Case study
Kóródi Beton Kft
Knowledge Management
David Marozsan, Dóra Cseszlai, Ibrahim Agamirli, Sadia Yaguli, Ibolya Kalmár, Berkay

Content Intrduction 3 The company´s overview: 4 The company´s strategy: 5 Competition position: 6 Structure of the company: 6 Leadership: 7 Organizational structure: 8 Invisible Elements: 8 Visible elements: 8 The company´s environment: 8 Problem 9 Description of the problem: 9 Knowledge hoarding 9 Symptoms: 10 The background of this phenomenon: 10 Solution: 11 Why is this a solution? 11 Conclusion 13

Intrduction
In todays fast growing world as a business you have to be excited, pay attention and you have to be always one step ahead to your competitor. The collaboration within the company is very important. It is a complex task, which demands special knowledge. If this capability is missing, it is kind of difficult to experience the sweet taste of success. Fortunately you can acquire this knowledge by dedication.

Knowledge Management brings to mind many things to many people. The basic definition of KM is discussed, because defining KM is not a simple issue. It requires a culture that promotes faith and collectively sharing and thinking. But culture alone will not render a vital KM practice.

The selected company, Kóródi Attila Egyéni Vállalkozó, consists basically of 3 business areas: Transportation, production of concrete elements and branch operation in Mátészalka. Certainly there is another enterprise, K-kavics 3844 Kft, which is a part of the other company. It´s main operating area is the extraction of pits. These enterprises are not capable to perform without each other because after mining the company is responsible for the transportation. Due to different reasons the employees were employed just in part-time in former times. So the leader concluded to apply for unite both companies to one enterprise and to be capable to provide the employees beside permanent salaries, a permanent occupation as well.
According to a successful application, nowadays, the concrete plant belongs to K-kavics.

Knowledge has been the staple source of competitive advantage of some classic companies such as Coke, for hundreds of years, not exactly a new concept. Turbulently changing environments, rapidly evolving technologies, and a different breed of knowledge workers create the demand for an entirely new organizational structure that is process-oriented, team-based, and brain-rich but asset-poor. You have to face various obstacles within a company. You can list these obstacles in different categories. There are a lot of drivers of KM, for example, unlearning, tacit knowledge walkouts, knowledge hoarding, strategic alignment.
Due to the analysis of the company we can claim that the main obstacle is knowledge hoarding.
Videlicet (Before the application for the unification) the enterprise possessed 2 companies. Each company is equipped with different furniture and technical tools to do a good job. Within the company, the hierarchy system of the employees and their supervisor makes it possible to do a precise job. Based on these elements the working progress is properly. So the ‘’knowledge’’ exists but the leader is not capable to provide permanent occupation because pit mining is depending on the seasons. In this period of time the company has to be closed and suffers losses. The employees cannot utilize their knowledge for the company´s advantage. Due to this situation the management has to deal with the question how you can avoid this obstacles.

During our analysis we would like to assess with which tools and methods the leadership of the company is treating the problems.
After brief information about the company´s overview, we will follow with problems in the management whereby we will depict the details regarding knowledge management. Finally in the conclusion part we will consider the results.

The company´s overview:

As already mentioned above we intend to analyze 2 companies which are located at the same headquarter and has the same possessor. More specifically these companies complement each others work. The first company is Kóródi Attila Egyéni Vállalkozó which includes services like transportation, site concrete plant operation, and a limited liability company, K-Kavics 3844 Kft, which offers services like gravel production in the gravel pit in Tiszabecse.
The ‘’ self-employment’’ company (Kóród Attila) was established in 2002. At the beginning of his business there was no branch but he possessed a car at his apartment. After several years he just purchased his current branch and his main goal was the introduction of expansion of the service areas like transportation, concrete plant operation and finally the gavel pit. He also purchased two hangars where the concrete plant production takes place, which is essentially the solution for the challenges in this business but about that we are going to deal with later in more detail.

The company´s strategy:

Approximately 10 years ago transportation business and construction industry seemed to be one of the best investments. Due to this fact Kóródi Attila intended to establish his transportation company. For this establishment you need a branch, if you have one, there has to be goods on it. If there was gravel on it, it should be concrete thereof. For this reason he established K-Kavics 3844 Kft. The company is characterized that beside the A version there is always a B or C version he has to be concerned with. His plans are built on each other step by step. We can mention that the main character of the company is precision.
The slogan of the leader is the following:

‘’ Let´s do something precise or if not, we should not start.’’

A clean environment is a high priority that is the main feature of the company. It is very important for the leader that he collaborates with reliable employees.

‘’I just would like to hire that kind of employees which I can interview in person and I am content with the results.’’

Kóródi Attila is not interested in employees who are relayed by employee center services.

Competition position:

There were at least 3 companies dealing with the same business area but 1 closed already. So regionally, except of our company, there is still 1 concrete plant production company. The struggle for obtaining a competitive advantage is highly tense. Day by day both companies attempt to gain advantage by innovations. Due to he is acting in different business areas and decrees more mixed products, he might be in a winning position.

Structure of the company:

The employees of his company have the ability to cope with each task, this is very important to him. 1 employee is not just responsible for one assignment.
If a disease of an employee occurs, he is just asking for somebody else who can cover him.

‘’Everybody has his own role but ‘’in-house’’ I can regroup them. Everybody has the skills you need for this business that is important for this enterprise.

The structure of his business is divided in functional or geographical units but as already mentioned it can differ due to vacation or diseases.
In this case he just assign another employee to cope with the assignment.

Another important characteristic of the structure is centralization. That implies that the leader doesn’t emphasize the opinion of the employee. He is the only decision-maker. Everything has to be arranged the way he ordered.
‘’Basic structure’’ characterizes the company as well. There is just 1 leader, the rest are employees. If it is the case that the leader is on a business trip he is asking the employees in the office to order xy employee to attend to work. But this is just in case, if he is not in that emergency situation.

Leadership:

Due to the company´s structure you could pinpoint that the leadership is autocratic. The Leader´s opinion is the most important whereby actually the employees are not allowed to have an opinion. If he assigns an assignment to an employee he just wants to hear one sentence: ‘’Alright, I will do it!’’
More specifically the leader is characterized by focusing on the assignment. That implies that the leader is not concerned about the employee but the assignment.

’’ The way of humility and prowess!’’

The leader permanently observes the work of his employees respectively he can oversee in his office the way they are working with the aid of surveillance cameras. If someone is not capable to manage the assignment he is going to be discharged rapidly. The employees have to face these expectations already during the interview, so it might not be a surprise. The employees just apply for this job if they feel vigorous to deal with this situation that’s why the leader don’t have to reject employees often.

Organizational structure:

Invisible Elements:

In our opinion it can be mentioned that the employees are hired in a kind of rank system. More specifically, a new employee will be hired for a small position and if he is doing his job well, he can promote to a higher rank.

Visible elements:

The employees are dressed with uniforms on which the name of the company is depicted. The cars are equipped with Kóródi Beton stickers.

The company´s environment:

‘’Appearance is very important. I am cleanliness manic. The appearance is crucial for the business. It reflects the way you do your job. Who doesn’t care about his outward appearance he will not care about his job.’’- the leader said.

A good equipped office, quality furniture, designed couch that reflect the autocratic conduct of the leader. The branch is orderly, you can see that everything has its proper place where it is not in the way. All cars are parked next to each other parallel. The leader expects of the drivers that the cars are cleaned and washed after work. He is not willing to hire employees who don’t take care about their appearance.

Problem

Description of the problem:

Knowledge hoarding

The enterprise just can employ the employees in certain seasons. The employees possess enough knowledge but they can´t utilize that knowledge for the company´s advantage. In seasons in which are less assignments and the leader can´t employ his employees, the company is not profitable. From that point of view that in effect the knowledge is available but they can´t utilize it, this seasons causes losses for the company. Due to the fact that they don’t use the machines you have still to pay the fix costs even the branch is closed. The employees are affected by this situation as well because if they don’t have to work they will not draw a salary. So several employees will look for a certain workplace and intend to leave the company.
This period of time is especially in the winter season when the coldness is entering. On the slippery roads he would risk the employees life respectively at this time the employees can’t continue their work in the gravel pits.
The main reason for this situation is that they can´t transport the extracted pits or they can´t produce concrete from frozen pits.
But if the company considers having a further competitive advantage they have to act. The solution of this obstacle could be crucial for the existence of the company.

Symptoms:

The knowledge of the individuals is strongly protected and not exploited. The collaboration among the employees is not close. Unfortunately the situation occurred that some employees are jealous of employees with higher salaries or with higher number of assignment opportunities. That causes tension on the workplace consequential they don’t perform well and don’t get out the best.
On that account the employees are passively to doing their job. Actually this is not the fault of the employees but the fact that the leader can just provide assignments depending on the season. Due to this fact they are not capable to utilize their knowledge and they settle assignments in different areas on the branch which the leader impose but they are not motivated. The employees have permanently in mind that after x months there will be no need for their workforce.
Who will be influenced by that problem?:
The enterprise, the employees but also the competitor, because if a company has to face such problems it creates an advantage for the competitor. And if a competitor has an advantage it might causes losses or at worse bankruptcy.
The leadership is committed for the solution of this problem. It is attempting to prepare a solution.

The background of this phenomenon:

Actually there is no background for that but the financial crisis in 2008 might have an effect on this case or the environmental circumstances like the winter and the cold. If the there were no winter the company would not face this problem. In this case the company could transport all year they would not pause the mining of pits for months.

Solution:

‘’If a company is not planning for the future and is not content to develop, that cannot be a good solution.’’

‘’We succeeded to build 2 new halls behind the branch by applications which will be addressed for the production of concrete elements. The halls will operate all year and will employ the people for who it ensures a job in bad seasons within the 2 enterprises.

Why is this a solution?

Based on the following points the solution seems to a good idea:

1. The halls will be build by applications, so the company will not be burden with additional costs. Furthermore the company is equipped with the necessary tools. Moreover there is no need for training because due to their knowledge the employees are competent enough. 2. The work is ensured for the employees all year. They will be rather motivated because they are aware of working all year if they perform well. 3. As soon as the employees gain sufficient money the tension among them will decrease and they can better focus on the assignments. They will not care about each other and they wont be jealous of each other anymore. 4. The company can be profitable. On the one hand regionally this is the first company for concrete elements production and there is no competitor on the market. On the other hand the company can utilize the entire knowledge of the employees. The enterprise doesn’t have to be closed for the winter season but the production of concrete elements will be a higher priority. 5. Due to this development customers will prefer to charge our company with assignments, so it is going to weaken the competitor. 6. The company will be capable to keep the specialists for who is an increasing demand nowadays. At least it has to ensure a 12 monthly salary for this specialists or the company has to face the problem that the employee will not come back again. 7. The knowledge doesn’t disappear. It can be utilized for developments and for ensuring the existence. 8. We previously mentioned above that the structure of the company was characterized by structuring the developments step by step. That implies that the business commenced with transportation, soon after the purchase of the gravel pits, extraction of pits, production of concrete and followed by the logical next step, videlicet the production of concrete elements.

Conclusion
Due to our analysis we can claim that the application for the unification was an important step for the company. The employees can be employed all year and the company doesn’t suffer losses anymore in critical seasons.
Politics, economy and society are concepts that are close to each other and are influenced by different factors. The harmony of these factors needs to be consistent. In Hungary, the politicians have to frame the laws in a way that the entrepreneur is capable to apply them by analogy. In our opinion it is important to support the economy with investments and the establishment of enterprises to move the country forward. Decisions regarding to the economy should be taken to benefit the domestic business but for the foreigners as well. Videlicet it is a good domestic-based, competitive market for contractors is available, they will take an advantage of it. The rules for the society are to be approved by the Parliament to be beneficial for everyone. The emigration rate of the society will decrease if the population feels secure. Instead of emigration the government can expect settlement and family establishment. Furthermore there will be more young people to employ and the leadership can encourage them to a higher performance. It is a chain consisting of different elements which, if a part is flawed, the entire chain will be destroyed.

In our opinion it is a big task but not impossible. Simplified you have to collaborate and keep in mind the interests of individuals.