...Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning William R. King Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh wking115@yahoo.com For centuries, scientists, philosophers and intelligent laymen have been concerned about creating, acquiring, and communicating knowledge and improving the re-utilization of knowledge. However, it is only in the last 15–20 years or so that a distinct field called “knowledge management” (KM) has emerged. KM is based on the premise that, just as human beings are unable to draw on the full potential of their brains, organizations are generally not able to fully utilize the knowledge that they possess. Through KM, organizations seek to acquire or create potentially useful knowledge and to make it available to those who can use it at a time and place that is appropriate for them to achieve maximum effective usage in order to positively influence organizational performance. It is generally believed that if an organization can increase its effective knowledge utilization by only a small percentage, great benefits will result. Organizational learning (OL) is complementary to KM. An early view of OL was “encoding inferences from history into routines that guide behavior” (Levitt and March, 1988, p. 319). So, OL has to do with embedding what has been learned into the fabric of the organization. 1 The Basics of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning To understand KM and OL, one must understand knowledge, KM...
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... Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning Knowledge has always been available to mankind. Many people have had their concerns and doubts about how to effectively create, acquire, communicate and improve on how to re-use knowledge. Within the last two decades a unique field called Knowledge Management (KM) has transpired. With the sudden emergence of KM, a brand new realization has been presented to society. It’s a known fact that human begins have not been able to draw on the full potential of their brains. (King 2008). Just like with the human brain it’s also the backbone on how companies and organizations are started. Is it possible through KM, for organizations to seek and obtain potentially useful knowledge? Can it be made available to those when needed and appropriate for them to achieve maximum effective usage in order to make an influential and impactful gain in an organizations performance? To understand if KM could help an organization maximize potentially useful knowledge and achieve influential gains and performances one has to fully understand knowledge. Knowledge is commonly defined as a “justified personal belief”. Knowledge is separated into two distinctive fundamentals, tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is knowledge that a person already possesses and helps determine how they already think and act. It links physical and cognitive skills, and cognitive frameworks. A common inspection of tacit knowledge is that it’s...
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...Essay: Managing Knowledge: The Link between Culture and Organizational Learning According to the article, I’m totally agree with it, because the main idea is that to be successful in business environment you must Know your company and make your employees know it as well, start knowing the goals, objectives, activities, personal, infrastructure, organization, processes, culture, in general all the things that involves your company, have an entire knowledge about it. Other interesting point is the Stata’s quote that talk about the organization’s ability to learn faster all the aspects about the company than the competitors is an important source of competitive advantage, this is really interesting, because if all people involved into an organization knows exactly what is it about, create new fresh ideas, and communicate them to the other members of the organization in an efficient way, this allows the company to become successful and better than the competitors. I think that every company, has an organizational culture and learning process clearly defined, when an enterprise has an organizational culture that leads the entire company, the personal feels they are committed to the enterprise, and they are satisfied with their performance. About the learning processes I think is vital to the organization that all people involved know exactly what are their functions, and not only their owns, also the manager’s, CEO’s, and Director’s functions, with this, they feel more...
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...KCA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT: VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 (2009). STRATEGIC POSITIONING FOR SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: AN ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH John I. Njuguna1 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Juja, Kenya Abstract Organizational learning is increasingly being considered as one of the fundamental sources of competitive advantage within the context of strategic management. However, most literature has not clearly linked organizational learning with sustainable competitive advantage. This paper, therefore, explores and discusses the role of organizational learning in helping business firms to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Specifically, it deals with how organizational learning process can be used to develop knowledge resources and capabilities that lead to sustainable competitive advantage. The main method used is analysis and integration of theories to develop a conceptual model. This paper proposes that, through organizational learning a firm can develop hard to imitate knowledge resources and capabilities (human capital as well as organizational capital) that create value which in turn lead to superior performance. INTRODUCTION In the 21 century business landscape, firms must compete in a complex and challenging context that is being transformed by many factors from globalization, frequent and uncertain changes to the growing use of information technologies (DeNisi, Hitt and Jackson, 2003). Therefore, achieving a competitive...
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...1 Student: ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Which of these statements about the field of organizational behaviour is FALSE? A Organizational behaviour scholars study individual, team and structural characteristics that influence . behaviour within organizations. B. Leadership, communication and other organizational behaviour topics were not discussed by scholars until the 1940s. C. Organizational behaviour emerged as a distinct field around the 1940s. D. The field of OB has adopted concepts and theories from other fields of inquiry. E. OB scholars study what people think, feel and do in and around organizations. Which of these statements about the field of organizational behaviour is TRUE? A. Organizational behaviour emerged as a distinct field during the 1980s. B. The origins of some organizational behaviour concepts date back to Plato and other Greek philosophers. C. Information technology has almost no effect on organizational behaviour. D.The field of organizational behaviour relies exclusively on ideas generated within the field by organizational behaviour scholars. E. The origins of organizational behaviour are traced mainly to the field of economics. In the field of organizational behaviour, organizations are best described as: A. legal entities that must abide by government regulations and pay taxes. B. physical structures with observable capital equipment. C. social entities with a publicly stated set of formal goals...
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...New Paradigm of Knowledge Era Alfin Taffler in his book The Third Wave (1980) divides human history into three waves of change: manual era, the era of machine industry, and the age of knowledge. In the manual era the dominant factor that human need to manage traditional industry is the muscular system (energy-physical). In the era of industry labor productivity is determined by the skill level of workers in organizing and operating the machinery industry to produce the outputas much work per unit of time worked by the machine industry. While the dominant factor in the era of human knowledge, to manage the work system is the quality of mind (Knowledge content) used and internalized (explicit or finally realized) on the product or service is determined by the quality of mind that explixit in products / services and in the production process. thoughts Quality is meant here, it can be in the form of creativity / innovation or skills in the form of explicit tacit knowledge. Pada era pengetahuan, pengetahuan telah menjadi modal virtual (human capital) yang sangat menentukan perkembangan serta sekaligus pertumbuhan organisasi. Minimal ada tiga cirri yang dapat digunakan untuk menggambarkan karakteristik tatanan kehidupan di era pengetahuan yaitu: In the era of knowledge, knowledge has become the virtual capital (human capital), which is crucial to the development and growth of the organization simultaneously. Minimum there are three characteristics that can...
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...OL vs. LO Porschia Phelps September 6, 2009 Organizational Learning Introduction When asked to define learning a mundane response to this inquiry would be that learning is simply the acquirement of knowledge. But as a seasoned marketing/management student I can confidently say that a definition of that caliber doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the components and concepts that are present when providing a suitable definition of learning. As a marketing/management student I have quickly learned that when discussing the subject of learning there are many aspects. In looking into these many facets of learning we begin to find room for various outlooks and debate. Among the areas that have been indentified are the subjects of Organizational Learning and Learning Organizations. Though to the general public these two subjects may sound the same deciding to make the same exact assumption of their meanings would prove to be the wrong assessment to form. Although these two maybe closely related they both possess their own definitions and notions. Because of their possession of their own concepts there is room for discussion and deliberation. It is within these two subjects that we also find much opportunity for comparing and contrasting. Review of Literature Introduction Before you can fully begin to form a view point on the subjects of organizational learning and learning organizations you must first have a complete understanding of what these ideas are and also...
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...Knowledge Management. Contemporary Trends and Issues ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING Povilas Brilius Baifoteka Ltd, Lithuania, povilas@baifoteka.com Abstract: Organizational Learning (OL) is recognized to have established itself as a discipline. However, it remains unclear what it is primarily focused onto – practical problem solving or theoretical descriptive analysis. Due to largely fragmented literature, sometimes interweaving concepts and a variety of attitudes, practitioners find it difficult to easily apply this field, meantime theorists call for more comprehensive understanding of OL. This article focuses on contemporary trends in OL research. It argues and unveils that current OL investigation has made a shift towards holistic and integrative approach in which individual has more powers to make a decision. Article illustrates such contemporary shift of mind by (a) summarizing most important literature in the field (b) providing examples of latest research in OL area. For a smoother analysis, author builds and applies working framework of dichotomies between concepts (dialectical approach). Keywords: organizational learning, contemporary trends, holism. JEL Classification: D800, D830 1. Introduction During the last 50-60 years Organizational Learning (OL) has undoubtedly established itself as a discipline – a number of concepts have been constructed and applied theoretically, numerous schools with distinct models have emerged. However, a question may be posed – to what...
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...Knowledge management and organizational performance: Theoretical Study 1. Introduction Knowledge is an asset that needs to be effectively managed. Interest in knowledge management (KM) has grown dramatically in the recent years, as more researchers and practitioners have become aware of the knowledge potential to drive innovation and improve performance. For an organization to remain competitive, it must effectively practice the activities of creating, acquiring, documenting, transferring, and applying knowledge in solving problems and exploiting opportunities. Many researchers argue what the organization comes to know explains its performance. The ultimate test of any business concept, such as KM, is whether it improves business performance. If organizations cannot use knowledge to improve performance, knowledge does not have measurable value. However, management research has often overlooked the role of knowledge and KM in the analysis of organizations and their performance. Most of KM research consists of either theoretical analyses of KM issues or case-based reviews of organizations’ KM practices. Consequently, KM research is short of offering an unambiguous understanding of the role of KM in improving organizational performance. On the other hand, effective KM entails an understanding of the interrelationships that may exist among KM processes such as knowledge acquisition, knowledge creation, knowledge documentation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge application. These...
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...it is a learning organization Introduction With the advance of economy, the competitions between enterprises are increasingly fierce. The research about organizational learning (OL) can be traced back to 1970s, Argyris and Schön gave a definition that diagnoses and corrects the mistake of organizations. Later, Huber (1991) published one of the most superior views about OL that during the processing of information, if the organizations’ potential behavior is changed, organizational learning has been generated in this process. Until Senge published his book named “THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE-The art & Practice of the learning organization” in 1990, the research of organizational learning enters to the climax. Basic meaning of the learning organization is that an organization is continuous expending to create its future and it has been aimed to growth the ‘knowledge intensity’ of enterprises (Senge, 1990). However, whether in theory or practice in enterprises, learning organization and organizational learning are extremely easy to confuse the two concepts. Generally, many people believe that organizational learning and learning organization are two interchangeable concepts; but from the academic point of view, the two thoughts closely related while having qualitative difference. Just like the title says, a learning organization is not an organization, which can learn. This article will start from the definition of organizational learning and learning organization...
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...available at ScienceDirect Technological Forecasting & Social Change Intellectual capital and new product development performance: The mediating role of organizational learning capability Ya-Hui Hsu a,⁎, Wenchang Fang b,1 a b Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, 11F, No.318, Fuhe Rd., Yonghe City, Taipei 234, Taiwan Department of Business Administration, National Taipei University, 69, Sec 2, Jian-Kuo N. Rd, Taipei 104, Taiwan a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Previous studies rarely examined the relationship between intellectual capital and organizational learning capability. Moreover, most studies neglect the mediating effect of organizational learning capability in the relationship between intellectual capital and new product development performance. This study uses interviews and the survey method to discuss the relationships governing intellectual capital, organizational learning capability, and new product development performance. Results are based on empirical data from Taiwan's IC design industry, and are generated by the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. Results show that human capital and relational capital actually improve new product development performance through organizational learning capability. Although structural capital positively affects organizational learning capability, managers should pay attention to possibly negative effects of structural capital on new product development performance. Relational capital is...
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...Learning is the way we create new knowledge and improve ourselves. Brown and Duguid describe organizational learning is the bridge between working and innovating. Organizational Learning is a process to enable organizations to better use the knowledge of their members to make business decisions. In a conventional organization, decisions are often based on management perspective without taking into account the other members of the organization. A business using Organizational Learning recognizes the value added by including all of its members in the decision making process. A Learning Organization recognizes that a business consists of people and it takes a commitment from all in the organization to best obtain the organization’s goals. Through Organizational Learning an organization gains knowledge and develops skills to empower its members to work as a cohesive team. The following table saws some of the key differences between a Conventional Organization and a Learning Organization. Conventional Organization | Learning Organization | Locked into management’s views of methods and goals. | Flexible and open to new ideas. | Makes decisions based on what currently best fits the organizational structure. | 1. Willing to disregard the status quo in favor of innovation. 2. Management encourages all members to continuously rethink what they do, how they do it, and how they might do it better | Adapts and/or reacts to change. | Anticipates the future and strives to create services...
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...Leadership in Organizations 5 Transformational Leadership 6 Servant Leadership 9 Organizational Learning 10 Organizational Performance 13 Analysis 14 Theoretical Framework 16 Hypothesis 16 Methodology 17 Data Analysis and research findings 19 Conclusion and Discussion 28 Bibliography 29 Bibliography 29 Acknowledgment The process of research is a complex one and requires immense guidance at all stages. We are thankful to our respected advisor Mr. Muhammad Ali who guided us on every stage despite our shortcomings. We are also thankful to our respected advisory committee for their valuable feedback and suggestions. We would be thankful for further feedback from our Evaluation Committee. Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of two comparative leadership styles on organizational learning and performance of non-profit organizations. The leadership style undertaken is transformational leadership and servant leadership. A sample of 100 participants is taken from non-profit organizations based in Pakistan. Data was gathered through quantitative surveys on a five point likert scale. SPSS was used for analysis purpose. The results showed that the level of organization learning doesn’t affect organization performance. These results mean that organizations should focus on other factors rather than the type of leadership they are following if they want to improve their learning or performance Scope and Purpose Non Profit Organizations are working towards creating...
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...our daily Furthermore, when group of knowledge from several groups In a well-written essay of 3 to 5 pages, discuss the relationship between organizational learning and organizational knowledge and the affect of knowledge management on organizational learning and organizational knowledge. Be sure to draw on the articles to support your argument or to argue against points made in the articles. You can also draw on any additional material that you find in the readings in the Background Materials section. (Be sure to reference that material if you use it.) Lead off your essay with one or two of the quotes from the knowledge quotes/wisdom quotes that you think best illustrate the core of the argument in your essay. At some point in the essay, explain why you chose the quote or quotes that you chose. (Note that most of the quotes implicitly refer to the knowledge of a single human being but many of them can be extended to apply to organizations.) ---- Oppapers.com ----- The relationship between organizational learning and organizational knowledge and the affect knowledge management has on both is at once undeveloped and immature-in its basis and orientation to organizations-as it is in another instance burgeoning and unknown. Carl Sagan the great physicist and astronomer was accustomed to saying about the universe as comprising “Billions and billions, and billions of stars”; well as much may be said of the field of knowledge management with respect to its breadth and...
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...Impacting Organizational Learning: The Training and Experiences of Quality Award Examiners and Assessors Prof. V.K. Susil Kumar Faculty and Manager – Placements Institute for Technology and Management, 11/D 14, Fourth Main Road, SIPCOT IT Park, Siruseri, Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), Pudupakkam Post, Chennai – 603103 Landline: 044-32974148 Mobile: 9380502425 Abstract The Training and Experiences of Quality Award Examiners and Assessors aim to show that developments in the quality award assessment process in organizations can make a contribution, within a wider framework of organizational learning. The underpinning theoretical argument is that quality award models and associated organizational assessment processes can be used to achieve much wider benefits, than that of quality per se. The quality award assessment process has been applied in organizations from the mid-1980s to the present. The process uses models such as the Business Excellence Model and the Baldrige model. These models use an interpretation of quality, which is based on the holistic approach of total quality management. In parallel with the development of the assessment process, there has been considerable development in the field of organizational learning with an emphasis on developing learning based skills in employees. It shows how the learning experiences and skills developed and enhanced through the assessment process can be applied within an organization’s approach to learning in other...
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