The use of knowledge management in the financial sector and banks is increasing becoming a vital aspect and banks are becoming more aware of the significant role it can serve to increase their benefits (2006). Knowledge management, if implemented properly, can improve the ability of their employees to make good decisions, the ability of the bank as a whole to meet customer’s need more effectively and with great accuracy. As a result, it will allow them to provide better quality of service than their competitors. This is simply because capturing, assessing and sharing knowledge provides a step ahead to lead in competitive market. Most of the initial work on Knowledge Management implementation has been covered by United States organisations such as 3M, Hewlett-Packard and Xerox ( 2001). In addition, most publications are either based on specific technologies or written by professionals working with top management in organizations. Therefore most of the available material in knowledge management has little direct association to what is going on in the context of knowledge management in other parts of the world ( 2001).
Therefore, this chapter examines existing literature in the form of previous studies, which have contributed to the chosen field of knowledge management. It also examines the concept of knowledge management and its development. In the following section, the chapter will analyse the practical aspects of knowledge management, benefits of knowledge management, and barriers to knowledge management in financial services. It also provides readers the knowledge and familiarity into the chosen area of research and also provides a foundation for the research.
2.1 Knowledge-Based Society
During the 1990s, knowledge was recognised as a powerful engine of production, an essential source for maintaining a competitive position, and many organizations made serious efforts to manage their knowledge. The concept of knowledge management was suggested by a number of researchers in 1990s.For example, Peter Drucker pointed out:
“The typical business will be knowledge based, an organization composed largely of specialist who direct and discipline their own performance through organized feedback from colleagues, customers, and headquarters. For this reason, it will be what I can an information based organization” ( 1988).
Also Senge, who suggested that the concept of a lean organisation would be a core competence of innovation, pointed out:
“As the world becomes more interconnected and business becomes more complex and dynamic, the world must become more “learningful”. It is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the organization, a Ford or a Sloan or a Watson. It is just not possible any longer to “figure it out” from the top, and have everyone else following the orders of the “grand strategist”. The organization that will truly excel in the future will be the organization that discovers how to tap people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels in an organisation” (19904).
A number of scholars expect that knowledge management will become a core capability that cannot be improved without organisational learning. In 1995, Mr. Ikujiro Nonaka, one of the pioneers of knowledge management, focused on tacit knowledge while analysing the success of several Japanese companies:
“What is unique about the way Japanese companies bring out continuous innovation is the linkage between the outside and the inside. Knowledge that is accumulated from the outside is shared widely in the organization, stored as part of the company’s knowledge base, and utilised by those engaged in developing new technologies and products. A conversion of some sort takes place; it is this conversion process-from outside to inside and back out side again in the form of new products, services, or system-that is the key to understanding why Japanese companies have become more successful. It is precisely this dual internal and external activity that fuels continuous innovation with Japanese companies”. ( 1995)
Furthermore, (2002) states three main reasons for the growing attention in knowledge management:
- Firms have recently become interested in managing their knowledge resources, as data are readily available.
- The rapid growth in information and communication technologies.
- The fact that knowledge resource cannot be managed as if it was a substantial resource.
(1999) argues that many managers do not realize the importance of knowledge management and the reasons why knowledge management has become more and more vital and crucial such as challenging field. Regardless of the lack of consensus in agreeing upon a defined characterisation of knowledge management, organisations are attracted to managing knowledge for several reasons such as to achieve marked improvements in financial results and to effectively facilitate management of resources. It will also improve customer fulfillments leading to higher productivity, quality, to improve sales, operations and strategic planning. As a result they will be able to attain superior operational effectiveness to improve the learning process within the organisation and increase the speed of improvement and decrease the market response time as well as examine and redesign processes ( 2003).
In brief, knowledge management is vital to safeguard and to expand an organization’s core competences. All organizations deal with knowledge, either explicitly or implicitly, and, they can use knowledge management as a tool for providing better customer service and making decisions as tactically as possible in order to achieve competitive advantages ( 2001).
Authors, such as (1997) describe knowledge as identified, classified and valid information. Distinction however is necessary as many firms believe that they already manage their knowledge when they are simply managing information ( 2001). In order for effective knowledge management to take place the understanding of the difference between managing information and managing knowledge has to be acknowledged. Knowledge derives from information that has been through filtered.
2.2 Theoretical Foundations Of Knowledge Management
Knowledge is different from data and information (2001). Knowledge is richer and more complex than data and information (2004). Even though, there are a number of books and articles that define knowledge, I believe the following definition of knowledge is appropriate:
“Knowledge is a mixture of framed experiences, values contextual information and expert’s insight that provides a frame work for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and applied in the minds of the knower. In organisations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices and norms”. ( 199)
The relation between knowledge, information, and data is shown in figure 2.1 below.
Data is less valuable than information. For example, although we collect a large amount of data, these data are not useful without modification. After modifying data, its significance becomes information. There are modification processes, such as gathering data, calculating data, or removing errors in data. According to definition of knowledge, after people or organisations use information, and experience and learn something from it, information then changes to knowledge (2004).
Figure 2.1 Knowledge, Data, and Information
Source: (2003), (2001)
In some cases, knowledge is intangible for firms or employers. It is not easy for them to understand and manage knowledge, but it is essential to make the best use of knowledge in a knowledge-based society. According to (1995), using knowledge is not enough to maintain competitive advantage and develop an innovation. They suggest that firms have to create knowledge constantly.
Furthermore, (1995) state that the understanding of knowledge management in Japanese firms, especially manufacturing industry, is about how they are using tacit knowledge effectively. According to them:
“The explanation of how Japanese organisations create new knowledge boils down to the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Having an insight or a hunch that is highly personal is of little value to the organisation unless the individual can convert it into explicit knowledge, thus allowing it to be shared with others in the company. Japanese organisations are especially good at realizing this exchange between tact and explicit knowledge during the product development”. ( 1995)
Knowledge has two characteristics: Explicit and tacit, and there are four different processes for converting knowledge: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalisation. By these processes, organizations can create knowledge constantly. This process is illustrated below in the table 2.1.
Socialization is a process in which tacit knowledge belonging to a worker is spread to an organization. Tacit knowledge converts into explicit knowledge through a concept. This process is called externalization. The combination process combines some explicit knowledge through communications, such as conferences, documents, or emails. Internalization is a process of embodying explicit knowledge.
Between these development processes of knowledge formation, the transfer of knowledge is one of most essential and most complex processes. The transfer usually takes place through communication between knowledge workers, for instance e-mails, or from a database. Hence, some organisations actually set up a physical space where their employees can talk with each other. In some Japanese organizations, employees do not like to share their knowledge through e-mail or a database. They prefer to expand their knowledge through an after work dinner and through informal chats (1998).
Table 2.1 Four Processes of knowledge Conversion
Process
From
To
Explanations
Socialisation
Tacit
Tacit
A process of sharing experiences and creating tacit knowledge inside an organisation. In this phase, a tacit knowledge belongs to an individual and spreads to an organisation.
Externalization
Tacit
Explicit
A tacit knowledge, intangible knowledge, converts into an explicit knowledge through a concept.
Combination
Explicit
Explicit
A process of combining explicit knowledge through communications, like e-mails and documents.
Internalization
Explicit
Tacit
A process of embodying explicit knowledge.
Source 2007
2.3 Knowledge Management
Despite the numerous publications, research projects and conferences related to knowledge management, no consensus has been reached with regards to what is knowledge management. Even though there are a growing number of established themes, still there are many interpretations of the limitations and content of this new area ( 2001). The definition of the two elements of the term knowledge management, namely "knowledge" and "management”, varies. According to some authors, knowledge cannot be managed because it is invisible and intangible ( 2001).
Knowledge management is the systematic and explicit management of knowledge related activities, practices and policies within organisations (2000). The objective of knowledge management is to effectively and efficiently use the existing knowledge of an organisation to create new knowledge to achieve and maintain competitive advantage ( 2000).
Knowledge management is a complex area of management, and it covers learning & development, information technology, and human resources. The relationship between knowledge management and technology is strong ( 2000). Certainly, a range of technologies is available to support knowledge management practices, but the effective use of such systems depend on the motivation of knowledge workers.
According to the existing research, there are two broad approaches to knowledge management. One focuses on the ‘hard’ aspects and technological issues, the other focuses on the ‘soft’ aspect or human and organizational issues 2000).
The relation between knowledge management and technology can be strongly synergistic. There is certainly a range of technologies that support knowledge management practice, but it is important to keep in mind that recent advances have led to faster data transfer, so technology remains a useful enabler rather than a central ideology at the heart of knowledge management. The effective use of such systems is reliant on the motivation of team members to share knowledge and on effective people management. The introduction and implementation of a knowledge tool does not result in a "knowledge environment" if other knowledge management enablers are not supported.
(2000) adds an international/regional level emphasizing cultural differences: knowledge sharing and culture. Attitudes to sharing are complex and are affected by organisational norms as well as by personal idiosyncrasy. There is no hesitation that culture also affected them. People need to be pleased to share information, rather than simply holding on to it.
In a practical context hard and soft issues of knowledge management are inseparable as they inform and affect each other. Even if management is aware of the benefits of knowledge management, there is still no clear consensus about just what knowledge is and how knowledge resources should be managed (2001)
To explain the concept of knowledge management, it is important to have a model that describes the scope of activity that the knowledge management efforts cover and this can be a powerful monitor to communicate what an organisation’s approach encompasses (2001).
In 2001, Collison and Parcell presented a generic model of knowledge management. According to the model:
· People are the roots of knowledge and also they can create new knowledge. There will be no knowledge without people.
· A reliable technological infrastructure can support the appropriate tools on an organisation-wide scale.
· The capture, distillation, validation, transfer, and dissemination of knowledge in the firms can not be completed without applying certain processes and procedures.
All three above elements are not only important, they also depend upon each other, since knowledge management is such an area, where all three elements overlap as exhibited in Figure 2.2 below.
Figure 2.2 Three Fundamental Elements of Knowledge Management
Source: Collison & Parcell, 2001, p. 18
2.4 Perception of knowledge management in financial sector
Surprisingly, financial sector and banks play an important role in the economy, there has been a very little research done on the role of knowledge management in the banking and financial sector. The published articles and journals refer to case studies that are often written by technology or solutions firms showing the use of their solutions in the banking environment. (2003) considers knowledge management is about bringing more refined and job specific information to people on an individual basis via a web site. Some banks also take a human resource focused approach and look to e-learning to improve job performance ( 2001).
A number of researchers have conducted knowledge management studies in major banks, and have found the same general findings as the non banking studies. According to a survey, of banking and financial institutions conducted by Xerox Europe, a majority of European banks are unsuccessful developing their intellectual capital by not having an appropriate knowledge management strategy in place ( 2001). Furthermore, a study conducted in the Australian financial sector shows their intention to manage knowledge and an understanding of internal knowledge sources (tacit knowledge) and recognises that Australian banks focus more on knowledge to support useful process rather than the creation of new knowledge ( 2002). Both studies found that financial organisations believe that the effective use of knowledge can give strategic benefit.
In addition, the Royal Bank of Scotland stated that today traditional knowledge management, with its focus on areas like collecting knowledge and connecting people is not enough and are developing a human capital model to create an environment in which staff can seek out the right knowledge to help them contribute to the bank’s success (2004).
Therefore, to understand and implement knowledge management effectively and efficiently, it is essential for financial organisations to develop and nurture relationships, awareness and a common ground amongst organisational members on the whole.
2.5 Benefits of knowledge management in financial service sector
A number of scholars emphasise the importance of knowledge management as an essential asset in organisations in the knowledge world. As (2001) states the importance of knowledge management: “Knowledge management has thus far been addressed at either a philosophical or a technological level with little pragmatic discussion of how knowledge can be managed and used more effectively on a daily basis”. At the practical level, knowledge management focuses on a set of processes and practices that fall under five headings: creating, sharing, sourcing, mapping and measuring ( 1999).
In addition, (2004), conducted a study in three South African bank, stated that knowledge management is a source to generate visions that drives people’s reasoning and the capability that leads to intelligent behavior. Furthermore, they found that it can lead to “improve learning and the ability to stay ahead of competition and changes in the world”, “better problem solving and decision making”, “more innovation and greater creativity”, “higher quality knowledge work”, “improved individual and group competencies”, “more effective networking and collaboration”, “improved customer services by streamlining response time, “higher revenues by getting products and service to markets faster, and “streamlined operations and reduced costs by removing unnecessary processes” ( 2004).
(2001) considered the importance of knowledge management practices in organizations. They state that “the management of knowledge will continue to grow in its importance to business success. Although the knowledge management movement has aspects of faddishness (many conferences, many books, many articles in the business press), and it may lose some of its current level of visibility, it must become part of the basic fabric of successful businesses. There are too many knowledge workers dealing with too much knowledge for knowledge management to disappear”.
Knowledge management has emerged to leverage intellectual capital in organisations and people management (2001). In a research conducted by (2006), in Libyan banks, stated that knowledge management is an essential strategic tool, because it can be used for decision-making, mostly for the formation of strategies. In addition, it can also improve the organization’s ability to appreciate and manage problems and challenges. Furthermore, the success of most management decisions depends also on competitive effort, which adds “knowledge of customers’ attitudes” and “analysis of the competition” (2006).
In addition, the reason for an organisation to work with its knowledge management system can be many. For example, knowledge management system can be use to improve performance, productivity and competitiveness, a way to improve effective acquisition, sharing and usage of information within organisations, a tool for improved decision-making, a way to capture best practice, a way to reduce research costs and delays, and a way to become a more innovative organisation (2006). Without any doubt, effective knowledge management can enable an organization to provide better customer service, as (2001) stated managing knowledge is a strategic asset and it must be implemented effectively.
Any organization should have the ability to develop its knowledge and learning capabilities. In this context, the business society has discussed the following core knowledge management ideas, described by KPMG Consulting (2000) as:
- supporting innovation, the creation of new ideas and the development of the organization’s thinking power;
- capturing insight and experience to make them available and usable when required
- making it easy to find and reuse sources of know-how and expertise, either they are recorded in a physical form or in someone’s mind
- knowledge sharing, continual learning and improvement
- improving the quality of decision-making
- understanding the value and contribution of intellectual assets and increasing their worth, effectiveness and development
Furthermore, Arora (2002) suggested that organizations should control their existing knowledge-based activities to prevent re-inventing the wheel and they should constantly increase their competence and skill levels to improve productivity, innovation.
The Japanese Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi has set an example by undertaking a knowledge management project to improve and speed up response to customer needs through timely and proper decision-making by frontline staff (2002).
The key areas they have focused on are reforming the knowledge sharing infrastructure and improving the knowledge sharing process. Their goals were to organise and consolidate information that had been scattered around branches and departments, exchange information between the head office and frontline branches and sales offices, create a forum for intellectual collaboration to create new products and services, improve frontline operations productivity and problem-resolution and decision-making capabilities as well as uncover and share knowledge and wisdom possessed by each employee.
As a result they have benefited from improved frontline efficiency, more efficient and active information flow, more interaction among main branches, branch offices and departments and more efficient information transmittal via visible information distribution utilising data tracking functions.
Implementation of knowledge management provides a platform where employees can constructively communicate with each other in a systematic manner to improve efficiency ( 2002). They’ll be able to share feedback that they need to do their jobs well and contribute to each other’s career progress. Individuals will feel valued for their unique input and contribution to the growth of the organisation. This platform also builds a greater relationship between employees and their managers where negative practices can be ended and flexibility in managing knowledge can be adopted. The key and most important asset every organisation has is its employees and the knowledge they bring to the organisation can only be fully explored when there is a structured but flexible method. In return employees will benefit from better job satisfaction, extensive knowledge exchange, personal networking, personal growth and development. Furthermore they will benefit from building better team relations and the environment they work in will be more harmonious (2002).
2.5 Barriers to knowledge management in financial service sector
Although knowledge management, which supports an organization’s process and decision making capabilities, it can often suffer from not having a knowledge sharing environment ( 2004).
Experts at the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) (2004) who have examined knowledge management in practice state that "many knowledge management projects seem intended to start with a bang but often end with a whimper" for four reasons: lack of business purpose, poor planning and inadequate resources, lack of accountability, and lack of customization. Furthermore, in 1999, Bonfield identified that a knowledge sharing environment can be created by identifying ‘organizational barriers’ and ‘persuading people’ (1999:). He also identifies four potential barriers when organizations are implementing a knowledge management system, such as cultural issues, technological issues, economic issues and market place issues (1999:).
In addition, there is agreement within the literature (1995) the most important barriers to knowledge management are:
- culture, climate, structure and resistance to change
- knowledge management requires an adequate infrastructure (1998) in terms of planning and resources
- knowledge management users being involved in the attempt to expand knowledge management will be worthwhile to them through a continuous flow of communication across the whole organisation
- effective knowledge management implementation requires an open, co-operative and trusting environment
A study conducted by (2004) in three major South African financial organisations argue that financial service organisations are failing to tackle knowledge management’s real challenges because they do not understand the full implications of knowledge management implementations. According to their study most common barriers to knowledge management are lack of user uptake owing to insufficient communication, failure to integrate knowledge management into everyday working practices, lack of time to learn how to use the system or system is complicated, lack of training and a little personal user’s benefit. In short, we can say that knowledge management brings its own challenges, which organisations are not able to address. It is up to management to create a knowledge sharing environment that encourages employees to collaborate and share knowledge (2002).
Furthermore, a study conducted by (2004), in major Canadian financial services organisations, the major problem to employees in managing knowledge are information overload, no centralized responsibility for knowing who needs to know what, knowledge can not be utilized if it is not provided in a proper context and the role of human resources.
Excess of Information is a problem seen in the banks. Often, new products and services, new regulations, new training, new customer information is coming into banking sector and it should be communicated to employees of banks ( 2004). Banks try to collect new information and send this new information to their branches on a regular basis. This new information is also available on the banks’ intranets, so on a certain point if employees want to use this information, they can go on the bank’s intranet and use the most recent information. The intranet provides one source of the information and the owners of the information find it easier to keep it current ( 2004). Employees see the intranet, as a valuable source for information in banks, can provide information in visual form which can be used for presentations of new products to bank’s customers. However, “individual information owners decide who needs to know what information and often information is sent to everyone rather than targeting it on a need-to-know basis” ( 2004). So, there should be one central person ‘knowledge officer’ in the banks who can decide we have this important information and these people should observe changes in this information.
Furthermore, frontline customer service is one of the key functions in retail banking sector and deals with sales and service. Frontline customer services staff work directly with the customers to understand their needs, gather the customer’s information and their feedback. As retail banking is expanding and focusing on their customer, the frontline customer services staff has to have more skills, more product knowledge, more knowledge on policies and procedures within banking sector ( 2004).
In the last, frontline customer services staff is involved in the whole business process of the transaction such as loans or mortgage application and they should understand the processes, the business rules and regulations, and how decision are made to accept or refuse applications. They also need to understand why some of the applications are rejected and how they can work with the customer to help them find creative solutions to go through the process. The business process has become segmented because of new information technology. Several processes are controlled by computer systems, and the results generated by them are delivered to the frontline staff. Often they do not have the appropriate knowledge about these results, where they came from and it is difficult for them to work with the customer to advise them alternative strategy. So a system ought to be in place where frontline staff should be encouraged to discuss and come up with creative ideas to solve customer problems (2004).
Therefore, to implement knowledge management into an organisation the above mentioned issues ought to be resolved. This can be done by “the creation of a learning organization where people can share information and ideas to create new ideas” ( 2004). Knowledge management requires an individual with specific knowledge and skills to champion the concept of knowledge management and spearhead the enormous challenges to overcome inherent obstacles to the free flow of knowledge within an organisation ( 2003). A knowledge management strategy must be liked to the business strategy ( 2004) and an infrastructure consisting of various knowledge management techniques (such as talk rooms, knowledge fairs, mentoring, storytelling, and communities of practices) and technologies (for instance, intranet, videoconferencing, e-mails, group ware, knowledge maps) for the transfer of knowledge ( 2004).
It has been acknowledged above, how knowledge management still misses a more holistic approach. Human resource professionals should have a major role in tackling the knowledge management matter. For instance, developing a strong organizational culture, team working or the sharing of knowledge across existing departmental limitations have major roles in promoting a culture of openness, which is crucial to the distribution of knowledge. Knowledge management literature has focused more on the technical features of knowledge management. Though, this narrow view presents some restrictions - in many cases, acknowledged through expensive experience (2000). 1999 and2000 identified the following limits:
- Technology does not change attitudes. (1998) noted the availability of electronic knowledge exchange does not automatically induce in a willingness to share data and build new intellectual capital". Human resource can facilitate and give confidence to communication, handle inspiration and commitment, taking on the right people for knowledge sharing, reward knowledge - sharing attitudes, etc. Without it, technology will be in place, but it will be of little use.
- Technology cannot replace face-to-face (2000). People are unlikely to share what they know if they do not build trust through face - to - face exchanges. Technology has to be wedded with face - to - face interaction to create the most effective systems; one does not replace the other, although clearly one can greatly enhance the other ( 2000).
- Technology should be viewed more as a means of communication and less as a means of storing knowledge. Managers who want to make the knowledge in their organization more available often have a 'mental image of a large warehouse’ ( 2000) containing all kinds of information where people go and take what they need. Then, they build a central electronic database, but after all the investment; they realize that very little happens. The problem is they are focusing on collecting and storing knowledge instead of reusing it.
All this leads to the management of people, specially the management of knowledge workers. It is currently expanding, not only as relating to key workers - typically well educated and highly skilled - but also as a more inclusive notion of any employee working with knowledge (2002). The new economic situation, with growing demands to be broadly skilled, flexible, and accountable and more empowered, requires a different management of people.
Culture and leadershipKnowledge management literature repeats the importance of supportive cultural values to successfully implement any knowledge management initiative. These cultural values can be founded not only in rigid and bureaucratic structures, but also within companies with flat and flexible organization, due to the existence of sub-cultures. Leadership and the development of rewards play a critical role to changing culture. Managers need to actively support any knowledge management initiative. Thus, senior management's commitment is crucial along the process (1999).
The management of people and Information TechnologyInstant implication of knowledge management for human resource practitioners is the availability of a range of knowledge management tools which can be applied to human resource management objectives. As knowledge workers themselves, Information Technology can significantly help human resource practitioners to be more effective. The capacities of Local Area Networks, e-mail, Internet, on-line libraries and e learning, information are tools able to increase enormously the capability to communicate across the organization (1998).
2.6 SummaryIt is clear from above that there is a strong awareness of the importance of knowledge management in financial service organisations. The majority of the literature review represents knowledge management as a major strategic aspect that supports organisations in a competitive business environment. The literature discussed that financial service organisations have either already implemented knowledge management projects, are in the process of assessing knowledge management, or are planning to implement a knowledge management system.
Although a range of barriers have been identified in implementing a knowledge management system and these barriers must be resolved to deliver an improved service and to minimise costs. Organisations also realise that knowledge management increases the organisation’s ability to expose tacit knowledge and the creation of new ideas. According to recent surveys identified in the literature, the value of leadership is one of the main issues in financial organisations. The literature review has stated that the position of knowledge officer is important. Furthermore, according to literature an environment should be created for constant learning. The sharing of knowledge will be high, if it is supported by a well balanced infrastructure consisting of human-social techniques and the most important technological developments ( 2004).
The themes discussed above will be used in the formation of the interview questionnaire and self completion questionnaire and will also be used for the analysis of knowledge management practice in Islamic Bank of Britain.
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