Dada Adefolami

DRIVING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplinary approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge

The core issue when considering knowledge management is how to get people to share their knowledge. The easiest methods are through traditional rewards, such as pay, incentives, benefits, stocks, profits, and commissions or alternatively, through learning opportunities.

An additional issue is to examine why we want people to share their knowledge, and to explain the value derived from the sharing. The primary reason for knowledge sharing is that customers are looking for value and companies have to provide value propositions. They need to provide what the customer actually wants, not what the company thinks the customer requires, offering improved value and thereby creating new markets.

With this value proposition perspective, a number of large companies have incorporated and embedded the management of knowledge within their systems, thereby increasing the value it can make for the organization and, therefore, the customer. Not all knowledge management requires technology.

To derive the best value, it requires management of the knowledge, the managers, and the employees in combination. Examples of value innovation occurring without new technology have happened in a number of places, as follows:

The basic purpose of knowledge management is to enable an organization to leverage the knowledge and in turn improve productivity. The hype that surrounds the concept of knowledge management has made it even more difficult to manage and deploy to attain better business results

THE CREATIVE ORGANISATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge develops concept; innovation is the product of creative instinct and imaginative thinking; organizational learning eventually creates core competence of the organization. Knowledge is essential for innovation which creates competitive advantage by using core competence of the organization.

The organizational cultural change required to facilitate the focus, development and application of organizational knowledge should include the development of an environment where innovation and creativity operate together.

Companies are driving towards creativity and innovation. Trends suggest that the knowledge economy is rapidly being transformed into the creativity economy. As more high-level knowledge work is outsourced to less developed countries, companies in the US, Europe, and Japan are at the next level of generating economic value from creativity, imagination, and innovation.

Organizations are facing the need to change quickly and dramatically in order to survive, recognizing ‘the need for greater product and service innovation to keep pace with technological and societal advances and compete with the growing power of companies in China and other developing countries, rather than focusing on ways to improve efficiency and cut costs. Today’s companies are renovating for creativity

The characteristics of creative organizations correspond to those of individuals. Creative organizations are loosely structured. People find themselves in a situation of ambiguity, where assignments are vague, jobs and roles overlap, tasks can be poorly defined, and much work is done through teams.

Variety is important, and managers strive to involve employees in a varied range of projects, so that people are not stuck in the rhythm of routine jobs, and they drive out the fear of making mistakes that can inhibit creative thinking.

Creative organizations have an internal culture of playfulness, freedom, challenge, and grassroots participation. They harness all potential sources of new ideas as sources for knowledge management. These strategies allow the freedom to discuss ideas, and as projects are seen as long term, resources are allocated without immediate payoff.

This creative approach, as with any other policy around new product development, must be incorporated into the overall company/business strategy. It must also be aligned with a knowledge management strategy, which a company should have to gain the value evolving within the idea generating process, as well as the knowledge that emerges. This allows creativity to lead to innovation and, in addition, to product or service development and delivery.

In terms of the value to be gained, the strategy also needs to include the process of valuation, and the valuation methods and perspectives used to evaluate need to be considered.

As a Management Consultant, you will need to understand that knowledge – its management, optimization and valuation requires focus if it is to be the basis of market success or failure. It is already an area that is being measured in terms of its contribution to the existence of an organization, and it is therefore a critical success factor, if not already an unrecognized core competence. Talent and knowledge are an organization’s capabilities and abilities. Talent as capability and knowledge as ability, requires management.

• Dada Suraju Adefolami, FIMC, CMC. Professor of Finance, School of Business Administration, UNEM University Costa Rica, is a Finance / Management Consultant and Certified Forensic Accountant. You can reach him via: [email protected]; 08052043855