How Can Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning Used to Improve Hr Management Systems and Practice and Build Intellectual Capital and Competitive Advantage for the Future

INTRODUCTION

In this current world, human being is increasingly recognised by organisation as the most important asset of the company. With the increased competition for management talent, it also means that the human resources departments will face more and more challenging and new employees’ issues. Globally, knowledge has become the most important factor in economic development and knowledge assets are considered essential for economic growth, competitive advantage, human development and quality of human life (Malhotra, 2003). Therefore, the integration of knowledge management and Organisational Learning into Human Resource Management is essential for organisations to build intellectual capital and competitive advantage for the future.

(A) Definition of Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management (KM) has been described as involving ‘the design, review and implementation of both social and technological processes to improve the application of knowledge, in the collective interest of stakeholders’ (Standards Australia, 2003). Knowledge management (KM) is the facilitation of transferring the right knowledge to the right people at the right time (O’Dell 1998 & Grayson), or in other words, enabling the right people to apply the right knowledge at the right time (Tiwana 2002). The extensive interest in knowledge management as a discipline began in earnest in the 1990’s as those organisations facing tumultuous external environments attempted to manage their “knowledge assets” to ensure continuous innovation (Newell, Robertson, Scarbrough and Swann, 2002).

(B) Definition of Organisational Learning

Organisational Learning (OL) is identified as the coming together of individuals to enable them to support and encourage one another’s learning, which will in the longer term be of benefit to the organisation (Hodgkinson, 2000). The OL activities involving tacit knowledge exchange rely on the active engagement of individuals. Based on the definition, we can

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