Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
Banking institutions operate in a sector driven by knowledge as an essential commodity for attaining and retaining a competitive advantage in a highly competitive knowledge economy. This economy is characterised by constant disruptions. Knowledge creation and sharing are essential activities that share a dichotomous relationship needed in shaping the competitive edge of modern banking institutions.
Modern business is often characterised by organisational restructurings that bring about a plethora of positive and negative consequences to operations, people and knowledge flow in an organisation. Managing the sharing of knowledge through employing relevant, useful knowledge sharing tools during periods of major restructuring and post restructuring poses a challenge to management. Management may not always have high levels of awareness of the importance of ensuring that knowledge sharing survives major organisational restructuring. Management has to ensure that knowledge sharing continues to play its pivotal role in accelerating the company’s journey of recovery from chaos and moving towards normality and high business performance.
The journey of one company, a banking institution, was the focus of this study. A case study was done on the use of knowledge sharing tools in helping a banking institution thrive under different business conditions viz. a period of major restructure and a period that follows a major restructure. The purpose of the study was to make a contribution to modern literature on business management by elevating the essentiality of applying knowledge management by promoting knowledge sharing in a normal business operating climate as well as under turbulent conditions.
The empirical study involved interviewing employees at a major banking institution with the aim of gaining insights in the essential variables that must be taken into account when managing knowledge sharing within a banking institution. A questionnaire was used to gather data for an analysis of multiple knowledge sharing tools for their perceived usefulness in fostering knowledge under different business conditions. Though this study was not based on generational theory, it became necessary to understand a generational view on how the various knowledge sharing tools are used in the workplace. The case study participants included employees falling within the baby boomer, generation X and generation Y categories...