Knowledge Management in Product Development

Knowledge Management in Product Development
Introduction
According to Chatson (2012), knowledge management is essential for acquiring and maintaining a competitive advantage in the business field. In today’s highly competitive market that is characterized by rapid innovation, management of knowledge involved in the development of a new product is crucial in determining the success of a firm. However, it is apparent that many organizations lack the insight of how knowledge management strategies lead to successful new product development. First, creation and administration are some of the key aspects that are given much consideration. In fact, researchers feel that firms that engage in product development must have adequate knowledge and apply them in useful ways. Also, organizations must make efforts to fill the gaps in the areas that they have little or zero knowledge. Knowledge management strategy for product development impact on the cost of production, meeting the customer needs and the time taken to the market.
Ozkan (2007) defines knowledge as information that is combined with interpretation, skills, and experience. In most cases, it is embodied in processes, practices, and documents. On the other hand, knowledge management refers to the ability to maintain, develop, organize and make proper use of knowledge. This paper intends to provide a rich understanding of the needs and issue in product development, and also an approach for developing knowledge management strategy. It will also explain how knowledge management strategies support innovation, management decision and other critical business processes.

Lastly, the paper will expound on the manner in which knowledge management strategies position an organization for long-term stability.

The needs and issues in product development
There are a lot of things that needs to be done before a product is released into the market for sale. The demand expectation might turn out to be inaccurate, the prices might be too high, and the developed product might be different from what was initially expected (Chaston, 2012). Besides, there might be other regulatory issues that might prevent the product from getting into the market. All these should be done in product development. Some organizations today overlook the significance the product development, and many of the managers think that innovation is the most crucial element in that area. In reality, innovation is just the tip of the ice-burg, knowledge management is all that counts to make a difference. One of the key issues in product development is the critical unmet need. The actual buying of a product is always a clear indication that a product has met an exceptional need (Ozkan, 2000). In fact, many customers would shun from buying a product that does not satisfy a critical unmet need. Therefore, the task for the organization is to comprehend the critical unmet needs ultimately, and then articulate the specifications of a product to meet those needs (Ozkan, 2000).
Understanding the market size and potential is also challenging in product development. Keeping an eye on the two aspects of the market helps the organization in meeting its objectives. Certainly, the last thing that a manager would want to realize is that there is no market for the newly developed product. Besides, it is only beneficial to be in a market where one can sell more products to develop other commodities and grow the business. Also, a competitive advantage needs to be articulated in product development. The product should be able to meet the customers’ critical unmet needs in a way that no other commodity can (Ozkan, 2000). Besides, it is the knowledge of potential competitors that either validates or invalidate a firm’s competitive advantage. It can only be determined from a client’s perspective, and that makes knowledge management strategy very imperative to an organization.
Organizations also need to consider in advance the regulatory and reimbursement strategy for a product. In most cases, products fail to reach the market as a result of the failure to meet certain standards. A knowledge management strategy for product development can help a firm to traverse through such regulations in the most appropriate way that saves on cost and time.
Approach for developing a knowledge management strategy
Tait & Richardson (2010) acknowledges that there are many ways to approach the building of a knowledge management strategy. Multinational corporations probably need a documented formal approach, while other organizations may just need a brief and relatively precise guidelines. In the case of developing a new product, a well-documented formal strategy will be necessary. Under normal circumstances, developing a strategy should consider the current situation of the organization. An organization needs to assess how organizational elements such as culture and systems presently function to allow appropriate knowledge management practice. The question of where the firm projects to be is also vital in developing a good knowledge management strategy. In this case, the organization forecasts the value that the knowledge management strategy can add in meeting their objectives. Besides, it also considers what the organization plans to achieve with the strategy. Describing the precise actions that are taken to attain these goals also results in a comprehensive approach. It explains the management tools and infrastructure to be used in achieving those objectives.
In the case of developing a knowledge management strategy for product development, Tait & Richardson (2010) feel that the company can consider two correlating approaches. The company can invest in knowledge acquisition. This method may involve the addition of new personnel into the organization through hiring or reassigning duties to the current workers. It may also include employees’ participation in education programs offered by colleges and professional conferences. The organization can also invest in knowledge transfer, which involves sharing knowledge among members. It also requires sharing of information that might affect the first stands of the participating groups. It conveys information on consumer preferences and product design, which might be vital in the development process. Clearly, the two approaches provide the management with the relevant knowledge that is used in developing a strategy. Through knowledge acquisition, enough information is acquired and then later disseminated to the concerned persons through knowledge transfer.
Knowledge management strategies and decision-making
Singh & Dalcher (2011), explicitly notes that many managers today make decisions after considering a lot of factors. Since it is an often occurrence in any organizational set-up, these managers would need knowledge management strategies to help in facilitating the process. In most cases, decision support systems that are understandable, compatible and efficient are put to proper use. The decision support system is user driven, and that implies that the system only gives answers that are in line with what the managers feed into it. Knowledge management strategies, therefore, supports in two ways; It provides the direction of the decision analysis and also supplies the pertinent information (Singh & Dalcher, 2011). Through that, the decision support systems can improve the managers’ knowledge discovery and dissemination of those pieces information as well.
Knowledge management strategies and innovation
Notably, innovation is entirely dependent on knowledge management strategies. It depends on the readiness of knowledge to ensure a successful product development. For example, knowledge management strategies build and maintains competitive advantage of a firm through business collaborations. Du Plessis (2007) argues that building and maintaining innovative programs has grown complex as result of the ever-changing customer needs. Due to that, many organizations go through a lot of internalize innovations. Knowledge management strategies can, therefore, facilitate collaborative relationships to ensure continued innovations as well as the organizational competitive advantage. In fact, companies such as Xerox and Hitachi have already adopted the approach in their efforts to innovate new products. The two firms can share knowledge between them to develop their products sufficiently.
Arguably, knowledge management strategies are also critical in supporting key business activities such as sales. First, a proper strategy provides the company with marketing materials and leadership thoughts that are precious in determining ways of improving sales (Chaston, 2012). Secondly, the knowledge management strategies also provide the employees with guidelines on how to use the marketing materials. Full implementation of that ensures that no new product remains to languish on the shelves.
Developing knowledge management strategies for business long-term stability
Certainly, developing knowledge management strategies can immensely benefit an organization in achieving its long-term goals in many ways. First, developing strategies improve employee’s satisfaction through personal development and empowerment. It also helps in retaining intellectual capital that benefits the company with a consistent provision of skilled labor. Improving economies of scale and productivity of the company can also be realized through the development of knowledge management strategies. Lastly, it helps to provide the organization with adequate information from external sources regarding such matters.

Conclusion
While the primary aim of this piece is to provide an overall view of knowledge management in developing new products, other aspects of knowledge management have also been clearly outlined. It is evident that understanding the market size, market potential and the regulations for reimbursement are some of the issues that emerge in product development. Managers fail to understand this needs clearly, and in turn, fail to tailor products that sufficiently satisfy the customers. Therefore, with no full implementation of knowledge management, corporations would only end up producing goods that may forever fail to reach the markets.

References
Chaston, I. (2012). “Strategy for sustainable competitive advantage” (1st ed., pp. 18-35). New
York: Routledge.
Du Plessis, M. (2007). “The role of knowledge management in innovation”. Journal of
Knowledge Management, 11(4), 20-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673270710762684Ozkan, G. (2000). “Essays on knowledge management strategies in new product development.”
(1st ed., pp. 8-19). Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology.
Singh Sandhawalia, B. & Dalcher, D. (2011). “Developing knowledge management capabilities:
A structured approach.” Journal of Knowledge Management, 15(2), 313-328.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673271111119718Tait, A. & Richardson, K. (2010). “Complexity and knowledge management” (1st ed., pp. 57
58). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub.