Knowledge M Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s economy, corporations are constantly seeking was to achieve faster decision making, higher levels of product, better service, and process innovation to gain competitive advantage over other corporations. Various information technologies have been adapted in to corporation’s business plans in order to optimize competitive advantage. However, with the increase in competition, information technology’s applications in business no longer serve as a great advantage. The need for new business strategies arises along with the emergence of the knowledge society (Styhre, 2003) having information is no longer a source of competitive advantage. In today’s business environment, organizational knowledge is recognized as a significant source of competitive advantage, how quickly organizations determines knowledge and creates value out of it determines its competitiveness. (Shukla) In an economy where the only certainty is uncertainty, the one sure source of competitive advantage is knowledge. When markets shift, technologies proliferate, competitors multiply, and products become obsolete almost overnight, successful companies are those that consistently create new knowledge, disseminate it widely throughout the organization, and quickly embody it in new technologies and products. -Harvard Business Review (1998) Knowledge management is a business strategy that identifies, organizes and shares information essential to the company so it can be applied to optimize business performance. The content of this paper provides the fundamental concepts to the practice of Knowledge Management and how it should be applied. Explanation of the technology, its application in business, benefits, and the essentials of designing a knowledge management program are introduced and explained in further details. Knowledge Management: Technology and Trends   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The practice of knowledge management is often confused with information management. So what is knowledge management? And exactly how should it work? B. Begeron (2003) defines knowledge management as â€Å"the ability to selectively capture, archive, and access the best practices of work-related knowledge and decision making from employees and managers for both individual and group behaviors.† Knowledge management is still a relatively new practice in business organi... ...pplications. (Santosus, 2002) Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowledge management, being a relevantly new practice in business organizations, requires a great deal of planning and setting systematic knowledge management program according to the organization’s business goals. Several factors must be applied to building a successful knowledge management program: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leadership is essential. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Training and reeducating of knowledge workers is the key to increasing the organization’s assets 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business goal must be set and expectations must be managed. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowledge management depends on information technology. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowledge management is a constantly evolving process. If a knowledge management program is designed and applied accordingly, beneficial results would occur. We can conclude that knowledge management, instead of being applied as a technology based concept, it should be applied as a daily business practice of sharing information among employees and departments in order to properly import knowledge in to use when it is needed