Abstract:

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues on knowledge management that affects defence-related manufacturing company especially in managing uncertainties. KM is a complex, multi-layered and multi-faceted concept. It has its root from four different disciplines, namely, organizational information processing, business intelligence, organizational cognition and organizational development (Tuomi, 2002). Theoretically, the emerging KM concept could strongly complement more established concepts that are applied in a manufacturing company such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Lean Manufacturing. This is due to the fact that manufacturing organization uses knowledge and other resources to produce high-value finished goods. The human mind stores data, generates information and forms fantastic ideas. Information once translated and transformed can mean revenue. Therefore, knowledge sharing activities are able to bring synergistic effect on organizations. The know-how and sharing of best practices can determine organization survival. Some of the practices are the strong support from top management, right infrastructure, implementation of reward system to remove knowledge barriers and effective teams plus the recognizing of intellectual assets would determine the success of the KM journey.