KBAM: Skills hierarchy amongst employees as a barrier in knowledge management
Amongst other barriers to effective knowledge management, the hierarchy of skills in an organization may also be regarded as a barrier. In particular, the difference in skills amongst employees may make the process of knowledge management challenging. This could be referred to as an aspect of organizational culture where the sharing of knowledge between employees on different levels in an organization might not be very straightforward. This difficulty in sharing knowledge between the skills hierarchy amongst employees is reflective of the limitations and barriers within the communication system within an organization which inhibits the process of knowledge management. As discussed in the class, there should be opportunities for employees to share knowledge by breaking the ice between them through informal settings. Some employees might be introverts as people, and it is of significant importance that a relationship between employees and employers is fostered where they feel valued and are not hesitant to communicate.
Kamil Murad
The hierarchical barriers in organisations does serve as one of the most stringent barriers to knowledge dissemination. It is unfortunate that most managers today are primarily motivated by self-interest and concerned by the incentives to ‘jump’ the ladder to a higher managerial position. It happens within team as well where one employee, say in sales, wouldn’t share knowledge or identify target market areas for another employee because he thinks the other employee might ‘eat’ up his share. Removing targets could be one way to cease competition and foster a learning environment where selfishness and self-oriented way of work doesn’t exist
28 Apr 2013, 23:29
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