Knowledge management spreading worldwide but companies need to develop better goals

Citation

(1999), "Knowledge management spreading worldwide but companies need to develop better goals", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 23 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.1999.00323iab.011

Knowledge management spreading worldwide but companies need to develop better goals

Keywords: Knowledge management, Human resources, Organizational development

The majority of today’s companies are using knowledge management (KM) programmes and almost all say they will increase these efforts over the next five years, according to a new study by the Conference Board.

The study is based on a Conference Board survey, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, of 150 top executives of 96 leading companies (83 per cent USA, 14 per cent Europe, 3 per cent Asia Pacific).

Of the surveyed companies 82 per cent said they are involved in knowledge management activities. The study defines knowledge management as an integrated systematic approach to identifying, managing and sharing all of an enterprise’s information assets, including databases, documents, policies and procedures, as well as previously articulated expertise and experience held by individual workers.

In addition, 97 per cent of companies say they would be involved with knowledge management at some level within five years, and 63 per cent say they think such activities would be an enterprise-wide practice within five years.

“Knowledge management is about new ways to work”, says Brian Hackett, senior research associate, at the Conference Board and author of the report. “While many organizations recognize the importance of knowledge management, few have developed integrated programmes which directly link to their business strategy and to the goal of deeper customer relationships.”

Of companies, 15 per cent surveyed said they have no clear goals for their knowledge management initiatives. In addition, many survey participants say human resources programmes in key areas such as compensation, retention, recruiting and career development are not tied to knowledge management efforts.

The main obstacles for most firms is that the need to manage knowledge is not clearly articulated. Hackett says an organization must have a working definition of knowledge before it can attempt to manage it. Of the 82 per cent of companies surveyed with knowledge management involvement, only 15 per cent said their company has specific, stated goals for their objectives.

Of surveyed companies, 39 per cent cited increasing collaboration within the company as the primary goal for their knowledge management efforts. Other objectives: increasing productivity and reusing existing knowledge (18 per cent); transferring individual employee knowledge (10 per cent); improving decision making (7 per cent); increasing innovation (7 per cent); and transferring customer knowledge (4 per cent).

While 17 per cent of survey participants said HR should now focus on KM initiatives on changing the organizational culture, 60 per cent said they should begin to do so within the next five years. Other areas mentioned as necessary focal points included leadership support, better rewards and incentives, perception of need of knowledge management, technology for sharing, globalization, collaboration between functions, financial support, customer expectations, cultural diversity, and environment for sharing.

Research and development, marketing, customer service and strategic planning provide the leadership and implementation of knowledge management programmes. Only 27 per cent of companies surveyed have a chief knowledge officer or an equivalent position. Most respondents agree that knowledge management programmes are most effective when learning is integrated into everyone’s job.

Mark Koskiniemi, of Buckman Labs, a leader in knowledge management programmes, said: “Contributing to the solution of customer challenges through our knowledge-sharing tools is part of everyone’s responsibilities and makes up part of the ‘universal’ expectations we have for all our associates”.

Companies participating in the Conference Board survey included Alcoa, Buckman Labs, Chevron, Colgate-Palmolive, IBM, Nortel, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Saturn, Steelcase, Toyota, and Union Bank of Switzerland.

Further information from Brian Hackett, Senior Research Associate, The Conference Board, 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022-6679, USA. Tel: +1 212/339 0367. Fax: +1 212/980 7014. E-mail: hackett@conference-board.org. Website: www.conference-board.org