HRD and Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is the formal and structured access to experience, knowledge and expertise that leads to creation of new capabilities within the organizations. It enables superior performance and encourages innovation within the organizations and allows them to function effectively,. In today's changing scenario, knowledge management is essential to make the organization creative and productive. Knowledge management involves people, technology, and processes in overlapping parts. Knowledge is today becoming increasingly relevant for organizations because of the shift from an industrial economy based on assembly lines and hierarchical control to a global decentralized, technology-driven economy. Knowledge management is the process of capturing and making use of an organization's competency existing in documents, in databases (called explicit knowledge) or in people's heads (called tacit knowledge). It is the fuel or raw material for creativity and innovation-the only competitive advantage that can sustain a company in today's unpredictable business environment.
Significant proportion of knowledge in organizations is in a tacit form which means that it is human resource within the organization that controls knowledge. The big challenge facing any organization is to manage this human capital to use their knowledge for the benefit of their organizations. Organizations themselves have to put systems and processes in place to encourage their employees to not only use but to create and transfer, and in some cases codify, their knowledge to make their organization knowledge-driven (in order to allow them to benefit from their own experience). Tacit knowledge of an individual can be transferred to tacit knowledge of a team or a group by conversations, dialogue, mentoring and face to face meetings within the organization. The people have to be encouraged to acquire the new talent of transferring knowledge within the department or organization. It is essential for Human Resource Development professionals to provide training in the skills of managing knowledge in order to enable employees to transfer knowledge.
Once the knowledge is transferred from one individual to another individual or a team, it is still in the form of tacit knowledge. To make such knowledge explicit systems and processes have to be put in place to bring about desired transformation within the organization. Technology in this case can play an effective role. Human Resource Development professionals have to ensure that essential knowledge is not only transferred but also preserved and people and organization start benefiting from it.
Managing knowledge effectively involves the creation of a thriving environment within the organization that would facilitate knowledge use, creation and transfer. It is all about developing talent at individual and organizational level and ultimately leads to employee empowerment.
Source: Dr. Deepak Sharma , Dean - Academics ,Techno-Institute of Management Sciences, Lucknow
Date: 10th September, 2010
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