What impact does knowledge have in your company? In this article you will learn why knowledge management is not only a topic for the IT department, but - if implemented correctly - can be beneficial for the whole organization.
Knowledge Management (Part 2): Why It Is Necessary to Manage Your Company’s Knowledge
Annalena Simonis, Wednesday 08 April 2020 | Reading time: 4 min.The last blog post examined the most important basic terms about knowledge. This week's focus lies on the benefits you can gain from a well-maintained knowledge management system and which goals you should set yourself for a successful implementation in the short or long term:
What are the goals of knowledge management?
The fundamental goal of knowledge management is to convert individual and existing knowledge into business value. Having a lot of knowhow gives you an edge, as it facilitates innovation which gives the company a competitive advantage and increases its competitiveness on the market. There are three different objectives in knowledge management: normative, strategic and operational.
Normative goals in knowledge management focus on the organizational structure and processes as well as the corporate culture. They form the guidelines of knowledge management.
- Example: Creating a pleasant working atmosphere for employees in which they are willing to share their knowledge.
Strategic goals are long-term activities that are linked to the corporate goals. The resource knowledge should be actively managed and integrated into existing processes.
- Example: Choosing a system that everyone understands and is accessible to everyone and defining certain processes and rules for the documentation and access of data.
Operational goals of knowledge management describe the realization of strategic goals in everyday business. They are used to formulate concrete implementation steps.
- Example: Integration of System X and training of employee.
As a result, a holistic concept must be developed which combines technology as a foundation of flexible management, the organization as the place of method development and the employees as supporters of an active knowledge culture.
Why should you manage your knowledge?
Despite the initial high expenditures, the introduction of an organized knowledge management is worth the effort. In the long term, your company can benefit greatly from it and improve in many areas. Above all, you can improve your products and processes because your employees have access to clearly structured knowledge. Besides seemingly minor changes such as increased transparency or better information exchange, you will also find further potential for quality management, customer satisfaction and competitiveness. All in all, your company can only benefit from knowledge management. While knowledge management doesn’t only have advantages, it is slowly but surely becoming a necessity in today's world.
Knowledge as a resource is developing rapidly in today's world and is facing new challenges. Available knowledge increases exponentially. Due to the fast progressing of digitalization, everyone has almost unlimited access to information at any time. Companies can use this for their own benefit. Knowledge is the most important production factor in a time when classical production factors seem to be exhausted. With more and better knowledge, your employees can react to market changes more quickly. At the same time, you should always make sure that the information is always up to date. The half-life of our knowledge is shortening rapidly due to fast changing trends. You should also keep in mind that sooner or later demographic change will also affect your company. At that point, relevant and important knowledge should be able to be safely passed on to the new generation.
Structured knowledge management can only bring benefits to your company. The knowledge of a group is always greater than the sum of an individual's knowledge. The consolidation of knowledge within the team increases the ability to solve problems for your entire company.