Knowledge management supportive human resource environment.ABSTRACT The successful implementation of knowledge management (KM) can provide the capability to understand the market, accurately assess the customers' needs, and turn them into products and services by integrating organizational resources. Since organization's knowledge is personal, building of organizational knowledge is unthinkable without employees. This study has two objectives. One is to identify differences between the perceived importance (organizations without KM) and the actual importance (organizations with KM) attributes for successful KM implementation. The other is to develop and empirically examine the knowledge supportive human resource (HR) factors affecting the success of KM From the results of statistical analysis, important generalizations are suggested Attributes with lower degree of perceived importance were implemented less frequently and Top Management Support is a critical factor for KM success. 1. INTRODUCTION Knowledge Management (KM) includes the process of discovery, creation, dissemination dissemination Medtalk The spread of a pernicious process–eg, CA, acute infection Oncology Metastasis, see there , and utilization of knowledge. For successful implementation of KM program, executives and managers need to understand the various organizational aspects including organizational structure  This article has no lead section.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. , culture, human resource, and technology. Especially, human resource became one of the critical factors for effective KM. Organizational knowledge must be created based on each employee's knowledge. That is, organizational knowledge is personal and building of organizational knowledge is unthinkable without employees (Lesser, et. al.,. 2001). As numerous organizational studies Organizational studies, organizational behaviour, and organizational theory are related terms for the academic study of organizations, examining them using the methods of economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, communication studies, and psychology. have recommended, KM supportive human resource (HR) environment has been a key to success factor for KM program. However, little empirical research Noun 1. empirical research - an empirical search for knowledge inquiry, research, enquiry - a search for knowledge; "their pottery deserves more research than it has received" has been conducted on this issue. Moreover, there has been no investigation as to how organizations that have not been engaged in KM perceive success factors of KM differently than organizations that have implemented KM. Thus, there are two objectives of this study. First is to identify differences between the perceived importance (organizations without KM) and the actual importance (organizations with KM) attributes for successful KM implementation. The second objective is to develop and empirically examine the HR factors affecting the success of KM. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Studies from various disciplines have identified several key HR variables for the success of KM The findings by leading KM researchers are major sources that can be used to identify the critical success factors of KM. Numerous studies point out the importance of training in KM. Training should provide employees and managers the skills and information to fulfill ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. their responsibilities. One of the reasons for the failure in effective work behaviors Work behavior is a term used to describe the behavior one uses in the workplace and is normally more formal than other types of human behavior. This varies from profession to profession, as some are far more casual than others. would be insufficient training to support KM principles. Well-engineered training initiatives help to retain knowledge within the organization. (Acton Acton, town (1990 pop. 17,872), Middlesex co., E Mass., NW of Boston; settled c.1680, inc. 1735. Among its manufactures are electrical machinery, chemicals, prefabricated houses, and precision equipment. and Golden, 2003; Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. and Backer, 1999). Employee involvement describes how all employees can contribute effectively to meeting the organization's objectives. Employee involvement is one of key factors in successful KM implementation because the nature of knowledge creation and sharing is unthinkable without employee involvement. (Bartlett, et. al., 2002). The transformation to a knowledge-based organization requires peer-to-peer From user to user. Peer-to-peer implies that either side can initiate a session and has equal responsibility. Peer-to-peer is a somewhat confusing term, because it has always been contrasted to a central system that initiates and controls everything. collaboration Working together on a project. See collaborative software. . That is, teamwork (product, software, tool) Teamwork - A SASD tool from Sterling Software, formerly CADRE Technologies, which supports the Shlaer/Mellor Object-Oriented method and the Yourdon-DeMarco, Hatley-Pirbhai, Constantine and Buhr notations. is an essential source of the knowledge generation process. Creating teams allows organizations to apply diverse skills and experiences towards its processes and problem-solving problem-solving n → resolución f de problemas; problem-solving skills → técnicas de resolución de problemas problem-solving n → An organization's members must work together and build on each other's ideas and strengths. Anyone who has knowledge and interest in a problem should be included on the team (Greengard, 1998). Employee empowerment em·pow·er tr.v. em·pow·ered, em·pow·er·ing, em·pow·ers 1. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. See Synonyms at authorize. 2. is also a key factor for KM success because true empowerment can give the employees a sense of ownership in the overall aim of the organizational KM system. Employers can value their employees' expertise through empowerment (Martinez Martinez (märtē`nəs), city (1990 pop. 31,808), seat of Contra Costa co., W Calif., on Carquinez Strait between San Pablo and Suisun bays, in a farm area; inc. 1884. Its major industry is petroleum refining. , 1998). Further, employers can tape into employees' knowledge and help them communicate their knowledge by creating ways to capture, organize, and share knowledge. For successful KM project, the visible leadership and commitment of top management must be sustained throughout a KM effort because effective knowledge creation is not possible unless leaders empower empower verb To encourage or provide a person with the means or information to become involved in solving his/her own problems employees and show a strong commitment to the organization. That is, top management must be willing to communicate with employees to make knowledge realistic and coordinate KM implementation process (Dess and Picken Picken is the name of a prominent family of Scottish descent based in Victoria, Australia. J.T. Picken is considered to be the founder of the dynasty upon founding J.T. Picken’s Ltd Printers which grew to become Containers Ltd - Australia's largest packaging company. , 2000). To exert their leadership and commitment in implementing a KM project: (1) they must have sufficient knowledge; (2) they must have realistic expectation of KM results; (3) they must communicate with employees; and (4) they must have the ability to coordinate the different interests of functional units involved in the KM implementation process. 3. RESEARCH DESIGN The sampling frame for this research consisted of the U.S. firms listed in the Gallup Gallup, town (1990 pop. 19,154), alt. 6,515 ft (1,986 m), seat of McKinley co., NW N.Mex., on the Puerco River near the Ariz. line; inc. 1891. It is a rail and trade center in a large mining, timber, and ranching area. Organization's client database. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed. The number of returned questionnaires was 220. Among the returned questionnaires, three responses were unusable because too many values were missing. Thus 217 responses were used for the data analysis. Statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (statistics, tool) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences - (SPSS) The flagship program of SPSS, Inc., written in the late 1960s. ["SPSS X User's Guide", SPSS, Inc. 1986]. . Descriptive statistics descriptive statistics see statistics. were calculated for all variables. Paired t-tests were used to identify differences between the perceived importance and the actual importance attributes. Multiple regression Multiple regression The estimated relationship between a dependent variable and more than one explanatory variable. analysis was conducted to determine the relationships between the five factors from HR and the overall perception of KM. For this statistical test, the level of significance (alpha) was set at 0.05. The questionnaire consists of two sections. The first section of the questionnaire asked 18 questions about perceived importance and actual importance for KM implementation. In the second section, widely recognized KM related items were presented to identify the HR success factors of KM. They were also asked whether or not organizations have already implement KM. 59 responding organizations states that they have started to implement KM as shown in Table 1. Based on the literature review, five hypotheses and the research model in figure 1 were proposed. H1: A higher level of employee training is positively associated with the success of KM project. H2: A high degree of employee involvement is positively associated with the success of KM project. H3: A higher level of teamwork is positively associated with the success of KM project. H4: A higher degree of employee empowerment is positively associated with the success of KM project. H5: Strong top-management leadership and commitment is positively associated with the success of KM project. 4. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS This section provides statistical analysis and findings. The findings are presented in the following order: the difference between the perceived importance and the actual importance for successful KM implementation, and the measurement of KM success. 4.1 Comparison of Perceived Importance and Actual Importance Table 2 illustrates the mean scores of the degree of importance and the degree of actual importance for 15 human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. attributes concerning KM. Attributes are presented by the descending descending /des·cend·ing/ (de-send´ing) extending inferiorly. order of mean scores of perceived importance. The degree of perceived importance held by respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. for human resource attributes of KM ranged from 3.72 to 4.71 with a group mean rating of 4.26 + 0.54 (5 = very important, 3 = moderately important, 1 = not important). The highest rated human resource attribute of KM was "A spirit of cooperation and teamwork," with a mean rating of 4.71. Other attributes that received higher perception of importance by managers included "Promote employee ownership and workmanship (M = 4.53)" and "Top management encouragement toward formal/informal communication (M = 4.49)." The lowest rated attribute was "Knowledge management awareness training to non-supervisory employees," with a mean rating of 3.72; however, this still lies between moderately important and important. Other attributes receiving lower ratings were "Encouraging knowledge creating teams such as knowledge task force, the future group, or learning group (M = 3.78)" and "Providing the employees with adequate information of knowledge management related principles through training (M = 3.85)." The degree of actual importance of KM for human resource attributes ranged from 2.35 to 3.40 with a group mean rating of 2.90 [+ or -] 0.77 (5 = extensively implemented, 3 = moderately implemented, 1 = not implemented). The human resource attribute that was mostly implemented was "Top management encouragement toward utilization of the knowledge management system," a mean rating of 3.40. "Encouraging employees to participate in internal and external new learning opportunities (M = 3.34)" and "A spirit of cooperation and teamwork (M = 3.33)" followed. The attribute "A sprit of cooperation and teamwork" received higher perception scores in both importance and implementation. The least implemented attribute was "Encouraging knowledge creating teams," with a mean rating of 2.30. Other human resource attributes that were less implemented were "Knowledge management awareness training to non-supervisory employees" and "Providing the employees with adequate information of knowledge management related principles through training," both with mean ratings of 2.35. Paired t-test t-test, n an inferential statistic used to test for differences between two means (groups) only. This statistic is used for small samples (e.g., N < 30). Also called t-ratio, stu-dent's t. was used to compare the degree of perceived importance with the degree of actual importance. There were significant differences between the degree of perceived importance and the degree of actual importance for all attributes (Md = 1.36, t = 24.480, p < 0.001). Attributes with lower degree of perceived importance were implemented less frequently. 4.2 KM Success Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationships of the five independent variables (Top management leadership, teamwork, participation, empowerment, and training) with KM success (table 3). The data show that the independent variable as a whole explained 7.2% of the variance The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial. In Zoning law, an official permit to use property in a manner that departs from the way in which other property in the same locality in the success of KM, significant at the 0.05 level. "Top management leadership" was related to the success of KM, with a probability of 0.000. Therefore, H1 was accepted that "Top management leadership" would be positively associated with the success of KM. Other factors were not found to be positively associated with the success of KM. The factors of "Teamwork, Participation, Empowerment, and Training" failed to support hypotheses H2, H3, H4, and H5, respectively. However, "Teamwork" and "Participation" were related to the success of KM if the significant level was expanded by the [alpha] level of 0.1. 5. CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION The results of comparison between perceived importance and actual importance indicate that attributes with lower degree of perceived importance were implemented less frequently. This result is in line with the result in innovation studies like BPR (Business Process Reengineering) See reengineering. BPR - Business Process Re-engineering and TQM (Total Quality Management) An organizational undertaking to improve the quality of manufacturing and service. It focuses on obtaining continuous feedback for making improvements and refining existing processes over the long term. See ISO 9000. . That is KM is another emerging innovation and it shares similar success factors with BPR and TQM. It seems the executives for this study are fully aware that a KM program needs fundamental organizational commitment In the study of organizational behavior and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, organizational commitment is, in a general sense, the employee's psychological attachment to the organization. as for other innovations such as BPR and TQM. The relationship between each of the hypothesized actual importance factors and KM success was tested by employing multiple regression analysis. The findings of the analysis indicate that top management leadership and commitment is critical to KM success. That is only organizations that are already engaged with KM implementation recognize top management leadership and commitment as an enabling tool for the success of KM. This finding is highly consistent with previous research results. On the other hand, one of the major limitations to this study is the possibility of a biased perception of KM. As a means of organizational performance Organizational performance comprises the actual output or results of an organization as measured against its intended outputs (or goals and objectives). Specialists in many fields are concerned with organizational performance including strategic planners, operations, improvement, KM has been publicized pub·li·cize tr.v. pub·li·cized, pub·li·ciz·ing, pub·li·ciz·es To give publicity to. Adj. 1. publicized - made known; especially made widely known publicised as a major tool or technique through the mass media as well as various academic writings, including reports by major consulting companies Noun 1. consulting company - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting firm business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a . As a result, KM has been viewed as a major catalyst for performance improvement without any assessment of the actual impact of its implementation. Consequently, this exaggeration Exaggeration Bunyon, Paul legendary giant, hero of tall tales of the logging camps. [Am. Folklore: The Wonderful Adventures of Paul Bunyon] Jenkins’ ear trivial cause of a great quarrel. [Br. Hist. of circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or may affect managers' perception of KM principles and the actual usage of those principles.
TABLE 1: KM STATUS
Schedule Frequency (a) Percent (%)
Have already implemented 59 29.8
Within the next 2 years 82 41.4
More than 2 years from now 44 22.2
Probably never 13 6.6
(a) N=198
TABLE 2: MEAN SCORES OF DEGREE OF IMPORTANCE TOWARD HUMNA RESOURECES
Perceived
Attributes Mean (a)
[+ or -] SD
Top Management Leadership
Top management encouragement toward 4.49 [+ or -] 0.66
formal/informal communication
Top management leadership and commitment 4.36 [+ or -] 0.80
toward knowledge management
Top management encouragement toward 4.12 [+ or -] 0.84
utilization of the knowledge management system
Teamwork
A spirit of cooperation and teamwork 4.71 [+ or -] 0.54
Supporting team-based approaches to problem 4.41 [+ or -] 0.70
solving
Encouraging knowledge creating teams such as 3.78 [+ or -] 0.99
knowledge task force, the future group, or
learning group
Involvement
Actively encourage employee involvement in 4.41 [+ or -] 0.73
decision processes
Promote ongoing employee contributions 4.30 [+ or -] 0.71
A formal system that allows for contribution of 4.24 [+ or -] 0.83
every employee's opinions or suggestions
Empowerment
Promote employee ownership and workmanship 4.53 [+ or -] 0.72
Organizational commitment to empower people 4.46 [+ or -] 0.73
Organizational support to seek human values of 4.17 [+ or -] 0.85
employees
Training
Encouraging employees to participate in internal 4.26 [+ or -] 0.77
and external new learning opportunities such as
conferences, training seminar, university
courses, etc.
Providing the employees with adequate information 3.85 [+ or -] 0.94
of knowledge management related principles
through training
Knowledge management awareness training to 3.72 [+ or -] 0.93
non-supervisory employees
Actual
Attributes Mean (b)
[+ or -] SD
Top Management Leadership
Top management encouragement toward 3.40 [+ or -] 0.97
formal/informal communication
Top management leadership and commitment 2.82 [+ or -] 1.03
toward knowledge management
Top management encouragement toward 2.59 [+ or -] 1.08
utilization of the knowledge management system
Teamwork
A spirit of cooperation and teamwork 3.33 [+ or -] 1.03
Supporting team-based approaches to problem 3.20 [+ or -] 1.03
solving
Encouraging knowledge creating teams such as 2.30 [+ or -] 1.12
knowledge task force, the future group, or
learning group
Involvement
Actively encourage employee involvement in 2.93 [+ or -] 1.03
decision processes
Promote ongoing employee contributions 2.84 [+ or -] 1.04
A formal system that allows for contribution of 3.00 [+ or -] 1.07
every employee's opinions or suggestions
Empowerment
Promote employee ownership and workmanship 3.08 [+ or -] 1.13
Organizational commitment to empower people 3.03 [+ or -] 1.16
Organizational support to seek human values of 2.88 [+ or -] 1.05
employees
Training
Encouraging employees to participate in internal 3.40 [+ or -] 0.97
and external new learning opportunities such as
conferences, training seminar, university
courses, etc.
Providing the employees with adequate information 2.35 [+ or -] 1.02
of knowledge management related principles
through training
Knowledge management awareness training to 2.35 [+ or -] 1.09
non-supervisory employees
(a) 5 = Very Important, 3 = Moderately Important, 1 = Not Important
(b) 5 = Extensively Implemented, 3 = Moderately Implemented,
1 = Not Implemented
TABLE 3. EFFECT OF FIVE CATEGORIES OF IMPORTANCE ON THE SUCCESS OF KM
PROJECT
Categories Standardized Significance Adjusted
Coefficient ([beta]) Level of Slope [R.sup.2]
Top Management
Leadership .277 .000 .072
Teamwork .133 .093
Participation .136 .084
Empowerment .033 .693
Training .081 .324
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“Yung” redirects here. For other uses, see Yung (disambiguation). . Choi Choi may refer to:
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