To understand the context in which the following research topic is developed, it is first necessary to know and have a notion about the concepts involved, in this way it is intended to build a solid base of information throughout the text.
The term management can be defined as that process through which one seeks to develop a series of basic resources, the purpose of which is to be a valid sustenance that serves to support the objectives in an organization. (Pavez, 2000).
Seen from another perspective, management or the process of managing refers to the series of actions that make it possible to carry out and carry out a commercial or any other type of operation. Said operation or management of these must meet the basic requirement of achieving the best result (optimal result) that meets the objectives set.
Some authors emphasize the importance that management must bear in mind 4 basic pillars in order to meet its primary objective (deliver the best results).
These pillars are defined as:
- The strategy, that is, the set of steps necessary to consolidate the management of the actions to be carried out The culture or values of the company The structure and method for managing activities The execution of the actions that result in the best results according to the Established goals
About knowledge, it is said that it is the set of all information stored through experience or learning; that is to say, the global of all the data that are related to each other give the understanding and reason of a quantitative or qualitative value.
The interrelation of both concepts results in knowledge management (in English known as knowledge management), which is defined as:
Citing Daedamun (Daedamun, 2003), knowledge management is that activity through which it is possible to create, acquire, retain, maintain, use and process all that knowledge to be available to the members of the organization in the precise time you need to perform an activity, for it to be effective. Said knowledge management in organizations must be effective when promoting the creation of more knowledge and promoting its transmission. (Canals, 2003) According to this, the following concepts are defined which should be taken into account:
- Knowledge creation: This can only be created individually or in groups by individuals, so that the organization cannot generate knowledge without them. It is the duty of the organization to foster and promote the appropriate context for individuals to generate knowledge. In the organization, knowledge is generated by individuals and is a fundamental part of the organization's knowledge network.Transmission of knowledge: The transmission of knowledge must be supported by the most competent members with the best development of skills in the organization. Both parties (sender and receiver) must invest time and resources for its transmission. Through manuals,Instructions and some other methods should gradually improve the development of tasks or activities so that the new member of the organization performs them in the most effective way possible, that is, specialize in knowledge.
Background and the study of knowledge
The theory of knowledge
The theory of knowledge is an important part of philosophy since its inception, through people dedicated to the study of these concepts in ancient Greece, such as Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras, is that there is a first approach between man and his ability to acquire by means of abstraction or direct route a certain amount of information from their environment, being able to deduce new data on those that were already known. Years later and during all known ages, man has tried to find strategies that allow him to manage in the most effective way the creation and subsequent transmission of what is known. So that this knowledge will last through time.
At present, the study of knowledge in organizations base their field of study on organizational approaches, from this view they point out that knowledge is produced only through the human being, since only he has the ability to convert data and information into knowledge.
Knowledge management in organizations
As mentioned above, knowledge management is that discipline whose objective is to improve the effective performance of individuals and organizations, as well as to preserve and take advantage of the past, present and future value of knowledge assets.
In organizations, knowledge management is the process by which the transmission of data, information and skills to its members is facilitated, so that they are systematically efficient. In this way, the organization makes sure to find and select the most relevant information so that it can be organized and disseminated to active members. This cycle is essential for problem solving, dynamics in the learning process and subsequent decision making. So all hierarchical levels must keep it in mind and be involved.
Among the most relevant benefits that the organization can count on when effectively managing knowledge is to improve its performance to achieve an "intelligent organization", that is, the planning of strategies and policies will have a somewhat higher degree. commitment and acceptance by all staff.
The management commitment in the organization must be involved in the search for traditional management approaches to generate an advance in the business and organizational culture.
Components of knowledge management (Skills and information)
Bearing in mind that the members of the organization are the basis for the generation and transfer of knowledge in the organization, it is necessary to define what will be the elements that guarantee the effective management of knowledge. These elements are skills and information. These are detailed below:
- Skills: Known as the most difficult element to transfer, skills involve the acquisition of new knowledge for later use. These are directly associated with the training plans in the company and represent an additional effort in progressive practice for their effective execution.
Given their difficulty, they involve a very important effort to identify the members who have the most valuable skills for the organization, which is why many times the outsourcing of people outside the company who share specific knowledge is sought.
- The information: Collected, stored and disseminated by the company's information systems, it facilitates the creation of dashboards for the organizational environment and management, so that the more effective these systems, the processed information can be better used systematically at the precise moment for making decisions that collaborate with the achievement of organizational objectives.
Knowledge management inside and outside the company
According to the previous subtopic, skills and information are elements seen from an internal organizational environment (that is, within the organization) and external (that is, the global set of elements that directly or indirectly affect the organization's actions.), keeping this in mind, knowledge management must identify and act on these two aspects, so that information systems can channel and propagate all the data collected.
Internal knowledge management
Known as business intelligence (Business Intelligence), internal knowledge management guides its actions towards the elements that the organization already has, focusing specifically on the efficiency of internal communication systems such as: CRM, ERP and CMI.
Traditionally, most organizations have chosen to control only the volumes of internal information since information from the environment is more difficult to detect, select and organize for later dissemination.
Therefore, internal knowledge is that knowledge that is critical to ensure the proper functioning of an organization. Without it it would be impossible for the information systems and the organization itself to function.
- CRM: Management based on customer relationships or "Customer relationship management" is a management model in organizations, which bases its objectives on customer satisfaction. The concept most related to CRM is relationship marketing. ERP: Enterprise resource planning or by its acronym "Enterprise resource planning", refers to the integrated management of central business processes, information systems often work in real time and through the use of software and technology. Its objective is to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many commercial activities carried out by the CMI organization: The balanced scorecard or also known as the “Balance score card”,is an administration system and a very useful tool in business management used to measure the progress and evolution of the activities carried out in the organization, its objectives and its results. It is used by senior hierarchical managers to have a global vision of the most relevant aspects of the company in the medium and long term.
External knowledge management
The management of external knowledge, on the other hand, is that which the organization uses to know what happens in the environment, through various tools such as consulting reports or websites, the management of this type of knowledge will identify and analyze the variables in the environment. market that allow the taking advantage of opportunities, or in the opposite case, the detection of possible threats to be able to act before them when the moment arrives.
Elements that make up the management of information systems in the organization
Human resources management
Among the elements that contribute to the development of information systems that guarantee the dissemination of knowledge throughout the organization, the management of human resources is found in the first place. Known as part of the intellectual capital of the organization, they form the set of the most important intangible assets due to the present value and the future potential they have in the management of contributions for decision-making.
The management of human resources is defined as that administrative process that is applied to practices, health, knowledge and skills that impact the members of the organization, seeking their benefit, that of the organization and that of all systems involved in it. Its main objective is to promote the best performance and the highest quality in personal and social behaviors that contribute to meeting the needs and expectations of each of the active members belonging to the organization's structure. Its function consists of the planning, organization and efficient development of activities that allow achieving the established personal and organizational objectives.
Information management
The information seen as a resource that is necessary to manage effectively to guarantee the transmission of financial, technological, material and human knowledge through the members of the company, is a vital part of the business activities that are carried out every day.
The information management process consists of various steps, which include carrying out collection, treatment, purification and conservation activities, which together make up the access through different channels of all the information relevant to the organization. This will be responsible for monitoring and managing access to the identified end users so that together they form a team to support the board in decision-making.
Use of information technologies
To make use of knowledge from sources external to the worker receiving it, in organizations there are a series of resources known as digital platforms, the best known internet, making use of virtual environments, strengthening the processes of knowledge transmission. In addition, these tools make up the transformation from tacit to explicit knowledge and vice versa, so as to guarantee the exchange of knowledge. In recent years, information technologies through digital platforms have played a very important role in terms of knowledge management processes, since they have allowed the development of the necessary spaces for interaction between members. of the organization (internal and external) through a digital space,so that the interaction between them guarantees the exchange of knowledge in the development of new products and services that satisfy the needs that customers demand.
Together, the management of these systems aims to:
- The generation of knowledge The development of the necessary pathways to gather and share knowledge The application of knowledge in the management of organizations The creation of added value to increase efficiency and meet organizational objectives
Contributions to the organization
In organizations, knowledge management implies going beyond just information systems and training plans, since it also includes establishing an efficient and innovative business structure. The fluidity with which information is transmitted through the members of the organization increases the possibility of generating more and better knowledge that leads to new tools, applications, improvements in processes and products and better ways to lead the business towards new opportunities. In organizations, knowledge is the only asset that lasts and makes its value grow over time. It must be guaranteed that the loss of a member of the organization does not mean a loss in the competitiveness and efficiency of carrying out a certain activity.For this, it is vital to manage in the best way and through established tools all relevant knowledge for the company.
According to the expected results derived from the management of organizational knowledge are:
- Increased productivity in the organization Increased competitiveness Increased leadership capacity of the organization in each of its markets Improved market opportunities Make decisions that lead to the fulfillment of the organization's objectives
Knowledge management techniques
To establish the techniques for knowledge management in organizations, it is first necessary to know the generic work guidelines that will allow carrying out this series of activities, which are defined below:
- Define the objectives of the organization Establish the methodology to achieve the objectives set o Detect and define the instruments to carry out knowledge management o Put into practice the methodology and instruments defined in the previous steps Evaluate the information obtained o Generate the results o Work on the best practices detected in the organization
According to the studies carried out previously, it is known that the conglomerate of all the information that an organization has is distributed as follows:
- 10% is in structured computer formats or, 20% is in unstructured computer formats or, 70% is protected in the form of documents, An undetermined volume, but fundamental to establish knowledge management systems is in the memory and experience of the workers.
Tacit knowledge
Among the sources that represent competitive advantages and value creation for organizations, is tacit knowledge, which is described as that knowledge that is highly personal, is difficult to formalize and communicate to third parties, it is made up of technical skills (known as know - how) and by a series of cognitive dimensions: beliefs, mental structures and own perspectives, due to its high complexity it is difficult to express it. (Chakravarti, 2003)
Given its difficulty, it is very complex to manage this type of knowledge in organizations, which is why the authors Nonaka and Takeuchi, propose a series of steps, which will serve to outsource tacit knowledge and transfer it through management systems to the members of the organization:
- Make use of metaphors that serve to direct individuals, so that their knowledge and skills can be guided towards a goal through the use of symbols and / or images. It is intended to promote the use of creativity so that knowledge can be transferred Make use of analogies, that is, through the establishment of distinctions constitute a middle step towards the transformation of tacit knowledge to logical knowledge Make use of models that manage to transfer the In such a way that valuable information is created through organizational processes that contribute to the dissemination of the knowledge obtained
To carry out these activities described above, it is recommended that the middle managers of the organization be responsible for guiding the individual in the search for the transfer of knowledge, this role is known as "knowledge engineers" whose main objective is to synthesize the tacit knowledge to later integrate it into the collective knowledge of the organization.
On the other hand, senior managers will be in charge of generating metaphors, symbologies, concepts, etc. that represent the objectives of the organization, so that through the vision of tacit knowledge it will be sought to comply with the strategic action of the organization.
Explicit knowledge
For its part, explicit knowledge is that knowledge that can be expressed in words or concrete numbers, so it has the characteristic that it is highly communicable and transferred. Explicit knowledge is defined as systematic knowledge, that is, it bases its structure on formal rules, by means of which it is easy to know a large amount of information existing in the organization. Also known as organizational knowledge, explicit knowledge resides in the organization as the result of learning or a conversion process from tacit knowledge.
In the organization, it is materialized in information systems through databases, reports, documents, procedures, regulations, technologies of the organization, indicators, among many other ways of showing important information to members.
The knowledge manager
Derived from the use of tools for the conversion and creation of knowledge in organizations, the vast majority have chosen to create a responsible figure for the management of this knowledge, which is known as knowledge manager or knowledge manager, this figure is It distinguishes itself from the rest since it is considered as a specialist whose responsibility is to identify, define, promote, lead and evaluate the process to form the structure of knowledge management and how this will be transferred to the rest of the members of the organization.
In recent years, this figure has taken on special relevance since the possibilities that organizations have detected to drive business growth through the creation and retention of knowledge have increased considerably.
conclusion
In conclusion, through the text, you can see the great importance that knowledge (of all kinds) has had in the success or failure of the organization. And it is enough to have the notion that, in other words, organizational knowledge is all that internal and external information that involves the organization. That is, the very essence of the business lies in the skills, experiences and knowledge of the members that make it up, so the management of organizational knowledge is essential to know the most relevant aspects.
In recent years, and given the magnitude of how the creation, retention and dissemination of knowledge creates value and identifies opportunities for decision-making, a series of steps and tools have been created to facilitate the transfer and nurture of each member of the organization that could contribute something important in your field of work.
The problem that lies in the complexity of knowledge itself, has led to the creation of techniques that facilitate this work, that is, as explained in the text, the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, in such a way that all members of the organization have access to it, in the clearest and most objective way possible.
In a personal way, knowledge management is a key activity, whose main objective in organizations will be to have a concrete panorama on which to act, so that all the information they have about the competition, their systems, their members, your products, your services, etc. It will serve and will be essential for better decision-making and thus on the road to success.
Thanks
Firstly, to Dr. Fernando Aguirre for promoting the conduct of this type of research, which despite the fact that not all the topics are directly related to the fundamentals of administrative engineering, all the research topics are interesting and help us to glimpse the organization as a series of factors where each part has a special and significant contribution towards a whole. As a specific case, the previous topic, dedicated to knowledge management and its importance towards the path of success in organizations.
To my colleagues from the first semester of the master's degree in administrative engineering, since each one and in their own way have investigated and have become specialists in all the topics that we have seen and are yet to see, so their contributions have been very significant for the development of this work.
Bibliography
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