Introduction
Nigel & Kraemer (2004) defines information management as the process of gathering and managing organizational information from multiple sources and distributing that information to other audiences. Information Management primarily involves organizing and controlling the structure, information processing and delivery. Information management is an essential component of the organizational processes and functions in the modern day business world (Tedd & Gareth, 2001). The increase in the use of Information Technology systems revolutionized the aspect of information management, making it a powerful resource that organizations can use to build a sustainable competitive advantage (Adel, 2002). An information management system in the present day business contexts entails integration of information technology with the organizational activities, with the main objective of offering support and efficient execution of management and organizational operations. The nature of an information management deployed in an organization is determined by the manner through which individuals in an organization interact with the technology and the underlying data, with the principal aim of supporting business processes (Awad, 2004). This implies that information systems are becoming an important part of the organizational functions that can be used as a tool for establishing the competitive advantage in the present business context. In the modern business world, organizations are increasingly depending on the use of information systems to enhance business efficiency and address the challenges imposed by the complexity of the business environment. The selected information management technology for this paper is knowledge management within the organization. This paper explores the strategic implications of organizational behavior in regards to knowledge management, the business needs within the Airline industry that represent opportunities for organizational behavior and the implications that organizational behavior has on knowledge management.
Strategic implications of organizational behavior in regards to Information Management Technology
Nevo & Wade (2010) perceives organizational behavior as the manner in which individuals in an organization interact with each other. It is an important contributing factor towards the successful implementation of information management technologies (Benamati & Lederer, 2001). Since information management usually entails a shared platform, having an understanding of the group dynamics within the organization is a core requirement during the implementation of an information management technology such as Knowledge Management Systems (Tedd & Gareth, 2001). The Airline industry, in particular, relies on knowledge management to ensure that organizational operations are executed in an efficient and effective manner (Eason, 2001). There are diverse strategic implications concerning the implementation of organizational behavior and culture concerning the implementation of knowledge management systems in the context of the airline business, which are outlined in the following section.
Knowledge management refers to the detailed management of critical knowledge and information that is processed by organizational members in such a manner that it can used and shared at the organizational level with the main objective of transforming the corporate intellectual and organizational knowledge into business intelligence. Knowledge management strategies can be deployed by firms in the Airline business to facilitate the creation, distribution, representation and the implementation of organizational insights (Eason, 2001). These kinds of insights usually consist of knowledge that the individuals in an organization can use during the execution of organizational processes. Knowledge management is diverse in nature and incorporates concepts such as business administration and management of information systems and organizational management, which are all intertwined in the aspect of organizational behavior relating to workplace environment, people, technology and organizational structure. This implies that knowledge management is important in the formulation of business strategies in an organization (Nevo & Wade, 2010).
One of the strategic implications concerning on organizational behavior in relation to knowledge management is employee involvement, which is vital in ensuring the successful implementation of a knowledge management system (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). In the organizational context, it is arguably evident that employee involvement in the decision making process is a necessity prior to the implementation of any organizational strategy, and the implementation of a knowledge management system is not an exception (Tedd & Gareth, 2001). This is mainly because employees play a significant role in meeting the business goals and objectives of the organization. Employee training refers to the extent to which employees in an organization share the available information, knowledge, rewards and power across the organizational framework. In addition, employee knowledge is increasingly becoming a tool for competitive advantage, which is mainly achieved through facilitating the sharing of knowledge across the organization and the establishment of an organizational culture that promotes employee involvement in decision processes. Nigel & Kraemer (2004) argues that knowledge multiplies only of it is shared among the employees, meaning the effectiveness of knowledge management systems significantly relies on the nature of organizational behavior as defined by the group dynamics within the organization. The significance of employee involvement during the implementation of a knowledge management system is based on the underlying assumption that an employee productivity and performance improvement does not rely on work organization and their skills, but also on the willingness of the employees to transform the implicit knowledge regarding the work to a constant process improvement and innovation (Tedd & Gareth, 2001). In addition, employee involvement during the implementation of a knowledge management system facilitates the gathering of information across all the organizational levels, which is vital for the survival of the organization.
The commitment of the top management is also an important strategic implication that is also critical in guaranteeing a successful implementation of knowledge management systems in the Airline industry (Wanda & Barley, 2001). With this respect, the commitment from the top management of the organization plays an integral role in ensuring that the knowledge management system being adopted receives a positive response from the organizational members (Nevo & Wade, 2010). The leadership and commitment of the top management team also facilitates effectiveness of knowledge creation and sharing among the organizational members at all levels. Nevo and Wade further assert that this is only effective if there a knowledge friendly culture in the organization that has been established by the top management team of the firms in the airline industry. It is also important that the top management of the organization realize the value of knowledge to an organization and the role that it plays in ensuring the success of the organization, and that the available knowledge should be managed effectively for it to be beneficial to the organization, which is increasingly becoming a business tool for building competitive advantage (Phelps, 2007). Research surveys have reported that most of the knowledge management systems have failed because of lack of commitment and leadership by the top management (Wanda & Barley, 2001). Organizational leadership should aim at establishing an organizational culture that values the importance of knowledge and knowledge sharing in fostering success. Lack of support from the top management team is likely to impede successful implementation of the knowledge management system (Wanda & Barley, 2001).
According to Benamati & Lederer (2001), an important strategic implication regarding the adoption of a knowledge management system is the establishment of a strong organizational culture that is knowledge-friendly. A strong organizational culture means that the organizational operations and activities favor the realization of the organizations goals and objectives, and enhances organizational learning and innovation that attempt to motivate employees to increase their organizational knowledge base. This basically involves informing the employees within the organization the significance of adopting change as important in determining the organizational performance (Wanda & Barley, 2001). The knowledge management system implementation strategy should therefore attempt to streamline the business processes, the employees and the organizational goals and objectives. A knowledge-friendly organizational culture is established by cultivating trust and confidence and the spirit of knowledge sharing, which are vital in encouraging the process of knowledge application and development at the organization (Griffith & Sawyer, 2003).
Performance measurement is also important during the implementation of knowledge management systems within an organization (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). Performance measurement primarily entails gathering relevant data regarding the productivity and efficiency of the people within an organization, functional units and the entire organization. Research studies have reported a positive correlation between performance measurement and the successful implementation of knowledge management systems, implying that it is vital to incorporate performance measurement as a core requirement during the implementation of knowledge management systems (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). Other significant consideration during adoption of knowledge management systems include elimination of organizational constraints, benchmarking and the establishment of information systems that meet the requirements of the organizations knowledge management (Griffith & Sawyer, 2003).
Business needs within the airline industry that represents opportunities for organizational behavior
In the current business context in the airline industry, firms are deploying strategies for fostering growth and controlling operational costs. The business needs in the airline industry that present opportunities for organizational behavior are diverse and include increasing profitability, fostering organizational growth, increasing organizational efficiency and ensuring government compliance (Benamati & Lederer, 2001). Other business requirements that are an opportunity for organizational behavior includes reducing operational costs and risk vulnerability with the main objective of ensuring business continuity. The identified business needs in relation to organizational culture are discussed in the following section.
Profitability is an important business need that forms the backbone of existence of the firm. It is important to note that various factors contribute towards profitability, and organizational behavior is among the core contributing factors that ensures business profitability (Eason, 2001). This is mainly because the success in the airline business is determined by the way the firm is perceived by the external entities such as stakeholders and potential clients and internal relations; which form the basis of organizational behavior. The significant driving factors that represent opportunities for organizational behavior that can be used to increase profitability includes in the airline business include the need to reduce overhead expenses, need to increase employee productivity, the need to increase its competitive advantage in its market sector and most importantly, the need for the business to be able to sustain itself amidst technological and financial challenges (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004).
Organizational behavior plays a major role in ensuring organizational efficiency. Implementing change is not an easy task and requires well laid procedures and a strategic planning approach. One of the significant driving factors that could compel business enterprises to implement change processes is the need to keep up with the dynamic nature of the market and generally to foster organizational culture that matches the present management trends. Presently, the working environment is experiencing dynamism associated with globalization, advancements in technology and increasing organizational mergers; this form part of the need to implement change in an organization. It is evident that firms in the airline industry can no longer rely on the traditional predictable pattern of business operations and organizational culture (Tedd & Gareth, 2001). The new organizational trend is the unpredictable and continuous change. Change process is usually as a result of innovation at the organizational level, this therefore implies that an organization that is stagnant in terms of execution of the organizational process represents an opportunity for organizational behavior.
Organizational behavior lays emphasis on the outcome of implementation of the new strategies, which mainly centers on fostering organizational growth. Organizational behavior typically involves applying new strategy to the carrying out of a task and in some cases, it entails structural change. The computing airline industry is very turbulent and dynamic, with new market players deploying organizational strategies aimed at enhancing their efficiency and increasing their market share. In order to survive in such a business environment, an organization requires an organizational behavior that is tailored towards the achievement of the business goals and objectives (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). The organizational behavior that is applied today, probably will not work in future. On a similar account, the organizational behaviors that worked in duration approximately five years ago are not effective now. To effectively manage within the dynamic business environment, firms in the airline business have to adapt to the present business context, adaptation in itself implies change in the organizational behavior, culture and structure. The management and strategic practices of the past can no longer be deemed effective in the current business practices within the airline industry (Benamati & Lederer, 2001). Consequently, if firms are to uphold their competitive advantage, and enhance effectiveness in terms of service delivery, they must approach the present business environment in a manner that is proactive and agile. This implies that firms in the airline business have to reconstruct its organizational behavior in order to survive in the present and future business contexts. The organizational structure at should enhance the business to maximize on its potential by preventing limiting factors such lack of employee productivity, lack of customer satisfaction, ineffective management approaches, increased operation costs and the need for the realization of the business needs, goals and objectives. In addition, organizational behavior creates an opportunity innovation and effective decision making (Eason, 2001). The organizational culture can be viewed as effective in the terms of streamlining the execution of business operations within the enterprise.
The implications that organizational behavior imposes on knowledge management within the airline business
Opportunities
Organizational culture and behavior play an important role in fostering growth and organizational efficiency (Awad, 2004). This therefore implies that whatever causes the implementation of an information management technology such as knowledge management, organizational culture and behavior should be incorporated to the implementation strategy. Effective organizational change should incorporate concepts such as: leadership is a key requirement for sustaining change in an organization; having a clearly stated vision and a plan of approach; availability of viable alternatives; evaluation of appropriate technology and fostering organizational culture change. The extent to which these concepts are applied depends on the scope and limitations of the organizational behavior and the level of complexity of the organization (Benamati & Lederer, 2001).
With regard to aspect of knowledge management, organizational behavior presents an opportunity for used management of organizational knowledge by enhancing employee communication and collaboration. The Airline industry is completely dependent on information technology systems to facilitate communication between its employees and other stakeholders of the company. In addition, knowledge management has helped airline businesses to generate and integrate the core information assets with organizational decision making and knowledge building strategies, which are greatly influenced by the nature organizational behavior (Griffith & Sawyer, 2003). Currently, firms in the airline industry rely on collaboration, mobile work, business intelligence, business process management, content management and knowledge sharing in order to ensure that there is an effective communication between the employees in the organization. In addition, the integrated Human Resource Management system plays an important role employee communication with the top management team in order to enhance the organizational efficiency (Nevo & Wade, 2010). This implies that organizational behavior facilitates the realization of knowledge management goals and depends on the group dynamics within the firm (Eason, 2001).
Knowledge management systems are vital in the present economy that is knowledge-based. Knowledge management strategies can be deployed by organizations to facilitate the creation, distribution, representation and the implementation of organizational insights. These kinds of insights usually consist of knowledge that the individuals in an organization can use during the execution of organizational processes (Eason, 2001). The use of knowledge management in the marketing strategy of the organization is an effective approach to ensuring expansion of the company. This is so because the strategy involves an integration of the organizational behavior and business management without impairing the organizational goals and objectives (Griffith & Sawyer, 2003).
One of the most strategic opportunities offered by organizational behavior is that it fosters organizational efficiency, which is achieved by ensuring that there is smooth organizational information and workflow. Knowledge sharing ensures that organizational tasks are executed effectively. In addition, knowledge management systems facilitate the organizational management process through offering frameworks through which employees can be tracked and their work monitored. In addition, the information system integrates all the business functions within the organization such as sales and human resource management. This generally ensures that there is organizational efficiency (Tedd & Gareth, 2001).
Challenges
Organizational behavior also imposes various challenges concerning the adoption of an information management technology. This is mainly because the effectiveness of the information management technology is mainly determined by the perception of the members of the organization towards its adoption and subsequent usage (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). A potential challenge that organizational behavior imposes on knowledge management adoption in an organization is lack of organizational commitment. In most cases, the implementation of knowledge management systems usually take a lot of time to be effective and positive outcomes be achieved after its adoption. A risky situation is evident in instances whereby the organization lacks the commitment of effective implementation of the system and the patience for the Returns on Investments to be realized (Wanda & Barley, 2001). Observational learning is a significant aspect of organizational behavior that the firm should never underestimate, lest it is exposed to the threats associated with ineffective systems implementation. Even a well-articulated vision for change is normally subject to opposition. Individuals within an organization are always threatened by the idea of organizational change, such as the incorporation of a knowledge management system, since it will have an influence on the way they execute their daily tasks within the organization (Nigel & Kraemer, 2004). With every change associated with the implementation of information technology systems, there are bound to be winners and losers; losers tend to be affected negatively from the implementation of change, such as loss of jobs, salary cuts and organizational restructuring (Nevo & Wade, 2010). Therefore, losers are bound to be more resistant towards the implementation of change in that context. This is mainly because the implementation of knowledge management extends beyond the technological framework and is likely to affect aspects such as organizational culture and behavior, and the reception of organizational members towards change (Awad, 2004).
Conclusion
Information is a critical success factor for any organization in the present business context. This implies that business enterprises should strive at securing their information in order establish a competitive edge. This means that firms should establish an organizational behavior that is information-friendly, with the main objective of ensuring that the implementation of information management projects within the firm is a success.
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