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Knowledge Sharing in an Organizational Environment


Most of the organizations seek ways to survive in today's competitive environment. Employees need to be informed about their organizations and motivated to be able to show creative behaviors. Sharing needed information with employees empowers them and that allows them to show voluntary behaviors in favor of their organizations.


Compared with other organizational factors, knowledge becomes gradually the most important factor of them. Knowledge is valuable when it is shared with other employees. In today's dynamic global business environment, knowledge is seen as a source of strategic competitive advantage of the organizations.  There are many definitions for knowledge. Overall Tiwana defined Knowledge as "Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, expert insight and grounded intuition that provides an environment and framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information". It would be wrong to think of creativity without knowledge. Organizational success and the basic requirement of being a leader in the market, is through the creation of consistent innovation. To be creative and innovative the employees need to work together and share voluntarily the needed knowledge.


 Knowledge has been commonly known as the major source for creating an organization’s sustainable competitive advantage. Collins and Hitt (2006:148) illustrated in their study that knowledge sharing is an accumulation of social capital for an organization as if there is an adequate social capital is available then the knowledge possessed by an individual can be shared efficiently and effectively in the organization. Nevertheless the willingness of the members to share their knowledge with other members based on the organizational structure and social relations in the organization. The importance of organizational knowledge has supported several knowledge management activities that are intended to realize knowledge creation, retention and distribution. In fact, the knowledge of human resources, customers, innovations and processes consist of managerial intellectual capital that will be incorporated into decisions. However, the transition of knowledge across individuals and organizational boundaries, and into organizational practices relies heavily on individual employees’ knowledge sharing behavior. When individuals are psychologically attached and identified with an organization, they trust and interact with other organizational members and make it easy and comfortable to share knowledge with them. Social factors are more deterministic than extrinsic benefits in knowledge -sharing behaviors. Knowledge sharing potentially carries the meaning, to share sensitive knowledge about costs, productivity, financial and performance with employees of the organizations. With knowledge sharing, managers strengthen teams that can take their own decisions. This dimension creates a situation for workers to understand the meaning of their work, to feel being of competence in fulfilling the business and have an impact in the direction of the organization where they feel themselves better. In other words, knowledge sharing constitutes the basis of empowerment.

 

References

 

0'neill B. S. ve Monica A. (2007),"Knowledge Sharing and the Psychological Contract

Amabile, T. M. ,(1997), “Motivating Creativity in Organizations

Bock, G.W., Zmud, R.W., Kim, Y.G., and Lee, J.N. (2005). “Behavioral intention formation in knowledge sharing

Bolino, M.C., W.H. Turnley and J.M. Bloodgood, (2002). “Citizenship behavior and the creation of social capital in organizations”


Comments

  1. Buddima Bandara17 July 2020 at 10:33

    Most of Sri Lankans are traditional thinkers than Europeans.How can we use new technology for current industrial society.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahesh Chandrasekara19 July 2020 at 01:13

      Technology is the use of engineering and manufacturing technology to make production faster, simpler and more efficient. The technology field employs creative and technically proficient individuals who can help a company achieve efficient and profitable productivity.

      Delete
  2. ajithUbnadara1903413618 July 2020 at 08:05

    What are the benefits of knowledge shearing ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahesh Chandrasekara19 July 2020 at 01:15

      • Make the organization's best problem-solving experiences reusable.
      • Enable better and faster decision making.
      • Stimulate innovation and growth.
      • Improve delivery to customers.
      • Reduce the loss of know-how.

      Delete
  3. Ajith Nishantha18 July 2020 at 12:01

    How effective is the knowledge sharing in your organization?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahesh Chandrasekara19 July 2020 at 01:24

      Knowledge sharing increases social interaction in the workplace, leads to a rise in creative problem solving, preserves pre-existing knowledge so it is not lost as employees retire or move on, and enables every department to access the information they need, when they need it, therefore speeding up response times.

      Delete
  4. Pubudu Walisingha18 July 2020 at 14:10

    The first and foremost responsibility of a corporation is the use of clear and transparent means of communication. In an open knowledge sharing environment, employees can freely express their individualistic ideas and might contribute to future success.

    Moreover, no one likes a workplace environment where only a few employees can access inside information about the company. So, knowledge sharing via open communication develops a sense of trust and awareness among employees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahesh Chandrasekara19 July 2020 at 01:34

      Thank you Pubudu for your comments.
      Access to knowledge and information is increasingly important to employees, who must adapt to shifting roles and compete for work in a global marketplace. Employers often need their workers to accomplish more work in less time, perform a wider variety of tasks, and learn new skills quickly.
      Knowledge is valuable when it is shared with other employees. In today's dynamic global business environment, knowledge is seen as a source of strategic competitive advantage of the organizations.

      Delete
  5. Malinda Konara18 July 2020 at 17:13

    Dear Mahesh, What are the ways to Create a Knowledge Sharing Culture

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahesh Chandrasekara19 July 2020 at 01:39

      Malinda, here are a few steps organizations might implement to create a knowledge sharing culture
      • Keeping the Communication Transparent.
      • Organizing Scheduled Meetings.
      • Engaging People via Conversations.
      • Telling Success Stories.
      • Creating a Knowledge Base.
      • Open Door Policy.

      Delete
  6. Naleentmb1903413819 July 2020 at 10:09

    Most businesses have the main purpose of increasing revenue, but this can be a bit difficult when competition increases. By managing knowledge properly, employees gain access to valuable information and deliver better results. The organization stimulates innovation and, directly, achieves growth a lot easier.
    How do you match and knowledge sharing low educated and labor level employeement

    ReplyDelete

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