Diagnosis of Knowledge Management in Companies

Knowledge management is an idea constituting organizational memory. It refers to knowledge of individual employees and their teams present in general and organizational systems as well as in organizations’ databases. The management and employees becoming aware of the type of knowledge they have at their disposition transforms it into a potential resource of strategic significance. This, however, requires actions which would structure and develop such a resource to be undertaken. The actions comprise locating, acquiring, developing, sharing, applying and maintaining knowledge. Such specific actions regarding knowledge resources constitute knowledge management. The paper is devoted to the process of knowledge management. It presents a description and research results pertaining to knowledge management in companies representing Polish IT sector. The main objective of the study was to diagnose the process. The study embraces Probst, Ramhartd process knowledge management model. Therefore, the diagnosis pertained to locating, acquiring, developing, sharing, applying and maintaining knowledge. In order to supplement the description of the process, the following were included: association of the process with a strategy, companies’ level of knowledge management implementation, causes and barriers for the application, tools and determinants facilitating the implementation, sources of knowledge. The study encompassed 100 companies representing IT sector in Poland. The companies differed in size and form of ownership. The study encompassed 415 employees occupying positions of managers and specialists. They were requested to express their views upon various aspects of knowledge management processes. In order to arrive at the objectives and obtain unbiased results, quantitative studies based upon surveys were conducted. The questionnaire contained questions pertaining to individual stages and additional aspects of knowledge management. Respondents presented their views by means of a 4-point scale evaluating a particular area associated with the process and the intensity of its presence. Research results enable the following observations to be made. Knowledge management in the studied organizations is a planned activity originating from the organization’s strategy. The implementation of knowledge management is to improve the quality of services and boost client satisfaction. Structural solutions facilitating the implementation have been developed. All stages of knowledge management have been implemented in the studied companies. However, the extent of the implementation varied. The creation of knowledge is the most popular. Its utilization the least. Knowledge management processes in the studied companies face several obstacles limiting the effectiveness of the idea, such as insufficient interpersonal communication and inadequate management style.