Critical Evaluation of the Benefits and Limitations of Using Ict in Knowledge Management Processes

In order to manage knowledge successfully, it is essential to clarify the essence of knowledge before identifying the importance of knowledge management. The perception of knowledge has been varied broadly; however, one of the generally accepted defintion is from Davenport and Prusak (1998). According to their points of view, knowledge is defined as a set of experience and values, it either comes from individuals ' mind or roots in the organisation, which can be found in the documents, routines, practices and norms, and is assumed to flow between individuals through various networks, being used to assess and embody new

Knowledge is considered as one of the most important and competitive resource for sustenance of the organisation (Zack, 1999). It can be compared to the strategic resource that can be used and applied in various frames of the organisation. Experienced managers in the organisations believe that company can receive strategic advantage through knowledge and not the strategies or actions implemented by competitors. Knowledge can be regarded as a strong approach that opens numerous ways of success. It is that weapon that help organisation to evaluate solutions in financial and other professional difficulties.

Knowledge management was defined as the turning of information into actionable knowledge which can be accessed by people who can apply it. Robbins (2003) gives a time perspective in his definition of knowledge management. He mentions as part of knowledge management the distribution of the right information to the right people at the right time. Lytras et al (2002) gives a definition of knowledge management which emphasises the purpose of knowledge management. In the definition creation of new capabilities, enablement for superior performance, encouraging innovation and enhancement of customer value were mentioned. For the purpose of this study the researcher summarised knowledge management as the intentional process of coordinating people, technology and systems to optimise creation and sharing of intellectual

The superior capabilities of knowledge management systems provide an opportunity for the business to engage the most effective components and recognize the importance of communication to make informed, accurate decisions (McGrath, 2001). This system can organize the company’s knowledge resources, knowledge obtaining, organizing, and applying to make a sound routine the will enforce effectiveness (Niu, 2008). The dynamic function of knowledge management to create, capture, and apply knowledge to achieve an organization’s objective will allow them to be more profitable and successful (Zucker, 1986). In addition to increasing profits, the system can be also used to reduce costs and enhance research and development (DeTienne & Jackson, 2001). With all of these advantages, it would be wasteful for a company to not employ knowledge management. As seen in the Discovery Communications, Inc. example, the company can attribute their new productivity levels and increase in ease of securing documents to the knowledge management system that put into place by Carefree Technology. Like Discovery Communications, Inc., knowledge management is so popular today because companies can collect, process and share knowledge to ignite employees ' creativity which in turn will make the business grow. Wenhong and Jianhua (2009) explained the core of knowledge management is to convert company’s knowledge resources into an increased company

While Knowledge Management (KM) is important in any business however, there is no real agreed upon definition. KM is a concept that includes the

In a modernized and globalized world, knowledge creation and synergization of knowledge in an organization is truly crucial. As data and information are readily available, and information communication technology (ICT) has highly advanced, organizations such as B&Q need to understand how knowledge creation can assist to improve internal and external processes and also encourage innovation.

In many ways, this is nothing new at all. A firm 's knowledge--the brains of its employees, their know-how, the processes and customer knowledge that they create--has always been a source of competitive advantage. And by extension, so too has been knowledge management--the processes by which a firm creates and leverages knowledge. Whatis unique about the knowledge era is that knowledge is becoming the primary source of competitive advantage within a growing number of industries. Organizations from industrial-era industries, such as automobile manufacturing, to information-age industries such as consulting are recognizing that they each have a unique storehouse of knowledge, and that the future belongs to those that can grow their knowledge fastest and then apply and use it best.

Since the mid-1990s, knowledge management has become increasingly significant for business managers and companies. ‘It is broadly accepted that systematic knowledge management is tightly linked with gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.’ (Bogner & Bansal, 2007, p658-6 as cited in Hislop, 2009, p1) The definition of knowledge management is various because of the wide range of this concept and its complexity (Al-Hawamdeh, 2003). For example, the broad definition provided by McAdam and McCreedy (2000, p155 as cited in Hislop 2009, p53) note that: ‘KM relates to the management of anything classified as knowledge’ Furthermore, Hislop (2009, p59)

Call, D. (2005). Knowledge management - not rocket science. Journal of Knowledge Management. (April) p.19-30. [Online]. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.staffs.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.1108/13673270510590191 [Accessed: 20 November 2016].

Knowledge management refers to organising and sharing the various forms of business information created within an organisation (Marakas and O’Brien 2013). Knowledge management is important as it increases the capability of a firm to learn from its environment and to incorporate knowledge into its business processes (Laudon & Laudon 2014).

The tacit knowledge approach highlights understanding the sorts of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. One of the significant capabilities of competition is managing perceived intangible assets such as knowledge in organization. Besides managing this intangible asset of enterprises, another vital issue is considered as diffusion of knowledge within the organization. Knowledge resources can be divided into at least two different components depending on the possibility of structuring and coding the knowledge. The possibility to code and the externalization of knowledge is of essential importance to the diffusion of it according to some researchers, while other again considers the codifying unnecessary or of minor importance. Structured knowledge is often diffused by different systems for storing and sharing knowledge and today there has been much scientific interest in the technology of these systems. The most important feature of the tacit knowledge approach is the fundamental principle that knowledge is basically individual in nature and is

The authors claims of the study of knowledge management is about introducing change within a procedure which in turn is a way to back up the alliances of the projects and provide corporate sustainability. However, the study ended up being somewhat restricted because of

The ever increasing importance of knowledge in contemporary society calls for a shift in our thinking concerning innovation in business organisations – be it technical innovation, product or process innovation, or strategic or organizational innovation. It raises questions about how organizations process knowledge and, more importantly, how they create new knowledge. Innovation, which is a key form of organisational knowledge creation, cannot be explained sufficiently in terms of information processing or problem solving. Innovation can be better understood as a process in which the organisation creates and defines problems and then actively develops new knowledge to solve them (Nonaka 1994, p. 14). Davenport and Marchand suggest that: “whilst knowledge management does involve information management, beyond that it has two distinctive tasks: to facilitate the creation of new knowledge and to manage the way people share and apply it” (Davenport &

A knowledge is defined as a valuable intangible resource that need to be managed properly in order for an organization to gain advantage over their competitors, Birkinshaw and Sheehan (2002); Zyngier (2006). Knowledge transfer emphasized as “the movement of knowledge within the organization, it is a distinct experience not a gradual process of dissemination, and depends on the characteristics of everyone involve”, Szulanski (1996).

In this Era of Technology, many organizations mostly make use of two knowledge management strategies, they are explained below: