Knowledge Sharing

Creating a knowledge sharing culture in organizations today is a norm. Please comment. The most valuable asset with any organization is intellectual capital i. e knowledge. Hence it is inevitable for organizations to create, nurture and develop this asset to achieve sustainable advantage in the market. Organizations can leverage the power of knowledge and bring innovation in their product and service offerings, achieving higher customer satisfaction, higher revenues, profits etc.

Ultimately it helps the organization meet its business objectives. A knowledge sharing culture encourages people to work together more effectively and collaborate to share information. It makes the organizational knowledge more productive. Hence creating a knowledge sharing culture has become a norm in organizations Why is sharing knowledge important? Can you list a few reasons? As mentioned earlier, the only sustainable competitive advantage is knowledge and continuous innovation. To achieve this, knowledge sharing is important.Today’s age is characterized by employees with high mobility. The concept of lifetime employment does not exist any longer.

People change jobs for professional advancement and career growth. Hence when employees leave the organisation, their knowledge also walks out of the door with them. To retain the knowledge base within the organization, there has to be a knowledge sharing culture within the company. As more and more organizations operate in the global space, the boundaries of country, geography, culture etc cease to exist.The culture of knowledge sharing can ensure that expertise learnt and applied in one part of the organisation can be leveraged in another. The pace of change is accelerating, be it in technology, business or social. As things change our knowledge base erodes.

Information becomes obsolete very soon and requires constant upgradation. Knowledge sharing comes to the rescue once again by not only conserving the knowledge base, but also upgrading the same What is the role of technology in sharing knowledge?Knowledge Management is fundamentally about people and information not technology. But there seems to be no way with which one can share knowledge effectively without using technology. This applies to small as well as large and geographically dispersed organizations. In the past it was impossible to share knowledge or work collaboratively with co-workers around the globe. But today, it is technology that has made knowledge sharing a reality. If implemented well and if people are trained in its use, knowledge sharing technology is good.

Not only can you find the information and knowledge you need quickly and effectively but you can post your knowledge on the system for access by others in the organisation. Not only within the organization, web based advanced technology allows us to collaborate with anyone anywhere in the world to achieve our objectives. However, one must keep in mind that there are many pitfalls to the effective use of technology. Too much information, from a variety of sources, whether reliable or not leads to knowledge overflow. One must be able to use it diligently and carefully.Inculcating Innovation through Knowledge Sharing There are various opportunities provided to employees which enable them to come out with creative approaches and innovative ideas and share the same at an organizational platform. One such initiative was a contest to generate implementable innovative ideas in product/services, enhancements, process, and technology or in any other area that can lead to deliverable results.

The best ideas were rewarded and suggested features/enhancements etc were implemented. This had a motivating effect on employees and ensured that they egularly come up with such solutions, thus keeping up the knowledge sharing culture.Such campaigns also lead to increased bonding & motivation among the employees and encourage them to keep themselves updated, alert and conscious of various aspects of increasing efficiency & effectiveness Open communication, exchange of dialogue, transparency in dealings, various formal and informal meetings, open house forums etc have inculcated the spirit of knowledge sharing within our organization. Thus the employees feel confident and motivated to contribute towards the growth of the organization.