KM - Knowledge Management
p.34 McFayden and Canella (2004) suggest that knowledge may
be the only or one of the most important sources of competitive advantage available to an organization in
the 21st century.
p.35 So, how does one gain and manage new knowledge? The literature
suggests that knowledge can only be extracted from the experience of individuals and can only be employed through the skills
of individuals.
p.36 Unquestionably, the central issue in KM has been the ability
to bring relevant and valid new knowledge to bear at will... Simply put, KM is the process of figuring out what information
an organization has that can boost its advantages, and making that information available to its people. However,
without formal KM processes in place, the knowledge that has accumulated might never be discovered or passed along
or shared.
p.36 Lelic (2004), editor of Knowledge Management magazine... adds
that one way an organization is able to differentiate itself from its rivals is by implementing truly innovative ideas.
p.37 Firestone and McElroy suggest, "the new KM focuses on the whole
of knowledge processing, both knowledge integration (including sharing) and knowledge production"
p.38 Buckman suggests: The enterprise’s competitiveness
and profitability depends directly on the competitive quality of its knowledge assets and the successful application
of these assets in all business activities; that is, the realization of the value of knowledge
assets in conducting work and in other ways of leveraging these assets.
p.38 In order for KM [Knowledge Management]
to have a meaningful and successful future, KM should drive the strategy formulation.
p.39 Competitive advantage may come, among other organizational
activities, from or through faster learning, sustained innovation, reduced cycle times, improved sensitivity and co-evolution
with markets, or a unique blend of technology and practice. However, KM [Knowledge Management] can play
a key role in all these aspects. The key to a successful KM initiative is a shared understanding
within the firm of exactly what aspects of knowledge are important and open communications to take advantage
of tacit knowledge and insights. A culture that allows failure, learns from mistakes, and appreciates
the fundamental role of knowledge, as a strategic driver in the sustainable effort to create competitive advantage, is also
important to organizations.
p.39 Hamel and Prahalad (1990) recommend that organizations
combine these two sources to create core competencies. They define the core competencies as the activities in which
firms excel over their competitors and are impossible for the competitors to copy.
p.39 Since knowledge can become obsolete over time,
capturing and using existing knowledge to predict the future can be woefully wrong. Using old knowledge to predict
the future is predisposed to failure. In order to take advantage of this remaining competitive resource, organizations
need to create new knowledge. The process of creating new knowledge can start by using well-defined
business and competitive intelligence-gathering processes. The newly gathered business and competitive
intelligence can then be converted into new knowledge... Competitors can replicate and take away all sources but
the knowledge an organization created and processed. Cumulatively, the new knowledge-creating process can help organizations
gain long-running, sustainable competitive advantage.
