Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management has a role to ensure that people have the knowledge they need where they need and when they need, i.e. the real knowledge in the right place and at the right time. There are many definitions of knowledge management, such as:

• Knowledge management is to discover, develop, utilize, deliver, and absorb knowledge inside and outside the organization through an appropriate management process to meet current and future needs. (Ouintas, Lefrere and Jones, 1997).

• Knowledge management is a process that helps organizations find, select, organize, disseminate, and transfer important information and expertise necessary for activities. (Gupta, Iyer and Aronson, 2000).

• Knowledge management is getting the right information to the right people at the right time, helping people create knowledge and sharing and acting on information. (Holm, 2001).

Strategic view on knowledge management considers the union between technology and human factors as a basis for market survival. Some authors even differ the very nature of the concept of knowledge management from other strategic concepts just according to passion, courage and confidence of a knowledge leader.

Knowledge management requires turning personal knowledge into corporate knowledge which can be shared and appropriately applied in the organization. It is most commonly defined as the collective knowledge, including experience, skills, information and data of an organization. Three key factors of knowledge management are people, technology and organizational processes. This concept of management is a key activity in organizations because knowledge is considered to be the most important resource that provides competitive advantages and competitive markets.

Knowledge management aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization, allowing employees at all levels to use their knowledge, experience and skills in order to get the right information that will enable the achievement of an organization's goals. That is, actually, the most effective usage of intellectual capital of a business

For more information: SE-ERGO

Sketch book

New for fashion designer

Organization analysis

The starting point for an organization review is an analysis of the existing circumstances, structure and processes of the organization and an assessment of the strategic issues that might affect it in the future.  

The external environment

The economic, market, competitive, social and legal matters that may affect the organization. Plans for product-market development will be significant.

The internal environment

The mission, values, organization climate, management style, technology and processes of the organization as they affect the way it functions and should be structured to carry out its function. Technological developments may be particularly important, as well as the introduction of new processes such as just-in-time or the development of an entirely new computer system.

Strategic issues and objectives

As a background to the study it is necessary to identify the strategic issues facing the organization and its objectives. These may be considered under such headings as growth, competition and market position and standing. Issues concerning the availability of the required human, financial and physical resources would also have to be considered.

Activities

Activity analysis establishes what work is done and what needs to be done in the organization to achieve its objectives within its environment. The analysis should cover what is and is not being done, who is doing it and where, and how much is being done. An answer is necessary to the key questions: are all the activities required properly catered for? Are there any unnecessary activities being carried out, i.e. those that do not need to be done at all or those that could be conducted more economically and efficiently  by external contractors or providers?

Structure

The analysis of structure covers how activities are grouped together, the number of levels in the hierarchy, the extent to which authority is decentralized to divisions and strategic business units, where functions such as finance, HR and research and development are placed in the structure and the relationships that exist between different units and functions (with particular attention being given to the way in which they communicate and cooperate with one another). Attention would be paid to such issues as the logic of the way in which activities are grouped and decentralized, the span of control of managers, any overlap between functions or gaps leading to the neglect of certain activities, and the existence of unnecessary departments, units, functions or layers of management.

We need to stand more often

Because:

1. Standing reduces risk of weight gain and obesity.
2. Standing vs sitting lowers risk of heart disease.
3. Standing helps lower risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
4. Standing lowers long-term mortality risk.
5. Standing helps reduce the risk of cancer.
6. Standing can help ease or reduce chronic back pain.
7. Standing helps increase energy levels and improve mood.
8. Standing while working boosts productivity.
9. Standing while working helps tone muscles.

Physiological conditions

When the requirements of work are such that a man can overcome them by making an effort, the functional ability of his body and his health are not endangered and there is ergonomic balance. In that sense, the physiology of work deals with:

o Defining the workload;

o Defining the requirements of work;

o Studying human physiological abilities and the size of physiological effort he can make in order to respond to the requirements of work.

(1) Defining the workload

Performing each work is a kind of a burden for the body. The type, intensity and duration of the load depend on the work. Physiological workloads should be such that the body can respond to them through physiological functions, i.e. to maintain homeostasis when working. The load that can not be overcome leads to disorders of homeostasis (the balance in the body is lost) which is an overload that causes fatigue. In case of further increasing the intensity of overload, there is a pathological response of the body, i.e. fatigue. 

Loads can be physical, mental and sensory.

Physical work (the work of skeletal muscles) is a major cause of physical load because of work. Physical work means the work that a man does while overcoming the burden and resistance. Physical work can be dynamic and static work.

(2) Defining the requirements of work

Requirements of work define what the workload and adverse effects require from the organism of workers and can be the following:

- Requests for certain functions of the organism. In addition to general health conditions, the work requires some particularly preserved functions of organs and systems or some particularly preserved or marked morphological features of a man. 

- Requests for certain age limits of a worker. Depending on the age, some functions are established, some are changed, some disappear or are reduced, so that the same work shall not place the same demands on quite young, middle-aged or older workers. 

- Requests for a specific sex of a worker. These requirements are not common, and are based on specific differences in the physiology of female and male body. 

(3) Size of physiological effort

A man must make an effort in order to deal with the load imposed by a certain work. The analysis of work can specify which functions of the body will be exposed to the influence of that work. So the individual workplace should always be analysed, not the occupation.

The bigger the load is, the bigger the effort is, although not all the people make the same effort to deal with the same load. In determining the effort, the following has to be determined:

- the limit of physiological strain at rest,

- the level of physiological response to  work impact, and

- the boundary between physiological and pathological responses.

Read more: ERGONOMICS IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY