Knowledge management
Knowledge is an important aspect in any given situation, as it helps an individual to perform different tasks easily. For example, for a manager to understand the customer base of the company, he or she will require data in order for him or her to make a report. Knowledge management, therefore, is an essential process and strategy in all companies. This is the use of organizational facts to achieve objectives of the firm. This is achieved through effective sharing and development of information available from sources, such as employees, clients, suppliers and the internet.
Many firms have integrated this discipline into their information technology, human resource departments and their business policy. This is because this model enhances quality performance, innovation, and networking between staff. Implementation of knowledge management within an organization is achieved using technology-based and softer systems. Models of KM, on the other hand, are used for its assessment and analysis before the strategy is tested.
KM Maturity Model
With this model, an examination of growth and development of the institution through different levels is established. The assessment focuses on people, processes, and technology found in an organization. The Knowledge Management Maturity Model (KMMM) contains five levels of organizational development; this includes the Siemens AG KM, which analyzes areas such as the corporate environment, culture, and company policies. The 5Ikm3 model expounds on the interaction among people, processes and technology; it also indicates how the three are influenced by corporate culture. The Infosys KM has five stages and consists of Knowledge Acquisition, Dissemination and Re-use cycles (Kelly, 2004).
The SECI Model
This KM tool gives details on the different levels of information sharing, and explains the significance of socializing with other workers for development of new ideas. The model categorizes the processes of creating knowledge, by basing it on related levels.
Intellectual Capital Management
Intellectual capital is the worth of an organization’s ideas, which are found in its human resources, business training, and other valuable information. This asset gives the firm a competitive advantage, generates profits, and creates new customers and products, which are activities that grow the business. Information capital, labor and brand awareness are some of the intellectual assets of a company. Intellectual capital management is the process of enhancing, developing, and protecting these resources to attain sustainable growth for an organization.
Intellectual capital management is measured using descriptive and prospective models. A prospective model involves the use of a mathematical tool to estimate future events and make predictions. The descriptive method describes historical events and their relation to each other; it has five different tools for measurement of intellectual assets. These parameters include market capitalization, direct intellectual capital, return on assets, scorecard and visualization models (Choo, 2002). The Economic Value Added, Market Value Added, and citation-weighted Patents are other measurement representations.
Comparative Analysis of the Models
References
Al-Ali, N. (2003). Comprehensive intellectual capital management: Step-by-step. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Choo, C. W. (2002). The strategic management of intellectual capital and organizational knowledge. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Kelly, A. (2004). The intellectual capital of schools: Measuring and managing knowledge, responsibility, and reward: lessons from the commercial sector. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
