HP's success, highlighting the role of Lotus Notes in establishing knowledge bases like Trainer’s Trading Post, Training Library, and Training Review. The study discusses the failure of the Training Review, explores incentives used to promote knowledge bases, and addresses the risks associated with knowledge bases, such as data protection and irrelevant information. Furthermore, it evaluates the unsuccessful knowledge management initiative with PPO customers and outlines three PPO group projects, including competitor information management, web-based research interface, and international marketing intelligence, along with potential risks and mitigation strategies for each project. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering solved assignments and past papers to students.

Running head: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Question 1: Knowledge Management Initiatives............................................................................2
Question 2: Impact of Adopting Knowledge Management Practice...............................................2
Question 3: Usefulness of Lotus Notes and Importance of Knowledge Base.................................3
Question 4: Training Review...........................................................................................................4
Question 5: Incentives of Promoting Knowledge Base...................................................................4
Question 6: Risk with Knowledge Base and ways to Overcome Risk............................................5
Question 7: Knowledge Management with PPO Customers’ Initiative..........................................6
Question 8: 3 Projects of PPO Group, Risk and Ways to Overcome Risk......................................6
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................8

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Question 1: Knowledge Management Initiatives
One of the most important initiatives of HP towards knowledge management is Training
Trading Post. The organization has more than 2000 educators or trainers, but most of them work
in small groups. Therefore, it becomes difficult to share knowledge among them. Training
Trading Post allowed the trainers of HP towards sharing their knowledge among each other.
Moreover, this initiative allowed the trainers or educators in sharing ideas, methods and
materials for knowledge enhancement among the HP members (Jiménez-Jiménez, et al., 2014).
On the other hand, HP also used Connex initiative towards for managing the knowledge of
organizational members. Connex or connection to expert initiative was the guide to the educated
people within the laboratories of HP. Moreover, a group prototyped the knowledge links to
support generation of new products. The initiative was to have housed with varieties of
knowledge significant for the specific function. Furthermore, HP took another initiative named
‘building a network of expert’, where it was a direction to the employees within labs and finally
to another parts of HP (Lai, et al., 2014). Such guide can also help the organization in identifying
the previous problems identified by the earlier director of the laboratory.
Question 2: Impact of Adopting Knowledge Management Practice
The success of knowledge intensive company HP is largely dependent on its knowledge
management initiatives. Moreover, the knowledge management initiatives lead HP to become
huge and hugely successful high tech company. The knowledge management initiatives enhance
the knowledge of the HP employees and experts regarding the markets, customers and products.
Such enhancement of knowledge becomes the biggest source of competitive advantage for the
organization. Such initiatives also emphasize on building awareness and sharing lessons from

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various projects underway (Alegre, et al., 2013). Proactive knowledge management initiatives
assist in developing problem solving methods towards resolving critical problems. On the hand,
such initiatives also facilitate in enhancing the expert knowledge. Therefore, the organization can
utilize such expert knowledge in enhancing the uniqueness of various product categories. In this
way, the organization can provide unique value to the customers for fostering high level of
competitive advantage. Such unique factors in the products and services generated from expert
ideas have led to the success of HP.
Question 3: Usefulness of Lotus Notes and Importance of Knowledge Base
HP has used Lotus Notes for establishing various knowledge bases like Trainer’s Trading
Post, Training Library and Training Review. The Lotus Note has established the training trade
post by prototyping the knowledge links. Moreover, such knowledge links are prototyped by a
specific group supporting new product generation. Web browser seems to be an interface to the
rational database (Todorović, et al., 2015). Moreover, lotus notes assist in developing primary
content of the knowledge database. It guides the expertise and background of employees, who
are familiar on particular topics.
Knowledge base defines the self-serve online library of important information regarding
products, services, department and other topics. The knowledge in the knowledge database can
from anywhere, but it mostly comes from experts, who are well versed on the particular subjects.
Therefore, knowledge base can share expert knowledge among the employees for enhancing the
effectiveness of the knowledge management. On the other hand, knowledge base provides equal
and easy access to the important information of special fields (Reich, et al., 2014). Moreover, it
centralizes the organizational knowledge and makes it more accessible to the employees.

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Furthermore, such database also prevents loss of valuable knowledge leading to effectiveness of
knowledge management.
Question 4: Training Review
Training review never took off in the knowledge management system of HP. The trainers
were unwilling in opining online regarding the value of the course materials and external
providers. Therefore, nobody was interested in participating in such knowledge management
system. Furthermore, the participants were not also provided with any reward structure for their
participation in training review (Kim, et al., 2014). Hence, nobody was willing to participate in
such knowledge management initiatives. However, Karney could have encouraged the trainers or
educators towards opining about the worth of course materials. Promotion of the worth of this
knowledge base could have encouraged the participants in participating in the knowledge bases.
Apart from that, Karney could also have provided attractive incentives for encouraging the
participants in participating in this knowledge database.
Question 5: Incentives of Promoting Knowledge Base
Karney used several incentives for promoting the knowledge bases among the
organizational members. He adopted innovative tactics for getting submissions of knowledge in
the knowledge bases. Karney provided free notes licenses to the potential users of the
knowledge bases. Such free notes and licenses provided added benefit to the users to the
participants beyond only gaining knowledge. Therefore, such incentives encouraged the
participants to be willing to participate in knowledge base. Furthermore, Karney provided 3000
free airline miles for the first 50 readers of a new knowledge database (Davenport, 1998). In this
way, such free airline miles encouraged the readers in reading the information of knowledge

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database. On the other hand, he also provide another 500 free airline miles for anyone, who
posted a submission in the knowledge base. Hence, such free airline miles also encouraged the
experts in submitting their expert knowledge in knowledge database. Later, Karney promoted
miles for the contribution for questions as well as response to the questions. As a result of such
incentives, more than 2/3 of the trainers’ community read at least one posting. Furthermore,
almost a third submitted posts and commented on those posts themselves.
Question 6: Risk with Knowledge Base and ways to Overcome Risk
One of the most important risks of knowledge base is the risk of data protection.
Moreover, the knowledge stored in the knowledge base is highly sensible for the organization. In
such situation, if the stored information gets accessed by any unethical users, then it can harm the
organization. In such situation, the organization should be much concerned about the security
and data protection with high level of authentication process. It can protect the valuable
organizational information from unauthentic user access. On the other hand, loss of information
from the knowledge base without any backup can lead to permanent loss of valuable
organizational information. In such situation, the organization should install backup system for
permanent storage of the valuable information. Karney highlighted another problem of
knowledge base, which is risk of wrong or irrelevant information stored in the knowledge Base.
Moreover, the effectiveness of knowledge base is largely dependent on the close attention of the
knowledge developers on the actual organizational problems faced by the dealers and not on
their own ideas. Hence, the knowledge developers should post relevant knowledge based on the
actual problems of the organization.

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Question 7: Knowledge Management with PPO Customers’ Initiative
The prototype of knowledge base system has been used several times for demonstrating
the concept of knowledge management with PPO customers. However, the system initiatives did
not succeed in the organization. Moreover, the goal of the PPO Customers’ Initiative was overly
ambitious. The goal of such initiatives was proved to be overly ambitious. Such overly ambitious
goal of the initiative was beyond the understanding of the users. The users demonstrated less
willingness to utilize such initiatives for enhancing their knowledge level about the organization.
Hence, the system was never built in the organization.
Question 8: 3 Projects of PPO Group, Risk and Ways to Overcome Risk
HP is currently working on three projects of PPO group. The 1st project is related to
competitor information regarding HP’s component group. The 2nd project is related to creation of
web based interface for primary and secondary research information. The 3rd project is related to
management of international marketing intelligence. HP can face the issues regarding the
unauthentic access to the competitor information and international marketing intelligence. The
illegal and unauthentic access to the competitor data and international marketing intelligence can
lead to legal risk for the organization. Hence, the organization should assure legal process for
accessing the competitor information. Moreover, the organization should manage fair project for
accessing the information about the competitors.
On the other hand, implementation of international marketing intelligence can be very
costly for the organization. Furthermore, overseeing the knowledge management issues in
international marketing intelligence can be at high risk. Therefore, the organization should be
highly concerned about structure of these projects. Proper structuring of these projects can

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reduce the risk of its implementation. Unauthentic access to the project information can be a
significant risk for these projects. Unauthentic access to the vital project information can have
harmful affect on the organization. In case of web based interface to primary and secondary
information, the organization can face the risk of accessing biased information from the target
audience. Technical breakthrough can also lead to ineffective access to the primary and
secondary information. Therefore, the organization should encourage more target audience to put
their information through the interface. It will reduce the biasness risk of the project.
Furthermore, the organization should also be concerned about the technical efficiencies in
implementing this project for avoiding technical breakthrough risks.

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Bibliography
Alegre, Sengupta & Lapiedra, a., 2013. Knowledge management and innovation performance in
a high-tech SMEs industry. International Small Business Journal, 31(4), pp. 454-470.
Davenport, 1998. If only HP knew what HP knows.. Perspective on Business Innovation, 1(1),
pp. 20-25.
Jiménez-Jiménez, Martínez-Costa & Sanz-Valle, a., 2014. Knowledge management practices for
innovation: a multinational corporation’s perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(5),
pp. 905-918.
Kim, Lee, Chun & Benbasat, a., 2014. Understanding the effect of knowledge management
strategies on knowledge management performance: A contingency perspective. Information &
management, 51(4), pp. 398-416.
Lai, et al., 2014. The effects of industry cluster knowledge management on innovation
performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), pp. 734-739.
Reich, Gemino & Sauer, a., 2014. International Journal of Project Management. International
Journal of Project Management, 32(4), pp. 590-602.
Todorović, et al., 2015. Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach in
project management.. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), pp. 772-783.