Introduction:
This essay focuses on the significance of Information systems in a knowledge-based organisation in footings of Innovation and efficiency. The essay besides emphasises on the extent to which the information systems can get the better of some of the cognition direction issues faced by these administrations.
Recently, direction of cognition assets in an administration has gained more importance because of the better public presentation and consequences that can be achieved out of it. Besides, the cognition direction assets and its effectual use are critical for a company ‘s success, in footings of supplying greater benefits to its clients with a competitory advantage. Knowledge being the competitory characteristic for many corporations, in world it is considered to be the impulsive factor for continued development of powerful methods and tools. ( Wiig K. M, 1997 ).
Keywords: Knowledge, Tacit cognition, expressed cognition, Knowledge direction systems, Information systems, cognition transition.
Current tendencies in Knowledge based organisations:
In the current period, Innovation poses much greater challenges for pull offing cognition work. This is fundamentally due to the monolithic growing in the service sector. The force per unit area to develop, non merely new merchandises and engineerings, but besides new ways of covering with switching user demands and demands, frequently on a planetary graduated table, are significantly greater now than in old ages by. Invention is non about contriving new signifier of cognition but, how best and how otherwise to utilize the available cognition and set them into usage. Invention denotes luxuriant cognition direction procedures of identifying and utilizing thoughts, tools, and chances to make new or enhanced merchandises or services ( Subramaniam and Youndt 2005 ).This illustrates that with better cognition direction, there is more innovation.But, the major challenge here is, how to utilize the right information and transform it into utile cognition for organisation ‘s growing. Hence, some of the organisations face troubles in pull offing the cognition decently in footings of efficiency. This can be addressed by using some of the best patterns that can been fostered by Information systems.
Definition of Knowledge:
To get down with, we need to understand the definition of cognition in footings of an organisation position and besides separate the types of cognition such as silent cognition and explicit cognition that are indispensable to be diffused in organisation procedures and patterns.
Knowledge can be defined as “ A unstable mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a model for measuring and integrating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the heads of apprehenders. In organisations, it frequently becomes embedded non merely in paperss or depositories but al-so in organisational modus operandis, procedures, patterns, and norms. ” Tom Davenport and Laurence Prusak, ( 1998, p.10 ). This indicates that cognition plays a critical function in an organisation and is the impulsive factor for many knowledge-based organisations. Explicit cognition is the cognition that can be articulated whereas Tacit cognition is the cognition that can non be articulated. Therefore, any cognition has to be identified, captured, stored, interpreted and used suitably at the right clip. It is non easy possible for a cognition worker to reassign the silent cognition possessed as tacit cognition is something that emerges from the experience of the worker. In most of the knowledge-based companies there happens an interaction between this tacit and expressed cognition. This is called as ‘Knowledge transition ‘.
Importance of Knowledge Management:
In today ‘s scenario, where companies are endeavoring to make complex merchandises and services, it is imperative for the companies to unify the cognition from diverse state accomplishments. ( Leonard, D. Sensiper, and S.1998 ).The organisation should larn to keep a balance between the tacit and expressed cognition. As Wah ( 1999 ) provinces, ‘the cognition direction is of import for an administration to leverage and recycle resources that already exist in the administration so that people seek out best patterns instead than reinvent the wheel ‘. Irrespective of any industry or sphere, most of the companies today are showing the cognition direction patterns in their undertakings chiefly to make cognition beginnings, better its entree and heighten the cognition environment ( Davenport, T. H., D. W. DeLong and M. C. Beers 1998 ).Knowledge is being recognised as the most of import resource in many administration. ( Ipe, M., 2003 ).
Knowledge sharing patterns in administrations:
In many organisations, Knowledge sharing is straight linked to the cognition creative activity, organisational acquisition and public presentation accomplishment. Knowledge sharing within undertakings has been adopted to absorb the cognition throughout the administration suitably and to avoid reinvention of cognition. This is usually implemented with the aid of information engineering, such as databases, seminars, engineering carnivals, electronic mails and groupware. This enables the cognition sharing behaviors to be recorded, and many organisations even try to formalize that cognition.
For illustration, in Infosys engineerings ( the second largest IT company in India ), there is a database system for cognition direction called ‘K-Shop ‘ which can be accessed by any employee at any clip through the company ‘s intranet. The k-shop will be helpful for any undertaking mention or public presentation direction counsel and even instance surveies of critical undertakings. The employees can besides subject their ain paperss to portion their cognition with other employees. Basically, the intent of this cognition sharing pattern is to reassign the cognition that exists in one portion of the administration to be used in another portion of the organisation. ( Dixon, N. M., 2001 ).
Apart from this, cognition sharing is besides practised by carry oning several Sessionss and quizzes to guarantee that there is an appropriate degree of expertness among the squad members in a undertaking. Having worked as a cognition direction prime for a squad of 20 members, I understood that cognition direction is really of import for a undertaking to be executed successfully. I have conducted several health care sphere Sessionss and besides enabled all the squad members to take part by sharing their cognition on several healthcare subjects during the Sessionss. So, the inquiry that arises here is what is the benefit for an employee by sharing cognition? What is the motive factor behind the employees to proactively portion their cognition to better the company ‘s public presentation as a whole?
Predominantly, many administrations utilise the wages systems to promote the employees to portion their cognition with others. Similarly, in Infosys, the public presentation of an employee is besides evaluated based on the figure of cognition sharing paperss the employee has created during a period. This provides a motive for the employee to show his/her public presentation during the appraisal presentation. ( Bartol, K. M. Srivastava, A., 2002 ).
Like the single public presentation, squad public presentation is besides every bit of import in footings of cognition sharing. This can be influenced by inducements provided by the company. Therefore, the employees in a squad are motivated to portion their cognition among the other squad members in order to accomplish the squad based wagess ( Bartol, K. M. Srivastava, A., 2002 ). Therefore, the employees are encouraged to be advanced, which is important for economic public presentation. Osterloh and Frey ( 1997 ) argue that in order to reassign the silent cognition from one individual to another, the individual must hold a motive from within.
Knowledge direction in footings of Innovation and efficiency:
In many organisations, invention is seen as a rational procedure, where the cognition direction patterns are followed based on the regulations defined. Invention is created based on determinations made by the organisations to follow new signifiers. But, this construct is really deceptive in footings of efficiency. It is through the cognition depository that the company is able to introduce new merchandises and services in order to hold a competitory advantage over the others.
It has been observed that, Knowledge sharing besides happens through informal interactions and the emerging communities of pattern in organisations. However, these methods of cognition sharing are non controlled by the organisation. In malice of roll uping cognition utilizing engineering, there does n’t look to be a large difference in administration efficiency in footings of cognition sharing. ( Newell, S. Bresnen, M. Edelman, L. Scarbrough, H. Swan, J., 2006 ).Although there are effectual procedure based tools such as activity based costing, concern procedure reengineering and Entire Quality direction to mensurate the efficiency of employees and administration as a whole, there are many unseeable webs that are non being identified by these tools.These unseeable webs help the employees perform their undertakings across functional, hierarchal and concern unit boundaries. ( Cross, R. L. Martin, R. D. Weiss, L. M., 2006 ).This is chiefly because, a drastic addition in globalization of administrations and specialisation of cognition – based work has required coaction within and among organisations to be really important for its growing.
However, this sharing of cognition among employees across boundaries has non been really effectual. This besides happens chiefly due to the inability of the administration to place its webs and efficaciously map them for collaborative activities which in bend would assist the organisation to cut down complexness, redefine functions and apportion the resources suitably and supply efficient client service.
So, the job arises when the company concentrates more on the procedure of placing competency types and degrees, specifying competences needed for peculiar occupations, and evaluation of persons ‘ public presentation based on the competences, and gives less attending to the implemented competence system. The systems built for invention is non back uping in footings of efficiency. Each and every twenty-four hours, new engineerings are acquiring added up with the organisation processes, design and scheme.
It is non plenty for the companies to merely map the interactions among assorted webs but they should besides be able to quantify the benefits and costs of coaction. ( Cross, R. L. Martin, R. D. Weiss, L. M., 2006 ). We need to convey the employees together as face-to-face and better the expertness in their corresponding specialised countries. Focus should be more on mapping the right expertness of people in right occupation at the right clip, alternatively of merely conveying the experts into the industry.
The information engineering systems that are presently available for cognition sharing competence are more of a rationalistic position. Although, these systems are productive in job-based organisations, for a more dynamic tendency presently, such as in cognition based organisations, there is demand for better IT support and best patterns for a competitory advantage. Harmonizing to Todd and Benbasat ( 2000 ), Information engineering can back up merely the job work outing undertakings, but certain undertakings that are usually covered in the implicit in determination job can non be identified with the proficient support. The IT applications will besides non be able to take the cultural barriers among the employee webs in an organisation.
This can be overcome by following some of the best patterns, while sharing knowledge the cognition internally and externally in an organization.The Information engineering has to be utilised in the most efficient manner to leverage cognition sharing. The reply to all these issues can be solved merely through efficient execution of information systems for cognition direction.
Knowledge direction systems refer to “ a category of information systems applied to pull offing organisational cognition. That is, they are IT-based systems developed to back up and heighten the organisational procedures of cognition creative activity, storage/retrieval, transportation, and application. ” ( Alavi, M. Leidner, D. E., 2001 ).
‘Knowledge as Procedures ‘ and non merely knowledge procedures:
It is understood that, it is rather hard to back up the cognition processes within an organisation with merely IT. IT systems are limited to its applications and functionalities in cognition direction undertakings. Whereas, if the same cognition itself is viewed as a procedure, the focal point is more on the single employees, their societal interactions and their acquisition in cognition creative activity.
“ Knowledge as procedure ” position claim to concentrate on the flows of cognition among people, instead than on cognition as an object to be stored, accessed, and reused via cognition direction procedures and cognition depositories ( Fahey and Prusak, 1998 ).
Role of Information systems in knowledge-based organisations:
In twentieth century, most of the organisations were following more of a rational and hierarchal attack. The occupations were already predefined and the employees were expected to execute merely the occupation assigned to them. There was no mark of cognition sharing during that clip. However, now the industrial revolution has been transformed significantly in footings of how the workers perform their occupation. ( Newell, S. 2009 ). In the twenty-first century, cognition working public presentation is one of the biggest direction challenges. ( Drucker, P. F., 2006 ).This indicates that cognition is now being created as a ‘community of pattern ‘ which delivers better consequences from the employees when they tend to work together as a squad. Assorted fortunes have to be considered while seeking to plan the information systems for better cognition direction.
Information systems should be designed in such a manner that, the cognition direction is good organized and supported. The systems should be able to place every person ‘s cognition activities and complement them. It should besides be able to heighten the cognition collectivity. To accomplish this, the information systems should be able to capture the cognition efficaciously from all the resources and transform it into productive consequences.
For case, if the cognition procedure involved in an organisation covers both the expertness as an person or as a group, so the Information systems should be flexible adequate to work in a broad scope of state of affairss. As described earlier, if the cognition procedure is more cognitive and deliberative, instead than really procedural, so the information systems should supply users with many options, must take advantage of the user ‘s cognition.
Presents, the workers in an organisation are seen as a really valuable resource in footings of the cognition they possess and their part to the company ‘s success. Therefore, alternatively of thought of occupations in footings of a comparatively fixed place occupied by a individual, it seems to be more suited to see the individual as a cognition resource working for an organisation ( cf., Lawler, 1994 ).Also, the cognition workers perform their function largely based on their ain experiences ( silent cognition ) and therefore, there is possibility for them to non wholly follow the modus operandi. As ( McClelland, 1973 ) provinces, Competence is comprehended as the relation between worlds and work undertakings, that is, the concern is non about cognition and accomplishments in itself, but what cognition and accomplishments are required to execute a specific occupation or undertaking in an efficient manner.
The traditional manner of pull offing the information systems nevertheless does non suite or is non plenty to cover with the current work pattern. It is indispensable that the current cognition based organisations must be based on a richer apprehension of competency including interest-driven on the job pattern.
Therefore, the cognition based organisations are required to continuously chiefly and develop their cognition depository to prolong their public presentation capableness. ( Nonaka, 1994 ).Knowledge workers are the chief performing artists in any cognition based company and as Starbuck ( 1992 ), describes the organization-individual relation could be described as ‘I wage you to believe and non merely to make ‘. For the past few old ages, the mentality of working form in cognition based industries has drastically changed from a narrow focal point of executing specific undertakings into a collaborative attempt made by squads with diverse accomplishments. This requires the squad to coherently work together in order to derive acknowledgment both separately every bit good as a squad. The organisation gathers batch of information, they do non implement decently at the right topographic point in the right clip. This is because the determination devising has non been followed decently. Although policies are implemented, there does n’t look to be any difference in its consequences. ( Choo, C. W.,1996 ).
The information systems portion in a concern is progressively going of import to a company ‘s success and fight. The cognition based administrations of twenty-first century are fundamentally distinguished by uninterrupted alterations in their procedure and patterns, unanticipated demands, uninterrupted acquisition and changeless demand for invention. This requires the company to invariably update with competence systems that are more dynamic and promising. The information systems should be able to place the real-time position of the organisations. ( Lindgren, R. Stenmark, D. Ljungberg, J., 2003 ).For case, to get the better of the web barriers among the employees in an administration, information engineering has to be used in the best suited manner like in the company where I worked, there is an online forum where the employees from different development Centres across the universe can raise their uncertainties and issues sing proficient and non-technical activities. The forum has been structured harmonizing to the different types of expertness.
Added to this, the application of models will besides assist the companies to develop new concern theoretical accounts based on its construction and concern environment that is by and large characterized by dynamic and extremist alterations. ( Malhotra Y, 2000 ).
Conversely, the possibility to place the human behavior by information systems has non been possible boulder clay now. Down the line, information engineering will be developing some synergistic information systems which can capture the human behavior. ( Kirk, Joyce,1999 ) Just by implementing sophisticated information systems does non convey a productive alteration in a cognition based company. The cognition direction should be able to convey out necessary alterations in organisational policies and patterns.
Decision:
Industries and organisations that follow the most systematic and successful methodological analysiss for a cognition – worker productiveness, are expected to be the leaders of the universe economic system in the following 50 old ages. ( Drucker, P. F., 2006 ). We can reason by stating that, the organisations can non accomplish the cognition direction benefit if they are merely technologically strong, they should besides be able to suitably aline their cultural and managerial elements utilizing Information systems. ( Alavi, M. Leidner, D. E., 2001 ). If the quality of the information and the system has been maintained, so decidedly the information systems will supply a positive impact on the person every bit good as the organisation as a whole.
