Show Strong knowledge management processes integrate knowledge management actions—including discovery, capture, organization, assessment, sharing, reuse/application, and creation—into existing business processes so the internal or external end user can easily access, apply, and/or update that knowledge as needed. How do you develop a knowledge management process?Developing knowledge management systems and processes within your business requires an initial assessment of your existing business processes, so knowledge management team members can integrate KM steps where they make the most sense. Pairing the right knowledge management steps or actions with appropriate business processes gives people in your organization access to the knowledge they need to make important decisions, enhance efficiency, communicate with their team or clients, train employees effectively, add their own expertise, and more. Here’s a look at the most common systems and processes steps a business might integrate throughout the organization with an effective knowledge management process: Typical steps in knowledge management processes
Understand where each component of the knowledge management process can be applied within your organizational structure, and make sure your company’s knowledge process is in good hands with a knowledge manager.
Process innovation is the application or introduction of a new technology or method for doing something that helps an organization remain competitive and meet customer demands. Process innovation happens when an organization solves an existing problem or performs an existing business process in a radically different way that generates something highly beneficial to those who perform the process, those who rely on the process or both. For example, the introduction of a completely new sequence to an existing production process that speeds production by 100%, thereby saving the organization money and time, could be considered a process innovation. Organizations today often bring in new information technology systems or find ways to use older in new ways at the forefront of their process innovation efforts. Process innovation is different from incremental innovation in both scope and size. Whereas incremental or continuous improvements generate limited value, innovation generates improvements that increase value by upward of 50%, 100% or even more. Some describe process innovation as creating radical or game-changing shifts. In addition to the introduction of a radically new approach or technology, process innovation generally requires a longer planning time and support from high-level management. It’s also riskier than incremental improvements and requires a higher level of cultural and structural change. Process innovation also typically impacts a broader portion of an organization than do incremental improvements. Process innovation can generate value to either internal customers, including employees or the actual organization itself, or it can create value to external customers, including business partners, end users or actual consumers. Values stemming from process innovation include reducing the time it takes to produce a product or perform a service; increasing the number of products produced or services provided within a time frame; and reducing the costs per product produced or service provided. Additionally, process innovation can generate significant gains in product quality and service levels. Overall, an individual organization needs to see a significant increase in some of its key performance indicators (KPIs) to be a true process innovation. Volume 33, Issue 2, June 2017, Pages 113-127 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2017.05.001Get rights and content Public service organization
There are a number of ways that organizations can develop and manage technology and innovation. We will focus on organization-level activities and the three strategic processes in this section of the chapter. In order for a firm to develop a successful management of technology and innovation strategy, it is imperative that the organization be readied for the effort. This requires agility because changes and adjustments to products and processes are filled with risk and uncertainty. However, agility is inherently less efficiency if it is to be effective. Therefore, the management of technology and innovation must balance short-term efficiency with long-term effectiveness in the market if the firm is to add value and thrive in a changing environment. Strong dynamic capabilities are needed if the organization is going to be able to address the challenges of innovation and dynamic competition.4 There are four things the firm should do to balance the conflicting demands of being agile in a dynamic environment. These are:
There are three basic organizational processes—buying and partnering, developing newness within the firm, and entrepreneurially exploiting a space in the environment. Exhibit 18.6 delineates the three types. Buying and partnering includes mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, contractual agreements, and other forms of acquiring technology/innovation from external sources. Internal sources of new technology/innovation for the organization include research and development of new products as well as reconfiguring or developing new processes—ways of doing things. This can be organization structure or redesigning an assembly line. Adding robotics to a manufacturing process may be an internally driven process, or a firm may buy a robotics manufacturer to acquire the capability to add robotics to the assembly process.
The third type of creating new technologies/innovations involves exploiting a space in the environment through entrepreneurial or new-business development activities. Michael Dell started Dell in his dormitory room at University of Texas. He wanted a better computer than he could buy, so he bought parts and assembled his own. Friends asked him to build one for them. He realized there was an innovative process of customizing computers and delivering directly from the manufacturer to the customer. Michael Dell’s exploitation of the custom-built, direct manufacturer-to-customer delivery led to a multibillion dollar business. Table 18.1 lists the advantages and disadvantages of each of the technology/innovation creation methods.
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