Topic > Integrating Knowledge Management into Human Resource Management

IndexAbstractIntroductionHuman Resource Management (HRM)ConclusionReferencesAbstractTo stay competitive in today's marketplace, companies are trying to find new ways to manage their most important resource – their employees. Employees possess enormous amounts of knowledge and information that, if managed and led well, will help the company achieve success in their particular industry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The knowledge and information available to anyone at any given time is enormous, and if companies wish to remain competitive, management must look for ways to retain and manage the knowledge possessed by their workers. Knowledge management has become increasingly important, as a company's workers contain the information and knowledge for their next step forward, and retaining them becomes a necessity. This paper provides an overview of the current literature available to leadership in the area of ​​knowledge management and presents models on how to incorporate it into current human resource management. Introduction One of the most important resources a company has is knowledge. which includes the collective knowledge contained in its employees. How this knowledge is acquired, maintained and disseminated is at the heart of Knowledge Management (KM). Since human resource management (HRM) is a mechanism of managing employees, it is obvious that managing the knowledge of such employees also falls under human resources. With respect to management and leadership, there are several topics that have become evident in the literature as important for management to consider. These are: what are the current human resource management practices, how to incorporate knowledge management into human resource management and the implications on leadership. Human Resource Management (HRM) Human resource management is the administration of a company's strategies and policies relating to that company's personnel. In the literature, there is a commonality of human resource management regarding the view that human resource management drives the recruitment, hiring and training of employees in a company. There are different components of human resource management and different human resource management strategies depending on the type of company and the focus of the literature. Sundiman examined how human resource management improves knowledge management. This relationship between HRM and KM will be addressed further in this article, but Sundiman describes the three main components of HRM in this article. The first component is the governance of human resources management. In other words, human resource management strategies are aligned with the company's leadership vision. This is important to the company's executive leaders. If leadership's goals and vision are not supported by human resource management, the company will not achieve what leadership wants. The second component of human resource management is employee retention. It stands to reason that if employees are one of, if not the greatest resource a company has, then that company would want to retain those competent employees. Tenured workers are usually able to see problems or inefficiencies in the company's operations before leadership and can help fix those problems. Retaining employees ensures a more stable and competitive company. The third component discussedfrom Sundiman is employee development and professional training. It is in the best interest of company leadership to foster the knowledge and expertise of their employees in their respective fields, as this drives the operational competence of the company as a whole. Leadership must understand that without continuously developing their employees, there will be no competitive advantage over another company that does so. Characteristics of the workforce of HRM systems. Delery and Gupta refer to a number of workforce characteristics that, if properly managed, will provide a competitive advantage to companies. These characteristics are ability, motivation and opportunity. They argue that human resource management practices that focus on all three of these characteristics, and not just one or two, are not only beneficial but essential to improving business performance. Workers may possess skills, but they also need the motivation and opportunity to use those skills. The authors go on to describe how certain human resource management practices can influence all or some of the workforce characteristics listed above. For example, the compensation practice of human resource management can influence all three workforce characteristics. A company's compensation package can attract and retain high-quality employees and, in turn, provides those individuals with the motivation and opportunity to utilize their skills. They hypothesize that a company's organizational effectiveness is related to how human resource management practices influence workforce characteristics and tested their framework using a sample of large automotive companies in the United States. Their conclusions were that human resource management practices can predict a company's financial performance, but that such practices must be consistent to maintain its competitiveness. Relationship-oriented HR system and high-commitment HR system. Kehoe and Collins examine two HR systems and how each maintains and builds relationships with its employees. The high-commitment HR system focuses on building lasting relationships with employees through competitive compensation and investments in the long-term development of its employees. Relationship-oriented human resource management seeks to develop interpersonal relationships between human resource management and employees, as well as interpersonal relationships between employees and their work groups or teams. They argue that these relationships should be encouraged and cultivated with the intent of creating knowledge-sharing environments and increasing employee commitment to the company. The authors collected data from 128 different units staffed by scientists working for a large hydroelectric company. They found that the high-commitment system produced committed employees in the organization due to the company's overinvestment in employees. It also demonstrated that the relationship-oriented HR system encouraged greater knowledge sharing and access to knowledge within and outside the organization. Therefore, the authors conclude that integrating the two systems together can guide leadership in helping the company increase employee engagement and knowledge sharing, thereby increasing performance. Human Capital The previous section briefly reviewed the literature regarding human resource management, which involves the management of a company's workers. . This section will look at the concept of human capital and what it means for companies' HR and KM. Human capital is defined asthe resources that a company has in its employees and the knowledge they possess, which contribute to ensuring sustainability. A company's “human capital advantage” refers to the tacit knowledge of its employees. “Human process advantage” refers to managing the knowledge implicit in the company's operations. In other words, what determines a company's competitive advantage will be how it manages the human capital at its disposal. Hollenbeck and Jamieson examine the use of social network analysis to help management exploit the flow of information through an organization. It also helps management evaluate its staff and the interpersonal and social relationships between its employees in order to enhance work groups and maximize human capital. Social network analysis can also help leadership identify key employees who possess certain attributes important to the company such as integrity and trust, as well as identify employees who overlap with different information networks. Figueiredo and Paris define intellectual capital as the sum of a company's human capital, relational capital, and its structural capital. Human capital is employee knowledge, and structural capital is the mechanism through which that knowledge is managed. A company's relational capital refers to the relationship a company has with external stakeholders, customers and suppliers. Kianto, Saenz and Aramburu refer to intellectual capital as the knowledge, experience, technology and relationships that a company possesses or "the sum of all the intangible and knowledge-related assets that an organization uses to create value ” Their study confirms that human capital is critical to the development of structural capital and relational capital in a company and to the company's innovation capacity managing that knowledge directly contributes to a company's innovation and competitiveness. Knowledge Management (KM) Knowledge management is a company's ability to use the company's knowledge to drive innovation and competitive advantage. for the company and refers to the processes that a company uses to move its information through the organization. Knowledge management has become an area of ​​interest for management in recent years, particularly how a. company acquires and manages the knowledge and information generated by its products and its employees. Hussinski, Kianto, Vanhala, and Ritala identify ten KM practices and study these practices in four different countries to determine which practices are universal and which are culturally specific. The practices identified were supervisory work, strategic knowledge management, knowledge protection, learning mechanisms, IT practices, work organization and human resource management practices of recruitment, training, compensation and evaluation of performance. Their study found that knowledge management itself was universal, but the implementation of the ten practices depended on the circumstances or environment. Knowledge sharing is an important concept since a company is neither sustainable nor competitive without it, and employees are the source of this advantage. . KM practices include avenues and methods for sharing information across companies and industries. Information and communication technologies (ICT) provide the means to collect and share this information and knowledge. Examples of these ICTs include social networking tools,collaborative platforms and internal blogs. Big Data and IT systems aligned with a company's processes can help a company store and use its knowledge more effectively and provide better collaboration. For example, a company can use an internal intranet to communicate with its employees and provide employees with a platform to share their ideas. These tools can be classified as the “social web”. As with any social information platform, misinformation can also be spread or proprietary information leaked, which is why leadership must ensure that safeguards and controls are in place to protect the knowledge. Integrating KM into HRM The total strategy to connect HRM and KM will have to address the company's values, type of leadership and organizational culture. Furthermore, developing a human resource management system that incorporates and supports knowledge management will require leadership buy-in and a change in organizational culture. There are several positive effects of incorporating knowledge management into human resource management. A change in human resource management that strengthens the relationship between KM and human capital management creates a competitive advantage for a company. Furthermore, maximizing a company's knowledge and, therefore, its resources, facilitates HRM's ability and position to develop and train a company's workforce. Farhadi and Rezaee examined the relationship between knowledge management and human resource management through the lens of corporate social responsibility. They argue that human resources typically refer to the individuals in an organization but should really be viewed as the resources that these individuals hold internally. Companies that focus on employees, knowledge management and social responsibilities create a new culture that can positively influence a company's performance. Another positive effect of linking HRM with KM is business innovation. By emphasizing knowledge-based HR practices, knowledge creation and sharing are stimulated among the company's employees. This improves innovation as knowledge is shared and processed and new ideas are enabled. Leadership can foster innovation by creating and improving management systems that incorporate knowledge and information sharing. Additionally, when human resource management is incorporated into a company's KM, employees feel valued and invested in the company, thus increasing employee loyalty. Implementing KM and human resource management can be a difficult undertaking. To successfully and effectively implement such a merger, executive leadership and management must be in place. Alignment with the company's mission and value is critical. Leaders must create and sustain a climate in which the acquisition, creation and generation of knowledge are welcomed and encouraged. Leaders should encourage cooperation and not competition, as this can lead to “knowledge accumulation.” Donate and Sanchez de Pablo examined the role leadership plays in the development of HRM and HRM practices, particularly knowledge-oriented leadership. What they found was that knowledge-oriented leaders had a direct and positive effect on a company's knowledge management system and knowledge creation. It also demonstrated that it had a direct and positive impact on a company's innovation performance. Sohrabi and Naghavi looked at the management ofhuman resources in the context of knowledge worker management. These individuals held positions that required a highly technical level that required excessive training. These workers are often more knowledgeable about their jobs than their managers. Because these people represent an important asset to the company, ensuring their loyalty and longevity is a priority. What they found was that in companies that employed knowledge workers, personalization was the key strategy for knowledge-based human resource management. Individual training versus group training, for example, was more effective. They also noted that when developing a human resource management system, leadership must keep in mind the occupations and workers involved and understand the difference. Therefore, the HRM and resource management practices initiated should match the workforce employed. There are many roles that a leader plays in an organization and many responsibilities such as daily operations and decision making. Leaders are also responsible for developing other leaders and encouraging and motivating employees. Miloloza examined a group of small and medium-sized Croatian companies to evaluate how leadership styles can influence human resource management and KM. The leadership styles examined by this author were autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. The author found that smaller companies with democratic leadership were more successful in the area of ​​knowledge management. Organizational Culture As stated many times, a company's employees are a source of knowledge and expertise and are the company's greatest asset. Investing in the development of employee skills and knowledge is essential if a company is to remain competitive. Consequently, it is the responsibility of leadership to support human resource management in refining and determining the variables that influence this knowledge and support its development. This includes developing an organizational culture in which HR and employees are empowered to seek knowledge. The authors of this article studied human resource management at a water and waste plant in Iran with these objectives in mind. They found that employees empowered by a knowledge management culture made several contributions. They contributed to the decision-making process, eliminating waste and costs, as well as saving time and recognizing innovative staffing practices. This article is helpful in providing further information on the role of management in supporting knowledge management (KM) and enhancing human resource management. It is useful for leadership as it recognizes organizational culture as important in integrating KM with human resource management. Conclusion Common themes throughout the literature included concepts such as knowledge sharing, collaboration, human capital, and enhancing human resource management. In an era where information is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and in a society where technological breakthroughs occur more frequently, a company must be able to exploit the knowledge held within the company and its employees. You also need to encourage collaboration as this is key to remaining competitive and relevant to the market. Since human resource management is the umbrella that covers employee relations, it follows that this is where the knowledge of those employees should be sought, protected and shared. This is the essence of knowledge management. Here:3.3708.