Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows
Authors: Mehta, Nikhil; Oswald, Sharon; Mehta, Anju
Journal: Journal of Information Technology (2007)
DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000115
<jats:p>Knowledge is being discussed as one of the most important organizational resources. But these resources exist in specialized pockets dispersed across the organization, and dedicated knowledge management (KM) programs are required to improve their flow. However, high failure rates of such programs raise serious doubts about their ability to improve knowledge flows. This case traces the KM program of Infosys Technologies, Ltd – a Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise. The case describes how, in 1999, Infosys’ top management detected a severe lack of organizational knowledge flows while implementing a program aimed at continuously improving their core business processes. A more detailed examination exposed that the lack of knowledge flows stifled the effectiveness of their organizational structure and their business model. Alarmed by these critical findings, Infosys initiated their KM program. A five-stage knowledge maturity model (KMM) was conceptualized to aid KM implementation. With people, processes, and technology as the three pillars of Infosys’ KM program, KMM identified specific capabilities Infosys needed to develop in each of the five levels. Things worked fine t…