scholarly journals Knowledge management in project environments

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Pretorius ◽  
H. Steyn

Knowledge management is widely acclaimed to be a source of considerable financial advantage for organisations. Various authors realise that project environments could also benefit from the creation and re-use of knowledge, including from the lessons learned that should be documented during project close-out. Projects face specific challenges (limited time spans, changing and dispersed teams) and the reduction of project risk, time and cost through knowledge management, may well prove worthwhile.This paper reviews the literature on knowledge management, both in organisations in general and in project environments specifically. A framework for knowledge management is derived from literature. The paper also reports on an investigation of knowledge management practices in four cases within a single South African business environment. Knowledge management practices similar to ones reported abroad were found.A model is proposed for the management of knowledge in project environments, both within a single project (intraproject) and between projects (inter-project) and. guidelines for knowledge management in project environments are provided. It is also suggested that, while the management of explicit knowledge is common in project management, more attention should be given to the sharing of tacit knowledge through human interaction.

Author(s):  
Tania Regina Corredato Periotto ◽  
Janacilda Leite Wessellenns

Knowledge management gains space within the school organization and can contribute satisfactorily to the quality of teaching. In everyday life the school manager intuitively uses knowledge management practices without exploiting the potentials they offer or allow. In this context, the purpose of this work is to identify the level of implementation of knowledge management practices aimed at structuring the organizational processes used by the public school manager. The methodology adopted was exploratory, with a qualitative and quantitative approach. For data collection, an already validated instrument with twenty-seven questions was used. Respondents to the questionnaires, one hundred and eleven managers of the basic education schools that make up the public school system in a city in the northwestern region of Paraná, Southern Brazil. In analyzing the results, it was only at this point that we investigated only those practices that were related to the structuring of organizational processes. This decision is justified because of the responsibilities of the school manager in the execution of his work. The results indicated that the school in its daily life, makes use of practices of Knowledge Management related to the structuring of the organizational processes and that many are already applied by the managers.


Author(s):  
Edda Tandi Lwoga ◽  
Patrick Ngulube ◽  
Christine Stilwell

Traditional communities have a highly developed knowledge system. They struggle, however, to lobby for critical issues as this knowledge is not documented. The chapter addresses this problem by seeking a suitable knowledge creation model for South African and Tanzanian indigenous organizations. It draws on fieldwork and reviews the literature and organizational websites. It applies Myer's seven C's model (2014) to determine how knowledge management may assist organizations in addressing challenges effectively. The findings demonstrate that Myers's model (2014) has been successful in part in explaining the knowledge management practices of indigenous organizations in these two countries. It is also difficult for indigenous organizations to motivate people to share knowledge because indigenous knowledge is individualized and used as a source of power, status and income in the communities. It is therefore important to promote integration of indigenous knowledge with other knowledge systems for socio-economic growth, and advocating change in institutional structures.


2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Botha ◽  
B. Fouché

This article reports the findings of the first phase of a longitudinal research project on knowledge management (KM) practices in the South African business sector. The overall objectives of the research are to describe prevalent knowledge management practices, to identify patterns and trends, and to develop knowledge management benchmarking and strategic management tools for the business sector. During the first phase of the project a data collection and analysis instrument for a recurring survey of knowledge management practices was developed and verified. The statistical verification of the instrument was based on a pilot survey of seventy-four respondents representing fifty-three companies in the South African industry, using one-way analysis of variance, cross-tabular chi-squared tests and principal component analysis. The data collected during the pilot survey was considered to be sufficient for a first order analysis of KM practices. The survey tested respondent perceptions on six factors scored by aggregation from 24 indicators. The selection of the factors and indicators was based on a KM reference model developed for the purpose of the research. The findings indicated clear patterns of organisational performance related to the factors of the model. The patterns corroborated to a large extent the published findings of research on KM practices in industrialised countries. This provided the confidence to use the preliminary findings as the basis of hypotheses to guide the further phases of the project.


Author(s):  
Himasha Erandi ◽  
Vilani Sachitra

Purpose: Knowledge Management (KM) can be defined as capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge. Organizations become more knowledge intensive and they are hiring “minds” more than “hands”. The organization practice has shown that knowledge, when properly used and leveraged, could drive it to become more innovative and thus, more competitive. The investments on intangible resources and the creation of capabilities made by the SMEs are quite problematic. The main reason of conducting this study is to examine the effects of Knowledge Management Practices (KMP) to gain competitive advantage (CA) of SMEs in Sri Lanka. Methods: Explanatory research approach was utilized followed with quantitative research method. Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Validation, Knowledge Presentation, Knowledge Distribution and Knowledge Application were considered as Knowledge Management Practices. The study was conducted with 32 SMEs in Colombo District.  Findings: According to the overall assessment of Knowledge Management Practices in SMEs, 12.5 percent of respondents were never heard about Knowledge Management while 6.3 percent were thinking that it is just a management activity that organizations are already engaging with. Further, 34.4 percent opined that Knowledge Management is a strategic part of the business while 15.6 percent stated Knowledge Management is not existence at their organizations. Fortunately, 40.6 percent believed that Knowledge Management Practices could be beneficial for the organizations. Correlation analysis result indicated moderate positive correlation among knowledge creation, validation, presentation, distribution, application and competitive advantage of SMEs. Regression analysis results revealed that of knowledge distribution was the only significant determinant of competitive advantage of SMEs.   Research Implications:  The findings could be beneficial to SMEs to share and manage tacit and explicit knowledge and information effectively within their entity to achieve competitive advantage. Organizational learning will help them to enhance their decision-making process more effectively. The smooth and accelerate access to information and knowledge and manages to engage in work will be bonuses of having a good Knowledge Management Practices in the society. Limitations: The study was conducted based on the sample of SMEs in Colombo District, as in Colombo area population is relatively high and it is the business hub of Sri Lanka. Generalizability of the findings might be restricted.


Author(s):  
Nirmali Chakraborty

The study aims to highlight the existing Knowledge Management Practices at Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The present study is limited to four IIMs from four zones of the country. For the study the select institutions were physically visited and a self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the library authority of the select institutes. Tacit knowledge management is not getting priority in comparison to explicit knowledge.


2010 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Madan ◽  
Sheetal Khanka

Land, labour, capital, raw materials, innovation, human resources, research and development have all been credited as sources of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Yet sources of sustainable competitive advantages continuously change, and transformations in the business environment cause shifts in the sources. A viable method to generate sustainable competitive advantages is knowledge management, and this study empirically links the concept of knowledge management to sustainable competitive advantage. The study investigates how knowledge management practices can be employed to improve strategic positioning and competitiveness in service industries, particularly business schools.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula ◽  
Daisy Jacobs

This article presents challenges facing higher education in South Africa and how knowledge management can be applied to ameliorate the situation. Some of these challenges include internal and external pressures for accountability and transparency in the management of the institutions; declining state subsidies; stiff competition from global counterparts; low graduate throughput; declining enrolments; inadequate facilities (e.g. space, ICTs and equipment); ill-prepared graduates for the job market; limited partnership with industry and government; brain drain; bureaucracy and general poor service delivery. The authors submit that South African universities have largely not embraced knowledge management practices and argue that KM integration within the universities’ strategic processes and operations can help address the challenges facing them. The article is largely based on authoritative secondary and primary sources complemented by the authors’ experiences working within university environments in Southern Africa.


Author(s):  
Heba Essam El-Dien Aly Salama

Knowledge management is considered as an essential factor for the sustainable development of enterprises in the agricultural context. A consecutive workshops were conducted for senior and junior agricultural extension workers (AEWs) of two Governorates of the Delta region namely: Beheira and Kafr-Elsheikh. A purposive sample of 11 senior AEWs and 20 junior AEWs was selected. The Wiig knowledge management model (KMM) of four stages was used to identify the knowledge management practices. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used for presenting interview responses and Chi Square Test was used to determine the differences between senior and junior AEWs regarding their responses .The most important results were: the respondents obtain explicit knowledge from the statistics department and pamphlets. Types of formulating and documenting knowledge were the periodical minutes and reports. The available knowledge was compatible with the farmers' problems. Remembering the explicit knowledge was facilitated by frequent use of the acquired knowledge. Explicit knowledge was kept on computer bases of the specialized departments.  Aggregating and categorizing knowledge were rallying on personal efforts. The practical knowledge was provided through awareness-raising meetings with farmers. Significant differences were found between senior and junior AEWs regarding their responses concerning: obtaining the tacit knowledge, compatibility of knowledge with farmers' problems, and retrieving knowledge. Among the most important recommendations were: conducting training programs on knowledge management concept and practices for AEWs and establishing knowledge management units at the central and the two Governorates level. Some suggested recommendations are: forming specialized team to organize and document the tacit knowledge, allocating storage units for knowledge including new tools and the required electronic devices, coordinating research institutions with agricultural extension organizations in transferring farmers' problems through formal procedures, and supporting the provision of AESs and developing the evaluation methods of the provided services. These predictors, however, need further work to validate reliability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucio Abimael Medrano Castillo ◽  
Edson Walmir Cazarini

Abstract The constant search for competitiveness has become a mandatory practice to ensure the survival and growth of the organization, in this context of fierce competition enterprises, cities, regions and entire countries are seeking ways to ensure its sustainability, anchored in knowledge and constant innovation. The Technology Parks have proved development tools aligned to these new challenges, assisting in technological strengthening and integration of cities, regions and nations in the knowledge economy. These innovation centers, production, dissemination and use of knowledge are intensive, and management becomes imperative. Thus, Knowledge Management meets this need, and although it has achieved a consolidated stage as a research field, its relationship with the Technological Parks was little explored in the literature. Based on the analysis and reflection of these research gaps, this paper aims to propose a set of guidelines for the development of Knowledge Management in Technology Parks. To this end, was developed, validated and applied a data collection instrument in five Technological Park, four in Brazil and one in Spain. The selected case studies were analyzed, identifying initiatives, programs and tools related to knowledge management. Finally, based on these results, was proposed the mentioned guidelines.


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