Introduction
Organizations in the present day constantly rely on effective information flow, which in turn plays an integral role in ensuring that the organizational processes are executed effectively during this ear of information age. Knowledge sharing is a fundamental tool for fostering organizational efficiency that the organizational cannot underestimate (Gottschalk, 2005).
In the light of this, Knowledge Management solutions play a vital role in the elimination of potential barriers towards the flow of information within the organization by providing avenues through which employees can collaborate and share information in order to enhance decision making within the organization.
Knowledge management can be defined as the detailed management of critical knowledge and information that is processed by organizational members in such a manner that it can be used and shared at the organizational level with the main objective of transforming the corporate intellectual and organizational knowledge into business intelligence (Phelps, 2007).
Knowledge management strategies can be deployed by organizations to facilitate the creation, distribution, representation and the implementation of organizational insights. A needs analysis is needed prior to the implementation of Knowledge Management solutions within the organization.
In the context of the Rural Hospital Scenario, a needs analysis reveals that the institution is in dire need of an effective knowledge management system.
The main purpose of this report is to evaluate the problem and propose that the Knowledge Management solutions to be implemented to address these problems associated with information flow in the facility. The report provides a description of the healthcare facility, development of the implementation plan and a description of the project activities (Marwick & Thomas, 2001).
Description of Healthcare Facility
Scenario
In the Rural Hospital Scenario, there is no flow of information between the rural healthcare facility and Mercy Medical Center, which is the largest hospital in the area that is in charge with providing management services and introducing electronic health record systems.
Despite the fact that billing and coding have been always been submitted on a regular basis, information from the Mercy Medical Center has not been able to reach the healthcare facility in a timely fashion. This resulted to the more denials for the reasons that the Mercy Medical Center has been informed about but has not forwarded to the HIM department (Richard & John, 2002).
As a result, employees at the facility are becoming upset while the management is directing the blame for the denials at the HIM management. The outcome of this scenario associated with lack of effective communication between the two facilities resulted to the failure of the implementation of the Electronic Health Record in the healthcare facility (Gottschalk, 2005).
The knowledge-sharing culture at the healthcare facility principally involves sharing knowledge with the internal employees and external entities such as the Mercy Medical Center. A deficiency in this system serves to jeopardize communication within the organization and with outside partners such as the MNC.
This is important in increasing the competitive advantage of the organization. Currently, the facility also relies on its informal communication platforms such as email, memos and bulletin boards to facilitate employee communication and knowledge sharing.
There is various knowledge management deficiencies associated with the current groupware that the healthcare facility uses owing to the fact that it does not have the capability managing knowledge within the organization. For instance, groupware email are only helpful in knowledge creation, sharing and sometimes reuse.
The significant limitation is that groupware emails are only read when they are still new, and old mails are likely to be forgotten. This implies that the current information communication platform used at the facility is still having some deficiencies regarding knowledge creation, utilization and sharing (Gottschalk, 2005).
Identification of potential barriers
The most prevalent barrier, in this case, is lack of effective communication and effective sharing between the healthcare facility and the MNC, this is notable by the fact that there is no information flow from either side between the facility and the MNC. In addition, the information from MNC has not been able to reach the facility in a timely manner in order to facilitate effective organizational workflow at the facility.
Another potential barrier is that there is universal information sharing platform that can facilitate information sharing between the two facilitates. This is because attempts to contact the HIM department at the MNC are not helpful because there is no right person to answer the queries and one has to wait for that person to return so that queries can be addressed (Phelps, 2007).
Overcoming the barriers
Overcoming the communication barriers requires the implementation of an integrated communication platform that should serve to enhance information sharing between the two facilities to ensure effective execution of the organizational processes.
This requires the implementation of a knowledge management system that serves to ensure that there is effective knowledge sharing between the healthcare facilities and the MNC. In addition, Knowledge Management solutions will serve to eliminate the potential communication barriers between the healthcare facility and the MNC (Marwick & Thomas, 2001).
Another important consideration is that employee involvement vital in ensuring the successful implementation of a Knowledge Management system. 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.
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 the facility 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 healthcare facility and the establishment of an organizational culture that promotes employee involvement in decision processes (Richard & John, 2002). The underlying argument is that knowledge multiplies only of it is shared among the employees.
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.
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 healthcare facility (Marwick & Thomas, 2001).
The commitment of the top management is also critical in guaranteeing a successful implementation of Knowledge Management systems in both the healthcare facility and MNC. With this respect, the commitment from the top management of the facilities plays an integral role in ensuring that the Knowledge Management solution being receives a positive response from the employees.
The leadership and commitment of the top management team also facilitates effectiveness of knowledge creation and sharing among the employees of the various departments at all levels (Marwick & Thomas, 2001).
It is also important that the top management of the healthcare facility realize the value of knowledge to an organization and the role that it plays in ensuring the success of the healthcare facility, and that the available knowledge should be managed effectively for it to be beneficial to the healthcare facility, which is increasingly becoming a tool for business efficiency.
Research surveys have reported that most of the Knowledge Management solutions have failed because of a lack of commitment and leadership by the top management.
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 solutions (Phelps, 2007).
Another important consideration during the implementation of a Knowledge Management solution 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 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 facility the significance of adopting change as important in determining the organizational performance. The Knowledge Management solutions 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 healthcare facility (Borghoff, 1997).
Performance measurement is also important during the implementation of Knowledge Management solutions within the healthcare facility. Performance measurement primarily entails gathering relevant data regarding the productivity and efficiency of the people within the facility, functional units and the entire healthcare facility.
Research studies have reported a positive correlation between performance measurement and the successful implementation of Knowledge Management solutions, implying that it is vital to incorporate performance measurement as a core requirement during the implementation of Knowledge Management solutions.
Other significant consideration during adoption of Knowledge Management solutions include elimination of organizational constraints, benchmarking and the establishment of information systems that meet the requirements of the organizations knowledge management (Phelps, 2007).
Development of Implementation
Description of what Knowledge Management Tools Implemented
This project will use groupware applications as a Knowledge Management solution to the communication barriers after a careful needs assessment. Groupware applications are mainly used for the management of organizational knowledge by offering a means through which the employees of the healthcare facility can communicate and collaborate using an application suite (Marwick & Thomas, 2001).
Most of the groupware applications that are deployed by businesses include emailing platforms, file sharing repository, bulletin boards, blogs, forums and other platforms through which the employees of the facility can engage in organizational learning.
In addition, the effectiveness of groupware application in aiding the realization of knowledge management goals depends on how the employees make use of the Knowledge Management groupware. For example, a limited number of users are likely to share emails and documents that are containing knowledge concerning problem-solving on a large scale.
Such constraints must be eliminated for the Knowledge Management groupware to facilitate the realization of the organizational goals and objectives.
References
Borghoff, P. (1997). IT for Knowledge Management. Journal of Universal Computer Science , 3 (8), 835-842.
Gottschalk, P. (2005). Strategic Knowlegde Management Technology. Philadelphia: Idea Group Publishing.
Marwick, A., & Thomas, J. (2001). Knowledge Management Technology. IBM Systems Journal , 40 (4), 814-830.
Phelps, B. (2007). Electronic Information systems and organizational boundaries. Technology analysis and strategic management , 17-29.
Richard, F. B., & John, M. (2002). Knowledge Management Strategy. MA: Artech House.