Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management at General Electric Essay

Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management at widely distributed Electric - Essay ExampleThis is much higher than the fabrication average, due largely to the companionship focal point systems in place at this multi-national enterprise. General Electric is a top-down, centralized management hierarchy with divisional management reporting to executive leadership at company headquarters, led by Chairman Jeffrey Immelt. In order to establish appropriate cost control and generalize leadership controls, the company requires this centralized organizational structure due to the interdependence between all divisions and the high volume of employees at GE. The centralized nature of General Electric somewhat confounds the traditionalist viewpoint of friendship management systems, as it is generally recognised that in order to effectively manage acquaintance, employees must be more interactive in decision-making through autonomous acquisition and job role functioning (Davenport, Jar venpaa, and Beers, 1996 Swan, Scarbrough and Robertson, 2002). The centralized structure of General Electric is what prompted analysis of this exceptional business case as it defies the argument that a decentralized structure ensures more efficient knowledge management processes. In order to manage knowledge and promote organizational learning, GE relies on technology, experiential learning processes, the SECI model promoted by Nonaka, and bounded rationality as key approaches to facilitate KM practices. GE is governed by leadership that understands the complexities of multi-national business operations. Offers Jack Welch, previous CEO of GE, you cant manage what you cant measure (Seymour 2008 28). Time constraints, the practical food market environment and its unpredictability in certain markets, and the differing cultural dimensions of diverse employee populations create difficulty in creating concrete and time-sensitive decisions without recognizing the boundaries associated wi th rational decision-making. Thus, GEs approach to knowledge management is based on practicality rather than ideology which drives aspects of its cultural development focus and short-term business objective planning. This report highlights the knowledge management and learning practices at GE with a focus on the systems in place to promote such activities. GE grows, systems, structure, and practices General Electric follows the SECI model which focuses on the affinity between socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. Despite its centralized hierarchy, General Electric prides itself on its commitment to building positive interpersonal relationships between management and employees, building a culture of innovation, cooperation, team work, and loyalty. Thus, against the SECI model, GE is most closely focused on socialization in order to effectively manage knowledge and promote organizational learning. The knowledge that resides within GE is largely tacit, thi s being the knowledge that is largely intangible and attached closely to individual implicit expertise (Dinur 2011).