Assessment on knowledge management of a manpower and equipment provider : ABCD Trading and Industrial Services / Arbie G. Magno

Year : 2013

Number of Pages : 65 leaves

Adviser : Dr. Serafin D. Talisayon

Executive Summary

ABCD is a third-party provider of manpower and equipment to a number of clients. Majority of ABCD's employees currently work as contractors for XYZ's plant complex in Southern Luzon. It is a relatively new company which competes in a small but highly competitive industry. Established only in 2010, ABCD lacks a formal knowledge management (KM) system. Whenever an employee leaves, he automatically takes his expertise with him, leaving the company with nothing but the need to retrain and reequip new employees from scratch. Needless to say, productivity is compromised every time this happens. It is therefore vital that the need for improvement in its KM capabilities be strongly established first, and specific gaps in KM be identified before a recommendation for a KM infrastructure is developed. This is particularly important as ABCD is also planning to expand the scope of its business in the industrial services area. This project will therefore be primarily an assessment of ABCD's current processes and capability on KM in order to help deliver the determined needs. The output of this assessment will hopefully provide the firm with a bigger picture and better understanding as to where the organization currently stands in relation to knowledge management and how it can leverage KM in formulating strategic plans for growth and development. It will also provide the firm with the capability, through KM, to continually identify strengths and weaknesses within the company and to constantly find opportunities for improvement. Based on the interviews and subsequent discussions with ABCD's owners and its employees, it can be concluded that there is an adequate form of knowledge management that suits the firm's current needs. This is based on the understanding that the company is not only surviving but still growing. The manpower ABCD provides to its customers still meets their expectations. The products that its customers buy are still sourced and delivered within specifications. This goes to show that ABCD's operations are not at a standstill because of the apparent lack of a formal KM infrastructure. However, this arbitrary way of "managing" knowledge will turn out to be detrimental in the long run. Thus, it is highly recommended that ABCD pursue a formal KM infrastructure that will cater to the knowledge needs of its members. To address the current KM needs of ABCD, three of the four crucial tasks of a learning organization must be met, namely : (1) to enhance the employees' tacit knowledge especially those that create most value for the organization, (2) to convert useful individual tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge-the form easily replicable and re-usable by more people in the organization, and (3) to facilitate the re-use or practice of the right explicit knowledge by the right people. By planning and implementing these tasks, ABCD can create a healthier KM system that will cater to the necessary assignments in preparation for its planned future expansion.