Organizational Memory Information Systems 6 Organizational ✓ Solved

ORGANIZATIONAL MEMORY INFORMATION SYSTEMS 6 Organizational

In an increasingly globalized and dynamic world, companies are always changing to remain relevant in the highly complex market. This competitive nature of the market leads to organizations seeking for enhanced quality in their structure, strategies and decisions. These changes may however result in loss of accumulated knowledge held in individual memories. To prevent that from happening, organizations adopt the Organizational Memory Information Systems (OMIS) to preserves accumulated knowledge through time and provide valuable insights for the development of employees and the organization.

This paper identifies gaps in knowledge in the field of OMIS and provides a problem statement for research.

Literature Review

OMIS refers to “An information system supporting the development of organizational memory, whose design philosophy is often organization specific” (de Cuffa, Kraemer & Steil, 2020). An OMIS is generally built from traditional information technologies such as telecommunication links and databases. The main aim is to use this structure to capture, store and disseminate information in organizational setting. Maintaining a functional and rich organizational memory (OM) is critical in interlinking all information repositories within the organization (Eichenbaum, 2017).

As a result, the accumulated knowledge is critical in changes and transformations in the organization. Internal knowledge within an organization can be acquired from social context and stored in OM. As a way to improve OM, Information Systems (IS) were developed with the aim of supporting the process of acquisition, retention, storage, and dissemination of knowledge in the organization (Eichenbaum, 2017). This enabled the development of new strategies for sharing of information, experience, ideas, and knowledge enhancing quality of products and services, innovation, troubleshooting, and decision making. OMIS consists of two layers, with the first layer subdivided into various sub-processes. The second layer focuses on acquisition, storage, and availability of information. OMIS ensures knowledge is acquired, stored, and disseminated effectively in an organization.

Potential Research Topics

Over the past few years, a lot of research has been conducted on the field of OMIS. However, researchers have focused widely on the way OMIS operates. As a result, it is not known the impacts of OMIS in facilitating learning in an organization. Researchers have not explored and provided insights on how these systems can be used in an organizational setting to advance knowledge. It is also not known how OMIS improves the capability of an organization to acquire, store, and disseminate information over a period of time. This information would be critical in determining the effectiveness of the systems within an organization (Eichenbaum, 2017).

All information systems face various challenges in their operations. However, researchers have not explored the challenges associated with OMIS. This information is important in helping organizations develop strategies for mitigating the impacts of those challenges. OMIS can be used to enhance learning in an organization. This can be achieved through acquisition, maintaining and dissipating knowledge among employees. The system can improve the availability of information in an organization, facilitating learning and enhancing the effectiveness of an organization. If OM supports organizational learning, and organizational effectiveness depends on OM, then it can be shown that an effective OM enhances learning in an organization.

Problem Statement

Learning helps employees to gain new knowledge and skills for enhancing their efficiency. This knowledge can be used by organizations for competitive advantage. However, storing this information in the memory of individuals poses a significant risk of forgetfulness. This increases the vulnerability of the organization. In the contemporary business environment, information has become an important asset in the success of the organization. Without key information, it is difficult to achieve competitive advantage in the market. Forgetfulness leads to the loss of information that could have otherwise helped an organization improve its effectiveness in the market (de Cuffa, Kraemer & Steil, 2018). Low memory dispersion affects the creativity of individuals in an organization (Eichenbaum, 2017). Employees are not able to come up with new ideas that can be used to improve problem-solving and decision-making in the organization. In addition, this may have significant impacts on the ability of the organization to achieve its financial goals. Innovation is a product of new ideas among individuals. As a result, lack of new ideas leads to limited innovation. This affects the ability of an organization to achieve a competitive advantage in the highly complex and competitive market.

Conclusion

In conclusion, OMIS preserves accumulated knowledge over time and provides valuable insights for the development of employees and the organization. Despite numerous studies conducted on the field, it is not known the impacts of OMIS on organizational learning. If OM supports organizational learning, and organizational effectiveness depends on OM, then it can be shown that an effective OM enhances learning in an organization. Low memory dispersion affects the creativity of individuals in an organization, making it difficult for them to come up with new ideas that promote innovation. This limits the ability of the organization to enhance its competitiveness in the market.

References

• de Cuffa, D., Kraemer, R., & Steil, A. V. (2018). Use of Organizational Memory Systems in a Police Organization. International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), 14(3), 37-47.
• de Cuffa, D., Kraemer, R., & Steil, A. V. (2020). Organizational Memory Systems in a Multi-Unit Public Organization. In Current Issues and Trends in Knowledge Management, Discovery, and Transfer (pp. ). IGI Global.
• Eichenbaum, H. (2017). Memory: organization and control. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 19-45.
• Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. Oxford University Press.
• Edvardsson, B., & Olsson, J. (1996). Key Concepts for New Service Development. The Service Industries Journal, 16(2), 140-164.
• O'Dell, C., & Grayson, C. J. (1998). If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice. California Management Review, 40(3), 154-174.
• Eisenhardt, K. M., & Santos, F. M. (2002). Knowledge-Based View: A New Theory of Strategic Management. In Handbook of Strategic Management.
• Hansen, M. T., & Birkinshaw, J. (2007). Knowledge Retention in Firms: The Importance of the Multilevel Context. Journal of Management Studies, 44(5), 209-228.
• Choo, C. W. (1998). The Knowing Organization: How Organizations Use Information to Construct Meaning, Create Knowledge, and Make Decisions. International Journal of Information Management, 18(5), 375-387.
• Argote, L., & Ingram, P. (2000). Knowledge Transfer: A Basis for Competitive Advantage in Firms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 150-169.