KNOWLEDGE

Strategic Approach to Promote Knowledge Sharing In Global Organizations

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Knowledge and knowledge work1

Strategy for knowledge sharing in global organizations4

Peer-to-peer Collaboration4

Documentation and Sharing of Key Guidance5

External linkages and Partnerships6

Tools and Technologies7

Skills and Behaviours7

Techniques for knowledge sharing7

Enabling conditions to support knowledge sharing in the organization9

Organisational commitment9

Expected rewards9

Trust10

References11

Strategic Approach to Promote Knowledge Sharing In Global Organizations

Introduction

Various organizations across the globe are faced with the challenge of managing knowledge workers and knowledge work. This is so imperative as knowledge management leads to the creation of a competitive edge and incorporation of innovation in the very culture of the organization. Literature suggests many a strategies that can be adopted for knowledge sharing and management. However, most of these have failed as some were focuses too much on transfer of knowledge while the others completely overlooked the importance of the underlying objectives of knowledge management (Tsui, 2009, p. 17). The best approach to knowledge sharing and innovation is to align processes with purposes and contexts.

The paper discusses the most appropriate strategic approach to implement in order to promote knowledge sharing across a very large, global organization and briefly explains two techniques that could be practically adopted to support this. In addition, it explains the necessary organizational, enabling conditions that would be needed to exist to support the strategy.

Knowledge and knowledge work

The true definition of knowledge has been debated over a very long period of time dating back to the Greek philosophers. Epistemology, which is a branch of philosophy deals with the nature of knowledge as well as its origin and scope. In context with knowledge in the organizational setting, there are two views that are convincing enough to make part of this paper. These two views are what can be termed as the “epistemology of possession” and “epistemology of practice” (Chen, 2005, p. 788). In these two concepts, the former relates to the knowledge that people have while the latter refers to what people with knowledge and how it is reflected in their practice. The concept of possession relates to the cognitive aspect of knowledge whereby knowledge is an important resource which when applied can improve the performance of an employee at work. In this concept, the possession of knowledge comes in different phases where it begins with the collection of raw data, turning it into meaningful information, then deriving important knowledge out of it and practicing it for wisdom.

The view on knowledge as practice is slightly different. This view is based on the philosophy that knowledge does not just come to a person, but is in fact created and constructed by means of social interaction. Hence, under this view knowledge is based on the local practices and local situations. This means that the knowledge that is possessed by people in an organization will be kind of related. Hence, knowledge in this view is dependent on the practice of the person and not something outside of practise. The working definition of knowledge states that knowledge is how different people give meaning to the social ...