This article examines knowledge sharing based on the “Framework of Knowledge Work Analysis” developed by Efimova (2004) and analyzes the main factors influencing team performance in the workplace. This article discusses the case of Essilor's information technology department in Thailand to find the key knowledge sharing factors that influence team performance. The survey results revealed several weaknesses in the knowledge sharing process in the IT department, with recommendations for improvement.
The knowledge management model consists of knowledge creation, knowledge transfer/sharing, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge application and community of practice. Sharing knowledge efficiently is not easy because there are several factors that affect the sharing process. Knowledge sharing does not always come from senior staff, but it can come from other staff who have good experience from past work and who can help improve the work process to be more productive.
What are the key factors in knowledge sharing that affect team performance in the IT field. The objective of this paper is to find the key factors in the knowledge sharing process in the IT industry. Furthermore, a second objective is to help better understand what is the best way to manage knowledge, since most knowledge in the IT field is tacit knowledge that is not easy to share. .
This article aims to find the key factors and analyze them by using knowledge management theory, so as to improve the knowledge sharing process and make it more effective.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Knowledge Management
- SECI Model
- Tacit Knowledge
- Knowledge sharing
The SECI model is a concept proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (YEAR) which is a knowledge creation model to link tacit and explicit knowledge using 4 basic processes. The figure above shows the processes of the SECI model with socialization, externalization, combination and internalization that can lead to new knowledge. They include informal processes used for tacit knowledge (unstructured knowledge) and formal processes used for explicit knowledge (structured knowledge).
Polanyi (1966) said, “Tacit knowledge is knowledge that guides one's behavior but is not readily available for introspection by oneself or others” (Von Krogh, Ichijo & Nonaka, 2000). Tacit knowledge comes from direct experience and is not easy to write down in the document or explain to someone else. Argote & Ingram (2000) define knowledge sharing as 'the process by which one unit (e.g. a group, department or division) is influenced by the experience of another'.
Knowledge exchange has several factors such as communication processes, the method/channel used for transfer, the level of experience of a giver and receiver, the external environment, etc.
Knowledge in IT field
Nonstructural and structural knowledge may use part of knowledge in the same way, although other factors are the same. Zahran Al‐Salti, Ray Hackney, (2011) explained in "Factors impacting knowledge transfer success in information systems outsourcing" with the way to succeed knowledge transfer in IS outsourcing is determined by 4 set of factors which are knowledge related, customer related, vendor related and relationship related.
Framework for this research
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Research Methodology
- Data Collection
- Question Design
- Questions for Manager/team leader
- Questions for Staff
- Data Analysis
As mentioned earlier, we have two separate sets of questions for manager level and staff level. In the IT department, knowledge is one of the key assets to achieve higher competitiveness, but nowadays we still face limitations and obstacles to develop and implement knowledge management. The purpose of the interview is to explore the current status and problems of knowledge sharing in the IT department at Essilor.
Introduction: The knowledge management is extremely important as one of the critical strategies for organization to improve, share and sustain the knowledge in organization. In IT department, knowledge is the key assets to achieve higher competitiveness, but nowadays we still face limitations and obstacles to develop and implement the knowledge management. The purpose of the interview is to investigate the current status and problems of knowledge sharing in the IT department at Essilor.
We use a body of knowledge analysis framework to analyze, identify and rank the important points and display the result based on the respondents' answers.
DATA ANALYSIS
- Individual
- Community and Network
- Idea
- Individual and Community
- Community and Idea
- Idea and Individual
- External Factors
In general, the knowledge comes from people who have completed higher education or have been working in the same area for a longer time, but this does not mean that everyone has the same knowledge; it also depends on their experience. In knowledge sharing, not everyone can share their knowledge easily, it depends on the way they teach or explain to each other. And one of the senior employees said: the most effective method is to teach in the workplace, because the knowledge in IT involves more complicated processes, which include technical and business terms.
Finally, one of the interviewees expressed more about the problem of knowledge sharing in the team, he said "I let him read the document before training, but he didn't, that's why he doesn't understand what I learn in the training session". This is one of the reasons why the recipient is not ready to receive knowledge On the knowledge recipient side, most say that only 60% of the knowledge they receive is useful for their daily work, and three of the interviewees said: "It would be good if we can get a short brief and work on that job for a moment and then do the training deeply." Two interviewees comment on the knowledge providers that sometimes they are not ready to explain in detail because they are busy or not willing to share knowledge.
For the knowledge sharing they said, they always organize the session around 1–2 times a year to help the team rehearse learning and teach each other about each topic. Furthermore, everyone thinks they agree in the same way on the same subject, but they actually understand in different ways. They separate the knowledge sharing into two types, which are 1.Knowledge sharing for new system, 2.Knowledge sharing for newcomer.
The team leader commented on the training session which does not cover all the knowledge to be used in daily work at the beginning, the topic listed by the project team is too basic topic for the real situation. When discussing how to prevent the loss of knowledge from the team, one of the managers showed his vision for each team that they should have a backup person, all the topics should be written down in documents and put on a common drive for everyone who needs to know how to use this information. When talking about sharing all the knowledge they have, all the manager similarly expressed that they could not give everything because some topics are difficult to explain.
Regarding the weakness of knowledge sharing process, we found the different aspects of each interviewee. Big concern that there are no real processes to measure the quality of knowledge, short period to do training, the recipient does not practice enough the knowledge they receive and the document in the shared is not up to date. On the other hand, learning skill and experience of receiver is also the main factor. About relationship between staff in the team, we can say they have a good relationship between co-worker and with the leader.
As mentioned, they meet to discuss work problems, but they do not have enough time to focus on knowledge sharing due to time constraints and high daily workload. Some topics are not understood if the recipient of knowledge does not have the background for that topic.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
- Main Conclusions
- Recommendation and Suggestion
- Limitations
- Future Research
Finally, we can conclude that the knowledge in the IT department is still with the seniors, while the new staff members do not get all the knowledge from them. This can lead to a lack of support for the team, because if senior people are not available to work on the topic or other staff are assigned to work on a project, others will take longer than necessary to worked on it, or may not be able to finish it. We can see many factors affecting knowledge sharing in the IT team and we can say that they still have many weaknesses needed to improve.
Establish the knowledge management team that will ensure and control the process, data and quality of knowledge management. Organize the session for anyone who wants to share interesting topics, not only related to work. Establish the policy so that everyone can share topics assigned to the document center by the line manager.
First, we only have two weeks, but some interviewees don't have much time to interview, but they can end up giving us quality data. In fact, other departments should be involved in knowledge sharing, such as the HR department or the training and development group or the board of directors. Future research can focus on how other departments can help make the knowledge sharing process in the IT team more effective.
Moreover, Essilor is the international company and located around the world, we have to consider the cross-cultural issues that directly affect the knowledge sharing style of each nationality.
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Question Interviews
