Reference no: EM133725838 , Length: Word Count: 3000 Words

Assignment: Managing Knowledge- Taylor Woodrow Housing and Development Company

You have been engaged as a consultant for the following organization. Taylor Woodrow is an international housing and development company employing over 7,000 people worldwide. Its primary business is house building, which accounts for more than 95% of its operating profit. The company is the second largest UK-based house builder, delivering 10,000 new homes in the UK, along with around 3,800 new homes in North America, Spain and Gibraltar each year

Question I: Structure is defined by Henry Mintzberg (1991) as "the sum total of the ways in which it (an organization) divides its labour into distinct tasks and then achieves coordination among them". Critically discuss how the seven forces of Mintzberg framework can influence Knowledge Management. (1200 words)

Question II: It is generally accepted that competitive advantage originates from rare resources and complicated internal processes of the company. Critically discuss what types of knowledge management initiatives are appropriate for Taylor Woodrow? How the company can acquire a competitive advantage through newly adapted knowledge management practices compared to the other companies? (1400 words)

Question III: Critically discuss how organizational culture may affect knowledge management by analysing the 4 types of culture identified by Cameron and Quinn (2006). How Taylor Woodrow making sure that its culture is kept alive in an expanding organisation and how can this culture be kept alive during further expansion? (1400 words)

References: Cameron, K.S. and Quinn, R.E. 2006. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework, revised ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. Mintzberg, H., 1991. The effective organization: forces and forms. Sloan Management Review, Winter edition, 54-67.