ASPECTS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT APPLIED IN ...

Annals of the University “Constantin Brâncuşi”of Tg-Jiu, No. 1/2008, Volume 2,
ISSN: 1842-4856
et s’adapter aux changements. Ce problème, à son coté, soulève un autre : la concurrence ne signifie
que la manière dont les entreprises se positionnent et évoluent sur le marché, mais aussi de la
manière dont elles coopèrent pour accroître le niveau de la concurrence.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Minică Mirela, University lecturer dr.
University “Eftimie Murgu” Reşiţa, Romania
Abstract : Knowledge management allows an organization to make the most of the intellectual capital that resides in it.
Industrial engineers are trained in optimization, transportation, maintenance, and human factors, making them a natural
choice to systematize a corporate knowledge management program.
What does knowledge management have to do with industrial management? At first
glance, many people would dismiss an association and claim the ideas are on opposite ends of the
spectrum. Industrial management is a well-defined science to a great degree, while knowledge
management is still an undefined art and an emerging science. I assert, however, that industrial
engineers are the optimal group to enable systematization of knowledge management efforts in
organizations. The know-how and experiences of industrial engineers can be brought to bear on
solving the difficult problem of managing knowledge in organizations.
Knowledge management can be defined as the sum total of all activities that enable the
creation, storage, distribution, and application of knowledge in organizations. Unless an
organization is able to tap into the knowledge in its midst, it will not be able to compete
successfully in the marketplace. Similar to the problems faced by industrial engineers, the
knowledge management problem in organizations is one of managing a complex system.
Industrial engineers are involved with the design, construction, installation, and
advancement of complex systems. The central tenet is to design operational and reliable complex
systems while being efficient through minimization of resource consumption. Complex systems can
be broadly defined as entities in which two or more components interact in non-linear and highly
dynamic
ways.
The knowledge IEs possess is varied, ranging from the highly quantitative (such as
mathematics and physics) to the qualitative (such as the social sciences and management). The
focus areas in which an IE needs to possess skills are manufacturing or material engineering,
production engineering, system engineering, and safety engineering. Each of these areas has
bearings on how knowledge management problems can be addressed.
Knowledge--as a product--can be thought of as any piece of insight, know-how, idea, or
invention an organization needs to use to attain an objective. Knowledge is either tacit (which
resides in the minds of personnel) or explicit (which can be captured in some physical and
communicable form).
Knowledge management -as a process- is a series of steps that includes the creation,
acquisition, storage, transfer, distribution, and application of knowledge. The application of
knowledge will call for new knowledge to be generated, which is then channeled back into the
cycle.
Certain knowledge management issues trouble virtually all managers to some degree:
- How to organize a knowledge repository (a layout problem)
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