Knowledge management (KM)

Logically thinking, for any project to succeed in any organization, it is

subtle for one to absolutely understand the concepts of the projects. The first
and foremost reason why KM projects fail in any organization is the lack of
understandings in the KM concepts. As simple as just asking oneself, how can
something be delivered without any understandings of the delivery? KM is
essentially about getting the right knowledge to the right person at the right
time. It does sounds simple but it goes through a lot of stages. Therefore, there
should be an awareness of the importance of content which means a bright red
note should be put on the concept of KM.
Even if one has understands the concept of KM, another failure in
succeeding the project is inadequate management support. The implementation
of a KM program involves the creation, acceptance, and adoption of processes,
values, and systems that are either company-wide or in the very least span
across functions, departments, and communities. KM requires strong guidance,
decision-making and change implementation. To put it easy, failure can occur
due to a lack of leadership support in the organisation. As the Warren Benniss
saying goes, leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Next, issues in setting the right goal also contributes to the failure of KM.
This is mostly due to poor planning. The implementation of KM needs to be
focused on the organisation's strategic business objectives and critical business
problems. In other words, the implementation of KM requires a long-term and
practical outlook. Therefore, proper planning and continuous evaluation are
needed to ensure that all aspects of KM are being implemented effectively and
work well together. There was one saying from Les Brown that says Shoot for the
moon. Even if you miss, youll land among the stars. This means that goal is the
moon. That is the only goal, but even if you miss, there is still a huge chance of
succeeding in another way.
Another contribution to the failure of KM is the cultural issues. Culture can
vary on an organisational or community level. Organisational culture consists of
the values and beliefs of its members. Since knowledge management initiatives
span functions and departments, an understanding of all the facets of an
organisation's culture is critical. Culture plays a critical role in the willingness of
organisational members to share knowledge since it affects trust and the
willingness and ability to learn on an individual, group, and organisational level.
Lastly, improper implementation of technology is also one of the many
reasons why KM projects fail in any organization. Problems related to KM
performance include poor technical infrastructure, poor representation of
knowledge, and poor usability. In other words, failure can occur due to IT systems
that can either not handle the demand placed on them, that represent
knowledge in a way that does not meet the needs of its users, or that are not
user-friendly. Technology plays an important but limited role in KM, particularly
when dealing with tacit knowledge. The idea is that failure is likely to occur when
the IT system is seen as a solution in itself. Moreover, failure can also occur if the

limitations of the IT systems, particularly in regards to tacit knowledge, are not

well understood.