M. M. KANDIL

THE ROLE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTUREIN THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

M. M. KandilEgyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) Cairo.Egyptmagy_kandil@yahoo.com

Abstract

Global competition and rapid changes in technology demand more innovation in organizations. Such an increase in innovation depends on developing the capabilities of employees and providing them with knowledge management support that accelerates learning and discovery. Knowledge Management is the way to improve the conditions of stability of organization and it is considered one of essential developer Human resources to increase the human being ability of fulfil their responsibilities by growing their competence. Building employees’ skills and knowledge is an investment in each employee and in the future of the its organization. This building must be the competence of its staff integration, its safety culture, the essential to ensure competent human resources as required in the IAEA safety standards and other documents, in which the need and importance of ensuring human competence is emphasized. Organizational culture was one of the interesting and important issues of organizational behavior. The organization’s culture is play an extremely important role for increasing the knowledge management in nuclear industry. A 'knowledge-sharing culture' is believed to be inherently good because of the growing importance of intellectual capital to organizations and the need for effective knowledge management practices. Therefore, cultures which inhibit knowledge-sharing are widely considered to be significant barriers to creating and leveraging knowledge assets. Installing a knowledge-sharing culture is thus a necessary prerequisite for organizations that believe that it is a significant way to differentiate themselves. Type of organizational culture can be a guide to encourage the knowledge management implementation strategy and programs. This paper investigates the relationships among organizational culture and Knowledge Management (KM ) and their relation for enhancement the human recourse development describes the process to determine the Km culture and suggestion future culture for implement knowledge management in nuclear industry.

1. INTRODUCTION

Human resource management in the nuclear industry needs to be of a particularly high standard, both in terms of competence and performance. Developing the specialists needed in this field requires considerable effort and time. Nuclear industry experience shows that within nuclear power plants, 80 per cent of significant events can be attributed to human error. For this reason, monitoring and continually improving human performance and has become one of the key challenges in the development of human resources for a nuclear facility. Knowledge management is considered one of essential human resource to increase the human being ability of fulfil their responsibilities by growing the competence of their staff. The organization’s  culture  is play an extremely important role for increasing  the knowledge management in nuclear industry. Moreover, knowledge management is essential to foster improvements and innovation on human resource development processes. Organizational Culture is a key factor that impacts the success of knowledge management, since it influences the way employees learn and share knowledge in the organization. In knowledge management, an organization’s culture is extremely important if it is not based on qualities such as trust and openness, then knowledge management initiatives are unlikely to succeed. In the nuclear industry some organizations use organizational culture surveys, which help managers to know the extent to which the organizational climate supports the sharing of knowledge. Organizational culture does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by the social culture in which the organization resides. Thus, a multinational organization’s culture may vary somewhat from country to country. Similarly, while it shapes them, organizational culture does not completely define the cultures of different business units or functional units. Furthermore, culture is dynamic. It changes during the life of an organization as it moves from start-up to maturity and it changes over time (although not always in ways leaders understand or can affect), much as our societal culture does. In addition, increasing the human resources in nuclear Industry requires that every organization has a culture i.e. the sets of norms and values which collectively guide the behavior of their employees and relationships between them. Culture varies considerably between organizations. Within an organization, culture is a powerful force as well, obtaining the need for many rules since it encourages employees to behave in certain ways. Culture is neither good nor bad, but may foster values and behavior that support or impede certain organizational objectives. In other words, “culture is how we do things around here”. According to the IAEA definition organizational culture is a mixture of an organization’s traditions, values, attitudes and behavior. Culture influences activities in all aspects of the organization. [1].

2. NUCLEAR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (NKM)

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Knowledge Management is defined within the IAEA as an integrated, systematic approach to identifying, acquiring, transforming, developing, disseminating, using, sharing, and preserving knowledge, relevant to achieving specified objectives. Knowledge management consists of three fundamental components: people, processes and technology as shown in Fig.1. Knowledge management focuses on people and organizational culture to stimulate and nurture the sharing and use of knowledge; on processes or methods to find, create, capture and share knowledge; and on technology to store and make knowledge accessible and to allow people to work together without being together. People are the most important component, because managing knowledge depends upon people’s willingness to share and reuse knowledge.[2]

FIG. 1. KM in Nuclear Organizations [2]Nuclear Knowledge Management (NKM) is the application of knowledge management practices to

address the specific needs of nuclear knowledge and nuclear organizations. It can include the application of knowledge management practices at any stage of the nuclear knowledge life cycle: research and development, design and engineering, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance, refurbishment and life time extension, waste management, and decommissioning.

The objective of knowledge management (KM) is to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals, whatever these are and the Objectives of NKM are a set of business goals in a nuclear organization that can be facilitated by knowledge management such as Improve safety, security and non-proliferation, Achieve gain and benefit in performance, Inform risk management and decision making, Ensure maximized NKM flow over the long term, Communicate with pubic transparently and Help continuous improvement [3].

3. NUCLEAR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

A knowledge sharing culture is making knowledge sharing the norm. To create a knowledge sharing culture it's need to encourage people to work together more effectively, to collaborate and to share, ultimately to make organisational knowledge more productive. Building a sharing culture is the key element for developing an organizational culture that nurtures organizational learning and organizational intelligence.

It was proven that creating and fostering a climate that promotes learning will ultimately give a sustainable strategic advantage to the organization as shown in Fig. 2. Cultures that are most supportive of knowledge management have the following common factors.: 1) exemplary leadership at every level, 2) celebrating successes of the organization, 3) provision of resources necessary for people to find the information and knowledge they need themselves, 4) clarification of the business case and value proposition in specific terms.

FIG. 2. Primary KM elements and organizational culture [4]

4. THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

The human resource development in nuclear industry is important for developing and high quality human, which are necessary for supporting efforts to pursue research and development and utilization of nuclear energy while ensuring its safety. The management of human resources has four interrelated objectives: Ensuring the competence of nuclear industry personnel is developed and maintained; Effectively organizing work activities; Anticipating HR needs; Monitoring and continually improving performance.

M. M. KANDIL

The human resource development strategy is designed to: produce indigenous scientists, engineers, managers and other professionals who would acquired an in-depth fundamental understanding of nuclear technology for effective project planning and management, technical coordination and sustainable implementation of the national nuclear power programme; and train specialized corps of scientists, engineers, technologists and technicians, imbued with a high level of fundamental knowledge and practical expertise, so as to create a sustainable pool of human capital for the design, operation and maintenance of the nuclear power plants. [5].

Recommendations in “Evaluation of Basic Concepts for Initiatives to Develop Human Resources as Defined in the Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy: 1) Improving workplace environments, 2) Developing human resources for the nuclear energy industry, 3) Improving education in institutes of higher education, 4) Developing human resources to engage in research and development in universities and R&D institutes, 5) Developing and securing human resources capable of working actively in international settings 6) International cooperation in human resource development, 7) Developing human resources to work in regulatory bodies. Human resource development, through raising: the skills of hired personnel, continuing education, and work programs, Education of human resources with specialist skills, aim to be the best in the world, with international experience too, Development of human resources with broad expertise and vision, Development of human resources with management capabilities, Adopt 10-step continuing education program up to chairman level in private companies, Improve specialist and comprehensive capabilities by creating reports and explanations, preparing R&D plans, etc.[6].

5. IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE MANGEMENT FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

KM focuses on the development of communities of practices, organizational knowledge sharing through lesson learned process, and the utilization of technology to create infrastructure for storing and sharing expertise and best practices. These KM processes facilitate and sustain individual and collective activities to help manage the flow of knowledge (to acquire, create, store, share, use, and assess) throughout the organization. When and where there is expertise and creativity coupled with methods of harnessing, sharing, and growing knowledge and ideas, we believe an organizational environment or culture can exist for innovation. Fig. 3. captures the relation between Human Resource Development, KM, and innovative organization. [7]. A KM-enabling culture is defined as a trusting knowledge culture that is directed towards rewarding innovation, learning, experimentation, scrutiny and reflection. Trust among the organization’s members is a must for sharing knowledge. Within an organization, culture impacts and is impacted by infrastructure and strategy, as well as the organization’s mission, vision, objectives, and goals. The national culture also affects the values and practices of every organization which is attempting a KM implementation [8].

FIG. 3. Relationship between Human Resource Development and KM practices[7]

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KM CULTURE

A set of attributes relating to a KM culture in the nuclear industry are extracted. These are presented herewith along with selected related contributions made by the faculty, staff, and administrators of the nuclear industry expert . A KM-enabling culture is therefore characterized by (see Fig.4: 1) Knowledge Sharing such as Possible knowledge sharing between the organization and its external stakeholders may also be developed, 2) Appropriate Leadership leaders should actively practice and encourage KM, Leaders should respect past records and be interested to keep them in archives, Leaders should cultivate a shared sense of direction, excitement for learning and mutual trust, Leaders should encourage collaborations and healthy competition but not antagonisms between individuals and/or departments, 3)Communication Quality, People should interact with mutual respect and collaborate to share knowledge, Collaborations should be developed between individuals, teams, departments and also with external partners 4) Motivated Organization Members, Includes extrinsic motivation which may be established to include appropriate rewards and/or reciprocal benefits, May additionally include intrinsic motivation which may relate to self-efficacy, the enjoyment of assisting others and the interest to improve one’s abilities, i.e., knowledge, skills, experiences, etc., Involves establishing the “right”

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incentive system 5) Organizational Learning, Should value learning from one’s past, Involves collecting best practices, reflecting on KM practices and sharing KM experiences, Entails a continuous quest for knowledge between the organization’s members, Should offer ways to enable and enhance learning practices between the organization’s members, 6) Positive Atmosphere, Should empower by all possible means the organization’s members to practice KM, for example via the implementation of appropriate technological models, Organizational members should exhibit a team spirit, Cultivate an environment which will promote professional and social interactions between its members, Cultivate a shared sense of direction and excitement , 7) Role Clarity, Prevent and resolve possible conflicts resulting from a confusion in regards to responsibilities and jurisdiction 8) Trust, Involves trust in the knowledge received to be the best in terms of currency, accuracy and completeness, Also involves trust that knowledge sharing will be done in appropriate, ethical ways, Expects practicing KM with transparency in collecting best practices, reflecting on practices and sharing experiences, Requires the careful handling of copyrights, sensitive, and proprietary knowledge[8] .

In the future KM culture must be development for implementing powerful knowledge management in nuclear industry. moreover, A KM-enabling culture is overall a trusting, supportive, non-individualistic culture which promotes sharing for the common goal of organizational prosperity. Initial and on-going efforts will be required at all levels of the organization in order to create and maintain such a culture. Bottom-up initiatives as these are taken at the employee level should be welcomed and may cause change in the management of the organization. At the same time top-down initiatives involving new directions and changes introduced by the management to shape up new behaviours and actions between the organization’s employees are desirable. The realization and maintenance of such a culture should be seen as a challenging task. Finally, the attainment of a KM-enabling culture will most definitely be rewarding for the organization which will subsequently have the ability to employ knowledge management and expect to enjoy its benefits

FIG. 4. Attributes of a KM-Enabling Culture [8]6. CONCLUSION

Nuclear facilities depend on human resources, and development human resources is essential to avoid incidents involving significant adverse consequences. While in the past, great emphasis was placed on designing system hardware and software to intercept and to mitigate events that could cause adverse consequences, dealing with the design of the human component has proven to be even more complicated. Examination of various safety related incidents makes it clear, however, that human performance plays a dominant role and must be addressed. It is generally postulated that without continuous efforts on development human resources, safe performance of nuclear facilities would be unsustainable.

It is essential to develop human resources for the maintenance and improvement of nuclear technology. However, there are still problems that have to be solved in most countries such as the how to increasing the knowledge of new and of young generation in the nuclear industry. NKM needs to have better interactions among all organizations involved to affectively share information and to work together as a team. To maximize NKM its functionality, it dependent on the Organizational culture. Sharing knowledge important for the human resource development since, today, the creation and application of new knowledge is essential to the survival of almost all businesses.

REFERENCES

[1] IAEA, Managing Nuclear Knowledge A Pocket Guide, https://www.iaea.org/nuclearenergy/nuclearknowledge/NKM_NEWS/NKM_Book_web.pdf[2 IAEA, Knowledge Management for Nuclear Industry Operating Organizations, IAEA-TECDOC-1510, (2006).[3] IAEA, The Impact of Knowledge Management Practices on NPP Organizational Performance , Results of a Global

Survey, IAEA-TECDOC-1711,IAEA, Vienna (2013).[4] Edgar H. Schein. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 1985, ISBN 1-55542-487-2.[5] IAEA, "The Management System for Facilities and Activities", Safety Standards Series No. GS-R-3, (2006). [6] Japan Atomic Energy Commission, Basic Policy for Nuclear Energy July 20, (2017) http://www.aec.go.jp/jicst/NC/about/kettei/kettei170720_e.pdf [7] Michael B, et al." Knowledge Sharing and Human Resource Development in Innovative Organizations"

http://www.intechopen.com/books/knowledge-managementstrategies-and-applications (2017)

M. M. KANDIL

[8] Vasso S, ,"Investigating the Knowledge Management Culture", Universal Journal of Educational Research, (2016)

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