SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) are advised to implement a company-wide knowledge management (KM) program that leads to higher productivity and profitability.
This recommendation was made by Elena Avedillo-Cruz, vice president and managing director of Development Academy of the Philippines' Center for Knowledge Management.
"Knowledge is now recognized as the most valuable intangible asset. It has become a key driver for competitive advantage: productivity, quality and innovation," Cruz said.
She said among the signs that one needs to manage its knowledge in the organization is when mistakes are frequently committed twice or repeatedly.
It also has to be administered once knowledge is lost when employees leave the organization, she said.
Citing the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Cruz defined KM as an "integrated approach of creating, sharing and applying knowledge to enhance organizational productivity, profitability and growth."
She said new knowledge could be created in the individual, team and organizational levels.
Moonbake Inc., a manufacturer of quality cookies, confectionaries and snack native delicacies, has attested to the benefits of implementing a KM program.
Company president Rufino R. Manrique Jr. said their institution-wide implementation of KM starting September 2009 has resulted to higher sales and production and decrease in rejects.
"Our 28 percent sales increase in 2009 was the result of our KM program where we found out, among other things, that it is better to streamline our products and concentrate in distributing these few," he said.
With the implementation of KM, Manrique claimed their two to three-day workweek production has increased to 6.5 days during summer.
With these benefits, he said the company intends to sustain the KM program and enhance technology to raise productivity and reduce cost. (PR)