Knowledge Management by Walmart Inc. Essay Example

competitions from other players in the retail sector.

Due to this reason have developed an effective knowledge management program which enable remain ahead of competitor while operating in a dynamic environment(Ireland and Crum, 2005). According to Gilchristet al., (2012), Walmart can only meet its goals reliably when it strictly works towards its objectives while still matching its operations with the economic growth. By effectively adopting positive knowledge management strategies, Walmart would therefore achieve economic gain since it focus of its strategic operations thus reducing overall costs and creating value to its stockholders.

To successfully manage and share its knowledge, the corporation has categorized its information in to public, shared and personal knowledge(Gilchristet al., 2012). It uses internet tools such as Facebook, online journals, books and corporation websites to share their information to all stakeholders i.e. the general public. Shared knowledge is exclusively shared and held by the employees for internal use. Last is the personal knowledge is very crucial and confidential to the corporation for its internal use(Gilchristet al., 2012).

Although Walmart does not limit its strategies for knowledge sharing, it has currently been intensively involved in formal and informal meetings which depends on face to face information exchange discussions to gather and share valuable information related to its operations with an aim of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness(Malhotra, 2005). These meetings are considered effective for revealing the unrevealed knowledge and collaborative sharing of ideas and opinions thus enabling making of sound which are based on facts.

Walmart uses various strategies and practices which are related to social media to share its data and knowledge. Such media tools may include Facebook, weblogs, Wikis and twitter(Gaál et al., 2015). The corporation has

recognized the potential of the strategies for sharing data and information related toitsoperations through conducting the market research and relating the results with certain theories such as knowledge maturing and community practice.

To ensure knowledge ids ongoing, Walmart has been constantly sending emails to all interested groups(Gaál et al., 2015). This helped the stakeholder to remain in touch operations of the stores in terms of changes in prices, management team and systems. Walmart also make use of mobile phones intensively to share its knowledge. Mobile phones are considered effective tools because of ease of connectivity and capabilities ofinstant knowledge passenger to the respective users(Malhotra, 2005).

Website has also been considered an effective tool for the Walmart to share knowledge. The corporation has recently added special internet functionalities to their websites to increase its effectiveness in knowledge sharing(Gaál et al., 2015). This strategy enables Walmart stores to post its private information and data for the interested parties to access it in real time without visiting the stores to enquire.

Another strategy for related to website for sharing company knowledge is web-basedconference tools and communication such as skype, teleconferencing and WebEx. Teleconferencing involves conducting online meetings with relevant team members. Although Walmart still uses newsletters to share its knowledge, past reaches shows that it is not its common strategy for information dissemination(Choi et al., 2015).

Social media tools such as Facebook and twitter is mainly used strategy to share corporation knowledge to the members of the society at large.LinkedIn internet tool is considered as the effective networking site which is more formal compared to Facebook. This tool is viewed as worth even for sharing confidential data and information of the Walmart

stores(Choi et al.,2015). Generally, social media tools and strategies for knowledge create freedom for the individuals to interactively participate with the information and colleagues as well as creating professional or mutual interest with the company.

To remain competitive, Walmart Inc., is recommended to adopt information systems in management and sharing of its knowledge. These systems are essential for automating and storing all the data and information which might be required in future(Bierly and Daly, 2002). Such systems are as follow; Transaction processing System (TPS) which automates data and information related to routine and repetitive tasks. This information is automatically shared for improvement of pricing strategies and efficiency. Another strategy recommended for Walmart is the use of Decision Support System to provide valuable information for making sound decisions which improves productivity(Bierly and Daly, 2002).

For Walmart to enjoy benefits of knowledge-sharing strategies, its systems needs to be restructured to accommodate modern strategies which are computer-based. In this case, appropriate technology has to be identified which is in line with policies of the corporation(Gaál et al., 2015). This ensure no major restructuring is to be done which would otherwise be more costly.

The use of various knowledge sharing strategies can improve the way Walmart Inc., advertise jobs, recruit, train and nurture new workforce to improve their performance on service delivery. Effective knowledge sharing strategies such as use of social media helps Walmart develop best strategies for managing the workforce for effectiveness. To enhance implementation of recommended knowledge sharing strategies, employees of Walmart needs to be educated on the routine elements of such strategies so that they can apply them appropriately(Malhotra, 2005).