Knowledge Management and Why It Is Important in Business
Corporate knowledge acquisition and its use are seen as basic to the competitive advantage for an organization. Globalization has offered organizations the opportunity to seek operation sites and markets that were formerly not available. The opening of many closed markets around the world, the formation of the European Union and the fall of socialism and communism globally have changed the market dynamics and the emphasis on the needs and the wants of populations. Knowledge flow is also taking place in multiple directions due to the current trend of multiple global setups by organizations. The global population has become more mobile; skilled workers are constantly seeking new ways to improve their performance and standard of living. The main purpose of any knowledge management strategy is to "reduce errors, create less work, provides more independence in time and space for knowledge workers, generates fewer questions, produces better decisions, reinvents fewer wheels, advances customer relations, improves service, and develops profitability." (Karlsen and Gottschalk, 2004) Organizations are becoming more connected. Harnessing the global supply chain is seen everywhere. "Information technologies (IT), information systems (
IS), and e-business" are seen "as sources of added value and vectors of competitiveness." (Raymond, 2003) Ethical issues arise in organizations due to different social, cultural and economic factors. (Buller et al., 2000) Knowledge of the right as well as the wrong ways of doing business is essential. In spite of the race to form one united global market place, there are, and will continue to be, differences by which an organization or a market is evaluated. Organizational structures are also evolving and changing from very rigid hierarchical and bureaucratic to one where the levels of management between rank and file workers and executives are significantly decreasing. The worker is being encouraged to get more involved in the running of the organization. Human resource departments are also emphasizing the need to address the factors that drive employee motivation. The use of teams, especially virtual teams are also on the rise due to the distribution of various levels of capabilities of organizations in different locations. A virtual teams success depends on the ability of the individuals within the team to communicate. Communication channels are becoming more established and more interlinked. Transfer of information is fast and reliable; this enables workers to bridge the gap within any organization. Operations in many companies are becoming 24/7. This reduces turnaround- and lead-times. The use of software and the consolidation of legacy IT sy
Some common words found in the essay are:
Southeast Asia, China Japan, India China-two, European Union, Wall Street, Karlsen Gottschalk, , Japanese Chinese, virtual teams, global population, markets world, doing business, corporate knowledge, market share,
Approximate Word count = 995
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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