Knowledge management (KM), and the modification of behavior through utilizing organizational knowledge, is central to an organization's ability to grow and adapt. The value of knowledge management from the perspective of the organization is its ability to help employees learn and improve their skills, allowing the organization itself to evolve and achieve higher efficiency. Knowledge is an intangible resource which organizations can concretize by documenting experience over time. This helps them to avoid repeating mistakes and to improve current strategies.
Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is the range of strategies and practices used by an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable the adoption of employee insights and experiences. These insights and experiences constitute the company's "knowledge," either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizations as processes or practices. KM includes courses taught in the fields of business administration, information systems, management, and library and information sciences.
More recently, other fields have started contributing to KM research, including information and media, computer science, public health, and public policy. Knowledge management also focuses on organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, and continuous improvement. KM is similar to organizational learning but distinguishes itself because it focuses more on knowledge as a strategic asset of a company's employees. It encourages the sharing of knowledge to further the company's success.
Many organizations include resources dedicated to internal knowledge management efforts in their business strategy, information technology, or human resource management departments. Consulting companies are also sometimes hired to provide advice about knowledge management. Knowledge management in a company is sometimes seen as an organizational concept that takes the best knowledge from individual employees and organizes it into functional learning and education systems that all employees can learn from. The company's information technology department can make this happen by electronically collecting specific components of an employee's knowledge expertise, creating an online learning module, and redistributing it to the company.
For example, an employee who is particularly knowledgeable about a certain computer system. This employee may be asked to write a training manual or presentation about this computer system which is then distributed to the company so that others can also benefit from that individual's knowledge. Knowledge-sharing is the most important component of knowledge management and is essential to helping an organization evolve and grow.
Behavior Modification
Behavior modification was first introduced in psychology as a collection of behavioral change techniques to increase or decrease the frequency of behaviors. In psychology, behavioral modification was made popular by B. F. Skinner, who analyzed the triggers and rewards for certain behaviors in a series of experiments with animals. Behavioral modification includes altering an individual's behavior through positive and negative reinforcement.
B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner introduced the study of behavior modification, focusing on how animals and humans react to reward and punishment. His theories are still used in behavior modification today.
Behavior modification in an organization is typically studied to examine how employees perceive their performance in relation to rewards. The process of behavioral modification in the workplace focuses on identifying the frequency of certain performance-related behavior, as well as determining what started or triggered that specific behavior. Once the trigger is identified, management can determine if it wants to develop a different trigger to change the employee's performance or if it should sustain the current performance through rewards and appraisal.
Behavioral modification is generally used on a broader scale to determine how best to develop employee performance to move an organization in the desired direction. Knowledge management can help with this by providing employees with adequate training and skills and making sure that they know that they are valuable members of the organization worth investing in and empowering. Training employees and improving their knowledge, skills, and behavioral approaches to work helps an organization to evolve and improve.
Example
An example of knowledge management would involve an employee who is particularly knowledgeable about a certain computer system. This employee may be asked to write a training manual or presentation about this computer system, which is then distributed to the company so that others can also benefit from that individual's knowledge.