HR can make an important contribution to knowledge management simply because knowledge is shared between people; it is not just a matter of capturing explicit knowledge through the use of information technology. The role of HR is to ensure that the organization has the intellectual capital it needs. The resource-based view of the firm emphasizes, in the words of Cappelli and Crocker-Hefter (1996), that ‘distinctive human resource practices help to create unique competencies that differentiate products and services and, in turn, drive competitiveness’.
Ten ways in which HR can contribute
The main ways in which HR can contribute to knowledge management are summarized below and described in more detail in the rest of this section.
1. Help to develop an open culture in which the values and norms emphasize the importance of sharing knowledge.
2. Promote a climate of commitment and trust.
3. Advise on the design and development of organizations which facilitate knowledge sharing through networks and communities of practice (groups of people who share common concerns about aspects of their work), and teamwork.
4. Advise on resourcing policies and provide resourcing services which ensure that valued employees who can contribute to knowledge creation and sharing are attracted and retained.
5. Advise on methods of motivating people to share knowledge and rewarding those who do so.
6. Help in the development of performance management processes which focus on the development and sharing of knowledge.
7. Develop processes of organizational and individual learning which will generate and assist in disseminating knowledge.
8. Set up and organize workshops, conferences, seminars and symposia which enable knowledge to be shared on a person-to-person basis.
9. In conjunction with IT, develop systems for capturing and, as far as possible, codifying explicit and tacit knowledge.
10. Generally, promote the cause of knowledge management with senior managers to encourage them to exert leadership and support knowledge management initiatives.
Culture development
Culture development An open culture is one in which as Schein (1985) suggests, people contribute out of a sense of commitment and solidarity. Relationships are characterized by mutuality and trust. In such a culture, organizations place a high priority on mutual support, collaboration and creativity, and on constructive relationships. There is no ‘quick fix’ way in which a closed culture where these priorities do not exist can be converted into an open culture. Long-established cultures are difficult to change. HR can encourage management to develop purpose and value statements which spell out that an important aim of the organization is to achieve competitive advantage by developing and effectively using unique resources of knowledge and expertise, and that to achieve the aim, sharing knowledge is core value. Such statements may be rhetoric but they can be converted into reality through the various processes described below.
