Naomy Jemeli Kemboi

Knowledge Management Officer at Kenya Forestry Research Institute

In today’s economy, Knowledge is considered a strategic asset that empowers organisations to plan, make decisions, take action, and implement measures crucial for sustainable development. Knowledge needs to be effectively managed to give organisations a competitive edge and for customer satisfaction. Management of knowledge provides opportunities to capture and share tacit and explicit knowledge as well as convert from one form to another.

The importance of KM in an organisation continues to be acknowledged for being highly strategic and transformational, a key driver of new knowledge and ideas, and a contributor to the development of innovative solutions and improved operational efficiency. Knowledge management, therefore, enables the efficient and effective flow of information and knowledge between people at the right time, right format, and at the right cost, and can propel an organisation to become more adaptive, innovative, intelligent, and sustainable.

However, Knowledge managers are faced with several challenges in managing organisational knowledge. The challenges include a lack of open-minded sharing environment, lack of trust by employees, and lack of confidence in other people’s knowledge, among others. Therefore, there is a need for attitude change among employees to encourage information sharing and building confidence among employees. Also, developing a knowledge management strategy that outlines policies and guidelines to enhance information and knowledge sharing among employees and stakeholders.

Keywords: Knowledge, Strategic asset, Knowledge management, competitive edge, Knowledge management