Sample MBA632 Knowledge Management Assignment

MBA632 Knowledge Management Assignment Sample

Assignment Brief

Word count 1500 words

Your Task

Individually, you are required to analyse the core components of the Knowledge Management Systems and develop a suitable Knowledge Management Plan. You will need to apply learnings nfrom the topics covered in weeks 1 and 3.

Assessment Description.:

Students in this assessment will analyse the effectiveness and implementation of technology- based knowledge management systems. They will further evaluate the knowledge management life-cycle in various contexts and will create a knowledge management plan aided by requisite technologies that enable the storage and dissemination of knowledge within an organisation.

Assessment Instructions

This is an individual assessment. In which you are required to analyse an organisation you are familiar with (preferably the organisation/company you worked for in the past or you are currently working for, etc.).

The findings presented in the written analysis must be based on primary research and should be reinforced by examining relevant secondary data. Therefore, you will need to have access to the primary data of the organisation researched. You must also incorporate theories and concepts of Knowledge Management discussed in weeks 1 to

3. In order to prepare this assessment you need to follow two steps.

Step-1

• Identify and critically analyse the core components of the Knowledge Management Cycle in the organisation you are familiar with (preferably the organisation/company you worked for in the past, you are currently working, etc.).

• Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the current Knowledge Management Systems, and summarise recommendations that might improve the current Knowledge Management Systems in the same organisation.

Step-2

• Develop a Knowledge Management Plan for the organisation, aided by requisite technologies that enable the storage and dissemination of knowledge.

The format of your analysis should follow:

• An Introduction that summarises the purpose of the Analysis.
• A brief overview of the organisation you researched.
• Core components of the Knowledge Management Cycle (KMC) in your researched organisation, including analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current Knowledge

Management Systems (KMS) and recommendations that might improve the current Knowledge Management Systems.

• Knowledge Management Plan aided by requisite technologies that enable the storage and dissemination of knowledge within the researched organisation.
• A conclusion.
• Reference list.

Please note that an executive summary and table of contents are not required in this analysis.
You must use at least ten (10) sources of information and reference these in accordance with the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include primary and secondary sources of data collected from websites, social media sites, industry reports, census data, journal articles, newspaper articles, etc.

Solution

Introduction

One of the methodical strategies used by a business organisation for effectively capturing and utilising expertise is knowledge management. The purpose of doing this is to add value to the corporate organisation. When conducting business operations, a company that adopts a suitable knowledge management model or piece of software benefits in a number of ways. Knowledge management aids a business in enhancing organisational agility while running its operations in the targeted sector. The company's decision-making process is improving and moving more quickly. With the right amount of information, the company's management is able to make judgments. The management makes decisions more quickly, which boosts the effectiveness of those decisions. With the aid of a knowledge management system, employees can more easily and effectively locate the needed information. The primary goal is to improve Lush Company's knowledge management system for assignment help.

A brief overview of the organisation

Lush is a privately held corporation that only deals in cosmetics. This business was founded on November 12th, 1995. The headquarters of this luxurious company, which was created by Mark Constantine and Liz Wier, are located in Poole, Dorset in the United Kingdom. This company primarily deals in and manufactures products connected to face and body hair, including soaps, hair washes, lotions, gels, and many more. In fact, about 85% of Lush cosmetics are vegan. No non-vegetarian ingredients are used in the production of Lush cosmetics.

Before meeting Elizabeth Wier, a beauty therapist, Mark Constantine first worked as a hairdresser. They then pool their ideas and launch the business. They used to purchase perfumes from other companies, but those weren't always of the highest quality, so eventually they even began to create their own scent. For their product, they primarily use fresh fruits and vegetables. Later, they felt the need to change the business's name, so one of them suggested the name lush, which actually means freshness.

Core components of the Knowledge Management Cycle (KMC)

The Lush firm strives to provide the most innovative personal care products in cosmetics history. The company's goods have been tested for this aim on attractive human test subjects. Putting an emphasis on a distinctive retail marketing approach has been acknowledged as one of the company's fundamental capabilities. For this reason, the business concentrates on using high-quality, fresh ingredients to make the beauty products it sells to customers. The goods provided to customers are made by hand (Girotto, 2013).

The product's pricing is a weakness for the Lush brand because it prevents buyers from all socioeconomic classes from purchasing it. As there is little product variety, it is challenging to satisfy client demand. The natural scent and vibrant colour of the product are the product's strong points, and it is primarily due to these two characteristics that customers are drawn to the brand (Fortunati et al., 2020). This product's natural ingredients, which are suitable for all skin types, have been used. Since Lush has many brand ambassadors, it is very well-liked in the marketplace (BéruBé and Redmond, 2015).

Since this is a natural product, people are more likely to trust it because they are less afraid of chemicals than they are with other cosmetic products. Due to the abundance of retailers available, it is simple for shoppers to visit a store and make a purchase. Most consumers want natural and herbal products, which lush genuinely provides, making this one of the best opportunities (Borges et al., 2019). The main competition from other cosmetic products is a danger to Lush. One risk associated with this product is how challenging it is to draw in customers. This is because there are so many cosmetic products on the market, making it challenging to persuade customers to buy this product. Another is the store's accessibility to customers for the company. If a customer can easily access a store that sells a product, they are more likely to favour it (OZHOGINA et al., 2013).

The company's inability to handle the supply chain effectively is one of its main problems. This has had a significant negative impact on the company's annual sales and profits. The financial statement of the company shows a decline in the annual sales turnover from the year 2017 (Lassila, 2018). The consumers do not receive enough of the company's manufactured goods as a result of an ineffective supply chain. Within the allotted time, the company's cosmetic products are not getting to the targeted customers. This has had a negative impact on the company's brand reputation. The company's share of the market has steadily decreased over time. The company's share of the market has steadily decreased over time. This has greatly irritated the customers. Because of this, customers do not favour the company's products.

Knowledge Management Plan

There are many supply chain management models that could be used within the company. The company's production division must employ a pull-based SCM model. This will aid the organisation in improving the supply chain management's insufficient efficiency. The application of this supply chain model will assist in connecting a consumer's order directly to the supplier chain (Aronczyk, 2016). The production division will be able to identify the quantity that customers are requesting based on this information. This will assist the production team in producing the proper number of goods that the market requires. Any error or delay that has happened in the production process can be found with the aid of SCM software. The head of the production department will then be able to take the necessary steps to mitigate the delay or error that has happened throughout the production process. The adoption of the SCM model will contribute to raising the standard of the company's manufactured cosmetic goods. This is the reason the organisation has been advised to establish a suitable supply chain management model. This will assist the business in resolving all of the problems (Karamchandani et al., 2020).

A few adjustments within the firm are necessary for the SCM on model implementation. The SCM model's necessity for changes in the workplace is one of its implementation challenges. The job pressure on firm employees will rise as the working environment changes. The level of discomfort that the company's employees will experience will rise. This is one of the implementation difficulties the company will experience with the SCM model (Bom et al., 2019). Employing the right change management model is necessary for the implementation of changes in the workplace. For company leaders and managers, choosing an appropriate and suitable change management model could be a challenge. Some employees would have a variety of problems while working for the organisation since they would be aware of the modifications that would be made to the working environment. As a result, the employees' resistance level may rise to a certain degree. When the SCM model is implemented in the company's production process, another implementation challenge will arise. Some employees might not be able to comprehend the changes that the organisation needs to make. This will have an impact on how well the employees perform at work while producing cosmetic products.

The company's management is obligated to do a thorough analysis of the workplace. The management must choose one of the most appropriate models of change management based on analysis. All of the organization's personnel must be informed of the necessity of applying the SCM model in the business. This will encourage the staff to adopt the changes the business is undergoing. The head of manufacturing must explain to every person in the department the aims and objectives behind why applying the SCM model is necessary. The head of the production team is expected to provide clear instructions. This will benefit the workers in the production (Dang, 2018). This will assist the staff members of the production department in determining the steps and actions necessary to implement the SCM model in the production process.

The company's leader is obliged to apply some of the motivating reasons. For the purpose of motivating the workforce, the organisation must design a good reward system. The leader is expected to keep a close eye on and exercise proper supervision over the task that each employee completes. Employees who work effectively should receive rewards in the form of incentives and praise (Oh et al., 2015). By using the SCM model in the production process, some employee recommendations and comments must be gathered. As a result, the company's employees will grow to feel a sense of community. The employees' motivation and enthusiasm will be effectively raised in this way. This will make it easier to implement the SCM model in the production process in the right way.

Decision Support System (DSS) is one of the Knowledge Management Systems which is required to be adopted in the company. This will help the company to make appropriate decisions within the business. Based on this factor, the business operations of the company will be improved to a certain extent. Electronic Document Management System is also required to be adopted within the organization. An "EDMS," or electronic document management system, is a piece of software used to categorise and store different kinds of documents. This kind of system can be used by the company to organise and store paper or digital documents. A more general type of storage system as well as a more specialised document management system are both included in this system. However, EDMS specifically refers to software systems that process digital documents rather than paper documents. In some cases, these systems can also process digitally scanned copies of original paper documents.

Conclusion

The company's goal is to produce high-quality vegan and organic beauty products for consumers. As a result, the company's production department has carried out the necessary study and analysis before releasing a new product on the market. In this way, the company is able to draw in a sizable number of customers for the enterprise. The company's main objective is to expand the range of skin care products available to customers.

References