Question

Describe knowledge acquisition and sharing

Answer 1

Knowledge and sharing

Introduction

Knowledge is one of the most important resources for any organization. The ability to be able to successfully acquire knowledge and also to be able to share that knowledge is very important and crucial for any organization. This knowledge acquisition and sharing g stage represent the start of the organizations' knowledge creation process. This serves as the critical foundation for any organization's knowledge development. According to the oxford dictionary, knowledge is “ the awareness or familiarity gained by experience”. In the management system knowledge is of two main types:

• Explicit knowledge
• Tacit knowledge

Explicit knowledge is the knowledge that can be collected, coded and stored in some mediums like files, documents, therefore, it is easy to share explicit knowledge. On the other hand, tacit knowledge can only be shared by training or gained through personal experience.

There are many ways by which the knowledge can be acquired and shared among the staff members, but to succeed in this process the organizations should be aware of the importance of committing enough resources and time into this process.

Organized and systematic learning and sharing

In the organized process of knowledge learning and sharing, different methods are intentionally implemented by the management to help the staff members to acquire knowledge regarding different aspects. This helps the employees to certify themselves according to the organizational needs and standards.

Courses and workshops

One of the ways to share and acquire knowledge is by conducting courses and workshops. These workshops can be conducted by the organization itself or it can also be outsourced as per the plan of the management system. Workshops help the employees to get hands-on training in different areas. For example. A hospital may plan to conduct a workshop on advanced life support for the staff members to help them improve their skills.

On the job training

The acquiring and sharing of tacit knowledge is one of the most difficult tasks for any organization. For this many organizations conduct on the job training and study tours with other companies and cross-training. In on the job training, the members are given some problems to be solved or certain projects to be completed and they can also ask for help whenever required.

Job Rotation

One of the other ways to acquire and share tacit knowledge is through job rotation. The members within the organizations are rotated in various departments to help them broaden their knowledge and skill. For example, in a hospital, the staff members may be kept in the medical wards for a month and then in the next month, they can be rotated to the surgical wards. This will help the staff members to acquire knowledge and skill for caring for both the surgical and the medical patients.

Maintaining achieve of ‘lessons learned’

The organizations should keep a track of the members who have been trained in specific areas so that those employees who have not been trained may be trained. Many organizations run different projects along with certain members of the organization; this helps the members to develop their knowledge and skills. But it is one of the important responsibilities of the organization to maintain a proper record of the individuals involved in a specific project so that the other staff members can also be included in some other project development.

Formal Mentoring program

In this program, the inexperienced employees are being mentored by experienced employees. This helps the mentor and the protégé to have an open relationship where they can clarify their doubts and learn from the mentor. The mentor should help the inexperienced employee in developing and broadening their knowledge areas and their skills. For example in a hospital, the newly employed staff members can be mentored by other staff member who is experienced in that specific department.

Ad- hoc techniques

Ad- hoc techniques are the ways of sharing and acquiring knowledge which are not planned and organized but are done as and when it is required. These are not done to meet the organizational standards but to share the information.

Informal personal interaction

These are the informal talks bwteen the employees. These small informal talks help the employees to get to know each other and also to have a common perspective and to support in planning and group activities. For example during coffee breaks in a hoispital the staff members can have some informal talks and they can builkd their relationship and helps in developing the group as a whole. In this scenario also the employees can learn for their teammates and acquire knowledge.

Informal mentor/ protégé relationship

Informal mentor/ protégé relationships differ from the formal mentor/ protégé relationships as they are not organized but these develop as a result of mutual needs. The protégé may always see the mentor as his/her role model and may aspire to be like them, the mentor in return can help this employee in developing their knowledge area and skill.

Internet

Internet is the most widely used means to acquire and share knowledge in the recent times. There are many search engines, database available which can help the members of the organization to share their experience and to solve their problems.

Conclusion

The base of any organization's development is knowledge. All the members of the organization should have proper knowledge regarding their areas and department. For this, it is important that the knowledge should be acquired and shared among all the members of the organization.