Unit III Essay

 

Unit III Essay Open

• Weight: 10% of course grade
• Grading Rubric

Instructions

For the Unit III Essay, imagine you are the lead trainer for a global organization. Through data analytics and observations, you have noticed that employees across the organization do not share their knowledge with one another, whether that be from skills trainings they recently completed to general knowledge that could enhance the capabilities of the organization. This is a big issue for the chief executive officer (CEO), and the head of human resources (HR) has asked you to come up with solutions to address the issue. Within your essay, provide the information below.

• Give three reasons as to why employees do not share knowledge.
• Give three solutions that your organization can incorporate to encourage knowledge sharing among employees.
• Discuss the benefits that each solution offers and how each solution promotes knowledge sharing.

For this essay, create a fictitious company name and location, and make your suggestions specific to that company. In the introduction, give the company name and location and some brief background information about the company and industry. Feel free to choose any industry (e.g., technology, manufacturing, or advertising) that interests you, and add any details that you think are necessary for your essay.

Your essay must be at least two pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages. You are required to use at least one outside source to support your explanation. All sources used, including required unit resources, must be cited and referenced according to APA guidelines.

MHR 6551, Training and Development 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Outline elements of effective sharing of knowledge among employees.
3.1 Analyze why employees do not share knowledge.
3.2 Develop solutions that will encourage knowledge sharing.
3.3 Discuss benefits of knowledge-sharing solutions.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

3.1

Unit Lesson
Article: “A Systematic Review of Knowledge Management and Knowledge

Sharing: Trends, Issues, and Challenges”
Article: “Looking Beyond Knowledge Sharing: An Integrative Approach to

Knowledge Management Culture”
Article: “With Whom Shall I Share My Knowledge? A Recipient Perspective of

Knowledge Sharing”
Unit III Essay

3.2

Unit Lesson
Article: “A Systematic Review of Knowledge Management and Knowledge
Sharing: Trends, Issues, and Challenges”
Article: “Looking Beyond Knowledge Sharing: An Integrative Approach to
Knowledge Management Culture”
Article: “With Whom Shall I Share My Knowledge? A Recipient Perspective of
Knowledge Sharing”
Unit III Essay

3.3

Unit Lesson
Article: “A Systematic Review of Knowledge Management and Knowledge
Sharing: Trends, Issues, and Challenges”
Article: “Looking Beyond Knowledge Sharing: An Integrative Approach to
Knowledge Management Culture”
Article: “With Whom Shall I Share My Knowledge? A Recipient Perspective of
Knowledge Sharing”
Unit III Essay

Required Unit Resources

In order to access the following resources, click the links below.

Asrar-ul-Haq, M., Anwar, S., & Nisar, T. (2016). A systematic review of knowledge management and

knowledge sharing: Trends, issues, and challenges. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1), 1–17.
Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bsu&AN=120794137&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Intezari, A., Taskin, N., & Pauleen, D. J. (2017). Looking beyond knowledge sharing: An integrative approach

to knowledge management culture. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(2), 492–515. Retrieved
from https://search-proquest-
com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1889365849?accountid=33337

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE

Knowledge Share and Learning Transfer

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=120794137&site=ehost-live&scope=site

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=120794137&site=ehost-live&scope=site

https://search-proquest-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1889365849?accountid=33337

https://search-proquest-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1889365849?accountid=33337

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Title

Zhang, X., & Jiang, J. Y. (2015). With whom shall I share my knowledge? A recipient perspective of
knowledge sharing. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(2), 277–295. Retrieved from
https://search-proquest-
com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/2138080008?accountid=33337

Unit Lesson

In today’s business environment, the competitive advantage that many organizations rely upon is the
experience, skill, and knowledge that has been acquired over a certain period of time. The coined phrase
knowledge is power may sound very much like a cliché, but in the context of business practices and
processes, we can see some truth to this. According to Liu (n.d.), knowledge management (KM) is the
method of acquiring, producing, sharing, and managing the knowledge of an organization. The extent to
which an organization practices KM can differentiate the competitive capabilities of that organization. There
are a number of beneficial outcomes that KM brings to an organization. Some of the outcomes observed are
shown in Figure 1 below.

By observing the benefits above, it is no secret as to why organizations would like to master the practice
of KM. The two characteristics of KM we will explore during this lesson are knowledge sharing and
learning transfer.

Knowledge Sharing

According to Serban and Luan (2002), in its simplest form, knowledge sharing is the activity of exchanging
knowledge (experience, skill, and information) among people within an organization. For many organizations,
it is important to store and retrieve knowledge that has been acquired over a long period of time. Much of this
knowledge resides in the minds, skills, and experience of employees. Hence, when experienced employees
leave an organization, they take with them their knowledge and, if not captured and appropriately stored for
retrieval, this could be considered a heavy loss for any organization. However, technology has made it much
easier to capture, store, and retrieve knowledge that has been obtained.

One of the challenges that many organizations face in terms of knowledge share is the willingness of
employees to share that knowledge (Desouza & Yukika, 2003). There are a couple of reasons as to why this
happens. For one, obtaining the contribution of knowledge can be a time-consuming effort. Also, those who
possess valuable knowledge may see the sharing of that knowledge as a threat to their competitive edge and
employment viability (Serban & Luan, 2002). This is observed in highly competitive roles where employees
compete with each other. For example, a sales associate decides not to share the name of a sales lead with a
colleague because that lead can be considered as a big sale and can increase commission for the one who
closes the sale. Furthermore, Desouza and Yukika (2003) espouse that the reason knowledge is not shared

Better Decision-Making

Increased Innovation

Improved Efficiency

Higher Productivity

Increased Revenue

Figure 1: Beneficial outcomes of knowledge management

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https://search-proquest-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/2138080008?accountid=33337

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is because there is no incentive put in place to share knowledge. As a result, employees have less reason to
share knowledge and will hoard knowledge and use it as a source of power to gain advantage within the
organization. Lastly, the reason that knowledge is not shared is because information tends to lie in many
different areas within the organization. The knowledge has not been arranged in an organized fashion, and
employees are left to fend for themselves in gathering the information to leverage to their advantage. This is
particularly observed in large organizations where information and data can sit in different pockets throughout
the organization.

Although there are some challenges to knowledge sharing, there are a number of solutions to these
challenges that we will explore. Some of the solutions to the issues mentioned are below.

 Rewards program for sharing knowledge: Organizations incentivize employees who share knowledge
with colleagues. This motivates employees to share information across the organization.

 Collaboration: This includes groupware activities such as sharing calendars, sharing databases
among departments, and hosting virtual meetings where information is shared among employees.

 Job rotation: An employee is assigned from one position to another within the same department or in

a different one for a specified period of time, which is usually 6 months to 2 years. This allows the
employee to acquire skills and knowledge from different areas across the organization.

 Cross training: An employee will typically spend 1 day to a week in another role within the same
department to learn the tasks and responsibilities of that role. For example, cross training may occur
when a supervisor allows a subordinate to learn the tasks and responsibilities of being a supervisor
so that when the supervisor is away, the employee has the appropriate knowledge of the supervisor.

 Sharing sessions: This includes small group sessions among team members to discuss best

practices or ideas about a given job, project, or situation. Information is allowed to flow freely, and
participants are expected to share and learn from one another.

Also, training professionals can play a vital role in ensuring that knowledge is appropriately shared throughout
the organization by leveraging the organization’s knowledge sharing strategy to strengthen their training
programs. By using the resources the organization already has and by relying on internal experts, the training
professional can design training programs to promote knowledge share. For example, in the onboarding
process, new employees are often reluctant to share their ideas and ask questions. To help these employees
to benefit from the knowledge and experience of the current team, the training professional can match the
employee with a mentor who has successfully demonstrated his or her efficiency and skill at implementing the
company’s processes and practices. Additionally, some training programs have adopted a knowledge sharing
platform that gives employees a central location to capture, store, and easily access knowledge. Through
these platforms, knowledge can also easily be transferred between employees, and collaboration can be
encouraged regarding the available knowledge.

Learning Transfer

The transfer of learning is the continuing and effective on-the-job application of the skills and knowledge
gained through the training experience (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM], n.d.). Here, the
learner applies learning from one situation to another. The transfer of learning begins prior to the employee
stepping into a training or learning scenario. Leaders build a culture where learning is incentivized and
sharing is encouraged. This can help set the expectation that knowledge, when acquired, should be shared.
The two types of learning transfer are near and far.

Near learning transfer (NLT): NLT is where employees use skills they are learning in one area and apply
those skills to a situation they are currently experiencing. For example, the customer service representative
can take the skills they have acquired in dealing with difficult customers to effectively handle difficult situations
with internal employees during management training for their current department. The skills are transferable
between both scenarios.

Far learning transfer (FLT): FLT is where employees take the skills that they learn and apply them to an
entirely different context. For example, an employee who has worked as a customer service representative in
an organization now works in the human resources (HR) department for the same organization as an
employee relations associate. The employee will be able to apply his or her skills of dealing with difficult

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people to now dealing with difficult employee relations cases. The skills are still transferable, but the context is
entirely different.

The challenge that many organizations face is how to get employees to effectively put into practice what they
learn or know to a given scenario. Per SHRM (n.d.), there are four strategies that training professionals can
implement to ensure proper knowledge transfer, which are listed below.

 Explicit learning: This is where organizations train employees on what they need know and how to
apply what they learn in a structured environment.

 Group learning: This involves allowing employees to work in groups that mirror the type of work
experiences they may encounter.

 Reflective learning: After a task has been completed, the trainer can ask the employee to reflect on
what was learned through that task. This can aid in improvement of the given skill or knowledge
learned.

 Learning through analogies and metaphors: The trainer can take what employees already know and
apply it to the given learning situation to understand it better.

While it is important that learning occurs as an outcome for employee development programs, it is equally
important that the participant share the new skills and knowledge gained with their colleagues. One of the
methods that organizations use to ensure the appropriate transfer of learning is the 30/60/90-day action plan.
When formal learning has been completed, the 30/60/90-day action plan can aid in enhancing the transfer
and retention of learning and connect the learning to enhanced job performance. The components of a good
30/60/90-day plan are shown in Figure 2:

Additionally, requiring the trainee to discuss “lessons learned” with coworkers, mentors, and/or managers is
important. Giving the trainee opportunities to directly apply the newly acquired knowledge or skill and
coaching sessions are all activities included in a 30/60/90-day plan. The activities in the plan will vary
depending on the factors below:

 the type of learning intervention (e.g., competency development, new-hire onboarding, product
knowledge);

 the level of the trainee (e.g., executive, sales, technical); and

 the organization’s culture and receptiveness to training.

Knowledge share and learning transfer are important concepts in all organizations in order to stay competitive
in today’s business environment to achieve a competitive advantage.

Objectives are clearly defined.

Deliverables are aligned with objectives.

Themes are present for each stage of the plan.

The plan includes a clear set of activities with due dates.

A scorecard is used to measure achievement of milestones
and transfer of learning.

Figure 2: Components of a good 30/60/90-day plan

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References

Desouza, K., & Awazu, Y. (2003). Knowledge management. HR Magazine. Retrieved from

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/1103desouza.aspx

Liu, S. (n.d.). Introduction to knowledge management. Retrieved from

https://web.archive.org/web/20070319233812/http://www.unc.edu/~sunnyliu/inls258/Introduction_to_
Knowledge_Management.html

Serban, A. M., & Luan, J. (2002). An overview of knowledge management. New Directions for Institutional

Research, 2002(113), 5–16. Retrieved from
http://www.uky.edu/~gmswan3/575/Serban_and_Luan_2002

Society for Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Instructional design: How do we ensure that employees

who attend training transfer their newfound skills to their job? Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-
qa/pages/whatstepsshouldanorgtaketogetthemostfromfundssetasidefortraining.aspx