Knowledge Management Program for Toyota



Knowledge Management Program for Toyota

Introduction

Toyota is a multinational automobile manufacturer, based in Japan. The company has commercial engagements in international markets that require extensive multi-year, multiagency efforts in providing knowledgeable and informed employees in the organization with information and retrieval methods, as well as other effective tools. This is vital for making real time necessary decisions; employees should have the right set of knowledge to base their decisions upon. Further this information should be available at the required time.

The aim of this paper is to purpose practically applicable knowledge management based program, for the organization - Toyota. The purposed program of knowledge management would facilitate management with a complex, comprehensive and large information modernization program. This would ensure effective distribution of vital information to knowledge workers in Toyota. This information would be used actively for managing day to day duties and responsibilities. The discussions in the paper would also be focused at referencing the issues of implementing knowledge management program and conducting its training and other educational complements. The paper would address the knowledge life cycle and the four pillars of knowledge management. Steps to change the organization to be more aligned with what I believe are the top three principles from second-generation KM would be listed. Further, recommendations would be suggested with regards to how change would be pursued at Toyota to encourage knowledge processing and improve the quality of knowledge in the organization. The main findings will also put forth the issues that can arise in the development and implementation of a knowledge management program.

Discussion

The idea of a knowledge-based organization

Knowledge is term related from understanding information and rational its use in decision-making. It becomes important in situations where improvements and advances in technology mean that the organizations need to increase efficiency, and efficiency requires knowledge and information, thus it becomes an important source of success. The biggest factors that contributed to the development of the field of knowledge management are:

• Information overload and chaos,

• Condensation of information,

• Segmentation and specialization of skills,

• Competition (Karwowski, 2004).

Furthermore, knowledge shares essential characteristics, these are :

• Dominance of other resources,

• Inexhaustibility - Shared knowledge develops and grows,

• Simultaneity - can be used simultaneously by many people,

• Non-linearity of the relationship between the volume of knowledge and definable obtaining benefits (Malar, 2009).

Knowledge-based organization has the ability to adapt to change implicated by the environment, and very often also to anticipate these changes and actively shape their environment (Brett, 2002). About these organizations it can be said that it is Smart. Intelligence is effective use of knowledge. As such intelligence is related to the ability of comprehending and understanding. The ability to find relevant and targeted response to the new challenges and conditions, this requires efficient acquisition and use of knowledge and as such it is dependent on a streamlined knowledge management program, intermittent in organizational processes. According to JB Quinn, Smart (intelligent enterprises) is those organizations which has the most valuable product as knowledge, "taking the form of value-added services (Stoner ...