The knowledge management cycle

knowledge-management-cycle

Precisely the previous paragraph shows us the purpose to which we want to reach with the presentation of this topic, which is to offer the necessary information to apply this trend in organizations, to take the initiative to put conservative ideas aside and understand that the Knowledge is an invaluable resource, which managing, processing and expanding it can bring about a major change for the prosperity of the company.

To emphasize the advantages that can be acquired by applying knowledge management, some problems are presented that could sometimes arise in companies taken from the author (Valhondo Solano, 2010):

A company faces a serious problem at a plant that causes a stoppage in operations. Someone remembers that a similar situation occurred a couple of years before, but there is no record of the methodology used to solve the problem or of who was involved. An internal company phone book is not up to date, it lists the names and formal names of the positions of the people but does not indicate anything about the job

A specialist leaves the company to go to the competition in a short time he drags his collaborators with him. Only people with no experience remain and there is no Know How recordnor to experience. Someone notices the great differences in performance of different divisions, which practically perform the same tasks, being aware that best practices are not being collected or shared, which makes him feel frustrated by the absence of formal mechanisms that allow share best practices.

The difficulties described indicate a great lack of knowledge management, since they have wasted time, operational inefficiencies and little availability on the part of collaborators, which leads to higher costs, reduced income and practically poor results.

We must remember that seeking differentiation from the competition is nowadays fundamental, but this is achieved by staying prepared for the necessary changes such as globalization, technology innovation, customer taste, fashion, quality, among others, so it depends to a large extent on intangible factors such as capacity, abilities and, of course, knowledge, in order to obtain that competitive advantage.

What is knowledge management looking for?

According to the authors (Peluffo & Catalán, 2002), their objectives seek to strengthen the spaces so that all the agents that make up an organization obtain better results, among which we can mention:

Put in place the necessary means to obtain the information and knowledge required by a person, a community or region at the right time, through tools to analyze the information and strengthen the ability to respond to the ideas obtained from that information and the tacit knowledge they possess. Manage organizational knowledge and organizational learning in order to strengthen the institutional framework that will implement medium and long-term development strategies. Build more efficient integrated frameworks, from the construction of futures, whose support will be the strategic knowledge that will give efficiency and security to the process. Create a technological base appropriate to the context and space where it will be applied,through which knowledge circulates as the case of university networks with the Economy, connecting the various regions taking advantage of the most successful experiences and the ways in which the most frequent errors were overcome or solved. This allows problems to be solved more quickly and to be adapted more flexibly.

Key factors of knowledge management

In order to apply knowledge management on some occasions, you will have to face a series of difficulties that belong to the internal environment, mainly the cultural factor, that is, isolation, little participation on the part of the collaborators, the orientations that you have, among others. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the factors that can influence, determine the results and their absence can even cause failure.

Therefore according to the authors (Peluffo & Catalán, 2002) the following factors must exist in the organization:

A culture oriented to knowledge. Understanding that culture is “… the set of significant collective practices based on work processes based on the satisfaction of the wide range of human needs, which are institutionalized in structures of signs and symbols, which are transmitted by a series of vehicles of communication and internalized in habits, customs, ways of being, thinking and feeling ”. A technological infrastructure of knowledge. This must be built according to the system in which the GC will be developed, with tools that can be used by system users and that allow easy access to the information and knowledge that is needed. The direct relationship between KM and development strategiesadopted by the organizations, community or people aligned with the values on which that organization is based on their work. The harmonization of language. It is essential, especially when different cultures, professions, environments, experiences coexist within the same space. The Rewards and Encouragement Systems to share knowledge and This neutralizes the barriers that can hinder KM. The Knowledge Structure. This must be suitable for system users. Each case will need to have a system that facilitates its dynamics. The various Channels of Knowledge Communication.All those who produce a sense of trust and closeness between the people involved. Visualization of the advantages of the system. In other words, the perception of the members of the system regarding the benefits obtained by incorporating key knowledge into activities and resources.

All of the above considering that people, culture and technologies are being managed.

Dimensions in the creation of knowledge management

According to the authors (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1999) describe two dimensions for the creation of organizational knowledge, one is epistemological and the other is ontological.

The epistemological dimension refers to the interaction of tacit and explicit knowledge . The tacit knowledge is attained by each individual person, through experience, intuition, intelligence or assimilation of technology (Heuristic know how). It is necessary to comment that this knowledge may be composed of:

Ideas, experiences, skills, abilities, customs, values, beliefs, history, etc., Knowledge of the context or ecological (geography, physics, unwritten norms, behavior of people and objects, etc.), Knowledge as cognitive skill (understanding of reading, solving problems, writing, visualizing ideas, analyzing, synthesizing, etc.) that allows you to access a more complex one or solve new problems.

The explicit knowledge is the one that becomes socialized throughout the organization; it is based on collective experience, history and culture, and is found in company norms, rules and manuals. It is what they called organizational knowledge, that produced or appropriated by the entire organization.

The ontological dimension refers to the interaction of the levels of individual, group, organizational and inter-organizational knowledge. This spiral process involves four forms of knowledge conversion:

Socialization (tacit to tacit knowledge, sharing experiences, for example, with brainstorming); Externalization (from tacit to explicit externalization, with the help of metaphors, analogies, creation of new concepts, hypotheses or models); Combination (from explicit to explicit combination, through telephone communication, meetings, documents, computerized networks) and Internalization (from explicit to tacit internalization, involves shared mental models and know-how).

From the internalization the accumulation of tacit knowledge begins, to start again the process towards socialization.

The above is described in order that the way in which knowledge is shared within an organization can be understood, that is, first a single individual, another, until reaching the entire company, this is indispensable, since It will depend mainly on the level of availability you have to share experiences, knowledge, tools, technology, among other things.

These authors also mention that the best source of tacit knowledge was from the middle level, that is, where the expert engineers and technicians are located, so this knowledge production process is socialized, externalized and combined towards the level of strategic management, to then cover the other levels. So through this model the following phases are implemented:

Sharing tacit knowledgeCreating conceptsJustifying new conceptsBuilding an archetypeExpanding knowledge

Thus, based on the perception of changes in the environment, with the ability to go from tacit to explicit knowledge, the organization defines research objectives in order to improve the level of efficiency, improve productivity, quality, competitiveness and social effectiveness.

Types of structure in the production of knowledge

According to the author (Martinez Fajardo, 2004), the organization's decision centers, interrelated through a structure of authority and function relationships, must have the capacity to systematize the organization's memory and effectively guide research, learning and, knowledge creation, innovation and commercialization.

This commitment implies a cyclical redesign of the organization's structure that allows it to respond to new opportunities or threats in the environment, to new public policies, to cultural changes, to technological developments, to the emergence of new competitors, products and services..

That is why figure 2 shows seven main types of organizational structures that exist to identify with some and thus have a better perception of the path to follow towards knowledge management.

Structure Organizations that have family - type technology innovation capacity Artisan craft with small batch production.

It applies knowledge innovation criteria through a basic organization of relations between a master craftsman, who values creativity and the capacity for innovation, and a small number of apprentices with great initiative and who also seek to learn to enhance their innovative capacity.

Bureaucratic structure of basic functions

It responds to a centralized structure dependent on the standardization of processes and guided by the principle of technical rationality or a plan to coordinate the parts, taking into account the efficiency of production costs and the rational allocation of resources.

Maintains a hierarchy of positions with specialized core functions of administration or management, financing, production, sales, or services. In this way, it generates a top-down knowledge production model, with an emphasis on tacit or individual knowledge, highly appropriate for achieving organizational coordination of routine, repetitive and large-scale work.

^Structure This management system is characterized by premodern cultural values, premodern Spanish colonialheritage, in which the criteria of non-change, non-innovation, clientele, knowledge creation, and rejection of efficiency and productivitycriteria dominate.

Tecnoestruct It is based on the hierarchical relationship of teams of experts who work in a multi _- interdisciplinary way of knowledge. strengthening the planning processes required by innovation

divisional

This structure generates the research and innovation process from their experience and organizational memory. It is based on the top-down knowledge model, which originates the innovation process from specialized units located in the upper hierarchy. Then, it promotes a socialization of the flow of knowledge

Matrix, project or adhocratic structure

Temporal in nature, this structure depends on the duration of the research and design project. It has a specific objective that may be determined by a contract of the parties involved. The matrix character is due to its simultaneous interaction with the structure of basic functions.

Organizational, through work in interdisciplinary teams located in the lower levels of the organizational structure.

Structure This type of structure involves criteria of self-organization, self-determination or empowerment teams (collective and semi-autonomous decision processes), executed with specialized professional participants and with a high degree of versatility or polyfunctionality.

This structure is participatory, decentralized and of collective decisions. It is made up of a network of specialized working groups at all levels of the organization, with bottom-up relationships, an essential characteristic of

organizational forms of self-management.

Structure This structure related business organizations of the State, NGOs, customers and network providers through forms organizational type outsourcing or subcontracting and _{organizations} alianzasde organizacionesjoint venturesociales or contratodel State, lasyempresas riesgosde, beneficiosdelcompartidos, educativoa system through a net

The network structure has been developed with the expansion of the multinational company and with advances in information technology. Thus, it adapts to the requirements of the globalization process, which has led to the application of the flat structure criterion and the reengineering strategy.

Once the type of organization structure has been studied, the characteristics it has, how the functions and authorities are carried out, the innovation, the use of technology, it will now be necessary to define how knowledge management will be applied, thus that according to (Peluffo & Catalán, 2002) six stages are defined in a permanent cycle that allows the incorporation of KM as a normal practice in an organization that manages organizational knowledge as its most valuable strategic resource. These stages are:

Diagnosis, Definition of Objectives, Production, Circulation, Measurement.

Stage 1. Initial diagnosis of Knowledge Management

The interior of the organization will be analyzed, that is, the state in which the knowledge management system is located in order to define the needs, process technology, the degree of maturity and the practices that are already installed within the organization, such as management. By competencies, among other things, different types of diagnoses can be applied, among which the following can be mentioned:

Organizational Knowledge Map: This is used to identify the percentage of knowledge that is effectively being used to solve problems in the environment, identifying the required competencies and administering the appropriate learning programs, knowledge management practices related to identification, capture storage and dissemination so that it can be used and exploited and lastly that which requires more excessive analysis to discover that knowledge that is missing or that has been lost. Diagnosis of Common Practices: In this type of diagnosis, the knowledge flows and processes that have been implemented to facilitate their administration are investigated, from the source (producer or supplier of knowledge) to the destination (client or user of knowledge),especially considering the feedback and exchange mechanisms that ensure permanent learning. Evaluation of the Dynamic Capacities of the organization: The capacity to absorb knowledge and its relation to innovation in the organization.

Stage 2: Definition of the objectives of knowledge

Knowledge objectives are defined as those that provide direction to knowledge management in relation to the creation of knowledge and key competencies to strengthen the development of their strategies.

Although it is necessary to establish stages that contribute to the creation of these objectives, three types of knowledge objectives have been found:

Normative knowledge objectives are oriented to the awareness of the value of knowledge by the organization. Strategic knowledge objectives, which define the key knowledge for the organization and the needs for new knowledge. Operational knowledge objectives, which are related to the implementation of knowledge management, transforming the previous two into concrete goals.

Stage 3: Production of organizational knowledge

Taking advantage of the enthusiasm and learning capacity of people at all levels of the organization (Senge, 1990), integrating perception, knowledge creation and decision-making (Choo, 1998), make possible the emergence of what Researchers have named Smart Organizations (Drucker, Lewin, Maslow, Argyris, Bennis), which is presented as the clearest alternative for business survival in current and future competitive contexts.

Stage 4: Storage and updating

This phase is characterized by the storage of previously encoded knowledge, locating it from which users can easily access relevant knowledge and when they need it.

One of the determining factors of the success of the storage function is the navigability that said user has in his needs to structure knowledge of a certain complexity in shorter times.

Stage 5: Circulation and use of knowledge: users

Practically at this stage it is about spreading what has already been learned among the members that make up the organization, creating environments for knowledge to flow without interruptions or obstacles, participation should be encouraged by showing that this contributes to a common good.

Stage 6: Performance measurement

It is important to mention that this stage may be periodically involved in the entire management application since it is necessary to evaluate the situation that is being experienced, what is working, what is not, the improvements that have been achieved or if it is necessary to address the objectives, without neglecting the fact that information must be shared at all times in order to also get feedback.

Importance of the application of knowledge management

There is a great diversity of reasons why its application is important, so in this part of the content it is intended to show the external and internal forces that have influenced the appearance and permanence of knowledge management.

External forces

Globalization and market liberation: Progress has been made to contribute to free trade, which implies the need for import and export knowledge, in addition to generating great competitiveness. Diffusion of information and communication technologies: Thanks to technology, advances in communication have been achieved, facilitating the interconnection between organizations, also in this way knowledge and experiences can be shared more easily. Sophistication of demand and competitors: On the one hand, demand implies greater demands, personalization of products and services, and above all quality, on the other hand, competition is constantly innovating, which requires competent and prepared personnel to face them. Strengthening of intellectual property regimes:In recent years these policies have been strengthened so that there is greater protection for innovations.

Internal forces

Bottlenecks in business effectiveness: Sometimes the effectiveness of the company is limited by restrictions in workflows, lack of training, little collaboration between individuals, among other things that is why the implementation of knowledge management is necessary to achieve investment in technology and logistics, organization of tasks and workflows, decision making and increasing automation of routines and operations. Need to understand human cognitive functions: It is to understand that the success of an efficient application of knowledge management is achieved through the formation of all the individuals in the company, in addition to developing the delegation of tasks and empowerment of employees.

conclusion

Knowledge has gone from being located somewhere, from being categorized and hierarchized to being distributed and connected, in organizations, this has generated that large companies can achieve a great advantage of this, mainly that being an entity that is based on Collaboration to expand, create, share knowledge that has an impact on company results.

The application of knowledge management, although it is not something new, its application is really important, since as mentioned in the content, knowledge is the most valuable resource that a company has, because it practically depends on the collaborators being participants. of this model, in which there is always the concern to unite to achieve the fundamental objectives of the company, because it is known that this is a common good.

In order to compete, it is necessary that the information that allows the application of tools, technology, and capabilities is given at all levels of the organization to be more efficient and effective, since this allows for a quick resolution of problems, reaching objectives, lower costs and above all to achieve that great competitive advantage that is currently essential to remain in the market.

Thesis Topic: Implementation of a knowledge management model in the municipality of Ixtaczoquitlán, Veracruz.

Objective: Design a knowledge management model that allows the improvement of the administration of the municipality of Ixtaczoquitlán based on tools, knowledge and technology that achieve better organizational development.

Thanks

Especially to Dr. Fernando Aguirre y Hernández for promoting knowledge of new topics of interest, to discover our potential to not only develop them, but also apply them.

Bibliography

Benavides Velasco, C., & Quintana, C. (2003). Knowledge management and total quality. Diaz de Santos SA

Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1999). The organization that creates knowledge. Oxford University.

Peluffo, MB, & Catalán, E. (December 2002). United Nations. ECLAC. Obtained from

repository.eclac.org/bitstream/handle/11362/5586/S2002617_en.pdf?s equence = 1 & isAllowed = y

Pereira, E. (2017). Marketing. Obtained from

Piratova, A. (sf). Knowledge management. Four ways of knowledge conversion.

Valhondo Solano, D. (2010). Knowledge management. From myth to reality. Díaz de Santos editions.

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It is a neologism of the English language, which dates back to 1838. It is defined as: "knowing how to do something easily and efficiently: experience". (Pereira, 2017)

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