Knowledge Management Systems in Business

As we have read in Chapter 7 Knowledge Management Systems play an instrumental part in helping businesses increase their profits and or reduce their costs. Now more than ever businesses have access to so much data, probably more than they have ever had before. That being said are these companies analyzing their data properly and getting the most out of it to make them successful. These Knowledge Management Systems allow companies to complete more complicated tasks that before may have taken a lot of time. Three key reasons why actively managing knowledge is important to a company’s success are: 1.) Facilitates decision-making capabilities, 2.) Builds learning organizations by making learning routine, and, 3.) Stimulates cultural change and innovation. [1] While implementing a KMS is not without its challenges it is imperative for the success of the business to have a KMS in place in order to stay competitive. There are some big fortune 500 companies that have started using a KMS and overcame the challenges, a few examples of those companies are: World Bank/ Dow Jones and Shuffle Master. American companies will spend $73 billion on knowledge management software this year and spending on content, search, portal, and collaboration technologies is expected to increase 16% in 2008, according to a recently-released report from AMR Research. [2] Then there is a company like Siemens (Europe’s Knowledge Management Leader), who knew the value of a KMS from the very beginning. The advantages offered by knowledge management are obvious. Companies avoid performing the same tasks twice by making more effective use of the knowledge available to them in databases, archives and documents. That helps them cut costs and save time. One example of this tool is the cooperation of virtual teams such as those operating at Siemens Business Services (SBS). [3] One of the issues that came up amongst Siemens employees after implementing the KMS was, does this now replace the need for employees when on the contrary it actually has the opposite effect, having a KMS in place will actually help develop additional jobs. Who wouldn’t want to see additional job opportunity in an economy like this? There are many different types of knowledge to be considered when putting a system into place. When considering effective knowledge management, a variety of factors and needs must be assessed to find the most beneficial form for the knowledge. Knowledge management can exist in many forms. (see list on link below).[4] In closing having a Knowledge Management System in place gives your business a competitive edge against the competition, it presents opportunities for companies that may have never been there before. Knowledge management is about using the brain power of an organization in a systematic and organized manner in order to achieve efficiencies, ensure competitive advantage, and spur innovation.[5] While there may be some bumps in the road while trying to implement the rewards will outweigh any of the challenges that are faced. 1. http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2012/08/20/why-knowledge-management-is-important-to-the-success-of-your-company/ 2. http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/IT-Management/Knowledge-Management-5-Big-Companies-That-Got-It-Right/ 3. http://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/publikationen/publications_pof/pof_spring_2004/knowledge_articles knowledge_management.htm 4. http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/knowledge-management-examples.html 5. http://www.uky.edu/~gmswan3/575/Serban_and_Luan_2002.pdf