Benefits and Harms of Knowledge Management into Organization

Benefits of KM
As eighty percent of knowledge in organization is tacit knowledge, so calculating ROI (return of investment) is very difficult and it may not be possible also. The impact of successful knowledge management program can be seen in terms of new and better product development, higher customer satisfaction, reduce in input cost, higher productivity etc..

KM creates a platform for extensive data mining and business intelligence knowledge. It assists today’s managers with better decision support systems. With sharing of data and information across the organization and getting the details from customers and suppliers, managers can forecast the future trend and take better decision. Knowledge creation process does not limit itself within the organization. Conference and seminars brings new learning to the organization and introduces ones knowledge and expertise to others. It encourages partnership and collaboration to develop new products and services leveraging the experience of different organizations. Because of the strong networking culture Knowledge Management creates it helps in developing collaborative decision making and threat analyzing capability of any organization. Organizations enter into new line of business with their knowledge and collaborations with others.
Today's business is not located near availability of raw materials or capital. They are flowing to the areas where knowledge is available. Companies’ future valuation heavily depends on its future market potential based on today's knowledge creating capability.


The dark side of KM

The implementation of Knowledge Management may face a widespread resistance because people do not like the very idea of their knowledge being managed, particularly in non-profit organizations, where a business case for knowledge management may not resonate with the values of the organization. Furthermore other factors such as the extensive use of Information Technology and complex information share systems may alienate individuals who are not computer literates.
Culture factors such as a high degree of competitiveness among employees can be a barrier on sharing information through an information system. Furthermore, the individuals may hesitate to share their knowledge out of fear of criticism or of misleading the community members (Ardichivili et al, 2003).
Organizational resistance to internal Knowledge Management efforts also stems from hierarchical structures that function to reinforce norms of competition by creating winners and losers (De Long and Seeman, 2000). When management decides to initiate knowledge management techniques, it is probable that they resist, because they do not like changes due to various reasons such as job losses.
De Long and Seeman (2000) argue that the successful implementation of Knowledge Management and its integration with the strategic aims may transform to a source of conflict. Top managers and executives may conflict in order to benefit from the success applying Knowledge Management systems in business. Though the relative literature focus on the early stages of knowledge management and on the process of implementing it, it seems that even in a case of a success a conflict may arise. This means that from the very beginning of knowledge management managers and executives shall define whose property the plan is and to delegate power in order not to have any conflicts that may disrupt a successful knowledge management plan.

Piyush patel
Software Engineer