Harnessing Knowledge Management For A Competitive Advantage Essay

Knowledge management is defined by Sallis and Jones (2002), as “a systemic method for managing individual, group and organisational knowledge using the appropriate means and technology”. In short, it involves various fields of expertise in achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge at the same time.

Ministry of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy, and Investment Promotion 2002,National strategy For small and Medium Enterprise Sector Development In Sri Lanka

Chapter 12 generally discusses the various processes that assist in managing business knowledge. The author of this chapter demonstrates clearly to the readers how knowledge management is closely related to information systems in three unique ways. The author also gives a clear explanation on why data, knowledge, and information should not in any way be viewed as interchangeable in any way. According to this chapter, knowledge is considered to be more valuable as compared to information that is more valuable as compared data due to the level of human contribution that is involved. The chapter on “managing business knowledge” elaborates on the two forms of knowledge that include explicit and tacit categories.

Knowledge Management (KM) is described as a systematic process of sharing, reusing and managing the knowledge only when it is made available and recorded (Jashapara, 2005). This helps an organization to gain insight and understanding for own experience (Remus, 2012). Most of the KM activities

Small businesses play a vital role within the economy, for example even though most small businesses don’t have many employees those that do are able to employ millions of people and they are able to create at least 60% of new jobs (Williams, 2013). However in 2013 the report suggests that small firms account for 99.9% of businesses within the UK economy (Gov.uk, 2013). Small businesses are able to provide “33% of private sector turnover” found by Federation of Small Business figures cited in Williams, 2013. Small businesses are also able to create 65% of new jobs (see appendix 1). The great thing about small businesses is the new innovation that it comes with, they are able to provide new products

In order to understand knowledge management, it is important to start by defining what knowledge is. Knowledge is the full utilization of information and data, coupled with the potential of people's skills, competencies, ideas, intuitions, commitments and motivations. In today’s dynamic and complex business environment, the desire for knowledge has increased even more with the scope and content changed dramatically, often spreading outside the organization.

The term knowledge management has become common in businesses throughout the world. Despite its increased prevalence, there remains a large degree of confusion concerning the applied definition of what knowledge management is. Within the knowledge management community, attempts at defining this elusive term appear to be in constant flux. However, a basic description of what constitutes

Adoption of Knowledge management systems as an IS /IT business strategy by SME’s in Kenya.

Recent empirical studies have found support for the direct impact of knowledge on performance (e.g., Applyard, 1996; Decarolis and Deeds, 1999; Yeoh and Roth, 1999), Vera and Crossan (2003) suggest that the conclusion from these studies is not that more knowledge leads to greater performance, but the knowledge that is relevant may have positive effects on the organization performance. Therefore, knowledge management (KM) has been introduced to manage the relevant knowledge.

The findings of this research cleared conceptualization of KM activities and a guide to using social capital to support those activities within organisations. This study made significant contributions across multiple areas of knowledge management research. This section demonstrates the significance of this study through giving further details about the contributions that it makes to theory, transference, and practice.

The purpose of this journal to critically evaluate the issues facing small business owners in the pursuit of business growth with recommendations as to how government policy might be informed to support SMEs to achieve their growth objectives. It will be highlight by innovation through this journal.

The purpose of the small and medium enterprises in ensuring its prospect future through growth is not only about doing further business or making more money or acquiring greater kudos through larger size. Where knowledge management maturity is high, there the firms are realizing handsome profits and significant increase in growth. Growth is a strategy that basically addresses the question of unsafe and doubtful environments, with the help of attainment of greater influence over the environment within which the enterprise works. In the European economy, SME’s are recognized as the primary players. SME’s in Spain, signify that from all registered businesses which are more than 99.8%, almost 70% of the employment and make the contribution 65%

© Care International in Kenya FeBrUarY 2010 Content and editing Paul Gachie - CARE International in Kenya Wario Chege – Setpro Consult, Nairobi Illustrations Elijah Njoroge Design & layout Peter Cheseret, Nairobi

According to a survey on the Brazil economy, Haner (2011) showed that a major contribution to the growth of the Brazilian economy is due to the impact of the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). It is estimated that the SMEs account for 20% of the Gross domestic product (GDP) and 54% of total formal employment in the country (Office of Evaluation and Oversight [OVE] 2014). SMEs also play an important role in the economic development in Malaysia accounting for 33% of GDP, 58% of employment and 19% of export (Hashim 2015). There is a higher survival rate of SMEs in Malaysia with 97.3% of business establishments recognised as SMEs (Khalique 2011; Lim & Xavier 2015).

It is widely known that small and medium scale enterprises play an important role on the vitality of local economies around the globe. SME's are to be