KM and Wipro

Knowledge Management and Wipro

INTRODUCTION

In this age of information, Knowledge Management (KM) has become the main competitive strategy of an organization. This research paper traces the collaborating processes of the knowledge management practices within the corporation and the general organizational context. Knowledge management is the set of designed, procedures, technical and administrative tools, infrastructures towards sharing leveraging and generating information or knowledge in the organization (Bounfour, 2003). Base on the case studyon Wipro technologies, it is also described that in what manner the literature finding of Management of Knowledge are significantly related to practical reality.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

The knowledge understanding is subjective, established in the mind, relationally demarcated, and then not effortlessly manageable (Thompson & Walsham, 2004). In what way life is identified – that is, by what means it is experienced and assumed – is connected to the perspective, which diverges from individual to individual (Powell, 2006). The dissimilarities in framework, norms, viewpoints, cultures and standards leading to diverse ‘knowledge’. Rendering to the perspective of practice-based (Orlikowski, 2002; Gherardi, 2006), knowledge advances value and denotation over the way individual usage it; it expansions denotation in the framework of communication, thus encompassing an element of collectiveness (Powell, 2006; Brown & Duguid 2001). By centering on the procedures which provision individual in their detection, internalization and submission of knowledge to their practice of business, knowledge is assumed as multidimensional and multi-faceted. The practice-based perception is stalwartly connected to the notion of multiple knowledge as it highlights the conception of framework of dependence that shows that the precise framework in that knowledge is contained is taken into account (Ferguson et al., 2008).

Knowledge management strategies

There are dissimilar organizational magnitudes incorporated in the strategies of KM.

Firstly, strategies of knowledge management can be concentrated on sharing of knowledge inside in the firm amongst coworkers. This is called an organization’s internal knowledge; while organization’s external knowledge replicates the sourcing of knowledge from outside of an organization (Haas, 2006).

Secondly, the Technologies of Information and Communication (ICTs) frequently play a significant role within strategies of knowledge management.  In the geographically isolated organizations in specifically, communication processes is intervened principally through the technology, as confront interaction is tough in such circumstances (Newell et al., 2007).

Thirdly, on the whole imperative characteristic of developing region is the geographic location of numerous developing firms, with center of operations in North direction while subsidiaries offices in another direction of field (Roberts et al., 2005). Sharing of Knowledge among the center of operations and subsidiaries offices is a central bridge which necessities to be overlapped so that common goals of development can be realize. For example, when isolated teams require knowledge sharing positioned at a different place where problem is been occurred, they should initially identify and adjust with practices of local-specific contained by which that particular knowledge is implanted formerly they may practice for that (Sole & Edmondson, 2002).

Fourthly, sharing of external knowledge is an essential characteristic of strategies of knowledge management. As the knowledge originates from practices of work, admittance to the applicable knowledge exactly means that every stakeholder engaged in such practices of work required to be measured. This totally means the presence of knowledge that exists in away from or within the boundaries of specified organizations.

Last but not least, vision of management encourages strategies of knowledge management and the sharing of knowledge. Maximum literature review of the knowledge management is emphasis on the part of “knowledge” and treats the aspect of “management” as somewhat which is either undeniable or uncomplicated or may be even black-boxed and not explainable (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2001). Though, management effects the visualization on, and the amount of responsiveness provided to, management of knowledge, and can apply substantial inspiration in the standings of simplifying or hampering the sharing of knowledge.

Essence of Knowledge Management

For taking the advantage of such dissimilar theories and the approaches, firms must approach actuality through as so many perceptions as probable, and create a complete image of the management and development of knowledge, to shape a toolkit consist of the organizational static knowledge of substance and the dynamic process of knowledge (Gao and Li, 2003; Jackson, 2005). Jackson’s develop an Ideal Problem-Context which provides an alternate viewpoint for the exploration of the approaches of the knowledge management. Supplementary problem-solving tools and issues can be assembled into the sets of six: simple-pluralist, complex-coercive context, complex-unitary, complex-pluralist, simple-coercive and, impel-unitary (Jackson, 2003).

In the knowledge management domain, everyone normally agree on demand for enhancements in: exchange of strategic knowledge, knowledge flow, making visibility of knowledge assets (Hotshouse, 1998), or give a try to measure quantitatively the information and the knowledge (Wang, 2006); though, for the business establishments, a very important mission is to shape a unique capabilities of organization, generating modest knowledge and then transferring it to the products and services. This is all about the complete essence of management of knowledge.

WIPRO- AN INTRODUCTION

Wipro knowledge management of technologies ingenuity has its origins in a system of quality assurance which the firm established over few decades. Though comparatively new in the IT sector at a time, Wipro wanted to standard its performance in contrast to the topmost international standards firms (Lamont, 2003). “For making all these standards true Wipro need an uninterrupted improvement procedure,” says Sambuddha Deb, chief quality officer of Wipro. Be acquainted with early on which a considerable percentage of the corporate knowledge stemmed through its work on projects, the corporation come  up with a supported system to grasp and making use of that particular knowledge (Lamont, 2003).

Wipro is basically the division of technology services of the Wipro Ltd. that was established in the year 1945 and was involved in the manufacturing of different variety of the consumer and the electronics products. In the year 1980, Wipro Ltd. entered in the field of information technology. In India situated near Bangalore, Wipro Technologies currently serves near about 300 clients or above, containing firm like Sony, Ericsson and Cisco and IBM. Wipro Technologies around half of its work include IT development, in that Wipro helps firms to assist their system of IT, and rest half work is the engineering work which involving in the software design for products for their clients that may be use within or may be market to the customers (Lamont, 2003).

MODES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AT WIPRO

Wipro Technologies is basically a leading global corporation in the field of information technology provided a world-class service to their customers. Wipro required a mode to organize the knowledge acquired by their employees in order to get easy accessibility of that information to other employees. Wipro required delivering an amalgamated warehouse of innumerable knowledge to its supporting staff. It’s another goal is also to make possible it very easy to search and catch individual with the accurate knowledge and expertise in domain. In the year of 2000, Wipro make decision to generate a consolidated management of knowledge portal to capture the client, various project, and process knowledge crosswise the firm. Executives of company required the solution to support in maximizing the knowledge capture and experience grown from earlier projects and simplify their application for the future projects. Wipro also come up with three crucial business outcomes that the solution of knowledge management had to convey: reduced cycle of time, compact the time-to-market, and amplified teamwork. These solutions required to be accessible, provided the company’s rate of growth in the terms of management of knowledge and the people both. At the very similar duration, it will be easy to practice and fetching. Noticeably, capabilities of detailed search are behave as an acute aspect in determining the initiative’s success (Microsoft Corporation, 2004).

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION IN WIPRO

For giving solution for knowledge management the firm comes up with numerous projects with the Microsoft collaboration. (Microsoft Corporation, 2004):

Designers of project explored numerous collaboration solutions, containing PlumTree Enterprise Web Suite, Open Text Corporation’s live link Enterprise Suite, and Microsoft, Windows,  Share Point  Services. After cautious deliberation, Wipro picked to give base to its solution on the Services of Windows SharePoint.

Knowledge Net (KNET) was generated. Server of Share Point Portal (2001) was the primary mainstay of this globe-spanning portal that “Wiproites,” from anywhere on the global location, can able to access or search for the stored experiences, presentations, best use, documents and credentials and experts of domain from crosswise the firm.

The KNET portal bonds persons to persons, individuals to pleased, and individuals to the business firm through the cooperation of the individuals, the workgroups, and the business lines.

KNET is generally consisting of five other sub portals: War Rooms, DocKNet, Reusable Components, KoNnEcT and KNetworks. Collected, these sub portals are the storehouses for complete forms of the Wipro content, and personnel have dual accountabilities headed for the KNET: make use and do contribute.

DocKNet is a wide-ranging document or text portal which comprises the knowledge artifacts applicable to every employee. DocKNet has single unit comprising common and the technical information which is accessible to every employee. Another segment for supporting sales material comprises profound information like pricing and the proposals, and its accessibility is not for everyone.

KoNnEcT is basically a kind of employee’s directory who has expertise in numerous technologies. Employees requiring assistance may go to the KoNnEcT, catch an expert, and pin an interrogation to that expert. If an expert is not available the interrogation is go through e-mail message to entire firm. Answers are captured for future reference in a form of database.

KNetworks are the online for discussion and designed to empower the employees to discourse or interchange the information related with particular project or any technology. Any member of staff can participate or start a fresh query in the going on or existing discussions.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OF WIPRO

Rendering to a study, any team that is using well-stocked and organized databases can work more efficiently, but they very often do not create higher-quality outcomes. Internal combed records from Wipro Technologies, to analyze through what strategy project teams practice the stored knowledge. These records confined outcomes of objective performance about 300 Wipro’s development projects software and information about 9,000 team members of the project groups. The knowledge database use was traced on a basis of per-click, permitting the assistants to study the correlation among accessibility and the performance on a “level of fine-grained.” (Staats et al, 2010).

The study chiefly emphasis on the overall practice of knowledge database and also its consequence on the performance plus examining factors like regularity of use, size of team ,level of experience, and project types and related complexity in Wipro. It is found that in Wipro the productivity, in sake of saving the time and the money, was greater for the teams which had access of knowledge database. But the work quality generally didn’t upturn in a very significant manner for project teams with the accessibility of database. It shows that in numerous projects improvements necessitate an amalgamation of knowledge which goes outside the common database exploration for the discrete information. Though, when members of teams were geographically discrete, the contradictory was accurate. They befitted less proficient, as the members of team were essentially from themself learning that how to use the knowledge database. In such circumstances, the knowledge database of Wipro worked as glue for the members of team, serving them to assimilate their skills or knowledge and ensure boosting the quality (Staats et al, 2010).

This study also examines how performance is influenced by two ways that assemblies organized their admittance to database: either search effort focused on the few members hands or allocating it more squarely through the team. By using a strategy of “divide and conquer” (under which some members of team become specialists at database navigation and learning the flukes) will help in faster team work, but may be lead to compact the quality. Then again, a strategy of “share and share alike” (under which every person has the data base accessibility) may boost the project quality as individual who do surfing and downloading on their own apprehend the data more closely and can thus suggest their own original resolutions. But this approach may take much time (Staats et al, 2010).

CONCLUSION

In this paper, the fundamental development of the concepts of knowledge management is summarized. Based on the critical analysis it conclude that knowledge management in an organization needs for managing the accomplishments of skilled professionals that is attained over supporting knowledge experts individual and by offering a suitable knowledge data base domain.  By dynamically comprising the employees in generating a proper flow of knowledge data base and it accessibility, an organization may have a diverse source of knowledge database that can advance the image of firm in the market. A company’s consideration of the significance of knowledge management will upturn the enlargement of its present knowledge based management practices to go beyond a firm’s boundary. This generates an enhanced capability to organize, recognize, disseminate, select, and practice beneficial knowledge that any firm necessitates to be successful.

Wipro is a leading firm which provides world class technological assistance to the different firms and shows a very fine example of the knowledge management. Their various models as a solution like KNET, DocKNet, KoNnEcT : War Rooms, Reusable Components and share point etc. for the knowledge management with the cooperation of the Microsoft provide a managed way for knowledge sharing within the firm. The knowledge management strategy of Wipro such as “divide and conquer” and “share and share alike” also aids benefits in the operating cycles and also boosting the professional capacity and aptitude of the employees. As a conclusion, it shows that the future of Knowledge Management and its strategic development is optimistic and promising in Wipro.

REFERENCES

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Online Sources

•  Lamont (J) , 2003, “Behind the scenes at Wipro: How a KM vision became reality” [Online] viewed on 15^th May, 2012 from http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/Behind-the-scenes-at-Wipro-How-a-KM-vision-became-reality-9485.aspx
• Microsoft Corporation (2004), “Knowledge Management Portal Saves Time and Money, Improves Productivity at Wipro”. [Online] last viewed on 14th May 2012 from http://www.techrepublic.com/whitepapers/knowledge-management-portal-saves-time-and-money-improves-productivity-at-wipro/270711