KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN ORGANIZATIONS

Knowledge Sharing in Organizations

Knowledge Sharing in Organizations

Introduction

Knowledge plays a significant role in many organizations. Managers have perceived the competitive advantages resulting from knowledge for the last several decades. To maintain and acquire sustained competitive edge or power, many companies devote mass organizational resources to construct knowledge management systems and promote knowledge sharing in their organizations. However, many knowledge management systems have failed to facilitate knowledge sharing. One possible reason for this problem is as follows. If special knowledge is a competitive advantage and strategic resource for an organization, then clearly it is also a source of power and advantage for people who own it in the organization. People owning specific knowledge could enjoy some benefits and unique positions. People who share their knowledge with others would lose their unique positions in organizations. Therefore, the issue of sharing knowledge in an organization involves a “social dilemma”, and complex interactions between individuals and organization policy.

This work investigates the influence of the human behaviors based on self-interests (called as “the principal of maximizing their utility”), and different organizational incentives to promote knowledge sharing in an organization. In the past, empirical research and conceptual modeling have been widely undertaken, but presented difficulties in analytical reasoning. The complex social interaction cannot easily be formulated using mathematical functions. Moreover, different people have different capabilities, making knowledge sharing in an organization hard to analyze. Therefore, this investigation applies an agent-based modeling scheme to study the knowledge sharing phenomena by simulating the complex interactions between individuals, and assuming different organizational incentive policies. Through such simulations, managers can understand the complex knowledge sharing phenomena and measure the effectiveness of organizational incentive policies.

Discussion

Organization knowledge capital must be preserved because it helps company to sustain its competitive advantage. Employees acquire knowledge from various sources when they are working on whatever task given to them. The accumulated knowledge must be retained to avoid knowledge walkout.

Knowledge management encourages knowledge sharing, development, acquisition, and creation. These practices will transform the behavior of employees to be more innovative and creative. Moving towards knowledge-based organization will end the labour intensive manufacturing and leaves us with organizations which receive their added value from knowledge and creativity they put in rather than the muscle power.Organizations that know how to leverage knowledge will succeed. Employees who are knowledge driven will become the change agents to the organization. They will be able to track changes in the marketplace, which will reduce the surprises that arise by uncertainties.

Transforming the culture of an organization, from what they are doing now and complacent with it, to a culture which is foreign to them will be a very difficult job. However, knowledge is power therefore, Knowledge management should be the foundation in every part organization in the era of k-economy. Company must realize that to gain competitive advantage it is not about selling its product to the global market, or keeping track of technological change etc but to stay competitive is to be able to leverage on its knowledge ...