Reference no: EM132246077

Discussion :

Knowledge management at 'RailServices' was said to be facilitated by the alignment of values at various levels. Was such value alignment evident at NBC Universal and Alcoa? Likewise, were social networks like those described in the Alcoa case apparent at NBC Universal and 'RailServices?'

· Value alignment is evident in the NBC Universal case:

NBC Universal did display value at different levels. Some managers at NBC did feel proud though about Wiki overall. There was a mention in the case, where a manager when asked about how he felt replied, "I feel proud that we've got this tool that works for us that other people don't have". Managerial foresight existed for both organizations though. Without it, neither Wiki would have been possible nor the success of RailServices.

To construct the knowledge base on the wiki, Peacock had to form a task force to collect employees' valuable knowledge. The task force team asked the heads and senior producers to provide content to be displayed on the wiki. The heads and senior producers made extensive contributions when they were not required to. They contributed not only explicit and procedural information, but also insider information. This is an evidence of value alignment in the company.

(Bibbo, D., Michelich, J., Sprehe, E., & Lee, Y. E., 2012). Likewise, the support division, such as legal, finance, and human resources, played a role as "guest contributors" in areas like company policy and legal matter, which is also an apparent evidence of value alignment between the support divisions and the corporate values. (Bibbo et al, p 24). Like the last paragraph states, "While a key function of Wiki is its ease of use, it is collaboration that gives wiki its true value: individually you can be good, but collectively you can be great."

(Bibbo, D., Michelich, J., Sprehe, E., & Lee, Y. E., 2012). Without value alignment, there wouldn't be collaboration among the employees. Although one thing that wasn't pertinent with NBC Universal was a reward mechanism like RailServices. Like RailServices, they don't have to be monetary. Instead, a community of practice (CoP) should be formed around a recognized identity that all members can relate to and feel part of. For a CoP to be successful, the community must become part of the practice itself. (Chen, E., 2011)

· Value alignment is evident in the Alcoa case:

The goal of Alcoa was to achieve sustainability. Because of its size, complexity and global dispersion within the company, Aloca's knowledge management approach adopts a Web 2.0 / Enterprise Social Networking model, a model that includes aspects of complex adaptive systems as well as a corresponding ‘symbiosis' between and among the human-machine elements of the organizational system, which requires the alignment of values between employees and the management. (Spangler, W., Sroufe, R., Madia, M., & Singadivakkam, J., 2014). Aloca adopts motivation system to align the value at various levels.

"Firms institutionalize processes and practices that allow for consistent and even application of their values in situations when individual priorities conflict. Such practices are reflected in the motivations and opportunities that have evolved to include innovation, regulatory compliance, risk management, operational efficiency, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and other strategic goals." (Spangler, W., Sroufe, R., Madia, M., & Singadivakkam, J., 2014). For example, in Alcoa's current bonus/variable compensation system, only 60-70% of an employee's bonus is based on traditional financial results. The remainder of the bonus is based on performance results related to sustainability, including safety, energy conservation, improved diversity and employee engagement scores.

Notably, the improvements provided by the proposed K/EMS will enhance the accuracy and speed of reporting the status of these compensation factors, and thus motivate employees to engage in them (Spangler, W., Sroufe, R., Madia, M., & Singadivakkam, J., 2014). For employees, Web 2.0 technology can tap into underlying motivations for knowledge sharing, motivations that Wang identifies as personal need, reputation, altruism, and reward. (Spangler et al, p.73). The new knowledge management system is boosted by the employees' knowledge sharing, continuous feedback of ideas and behaviors.

On the other hand, such technology also promotes value alignment between the employees and the company by fulfilling their personal needs, reputations, and altruism. Such a win-win relationship forms a virtuous cycle. So, to sum things up, value alignment at RailServices was not technology driven but more knowledge driven in terms of communication and exchange of information but at Alcoa it was more technology driven. Like the model of Belief-Action-Outcome mentioned in Alcoa case, RailServices employees were influencing each other through the feedback loop just like a BAO model.

· Social Networking is evident in the NBC Universal case:

Social networks gain popularity and growth in business world because they enhance collaboration to engage their employees, customer, and suppliers. "The popularity of online social networks means the Internet has become a unique environment within which innovations emerge and spread. Members of online social networks present their perceptions and ideas about firms' products or services. The possibility of establishing contacts without limitations on space increases the dynamism and complexity of relationships between online social network members." (Palacios-Marqués, D., Popa, S., & Mari, M. P., 2016).

In case of NBC Universal, social networking was a part of their organizational practice. Several incidents are mentioned especially at Peacock Corporation, for example, the employees had no definite answers to questions regarding their daily operations related to production and filming. To obtain that information they had to connect with their personal connections or in other words engage in social networking. Again, this was not technology driven but more communication driven.

In case of technology, NBC Universal applied Wiki to mitigate the reluctance of members to share knowledge, resolving one of the most pronounced challenges in managerial efforts to capture, transfer, and store knowledge for the firm. The case mentions another incident where senior employees were bombarded with emails and phone calls from new comers regarding questions about daily operations.

· Social Networking is not evident in the RailServices case:

Like mentioned before, social networking was driven in an in-person manner as opposed to technology-based networking. RailServices mentions relational capital, which develops overtime and through repeated interactions at the micro-level and creates a basis of understanding for negotiation and reciprocal contributions. (Gardiner, C. M., 2015).

In true sense of social networking from a technology standpoint, it involves social networking platforms, such as Facebook, twitter, and internal corporate social tools to engage employees, customers, and suppliers. None of them were pertinent in this case, neither internal nor external.