Annotated Bibliography on Critical Factors that Determine the Successful Implementation of Knowledge Management in Organizations

Bibliography: Exercise Critical Factors that Determine the successful Implementation of Knowledge management in Organizations. Title of the Article | Du Plessis, M. (2007). “Knowledge Management: What makes complex implementations successful”.Journal of Knowledge Management. Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 91-101. | Type of Article | Literature Review | Purpose of the Article | The main aim of this article is to provide an overview of the critical factors that determine the successful use and implementation of knowledge management in South African organizations. The article emphasizes on providing a commentary on the factors that are most relevant to making a knowledge management system work for an organization and also discusses the factors that can be major stepping stones in the journey of successful implementation of Knowledge management systems in South African organizations. | Findings | The author points out that successful implementation of Knowledge management has determinants that are specific to different organizational contexts. However, some factors that have had a significant impact on making an organization’s Knowledge management system a success are: 1. A shared understanding of the concept of knowledge management 2. The identification of the value of the co-creation of the knowledge management strategies which make up the system 3. The positioning of knowledge management as a strategic focus area in the organization. 4. Appropriate management of information throughout all stages of the Knowledge life-cycle and the appropriate alignment of technology and information to ensure access to knowledge for all individuals involved. 5. Understanding the role of organizational culture in the working of the organization and its importance in making the knowledge management system a success. | Significance of the Article | Knowledge management being a complex discipline, it is difficult to predict the choice of decisions which may make the implementation a success. However, this article is significant because it discusses a wide range of organization specific factors that contribute to successful implementation of knowledgemanagement are highly dependent on the environment and specific context, and can therefore notalways be accurately predicted at the start of a knowledge management endeavor. This paperhighlights some of the critical success factors of knowledge management in leading companies aroundthe world and specifically in South Africa. | | | | | | |