Knowledge Management in DHL Company

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Table of Contents

Executive summary
Introduction
Sub-company: DHL Aero Expreso
Human Resource and Knowledge Management
Technology and Knowledge Management
Culture and Knowledge Management
Conclusion
References

Executive summary

This paper will focus on making a knowledge management strategy for DHL Company. I have chosen the DHL Company because it has a good reputation in shipping services (Schorer, 1968). It has a long and reputable history that can form a firm basis for a knowledge management strategy.

The paper will analyse the gaps that exist within the organizational structure of the company and make relevant recommendation that solve the challenges it faces.

In this light, it will focus and analyse the company based on the people who surround the company, the technology that the company has employed and the processes it has implemented in its operations.

Introduction

Knowledge management is the collective process that aims at creating, spreading and using knowledge. It is an all-inclusive process which ensures that knowledge is well organized and utilized to meet the organizational objectives.

In this case, it focuses on the knowledge concerning the people, logistics, processes and technology (Menipaz, 2011). In this light, it focuses on the knowledge gaps and strategic gaps that exist.

Knowledge gap is the difference between what the organization knows and what the organization must know. On the other hand, a strategic gap refers to the difference that exists between what the firm can do and what it must do. The two analyses form the basis of knowledge management.

Sub-company: DHL Aero Expreso

Since the DHL Company is a big company that covers about 220 countries around the world (Schulzinger, 2003). As a result, it is quite vague to make a knowledge management strategy for the whole company due to its size. Therefore, it is sensible to consider a sub-company of the entire company.

In this light, this paper will consider Aero Expreso as the sub-company. Aero Expreso is a sub-company that deal with cargo airlines for the services of DHL Company (Rein, Kotler & Stoller, 1997). It is physically located in the Panama City and offers its services to the South and Central America.

The main base of this cargo airlines is called Tocumen International Airport. It makes both the international and local flights around America (Wright, 2011).

Some of the destinations of these flights include San Jose, Miami, Guatemala City, Curacao and Aruba. The company has makes flight using the Boeing airplanes that serves within a relatively sizeable area.

In this paper, we shall discuss the effects of KM strategy on the Aero Expreso Company (Schorer, 1968). This implies that it will focus on the links that exist between the knowledge management and other materials including human resources, technology culture

Human Resource and Knowledge Management

Human resource is the most crucial field in an organization. It determines, by a large extent, the success of the organization. In this light, human beings are the main beholders of knowledge in all measures. They are responsible of creating, improving and instilling knowledge to other people within the organization.

This implies that people are the source of knowledge for the organization. Therefore, the human resource management can be termed as the leaders of knowledge management concepts (Sears, 2007).

In this light, they are responsible of harnessing, analysing and monitoring the knowledge that is held by the human resource. As a result, it can be argued that the human resource managers ensure that the human capital is well utilized in terms of their intellect.

Importantly, the most crucial factor of knowledge management is using all the knowledge that the human resource have. This implies that the human resource ensures that this goal is achieved in the organization (Sherman, 2001).

Therefore, this develops a link between human resources and knowledge management. Apart from the above basic concept of capturing and developing knowledge as factor of knowledge management strategy, human resource enables the association to obtain and disseminate information (Unsworth, 2001).

In this light, each of the people have special information that they bring to the company. In reference to Aero Expreso, there are various human resources that exists within the company. In this case, there are employees, employers, customers and shareholders.

In particular, they include pilots, managers, customers care staff, and public relations officers among others. These stakeholders have diverse and special roles that help the company in a unique way. For example, the pilots use their knowledge in facilitating the actual transportation during the flights.

On the other hand, the public relations officers aim at advertising the company to the public in order to get more customers for their airline. However, this knowledge must be integrated in order to prevent overlapping of roles and poor performance.

The human resource managers are responsible for managing that knowledge and ensure that the company gets the right outcome. The human resource managers manage the knowledge through various strategies.

For example, a human resource manager can implement a performance contract policy that induces the employees to work for good performance in their respective working places.

Technology and Knowledge Management

In regard technology, it is important to note that technology is not a priority to the concept of knowledge management. In this light, the most crucial factors that are considered in the concept of knowledge management include people, knowledge and the objectives of the organization.

Understandably, technology cannot work independently and without the intervention of other factors of the organization. Instead, technology is adopted and integrated within the processes of the organizations in order to realize business performance.

However, technology plays a crucial role that cannot be ignored in the field of knowledge management. This implies that technology is not a priority in knowledge management but it is a necessity.

In regard to knowledge management, technology is viewed as an enabler of the knowledge management in various capacities. There are various technologies that enable knowledge management in an organization forming a link between technology and KM.

These include the technologies that determines the character of the knowledge, technology that addresses the users requirements, the ones that support sense, and the ones that trigger structured approaches. These technologies are used in order to harness and utilize information from various arms of the organization.

Secondly, it creates connections between the various fields that contain diverse knowledge. In other words, it enables the organization to integrate the diverse knowledge that the organization holds.

Also, it automates business operations and ensures that all the business barriers are eliminated. These barriers are eliminated by providing appropriate ways of solving problems that arise within the organization.

In regard to Aero Express, the company has improvised technology in various fields in order to achieve the above functionalities. For example, the company has a smart track system that is improvised in order to facilitate efficiency.

In this light, the tracking system is used for the purpose of tracking the parcels during transportation. In this case, the customers have are allowed to open accounts with the system (Doz & Hamel, 1998). This account is used for the purpose of inquiring about the progress of transportation.

The technological integration enables customers to follow the progress at the comfort of their home. This implies that technology enables management of information during transportation.

In this light, we can conclude that technology enables the company to manage knowledge in a simpler manner that using the manual systems (Watford, 1999).

In addition, the company has efficient customer care system that are enhanced through technology. In this light, the customers can call the customers care desk and obtain help from the

Culture and Knowledge Management

The culture of the people that work in an organization affects knowledge management. In this light, culture refers to the manner in which the company is organized. It includes the organizational routines that are involved in the process of doing things (Johnson & Scholes, 1999).

Surprisingly, culture has a link with knowledge management since it controls the knowledge of stakeholder (Bruce & Pepitone, 1999). In this case, none of the stakeholders can apply their knowledge beyond the companies culture. This implies that they do not act in a manner that please them.

Instead, they follow the rules of the company in order to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. The culture of the organization helps to transform knowledge into power (Kimball & Hall, 2004). In this case, knowledge theories suggest that knowledge becomes power when it is organized.

Therefore, when an organization develops a culture of doing operating their businesses, it becomes power. Therefore, the company realizes good outcomes due to the organizational rules and directives (McKenzie, 1979). Aero Expreso have various organizational culture that enables it to move forward.

For example, the organization uses Boeing aero planes for the purpose of facilitating flights. This implies that pilots must apply their knowledge in relation to the Boeing aero plane since it is used by the organization (Menipaz, 2011).

Conclusion

It is clear that the knowledge management strategy has a strong relationship with the culture of an organization, technology, human resource among others. This implies that these factors must be integrated in the process on managing knowledge since they are vital components (Miniter, 2002).

References

Bruce, A & Pepitone, J 1999, Motivating employees, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Doz, Y & Hamel, G 1998, Alliance advantage: the art of creating value through partnering, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.

Watford, E 1999, Getting closer to clients, DHL press, London.

Johnson, G & Scholes, K 1999, Exploring corporate strategy (5th ed.), Prentice Hall Europe, London.

Kimball, B & Hall, J 2004, Selling in the New World of business. Best Business Books, New York.

McKenzie, R 1979, Restrictions on business mobility: a study in political rhetoric and economic reality, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington:.

Menipaz, E 2011, International Business: theory and practice, Sage Publications, London.

Miniter, R 2002, The myth of market share: why market share is the fools gold of business, Crown Business, New York.

Rein, I, Kotler, P & Stoller, M 1997, High visibility the making and marketing of professionals into celebrities, NTC Pub. Group, Lincolnwood..

Schorer, M 1968, DHL: D.H Lawrence, Dell Publishers, New York.

Schulzinger, R 2003, A companion to American foreign relations, Blackwell Publishers, Malden.

Sears, W 2007, The front line guide to thinking clearly, HRD Press, Amherst.

Sherman, A 2001, Fast track business growth smart strategies to grow without getting derailed, Kiplinger Books, Washington.

Unsworth, B 2001, The partnership, W.W. Norton, New York.

Wright, F 2011, In memoriam DHL (2nd ed.), Cultural and Political Booklets, Wellington.

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