INTRODUCTION
This paper reflects on an article about the integration of knowledge management system and CRM solution, its benefits and downside. In general a critical evaluation of how this relates to my understanding of the theoretical concepts of knowledge management, how KM creates value to organizations and its impact on business models.
The article discusses the challenges of integrating Knowledge Management Systems and technologies and why organizations should look into reviewing their business models to balance and maximize the value of integrating KM systems and technologies. It suggested an approach focused on balancing data and insights and also provides a contrast on the benefits and risks of the integration. I have decided to focus this reflection on 3 arguments as follows:
DISCUSSION
1. Theoretical Concept of Knowledge Management Systems: Delineation of terminologies.
The author did not describe or define KM and CRM giving a conflicting understanding of his ideas and perspective. His reference of KM and CRM are inconsistent, he used systems, solutions, applications and databases, when referring to KM and CRM yet unclear whether he meant the same thing.
As I relate this to what I have read about Knowledge Management, I begin to question what he really meant with KMS and CRM. From what I’ve studied, CRM is a KM system, a technology that develops knowledge about customers’ individual preferences and needs using knowledge repositories and knowledge discovery techniques. (Jashapara, 2004). Further to this, knowledge management system is defined as systems that manage organisational knowledge processes. (Jashapara, 2004). In this article, I think he sees KM as databases, policies, procedures and other information cap...
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...ent: An Integrated Approach (2nd ed.). Royal Holloway, London: Pearson
Malhotra, Y. (2005). Integrating knowledge management technologies in organizational business processes: Getting real time enterprises to deliver real business performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(1), 7-28. Retrieved from http://stream.massey.ac.nz
Chatti, M.A. (2012) Knowledge Management: A Personal Knowledge Network Perspective.16(5), 829-831. Retrieved from http://stream.massey.ac.nz
Attensity, Solutions. Knowledge Base. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.attensity.com/de/solutions-3/attensity-service-suite/web-self-service/knowledge-base/#
Bose, R. & Sugumaran, V. (2003) Knowledge and Process Management: Journal of Corporate Transformation, 10(1), 3-17
Robertson, J. (2004, August). Developing a knowledge management strategy. KM Column. Retrieved from http://stream.massey.ac.nz
CRM can be viewed as a system that manages the interaction of the company with its customers. Business processes like sales, marketing and customer service is organized and automated with the use of technology. Companies are investing in CRM tools heavily as they consider the customer information as well as financial information. The information is very valuable for the company as they help to strengthen the hold in the market by forging a better relationship with the customer. The CRM however, does not help maintain the customer relation unless some best practices are followed. How a company utilizes its CRM will decide the ROI on the CRM. The companies who adopt CRM start expecting the results at an early stage. The result that the CRM gives takes time and involvement of the top management of the firm.
In order to elaborate on the thesis topic, there is a need to introduce basic theo-retical concepts used in this work. The author concentrates on several main terms revealing a concrete meaning of each.
The literature review has emphasised on the importance of four major and common factors in regards to managing knowledge work, that is, communities of practice, information technology support, KM activities, and performance outcomes (Davenport & Prusak 2000; Demarest 1997; McDermott 1999). Much of the existing research on knowledge creation focuses on the source and state of knowledge. In fact, the term management control of activities that may be uncontrollable or stifled by ...
...knowledge management system can provide the dashboards helping the organizations understand which types of knowledge best answers customer’s questions, which type of questions go unanswered. What are the content gaps and prioritize content creation.
The use of CRM software increases from year to year. The main problem many Information Executives (IE), who are the employees that are mostly working with these systems, see is that "too few companies are paying enough attention to the organizational challenges inherent in any CRM initiative, whether it involves delivering a new solution, fixing a foundering application, or tweaking a functioning CRM capability" (Agarwal, A., Harding, D. & Schumacher, J., 2004). Therefore the management question this paper addresses is "Do the use of CRM software and the data it collects support companies in building and maintaining a better relationship to its customers?" The answer to this question is divided in separate parts as the next section shows. It comprises a combination of the evaluation of different software products and expert-opinions of people working with these products.
Many have said we moving from a post of industrial to knowledge based economy (Drucker, 1993). To be profitable, successful and be ahead of competitors it is critical for a business to look past is physical assets and recognise the value of knowledge and strive for better ways of managing this asset. Today, knowledge management is recognised as one of the key drivers of how organisations do business, develop new product, process and measure their return of investment. Knowledge has a significant impact in the success of an organisation, a survey conducted by Covin et al (1997) shows evidence that companies on top of Fortune 500 list are ones already practicing knowledge management.
Knowledge management (KM) is extolled by some as being an important intangible asset that enhances an organization’s ability to innovate (Chea, 2009). Broadly defined, KM involves a company’s process of obtaining, consolidating, and communicating knowledge to various members of the firm, in which those individuals use the knowledge acquired to make the organization more productive, efficient, and competitive (Mousavizadeh, Harden, Ryan, & Windsor, 2015). The use of knowledge to create innovations involves having an effective KM strategy. Irizar, a company who at one point faced insolvency, represents a firm whose exemplarily knowledge management strategy led to the organization’s innovation and competitive advantage (Forcadell & Guadamillas,
Another system is called Customer Relationship Management or CRM. CRM system forge a strong relationship with a business and its customers by using technology (Brown, C.V., Dehayes, D.W., Hoffer, J.A., Martin, E.W., and Perkins, W.C., 2012, p. 204). Business uses CRM to find better ways to manage their business base on the customer behaviors (Brown, C.V., Dehayes, D.W., Hoffer, J.A., Martin, E.W., and Perkins, W.C., 2012, p. 198). CRM helps enterprise identify their best customers, manage marketing campaigns, improve telesales, optimize information to assist sales management, improve customers satisfaction, maximize profits, and provide employees with information needed to know about their customer by understanding their customer’s needs (Rouse, M., 2006).
...bjectives and realize growth. Knowledge Management Knowledge management plays a key role in ensuring that the different functions and activities of a company are synchronized. In Google’s case, the purchase of Motorola (which has turned out not to have been the best business decision) probably could have been avoided if the knowledge within the company was managed and used better. Knowledge enables a company to create, recognize and distribute opportunities. When every employee of a company contributes his or her part of knowledge into the knowledge pool, it is very beneficial as it contributes to the overall success of the company. Proper application of the available knowledge in a company can offer several competitive benefits to both the company and the employees. Application of accurate knowledge at the correct situation helps a company to make good decisions.
Yarong, C., & Ling, L. (2006). Deriving information from CRM for knowledge management—a note on a commercial bank. Systems Research & Behavioral Science, 23(2) , 141-146.
Computer Economics, a research and consulting firm, surveyed 209 IT organization worldwide regarding their IT investment plans. The leading trends “were identified as low risk/high reward based on their cost predictability and their positive return on investment for organizations within two years’ time.” CRM tops the list for 2014 (Mackie, 2014)
Knowledge management (KM) can be defined as a systematic discipline of policies, process, and activities which empower organizations to apply knowledge to improve effectiveness, innovation, and quality (Sehai, 2006).
According to article of Tengku Adil, Mohd Shamsul, Mohammad Fazli, Ahmad Nadzri, & Ahmad Azman, (2017) importance of data literacy is to improve knowledge management practices is the organizations refers to technologies to create, stores, retrieves and distributes knowledge for order to support their decision making and the technologies such as knowledge management systems (KMS) is to allow organizations to get many benefit vast amounts of business intelligence. The technologies allow people to support report, store current and historical data and consolidate data for management analysis and decision makings.
At its simplest definition, a CRM system lets firms to manage business relationships and the data and information related with them. With CRM, firms can store customer and prospect contact information, sales opportunities, accounts, leads, and in one central location, preferably in the cloud in order information is reachable to many, in real time. Just like ubiquitous social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, a CRM system is likewise developed around people and interactions. hence it can be so valuable for a business that is fast-growing.
Customer relationship management or CRM for short is a model for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. When CRM is utilized correctly it will increase profitability and customer loyalty, which are both very important to an organization. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support. Customer relationship management is very important in many ways to help a company become and stay successful. CRM can help businesses gain a competitive edge through communication, marketing, gathering customer information, social media and mobile technology. Customer relationship management is a continually evolving domain and now social media technologies have revolutionized the way businesses and consumers interact. (Choudhury & Harrigan, 2014) There are many benefits that come with implementing customer relationship management.