R1511D1145675

University of South Wales

Masters in Business Administration (MBA)

Management Theories and Philosophies
(BS4S02-V1)

Tutor: Dr Leonidas Efthymiou

Student Number: R1511D1145675

Assessment 2 Management Theories and Philosophies

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Question Two:

According to Dasgupta and Gupta “The increasing turbulence in the external business
environment has focused attention on the resources and organisational capabilities as the
principal source of competitive advantage.” (2009, p.204)

Discuss with reference to appropriate literature sources, the extent to which the creation,
sharing and utilisation of knowledge is central to this resource based view of competitive
advantage.

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice” – Anton Chekhov. According to
Skyrme (1997), knowledge management is the explicit and systematic management of vital
knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, use and
exploitation. Knowledge can be placed into to two categories, that is, explicit and implicit
knowledge. Explicit knowledge is information which can be recorded and saved to a database,
while implicit knowledge on the other hand is information based on what employees know
(Dasgupta and Gupta 2009, pg 203). Knowledge Management understands the importance of
how information guides the operation of an organization (Bounds 2009). The objective of
knowledge management is to have the entire organization working collectively to ensure created
knowledge is distributed equally (Bound 2009). According to Nonaka (1997), “organizations that
are able to stimulate and improve the knowledge of their human capital are in a better position to
face the rapid changes in the environment and to innovate in the domain where they decide to
invest and compete” (as cited in Dasgupta and Gupta 2009, pg 209).

Knowledge Management is the only strategy organizations can utilize to gain a competitive
advantage.

Organizations must have an understanding of the future vision of its business which must be in
keeping with the organizational strategic goal (Hariharun, 2015). In order for a firm to be
competitive it must understand what it knows and what it needs to know in order to accomplish
its strategic objectives. There are some key elements which must be addressed for competitive
advantage to be realized. These elements are linked directly to knowledge management, that is,
Strategic Alignment, Leadership and Governance, People and Culture, Process and Organization,

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Content and Context, and Technology (Deloitte Belgium, 2015). It is necessary for a strategic fit
among these activities within a firm in order for it to result in organizational competitive
advantage. The firm must craft a strategic plan which will be able to tie into the general business
strategy of the organization. According to Chan and Reich (2006), strategic business and
alignment is the magnitude to which the activities and capabilities of an organization support its
business strategy (as cited in Kasina, 2012). “Firms can create sustainable competitive
advantages through external alignment with business environment and external alignment with
resources and infrastructure” (Kasina, 2012). Comprehensibility, flexibility and efficiency are
three important concepts to consider when aligning knowledge management strategies to the
organization’s business strategy (Swain and Ekionea, 2008). Sabherwal and Chan 2001, (as cited
in Swain and Ekionea 2008, pg 115), are of the belief that through efficiency, flexibility and
comprehensibility knowledge management alignment can be achieved. According to (Swain and
Ekionea 2008, pg 115), with regards to business performance, the alignment of organizational
business strategies with knowledge management strategies can result in improved efficiency.
Strategic alignment of knowledge management with organizational business strategies supports
the flexibility to achieve better opportunities in business (Swain and Ekionea 2008, pg 115). It
also states “The alignment of knowledge resources strategies with business strategies means
looking at business performance through a comprehensive prism that supports both efficiency
and flexibility in knowledge management” (Swain and Ekionea 2008, pg 115).

Great strategies come from good leaders with a vision for the future. For this vision to be
achieved, clear governance structures must be put in place by top management to stand behind
and actively support the knowledge management process. The management of knowledge is
considered an important part of the governance of organizations in various industries (Ardianto,
2013 pg 133). According to Ardinato (2003), in a study conducted by Zyngier et al. (2006), it
was stated that “Knowledge Management governance is regarded as evolutionary as shown by
the availability of feedback mechanisms to improve governance processes” (as cited in Ardinato,
2003, pg 133). Organizational leadership is critical when drafting a strategic knowledge
management program (Haribarun, 2015). There are roles and responsibilities which govern the
leadership aspect of knowledge management (Haribarun, 2015). As stated by Haribarun (2015),
these roles and responsibilities include, acknowledging the priorities of the organization and
aligning them with the Knowledge Management strategy, identifying how the performance of

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Knowledge Management is measured, ensures that the Knowledge Management roles are filled
by skilled and competent individuals, and ensuring that knowledge sharing and results are visible
and recognized. “As leadership and authority transpire in organizational practices, they cannot be
liberated from the notion of organizational culture” (Ardianto, 2013, pg 134). The culture of an
organization determines the company’s success and more specifically its position in the
marketplace. Organizational Culture is imperative element of Knowledge Management
performance (Ardianto, 2013 pg 134). The size of the organization also impacts the cultural
dynamics of how Knowledge Management is carried out. According Ardianto (2013), culture in
an organization encompasses the corporate and ethical values which encourages collaboration
among team members to achieve the firm’s objectives. On the other hand, in some cases the
culture of an organization may pose a challenge when management introduces a new system or
mode of operation. Cultural challenges re the first barrier to success (Barth, 2000; Knowledge
Management Review, 2001. KPMG, 2000) and are very significant and directly impacts the
success or failure of Knowledge Management. Resistance to change is common with
organizational culture; however it is imperative that the organization’s goals and objective is
clearly expressed to employees in order to achieve its competitive advantage.

Today, knowledge management is increasingly considered the most important assets of

organizations [Carneiro 2000] and it is assumed that every experience is reusable [Basili and
Rombach 1991] (as cited in Lucza 2001). The Knowledge Management process and organization
is another important element when determining a firm’s strategic plans to accomplish its set
goals. Knowledge must be properly managed by a clear organization process with people who
are dedicated to manage content and do quality control. Creating knowledge is one aspect of
Knowledge Management, ensuring that the knowledge is of value to the organization and is of
high standard is imperative. Quality Management and Knowledge Management work hand in
hand since the knowledge created and shared within the organization must be of high quality.
The guiding principles of Quality Management are the bases for improved organizational
performance and success (Ribere and Khorramshahgol, 2004). These principles are customer
focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management,
continual improvement, factual approach to decision making and mutually beneficial supplier
relationships (Ribere and Khorramshahgol 2004). Knowledge Management utilizes similar
principles as quality management in its operations. The Knowledge Management process and

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organization determines the content and context of the knowledge created or received. Implicit
knowledge plays an integral role here since analyzing the right content and context of the
information requires skilled personnel with a wealth of knowledge. How content is managed is
very important to the operations of the organization. Content must be stored in a structured way
to ensure that it can be easily retrieved when needed. Most importantly, the content of
Knowledge Management must align with the organizations goals and objectives.

As previously mentioned, some of the enablers of Knowledge Management are strategy and
leadership, culture, process measurement and most importantly technology. Technology is a
significant part of the Knowledge Management process as all information or knowledge which is
created and changed is done through technology. According to Liebowitz and Bechman (1998),
“knowledge is applied information that actively guides task execution, problem solving and
decision making” (as cited in Mahapatra and Sarkar 2000). Technology is the easiest and most
significant technical consideration for Knowledge Management (Ribere and Khorramshahgol
2004). Ettlie and Bridges (1983) states that, technology policy reflects the innovative attitude of
an organization and its commitment to innovation (as cited in Dasgupta and Gupta 2009, pg
212). Technology has contributed to organizational learning and Knowledge Management
through technical systems which determine how knowledge is distributed and accessed
throughout the organization (Dasgupta and Gupta 2009, pg 212). Organizations use technology
as its main source of innovation when creating its competitive advantage. All knowledge
information collected by an organization through research or other methods is stored to a
database. Technology allows for the safe keeping of this information in a structured way.
Organizational also use technology for organizational strategies like foresight process, where
organization use technology to gather information through sources like crowdsourcing. This
method allows organizations to expand their knowledge base and remain relevant in the
marketplace through continuous and updated information regarding their product or service.

To conclude, in order to achieve a competitive advantage, organizations must have a strategic

Knowledge Management vision. This vision must encompass all the key elements of the
Knowledge Management framework which includes Strategic Alignment, Leadership and
Governance, People and Culture, Process and Organization, Content and Context, and
Technology. These keys elements of the Knowledge Management framework determine the

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success or failure of an organization and its competitive position with the marketplace.
Reviewing these elements, we understand that Strategic business and alignment is the magnitude
to which the activities and capabilities of an organization support its business strategy.
Organizational leadership is critical when drafting a strategic knowledge management program
to support the organizations strategic goals. The knowledge Management process and
organization works along with quality management and has some of the same principles. The
content and context of knowledge must be properly store for easy retrieval and must align the
organizations competitive advantage strategy. And the most important aspect of knowledge
management is technology. Technology is a significant part of the Knowledge Management
process as all information or knowledge which is created and changed is done through
technology. Based on all the elements stated above and its importance to the knowledge
management process, it is clear that knowledge management is the key to competitive advantage
in the marketplace.

Reference List:

Ardianto D., 2013. The Role of Knowledge Management Governance. International Journal of
Computer Theory and Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 1, February 2013 [Online] Available at
http://www.ijcte.org/papers/662-I011.pdf [Accessed 10 August, 2018]

Dasgupta M. and Gupta R. 2009., [Online] Available at

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.843.7787&rep=rep1&type=pdf
[Accessed 2 August, 2018]

Bounds. S. 2009., Why is Knowledge Management Important? [Online] Available

athttp://bounds.net.au/node/29 [Accessed 15 August, 2018]

file:///C:/Users/Tamika%20Inglis/Downloads/Organization%20Structure-2596.pdf

Mahapatra R. and Sarkar S. 2000, The Role of Inforamtion Technology in Knowledge

Management. [Online] Available at http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1837&context=amcis2000 [Accessed 18 August, 2018]

Matthijs, N, 2015. Knowledge Management Strategy Deliotte Belgium [Online Video] Available
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXbb87_M3vc [Accessed 13 August, 2018]

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Kasina N, 2012. Strategic Alignment as a source of competitive advantage at Equity Bank (K)
Ltd. [Online] Available at http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/13525/Kasina
%20Nelly%20Kalunda_%20Strategic%20Alignment%20as%20a%20Source%20of
%20Competitive%20Advantage%20at%20Equity%20Bank%20%28K%29%20LTD.pdf?
sequence=3&isAllowed=y [Accessed 15 August, 2018]

Kucza. T., 2001. Knowledge Management Process Model [Online] Available at

https://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/publications/2001/P455.pdf [Access 15 August, 2018]

Swain D. & Ekionea J.B 2008., A Framework for Developing and Aligning a Knowledge
Management Strategy, Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2008)
113–122 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5030/805c6097126fec0348776bfb1dd35ca32e71.pdf

Ribiere V. and Khorramshahgol 2004., Integrating Total Quality Management and Knowledge
Management, Journal of Management Systems, Vol. XVI, No. 1, 2004 [Online] Available at
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/997b/2d66a8116b9b7cd58119a5d74ada37112eb0.pdf [Accessed
15 August, 2018]

Eckard B. 2016., Culture and the Strategic Alignment of Knowledge Management [Online]
Available at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/culture-strategic-alignment-knowledge-
management-brian-eckard [Accessed 17 August, 2018]

Hariharan A. 2015., Creating a Strategic Knowledge Management Framework [Online]

Available at https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-column/082615-creating-
strategic-knowledge-management-framework.html [Accessed 17 August, 2018]