Competency Mapping and Knowledge Managemet at Kribhco Jignesh R Panchal Luhariya

A Project Report On
Competency Mapping and Knowledge Management in

Krishak Bharati Co-Operative Ltd. HAZIRA
PREPARED BY:- SUBMITTED TO:-

JIGNESH R LUHARIYA Miss. Ami Pandya
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DECLARATION
I undersigned Mr. JIGNESH R LUHARIYA a student of MBA-II semester,

Shree Samanvay Institute Of MBA, BOTAD Bhavnagar University admit that this
project report with “KRISHAK BHARTI CO-OPERETIVE LTD” is the result of our study
which carried out during 04 May to 13 June, 2009 and has not been previously submitted
to any other university or institute for any other examination and for any other purpose by
any other person.
Place: Surat
Date: 13.6.2009 JIGNESH R LUHARIYA
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am glad to express my profound sentiments of gratitude to all who rendered their

valuable help for the successful completion of this project report titled, “A Project Report
On COMPETENCY MAPPING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.”
First of all, I like to thank to divine power i.e. GOD and my parents, as it was their
blessing, which gave me this golden opportunity of carrying out this project.
I record my deep sense of gratitude to Mr. N K SAHOO (Chief Mgr.-HR) who had
given me a chance to do a project under this roof of KRIBHCO and given opportunity to
work under his guidance.
I would like to express my deepest and sincere thanks to our project guide-MISS
AMI PANDYA as it is due to their instructions, guidance, support and their valuable
suggestions during an project work, and dedication making us to do the best work, was
the basic reason in our efficiency in doing an project work.
I would also like to thank sincerely from the deep of my heart to all those persons
who constantly guided me and gave me the practical knowledge and materials of the
subject.
I would finally like to thank all employees of KRIBHCO for their kind cooperation,
guidance and support which lead us to right direction of our research.
My genuine sense of gratitude goes to my university that gave me a chance to

brighten my academic qualification that provided me this opportunity to have a practical
knowledge of relevant fields.
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PREFACE
The MBA training of the SHREE SAMANVAY INSTITUTE OF MBA, BOTAD

BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY, Bhavnagar provides the Students an opportunity to have
and insight of any large scale unit so that we get the exposure to an Actual managerial
environment of company. I am lucky to have vocational training in a company like
KRIBHCO Ltd which is considered to be one of the “largest fertilizer establishments” in
India.
During this period, I had an overview of the HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

within which I could make a detailed study of all the section which comes under the roof
of human resource management in KRIBHCO. This training will help me to correlate
theoretical knowledge and its practical applications. It was a thrilling experience while
studying working of KRIBHCO and understanding it. This programme has led me to
realize the contribution of KRIBHCO to the Fertilizer Industry of India.
I am grateful to all the employees of KRIBHCO for their cooperation and interest in
my project without which it could not have been possible to go ahead with my project.
With due honor, I present this project which consists of a brief study of KRIBHCO
Ltd.
JIGNESH R LUHARIYA
MBA (First year)
SHREE SAMANVAY INSTITUTE OF MBA
BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY
BOTAD
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Success of any organization depends largely on its competent employees and the
extent to which the knowledge is shared in that organization. Competency Mapping is a
process through which one assesses and determines one’s strengths as an individual
worker ad in some cases as a part of an organization where as Knowledge acquisition
involves complex cognitive processes: perception, learning, communication, association
and reasoning. Hence, competency mapping and management of knowledge and its
resources play a significant role in growth and development of the organization.
Knowledge Management ('KM') comprises a range of practices used by organizations to
identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge. It is divided into stages like acquiring
knowledge, sharing, storing and leveraging the knowledge both at personal level as well
as professional level.
Competency mapping examines two areas: emotional intelligence quotient

(EQ),and strengths of the individual in Areas like team structure, leadership, and decision-
making. Knowledge management refers to all systematic activities for creation and
sharing of knowledge so that knowledge can be used for the success of the organization.
KM processes provide a framework for connecting people to people and people to
information, to develop and share distilled learning and best practices.
This report is an attempt to check the competency level and study the status of the
Knowledge management in this organization. The report starts with Introduction of the
Company, its achievements and then elaborates the concept of competency mapping and
Knowledge Management; in KRIBHCO, and data analysis and interpretation on the basis
of perception of employees.
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CONTENTS
Declaration 2
Acknowledgement 3
Preface 4
Executive Summary 5
_______________________________________________________________________
Company Profile 7
1. Competency Mapping 21
2. An Introduction to Knowledge Management 30
3. Knowledge Management 32
4. Knowledge Management Roles and Organizational Structure 37
5. Why Knowledge Management 42
6. An Overview of Knowledge Process 43
7. Barriers for implementing Knowledge Management 44
8. Challenges for HR Professionals in Knowledge Industry 46
9. Research Methodology 50
10. Data Analysis and Interpretation 52
11. Questionnaire 82
12. Research Findings 88
13. Suggestions 90
14. Conclusion 91
15. Bibolography 92
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Introduction to Fertilizer Industry
India lives in villages” said Mahatma

Gandhi decades ago. It is true even today. Like
every developing economy, the economy of India
is also agro-based. Agriculture accounts for
nearly 1/4th of India's GDP and more importantly,
about 2/3rd of the country's population is
dependent on agriculture and allied activities for
their livelihood. As per statistics nearly 175 lakh
MT of fertilizer nutrients are required every year in this country. The demand of fertilizers
was so high that India had to import almost 30% of its requirement from other countries.
Therefore, to achieve the economic growth, agriculture base of the country must be
strengthened. To attain this objective, agriculture practices have to be improved from their
traditional pattern to a higher technological track involving better irrigation and use of
better quality seeds, fertilizers, insecticides & pesticides. Therefore, chemical fertilizers
are key player in this process and fertilizer industries plays quite a major role in increasing
food production in the country and also helps to modernize the out look of the common
farmers and make them innovative and respective to the new technology change.
A fertilizer is any material, organic, inorganic, natural or synthetic, that is placed on

or incorporated into the soil to supply plants with one or more of the chemicals elements
necessary for normal growth. Fertilizer is the material, which supplies the chemicals
elements required for plant growth. Primary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphates and
potassium (required for fertilizer land) are supplied through chemical fertilizer. Fertilizer
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response studies have proved that one kg. of fertilizer nutrient application can the food
grain production by 8-10 kg.
Fertilizer production is of permanent importance for this country because fertilizer

increases agriculture productivity. One hand population increasing but on the other the
supply of land is totally fixed. So we have to produce more without any increase in arable
land area. This can be done if productivity goes up. And fertilizer plays a major role in
productivity escalation.
As this is a vital commodity it is in the interest of nation that farmers get fertilizers
at reasonable rate and in adequate quantity. Looking to the poor economic condition of
Indian farmers Government of India framed fertilizer policy in 1977 based on Maratha
committee report. The purpose behind introducing this policy was to supply fertilizer to
resource poor at a price they could afford, so as to increase the consumption of fertilizer,
to increase food production, and ensure fair return to fertilizer producers.
With this twin objective, Retention Price Scheme (RPS) for fertilizers came into
picture. In this scheme government has brought the fertilizer under the preview of
Essential Commodities Act (ECA) in which the retail price of fertilizer to the farmer is
notified by the Government of India from time to time. This retail price to the farmer is
uniform throughout the country and is subject to local taxes applicable under the
respective States.
Further under ECA, the government also operates a system of distribution control
in which the manufacturers including the handling agents for the imported fertilizers are
directed to sell specified quantities of fertilizers in given states/union territories. While
doing so, the logistics of fertilizer distribution including storage, transportation, handling
etc. are also suitably regulated conforming to overall supply plans of the government to
meet the requirement in all the parts of the Country.
Now manufacturers also should get reasonable rate of return as all incentive for
producing fertilizers. Manufacturers should get at least that much, which call enable them
to remain in the industry.
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Government of India fixes the price of fertilizers in such a way that manufacturer's
cost of production including cost of marketing is covered and the manufacturer gets a
12% post tax return on net worth of the unit at a pre-defined capacity utilization. Norms
are fixed for consumption of raw material, utilities, services, capacity utilization,
depreciation etc. The price so fixed is called Retention Price (RP). This price is reviewed
every three years.
In a nutshell fertilizers can not be sold in open markets and producing unit has
almost nil say in fixing fertilizer price. Then how to increase profits? By operating plant
efficiently only.
The work of administering the Retention Price Scheme (RPS) is entrusted to

Fertilizer Industry Co-ordination Committee (FICC) which works under the control of
department of chemicals and fertilizers.
Growth of Fertilizer Industry

One of the most significant achievement of the post Independence period of our
country has been the ability to achieve self-sufficiency in food grain production. This
achievement is due to the rapid growth and improvement of Fertilizer industry. The
Fertilizer industry is growing at the rate of 4% for the last 10 years and has been
contributing a significant part of G.D.P.
The growth and importance of Fertilizer industry in India can be divided in to three
distinct phases, these are given below.
1. Pro Green Revolution Period:
This period is described in 1952-1953 era where increased growth of food

grains took place however this increased production in food grains took place due to
increased irrigation methods. In this phase the land under agriculture was made more,
during this period about 80% of the country's population was involved in Agriculture either
directly or indirectly. During this period the fertilizer's which were manufactured were
Super Phosphate & Ammonium Sulphate. Irrigation was thought to be heart of
Agriculture.
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2. Green Revolution Period:
During this phase Government stated the programme aimed at making our
country self sufficient in Food Products. This was the period between the years 1959-
1960. This plan laid the emphasis on production of High Yielding Varieties. To make this
plan a success there was a high need to make soil fertile by providing it with nutrients like
Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Potassium.
During this phase Fertilizer industry tried to play a vital role, became one of
the most important, and inherits part of our economy.
3. The Post Green Revolution Period:
The world's population along with Indian population has kept on growing at a alarming
rate, the fertilizer companies all over India are trying to expand their scale of operations in order to
increase the production rate. The demand for fertilizers per year is increasing. The current demand
of fertilizers in India is 18 million tones.
Fertilizer Industry Scenario in India

In India, First of all in 1906, A Single Super Phosphate (SSP) manufacturing
unit was set up at Ranipat near Chennai (Madras) with annual capacity of 6000 tones per
annum.
1. Public Sector
• The Fertilizer And Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT)

• Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. (HFC)
• Madras Fertilizer Ltd. (MFL)
• Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL)
• Naively Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC)
• Pyrites, Phosphates And Chemicals Ltd. (PPCL)
• Pradeep Phosphates Ltd. (PPL)
• Rashtriya Chemicals And Fertilizers Ltd. (RCFL)
• National Fertilizer Ltd. (NFL)
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2. Co-Operative Sector
There are only two fertilizer manufacturing societies in Co-operative sector.
• Indian Farmers Fertilizers Co-Operative Ltd. (IFFCO)

• Krishak Bharati Co-Operative Ltd. (KRIBHCO)
3. Private Sector
There are 17 companies in private sector, which are producing fertilizer.
• Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Ltd. (GNFC)

• Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)
• Hari Fertilizer
• ICI India Ltd.
• Indo Gulf Fertilizers & Chemicals Corporation Ltd.
• Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (MCFL)
• Southern Petro Chemicals Industries Corporations Ltd.
• Nagarjuna Fertilizer & Chemical Ltd. (NFCL)
• Shri Ram Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd.
• Tuticorian Alkali Chemicals & Fertilizer Ltd.
• Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.
• Bindali Agro Chemicals Ltd.
• Chambal Fertilizer & Petrochemical Corporations Ltd. (DEPCL)
• E.D.I. PASSY (I) LTD.
• Gujarat State Fertilizer Company (GSFC)
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Krishak Bharti Co-operative Limited
“KRIBHCO” the world’s premier fertilizer producing co-operative has an

outstanding track record to its credit in all spheres of its actives. Since 17th April 1980 as a
rational level Co-operative society to manufacturing and distribute. Chemical fertilizer and
allied farm imputes “KRIBHCO” imbibed the co-operative philosophy fulfilling its
commitment to strengthening and promoting the cause of agriculture development and
co-operative movements in the country.
Krishak Bharti co-operative limited popularly known as “KRIBHCO” has
been registered as national level co-operative society under the provision of the multi-
state co-operative societies act, 1984.
The”KRIBHCO” hazira unit is located around 15 kms, west of Surat and lies
on the north of river Tapti. An all weather road from Surat to hazira connects the plant site
with the city. The cannel belonging to irrigation department is running on the plant site
and is feeding water from ukai. A railway feeder line apporx.. 55 kms. Long has
connected the site with Bombay –Ahmedabad main line.
KRIBHCO Network: -
A. Head office: - fertilizer plant, Noida, Delhi
B. (i) Plant: - Surat Gujarat
(ii) Bio fertilizer plant: - Surat (Gujarat)
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(iii) Seed processing plant: -Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, haryana, M.P. Punjab,
Rajasthan, U.P. (For Punjab&Haryana)
C. Zonal offices: - Bhopal, Bangalore, Lucknow and Chandigarh.

D. State mktg. offices :- Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Banglore, Patna,
Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Guwahati,
Dehradun, Kolkota
Besides marketing its products “KRIBHCO” carries out various other

programmed like farmers benefit programmed, sanket Haran bima yojana, marketing
of BVFCL (Brahmputra valley fertilizer corporation limited) vred seed multiplication
programmer, gramin vikas trust (rural development trust)
A cooperative thrives on the trust of, its members. Membership of “KRIBHCO” is

open to government of India, national state and district and village level cooperative
society. At the initial stage, way back in june, 1981 the total membership in
”KRIBHCO” was only 221 cooperative societies which rose significantly to 6044
cooperative societies as on march 31,2005 as against 5790 as on march 31 2004.
Phenomenal progress made by the society becomes a testimony to the ever-
increasing membership over the years.
The total paid up share capital as on March 31, 2005 was rs.39, 354.15 lakh as
against rs.49, 170.72lakh in the previous year. During the current financial year, the
society has refunded share capital of rs.9700 lakh to “IFFCO” and government of India
respectively .the state –wise membership with share capital contribution as on March
31,2005 vis-à-vis march 31 2004.
MISSION: -
A) To contribute to agriculture &rural development in the regins.
B) Services to members of cooperatives society by selecting financing
C) Managing society desirable and commercial profitable investment
opportunity preferable at multiple locations.
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VISION:-
They want to be a world class organization that represents the farmer community
and maximizes returns to them through specialization in agricultural inputs and
products and other diversified businesses that maximize stakeholder value.
OBJECTIVES: -
a) To undertake the activities for the rural upliftment and agriculture development.
b) To promote economic interest of its members by undertaking manufacturing of

chemical fertilizer & allied product.
In furtherance of these objectives “KRIBHCO” may undertake one or more of the

following activities: -
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(I) To undertake production processing, manufacture, sale distribution, marketing,
import export and to otherwise deal in agriculture production requisites.
(II) To set up storage units for storing fertilizer and other goods by itself or in
collaboration with other agency.
(III) To act as warehousing agency under the warehousing act and own godowns or
hire godowns for the storage of fertilizers and other goods.
AWARDS: -
The excellence performance of the society has brought a number of laurels from
various organizations .The awards received during year were as follows: -
(I) National productivity council has awarded productivity award the society for bio
fertilizer product for the year 1999-2000, 2001-2002 in the year 2003-2004.
(II) Certificate of merit by public relations society of India, Hyderabad chapter for
house journal of “KRIBHCO”
(III) Best technical innovative award for the year 2003 by fertilizer association of
India.
(IV) Certificate of merit Gujarat safety council for relining 30 lakh accident free man-
hours.
(V) Hazira ammonia extension project (HAEP) rotating shield winner and certificate
for lowest disabling injury index in group-c industries.
(VI) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Agriculture and Technical University, Meerut – All
India Farmers Fair And agro Industrial Exhibition – First Prize To Kribhco on
10-03-2005.
(VII) Kribhco has won first prize for Bio-Fertilizer Production, Marketing And
Promotion Award For the year 2003 And 2004 by National Productivity Council
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(NPC). Award Has been given formal function held on 10th May,.2005 by
Honble Minister For Agriculture Shri Shard Pawar Ji.
(VIII) Special Participation Award in Corporate Sector Event “ Vyapar 2005” Event
Organized By Southern Gujarat Chamber OF Commerce And Industries From
February 11 – 16, 2005, the theme of pavilion was “ Development OF Bio-
Technology In Kribhco “
HISTORY OF KRIBHCO: -
Encourage with the successful operation of fertilizer plant of Kalul, Kandla

and Phulpur in the co-operative Limited. (IFFCO) higher to the one and the only co-
operative in the fertilizer industry has promoted another co-operative namely
“KRIBHCO” Ltd to made the new giant plant of Hazira.
MILE STONES: -
(I) Project zero Date : 31/03/1981
(II) Foundation stone laid by Smt. Indira Gandhi : 5/02/1982
(III) Project completion : 31/03/1985
(IV) Plan completion : 26/11/1985
(V) Commercial production : 1/3/1986
(VI)Percent capacity utilization : Urea 99%
Ammonia95%
(VII) Plant ready of production : January/September 1985
(VIII) Gas available by ONGC : PHASE 1 & PHASE 2
18-9-85 6-11-85
(IX) Trial production Ammonia : PHASE 1 & PHASE 2
14-11-85 30-11-85
Urea (stream 11/31) 26-11-85 13-12-85
Ammonia (stream 21/41) 31-12-85 01-12-85
(X) ISO certificate (I) KRIBHCO plant
ISO 9001-2000
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(II) KRIBHCO plant
ISO 14001
(III) KRIBHCO Mktg office
ISO 9001-2000
DEPARTMENT AND MANPOWERS AT “KRIBHCO”

Director 05
Financing & Accounting 49
Vigilance 01
Training 09
HR 58
Security 72
Material 50
Medical 31
Mechanical 172
Transportation 39
Fire safety 29
Instrument 69
Electrical & civil 88
Ms System 13
Labratory 35
Production 365
Technical 27
Total Manpower 1112
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PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHT
Highest Production Urea 18.06 Lakh mt

(Previous Best 17.73 Lakh mt, 2003-
2004)
Highest Dispatch Of Urea 18.05 Lakh mt
(Previous Best 17.85 Lakh mt, 2003-
2004)
Lowest Urea Energy Consumption 5.861 G.Cal/mt
(Previous Best 5.886 G.Cal/mt, 2003-
2004)
Lowest Ammonia Energy 8.204 G.Cal/mt
Consumption (Previous Best 8.222 G.Cal/mt, 2003-
2004)
Highest Production of Seeds 1.54 Lakh Qtls
(Previous Best 1.21 lakh Qtls, 2003-
2004)
Highest Sales Of Seeds 1.49 Lakh Qtls
(Previous Best 1.11 Lakh Qtls, 2003-
2004)
Highest Sales Of Bio-Fertilizers 611 mt
(Previous Best 516 mt, 2003-2004)
Highest KBSK’s Turnover Rs.3608 Lakh
(Previous Best Rs.3052 Lakh , 2003-
2004)
Highest KBSK’s Profitability Rs.72.91Lakh
(Previous Best Rs.29.91Lakh , 2003-
2004)
Profit Before Tax Rs.183.83 Crores
Profit After Tax Rs.140.59 Crores
Proposed Dividend 20 %
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QUALITY POLICY
Management of KRIBHCO, Hazira plant is committed to operate and maintain its fertilizer
manufacturing complex through quality assurance, environmental protection and to the
satisfaction of customers.
KRIBHCO, Hazira plant shall achieve this quality policy through following objectives:
1. Continually upgrading technology to improve plant efficiency & reliability.
2. Maintaining & improving the safety & environmental performance.
3. Improving the skills & knowledge of personnel.
4. Continuously improving the quality Management system.
FUTURE PLANS
A joint venture fertilizer project in Oman:
Society has invested US$ 80 million as equity in Oman India Fertilizer plant
which has achieved commercial production on 14th July 2005. The Project has annual
capacity of 16.52 lakhs MT Urea and 2.50 lakhs MT surplus ammonia and has been built
at a cost of US$ 969 million. Marketing of Urea produced by this plant has since been
commenced by the society.
Hazira Phase-II
Society is in the process of setting up a state of the art mega size ammonia plant
of capacity of 1850 MTDP and urea plant of capacity of 3250 MTDP at existing fertilizer
complex at Hazira. Existing infrastructure facilities will be utilized resulting in saving of
cost. Plant will be based on natural gas and we have energy consumption.
Gujarat state energy generation limited (GSEG)
Society has diversified to power sector and has invested Rs. 48.75 crores being
30% equity in Gujarat State Energy Generation Limited, a joint venture company
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promoted by government of Gujarat, GSEG is operating 156 MW Power Plant at Mora,
District Surat.
KRIBHCO’s Hazira plant is also going to be expanded. The society is also
exploring the possibilities to set up a 200 MW liquid fuel based power project at
Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. Society has deposited a development security of Rs.25 lakhs with
Rajasthan State Electricity Board (RSEB). Minister of power has given No Objection
Certificate (NOC).
 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF KRIBHCO
Government of India
Ministry of Agriculture
Department of fertilizer
& Chemical
Chairman
Board of Directors
Managing Director
Operational Director
CM
GM GM GM GM GM GM (MIS)
(P) (Material) (F&A) (P&A) (Tech) (Mai.)
JGM JGM JGM JGM JGM JGM

(P) (Material) (F&A) (P&A) (Tech) (Maintain)
CM CM CM CM CM CM
(P) (Material) (F&A) (P&A) (Tech) (Maintain)
Instrument
Ammonia Process
Electrical
Urea Purchase Project
Power F&S Mechanic
Store
PHP Civil
Laboratory
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Transportation
COMPETENCY MAPPING
In today’s competitive market, companies are aware that their workforce must be
properly trained and fully competent over a range of tasks within any given work
discipline.
Competency mapping is a process through which one assesses and determines one’s
strengths as an individual worker and in some cases, as part of an organization. It
generally examines two areas: emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ), and
strengths of the individual in areas like team structure, leadership, and decision-making.
Large organizations frequently employ some form of competency mapping to understand
how to most effectively employ the competencies of strengths of workers. They may also
use competency mapping to analyze the combination of strengths in different workers to
produce the most effective teams and the highest quality work.
Competency mapping can also be done for contract or freelance workers, or for those
seeking employment to emphasize the specific skills which would make them valuable to
a potential employer.
Competency mapping also requires some thought, time, and analysis, and some people
simply may not want to do the work involved to sufficiently map competencies.
Competency mapping alone may not produce accurate results unless one is able to
detach from the results in analyzing past successes and failures. Many studies find that
people often overestimate their abilities, making self-competency mapping results
dubious.
The value of competency mapping and identifying emotional strengths is that many
employers now purposefully screen employees to hire people with specific competencies.
They may need to hire someone who can be an effective time leader or who has
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demonstrated great active listening skills. Alternately, they may need someone who
enjoys taking initiative or someone who is very good at taking direction. When individuals
must seek new jobs, knowing one’s competencies can give one a competitive edge in the
job market.
Usually, a person will find themselves with strengths in about five to six areas. Sometimes
an area where strengths are not present is worth developing. In other cases, competency
mapping can indicate finding work that is suited to one’s strengths, or finding a
department at one’s current work where one's strengths or needs as a worker can be
exercised.
A problem with competency mapping, especially when conducted by an organization is

that there may be no room for an individual to work in a field that would best make use of
his or her competencies. If the company does not respond to competency mapping by
reorganizing its employees, then it can be of little short-term benefit and may actually
result in greater unhappiness on the part of individual employees. A person identified as
needing to learn new things in order to remain happy might find himself or herself in a
position where no new training is ever required. If the employer cannot provide a position
for an employee that fits him or her better, competency mapping may be of little use.
However, competency mapping can ultimately serve the individual who decides to seek
employment in an environment where he or she perhaps can learn new things and be
more intellectually challenged. Being able to list competencies on resumes and address
this area with potential employers may help secure more satisfying work. This may not
resolve issues for the company that initially employed competency mapping, without
making suggested changes. It may find competency mapping has produced dissatisfied
workers or led to a high worker turnover rate.
Competency also means the collection of success factors necessary for achieving
important results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization. Success factors
are combinations of knowledge, skills, and attributes that are described in terms of
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specific behaviors, and are demonstrated by superior performers in those jobs or work
roles. Attributes include: personal characteristics, traits, motives, values or ways of
thinking that impact an individual’s behavior.
Competencies in organizations tend to fall into two broad categories:
- Personal Functioning Competencies. These competencies include broad success

factors not tied to a specific work function or industry (often focusing on
leadership or emotional intelligence behaviors).
- Functional/Technical Competencies. These competencies include specific success

factors within a given work function or industry.
Three other definitions are needed:
• Competency Map. A competency map is a list of an individual’s competencies that

represent the factors most critical to success in given jobs, departments, organizations, or
industries that are part of the individual’s current career plan.
• Competency Mapping. Competency mapping is a process an individual uses to identify

and describe competencies that are the most critical to success in a work situation or
work role.
Top Competencies. Top competencies are the vital few competencies (four to seven, on
average) that are the most important to an individual in their ongoing career management
process. “Importance to the individual” is an intuitive decision based on a combination of
three factors: past demonstrated excellence in using the competency, inner passion for
using the competency, and the current or likely future demand for the competency in the
individual’s current position or targeted career field.
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Although the definition above for “competency mapping” refers to individual employees,
organizations also “map” competencies, but from a different perspective.
Organizations describe, or map, competencies using one or more of the following four
strategies:
1. Organization-Wide (often called “core competencies” or those required for

organization success)
2. Job Family or Business Unit Competency Sets
3. Position-Specific Competency Sets
4. Competency Sets Defined Relative to the Level of Employee Contribution (i.e.
Individual Contributor, Manager, or Organizational Leader)
How can it help the overall HRD process of an organization?
Competency is a vehicle for organizational HRD applications such as:
• Defining the factors for success in jobs (i.e., work) and work roles within the
organization.
• Assessing the current performance and future development needs of persons holding
jobs and roles.
• Mapping succession possibilities for employees within the organization.
• Assigning compensation grades and levels to particular jobs and roles.
• Selecting applicants for open positions, using competency-based interviewing
techniques ETC.
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Why Should Individual Employees Map Their Competencies?
A list of compelling reasons includes, at a minimum, the following. An individual:
• Gains a clearer sense of true marketability in today’s job market; once the individual
knows how his/her competencies compare to those that are asked for by the job market in
key positions of interest.
• Projects an appearance as a “cutting-edge” and well-prepared candidate, who has taken

the time to learn about competencies, investigate those in demand, and map his/her own
competencies prior to interviewing.
• Demonstrates self-confidence that comes from knowing one’s competitive advantages

more convincingly, and from being able to articulate those advantages in specific
language.
• Secures essential input to resume development - a set of important terms to use in

describing expertise derived from prior career experience.
• Gains advanced preparation for interviews, many of which may be delivered using a
competency- based approach called “structured behavioral interviewing” or “behavioral
event interviewing.”
• Develops the capability to compare one’s actual competencies to an organization or

position’s required/preferred competencies, in order to create an Individual Development
Plan.
- 25 -
How Do Competencies Relate to MANPOWER PLANNING?
COMPETENCE MAPPING PROVIDES THE MANPOWER PROFILE
-1. Organization-Wide (often called “core competencies” or those required for

organization success)
2. Job Family or Business Unit Competency PROFILE
3. Position-Specific Competency PROFILE
4. INDIVIDUAL profile.
THE ANALYSIS OF THESE INDICATES TO THE MANPOWER PLANNERS

-required manpower/competency profiles -current availability of manpower/
competency profiles -estimated gap in manpower / competency .
THIS INFORMATION [COMPETENCY] IS USED BY MANPOWER PLANNERS IN

-Recruitment/Section Process –Training –Development
Since competency mapping provides database information for manpower planning they
are closely linked
-without competency mapping it is not possible to complete a successful effective

manpower planning.
How Does Competency-Based Interviewing and Selection Work?
Competency-based interviewing and selection presupposes that a set of organization-

wide, job family/department, or position-specific competencies have been identified by the
organization. Interviewers are then trained in the art of Structured Behavioral Interviewing,
which has several hallmarks:
- 26 -
A structured set of questions is used to interview all candidates. Each question is
designed to elicit behavioral examples from the candidate which demonstrate the use of
one or more key behaviors underlying each competency that is accounted for in the
interview.
A team of interviewers is usually used and they typically divide the list of competencies
among themselves so that each interviewer can focus on asking the related detailed
behavioral questions and documenting candidate responses. Interviewers typically ask
open-ended and situation-based questions such as, “Think of a specific time when you
faced ____________? How did you handle the situation? How did it turn out?”
Interviewers record evidence of behaviors that the candidate relates, and they ask
probing questions to gather complete behavioral evidence that includes details of the
circumstance, the actions taken by the candidate, and the results achieved. This process
is called the CAR (circumstance, action, results) Model. At the conclusion of the
interview, all interviewers of a particular candidate meet and compare the behaviors they
heard from the candidate that support the assertion that the candidate possesses a
specific competency. If the candidate did not offer specific examples with relevant
behaviors, after additional attempts at rephrasing the question or asking different but
related questions, then the determination is made that the candidate does not possess
the competency.
The underlying philosophy here is that the best predictor of future performance is past
performance that was demonstrated by concrete, observable behavior. A final hiring
decision is made based on the total strength of competencies demonstrated by each
candidate, compared with those competencies that are considered essential for success
in the position and in the organization, and as compared with the competency strengths
of the remaining candidates for the same position.
- 27 -
COMPETENCY MAPPING IS HR TOOL USED IN
-Recruitment /Selection
-Training/Development
-Performance Management
-Career Planning/Development
-Succession Planning
-Manpower Planning
-Human Resource Development
-Human Resource Planning
-Human Resource Strategic Planning.
etc
How Do Competencies Relate to Individual Career Development?
First and foremost, competencies must be demonstrated by individuals. Perhaps the most
common place where they are demonstrated is within the scope of a particular job or
project involvement. However, competencies are also developed and demonstrated by
individuals in the following settings: volunteer roles in the community, professional
associations, school projects, sports participation settings, and even within one’s own
home life.
One of the first encounters with competencies for most individuals is in securing
employment with a new organization. Organizations that are purposefully using cutting-
edge methods to choose talent for positions or project roles are engaging in what is called
“competency-based interviewing and selection”. These interviewing and selection
methods are being used not only for hiring external applicants, but also for staffing
internal roles.
- 28 -
Many organizations that use competency-based interviewing and selection are also later
using the same competencies to assess performance, to encourage future development
plans from individuals, and to plan for succession in the organization. Therefore, the
individual employees in such an organization will have an ongoing need to use and map
their competencies.
Up to this point, it is implied that the main need for identifying and mapping competencies
is for individuals who may be pursuing full-time employment with an organization.
However, the need for mapping of competencies also extends to independent contractors
seeking project work with those organizations that broker their services.
- 29 -
AN INTRODUCTION TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge is defined (Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i) expertise, and skills
acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical
understanding of a subject, (ii) what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and
information or (iii) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
Philosophical debates in general start with Plato's formulation of knowledge as "justified
true belief". There is however no single agreed definition of knowledge presently, or any
prospect of one, and there remain numerous competing theories.
Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive processes: perception, learning,

communication, association and reasoning. The term knowledge is also used to mean the
confident understanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a specific purpose.
Reliable knowledge
The knowledge based on the logical considerations and scientific calculations is known
as reliable knowledge. The degree of reliability is high regarding the information here,
hence known as reliable knowledge.
Communicating knowledge
Symbolic representations can be used to indicate meaning and can be thought of as a

dynamic process. Hence the transfer of the symbolic representation can be viewed as
one ascription process whereby knowledge can be transferred. Other forms of
communication include imitation, narrative exchange along with a range of other
methods. There is no complete theory of knowledge transfer or communication.
Situated knowledge
Situated knowledge is knowledge specific to a particular situation. Some methods of

generating knowledge, such as trial and error, or learning from experience, tend to create
- 30 -
highly situational knowledge. One of the main benefits of the scientific method is that the
theories it generates are much less situational than knowledge gained by other methods.
Situational knowledge is often embedded in language, culture, or traditions.
Knowledge generated through experience is called knowledge "a posteriori", meaning

afterwards. The pure existence of a term like "a posteriori" means this also has a
counterpart. In this case that is knowledge "a priori", meaning before. The knowledge
prior to any experience means that there are certain "assumptions" that one takes for
granted. For example if one is being told about a chair it is clear to him that the chair is in
space, that it is 3D. This knowledge is not knowledge that one can "forget", even
someone suffering from amnesia experiences the world in 3D.
Partial knowledge
One discipline of epistemology focuses on partial knowledge. In most realistic cases, it is

not possible to have an exhaustive understanding of an information domain, so then we
have to live with the fact that our knowledge is always not complete, that is, partial. Most
real problems have to be solved by taking advantage of a partial understanding of the
problem context and problem data. That is very different from the typical simple math
problems that we solve at school, where all data are given and we have a perfect
understanding of formulas necessary to solve them.
- 31 -
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge management is a management theory which emerged in the 1990s. It seeks

to understand the way in which knowledge is created, used and shared within
organizations. A significant part of Knowledge Management theory and practice aligns
two models:
(i) The DIKW model, which places data, information, knowledge and wisdom into an
increasingly useful pyramid.
(ii) Nonaka's reformulation of Polanyi's distinction between tacit and explicit
knowledge.
Both of these models are increasingly under challenge with different schools of thought
emerging which are more fully described and referenced in the main article.
An objective of mainstream knowledge management is to ensure that the right

information is delivered to the right person just in time, in order to take the most
appropriate decision. In that sense, knowledge management is not interested in
managing knowledge per se, but to relate knowledge and its usage. This leads to
Organizational Memory Systems. More recent developments have focused on managing
networks (the flow of knowledge rather than knowledge itself) and narrative forms of
knowledge exchange.
Knowledge Management ('KM') comprises a range of practices used by organizations to

identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge. It has been an established discipline
since 1995 with a body of university courses and both professional and academic
journals dedicated to it. Most large companies have resources dedicated to Knowledge
Management, often as a part of 'Information Technology' or 'Human Resource
Management' departments, and sometimes reporting directly to the head of the
organization. As effectively managing information is a must in any business, and
knowledge and information are intertwined, Knowledge Management is a multi-billion
dollar worldwide market.
- 32 -
HR has a key role in the KM movement. Key HR processes- corporate education,
performance management and nurturing culture, have a key role in the development of
the knowledge based enterprise.
Sustainable competitive advantage a firm has come from what it “collectively knows,” how
effectively it uses what it knows and how readily it “acquires and uses new knowledge,” in
short by becoming a Knowledge Driven Organization. Knowledge Management (KM)
provides an enabling framework to derive this advantage. It helps institutionalize
processes to fully leverage the “collective knowledge” in an organization.
Knowledge management refers to all systematic activities for creation and sharing of
knowledge so that knowledge can be used for the success of the organization. KM
processes provide a framework for connecting people to people and people to
information, to develop and share distilled learning and best practices.
Approaches to Knowledge Management
There is a broad range of thought on Knowledge Management with no unanimous

definition. The approaches vary by author and school. Knowledge Management may be
viewed from each of the following perspectives:
 Techno-centric: A focus on technology, ideally those that enhance knowledge

sharing/growth.
 Organizational: How does the organization need to be designed to facilitate
knowledge processes? Which organizations work best with what processes?
 Ecological: Seeing the interaction of people, identity, knowledge and
environmental factors as a complex adaptive system.
In addition, as the discipline is maturing, there is an increasing presence of academic

debates within epistemology emerging in both the theory and practice of knowledge
management.
- 33 -
Key concepts in Knowledge Management
Dimensions of knowledge
A key distinction made by the majority of knowledge management practitioners is

Nonaka's reformulation of Polanyi's distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The
former is often subconscious, internalized, and the individual may or may not be aware of
what he or she knows and how he or she accomplishes particular results. At the opposite
end of the spectrum is conscious or explicit knowledge -- knowledge that the individual
holds explicitly and consciously in mental focus, and may communicate to others. In the
popular form of the distinction, tacit knowledge is what is in our heads, and explicit
knowledge is what we have codified.
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) argued that a successful KM program needs, on the one
hand, to convert internalized tacit knowledge into explicit codified knowledge in order to
share it, but, on the other hand, it also must permit individuals and groups to internalize
and make personally meaningful codified knowledge they have retrieved from the KM
system.
The focus upon codification and management of explicit knowledge has allowed
knowledge management practitioners to appropriate prior work in information
management, leading to the frequent accusation that knowledge management is simply a
repackaged form of information management.
Another common framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge include

embedded knowledge (knowledge which has been incorporated into an artifact of some
type, for example an information system may have knowledge embedded into its design)
and embodied knowledge (representing knowledge as learned capability of the body’s
nervous, chemical, and sensory systems).
- 34 -
Knowledge access stages
Knowledge may be accessed at three stages: before, during, or after knowledge-related

activities.
For example, individuals undertaking a new project for an organization might access
information resources to identify lessons learned for similar projects, access relevant
information again during the project implementation to seek advice on issues
encountered, and access relevant information afterwards for advice on after-project
actions and review activities. Knowledge management practitioners offer systems,
repositories, and corporate processes to encourage and formalize these activities with
varying degrees of success.
Similarly, knowledge may be accessed before the project implementation, for example as
the project team learns lessons during the initial project analysis. Similarly, lessons
learned during the project operation may be recorded, and after-action reviews may lead
to further insights and lessons being recorded for future access. Note: In this context
recording knowledge relates only to those aspects of knowledge which can be codified as
text, or drawings.
Different organizations have tried various knowledge capture incentives, including making
content submission mandatory and incorporating rewards into performance measurement
plans. There is considerable controversy over whether incentives work or not in this field
and no firm consensus has emerged.
Drivers of Knowledge Management
There are a number of claims as to 'drivers', or motivations, leading to organizations

undertaking a knowledge management program.
Perhaps first among these is to gain the competitive advantage (in industry) and/or
increased effectiveness that comes with improved or faster learning and new knowledge
creation. Knowledge management programs may lead to greater innovation, better
- 35 -
customer experiences, consistency in good practices and knowledge access across a
global organization, as well as many other benefits, and knowledge management
programs may be driven with these goals in mind.
Considerations driving a Knowledge Management program might include:
• making available increased knowledge content in the development and provision

of products and services
• achieving shorter new product development cycles
• facilitating and managing organizational innovation and learning
• leverage the expertise of people across the organization
• benefiting from 'network effects' as the number of productive connections between
employees in the organization increases and the quality of information shared
increases, leading to greater employee and team satisfaction
• managing the proliferation of data and information in complex business
environments and allowing employees rapidly to access useful and relevant
knowledge resources and best practice guidelines
• managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the
expertise and know-how possessed by key individuals) as individuals retire and
new workers are hired.
- 36 -
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ROLES AND ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
Knowledge management activities may be centralized in a Knowledge Management

Office, or responsibility for knowledge management may be located in existing
departmental functions, such as the Human Resource (to manage intellectual capital) or
IT departments (for content management, social computing etc.). Different departments
and functions may have a knowledge management function and those functions may not
be connected other than informally.
Personal knowledge management
Personal knowledge management (PKM) is a label for the effort to integrate personal
information management (PIM), focused on individual skills, with knowledge management
(KM), which takes an organizational perspective, in light of expanding knowledge about
human cognitive capabilities and the permeability of organizational boundaries.
Focus on Individual Knowledge Worker
PKM is focused on personal productivity improvement for knowledge workers in this

environment. While the focus is the individual, the goal of PKM is to enable individuals to
operate better in both in formal organizations and in looser work groupings. This is as
opposed to the traditional view of KM, which appears to be more centered on enabling
the corporation to be more effective by "recording" and making available what its people
know.
A core focus of PKM is 'personal inquiry', a quest to find, connect, learn, and explore.
PKM is a response to the idea that knowledge workers increasingly need to be

responsible for their own growth and learning. They need processes and tools by which
they can evaluate what they know in a given situation, and then seek out ways to fill the
- 37 -
gaps when needed. This frequently implies technology, but one can be good at PKM
without much in the way of special tools.
Connections to Organizations and Groups
PKM has recently been linked to social book marking, blogging or knowledge logs (K-
logs). The idea is individuals use their blogs to capture ideas, opinions or thoughts and
this 'voicing' will encourage cognitive diversity, promote free exchanges away from a
centralized policed knowledge repository that is additional to ordinary work.
Some organizations are now introducing PKM 'systems' with some or all of four
components:
• Just-in-time Canvassing - templates and e-mail canvassing lists that enable people
looking for experts or expertise to identify and connect with the appropriate people
quickly and effectively
• Knowledge Harvesting - software tools that automatically collect appropriate
knowledge residing on subject matter experts' hard drives rather than waiting for it
to be contributed to central repositories
• Personal Content Management - taxonomy processes and desktop search tools
that enable employees to organize, subscribe to, publish and find information that
resides on their own desktops
• Personal Productivity Improvement - knowledge fairs and one-on-one training
sessions to help each employee make more effective personal use of the
knowledge, learning and technology resources available to them, in the context of
their own work
PKM Skills
Skills associated with personal knowledge management.
• Reflection. Continuous improvement on how the individual operates.
- 38 -
• Manage learning. Manage how and when the individual learns.
• Information literacy. Understanding what information is important and how to find
unknown information.
• Organizational skills. Personal librarianship? Personal categorization and
taxonomies.
• Networking with others. Knowing what your network of people knows. Knowing
who might have additional knowledge and resources to help you
• Researching, paying attention, interviewing and observational 'cultural
anthropology' skills
• Communication skills. Perception, intuition, expression, visualization, and
interpretation.
• Creative skills. Imagination, pattern recognition, appreciation, innovation,
inference. Understanding of complex adaptive systems.
• Collaboration skills. Coordination, synchronization, experimentation, cooperation,
and design.
KM concepts
The Knowledge management discourse has adopted, invented and refined concepts from
a wide range of disciplines and practices. There follows a list of concepts and language in
use in the field. At the moment there is no clear consensus on what is or is not a core
concept. The ordering of the list has no significance. Some knowledge of these terms and
their background could be summarized as what one should know to be considered a
proficient KM adviser and knowledge worker
• Corporate memory - a collection of best practices, heuristics, process documents

and other texts that help define how a business operates. (Related terms:
organizational memory or group memory). Capturing, maintaining, and growing a
knowledge base, selecting appropriate technologies, and motivating quality
contributions are all key KM themes.
• Intellectual capital - the intangible assets of a firm. These include competencies,

culture and connections that enable and foster innovation, agility, awareness,
- 39 -
adaptation and corporate survival. KM plays a role in mapping, recording,
evaluating, stewarding, marketing and growing intellectual capital and knowledge
assets.
• Personal knowledge management - a KM theme that focuses on individual

responsibility for learning, connecting, organizing and producing knowledge. This is
closely tied to blogging, personal information management and branding.
• tacit knowledge
• knowledge harvesting
• business intelligence
• knowledge transfer
• social capital
• social networking,
• Knowledge Ecosystems
• Knowledge representation
• DIKW (data / information / knowledge / wisdom)
• codification vs. personalization - the trade-off between capture and storage of

explicit information and making connections to people who know as well as to
acquire external knowledge yourself.
• Exploration vs. exploitation - Exploration focuses on discovery, opening up to new

concepts and ideas. Exploitation as it says is making those ideas work in practice.
The general argument is that you cannot focus on both at the same time, but that
both are necessary in a system
- 40 -
• Practice vs. process - the balance between informal learning and strictly defined
repeatable activities. .
• After action reviews (AARs) - learning by gathering participants after completion

of a significant project, exploring, reflecting, recording advances and mistakes.
• Peer reviews - inviting colleagues who have experience with similar projects to
share their tips, tricks and lessons learned before starting out.
• Knowledge mapping & audits - discovering opportunities, knowledge gaps and

charting flows. A survey to understand where current knowledge is created and
who needs it.
• Lessons learned (learning histories) - a systematic review of failures and

successes conducted by a neutral party.
• Narrative - growing in use in KM based on an adoption of "we always know more

than we say" to add "and we always say more than we can write down”. The use of
narrative is growing in knowledge management as an alternative to content
management and CoP and is linked in part to social computing.
- 41 -
WHY KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT?
In this competitive knowledge economy, our most valuable asset is the knowledge asset.
It is often said that, in this economy it is not what “we own,” but what “we know”. That
would give us the competitive advantage. We must therefore, quickly learn the strategies
and management techniques of knowledge Age. In short, we must adopt practice of
knowledge management to strengthen our competitive advantage.
KM provides an enabling framework to leverage “collective knowledge.” When KM

becomes “the way we work, it helps us deliver on strategic priorities and business goals –
growth, innovation, speed of response, quality of response, faster time to market,
strengthen organizational learning, protect functional and operational excellence in a dis-
aggregated organizational structure.
- 42 -
AN OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE PROCESSES
The key knowledge management processes are:
• Linking people to people in teams through formal/informal structures, for them to

effectively share knowledge.
A community of Practice (CoP) is one such useful structure. In large organizations with
geographical spread, multiple business units, businesses, organizational silos are likely to
constrain effective knowledge of the enterprise. Communities of practice (knowledge
communities or teams) formed around core competencies of the company help overcome
this constraint.
A CoP is a team of people who are practitioners of a well-defined knowledge domain

(Packaging, engineering, sales etc.) who come together to capture, create and share
relevant knowledge, in pursuit of business excellence. Such a team is empowered to
develop and deliver relevant training programs to build the capability in the knowledge
domain.
• Linking people to information/knowledge repositories/best practices.
Intranets with efficient search engines provide an effective way to connect people to
knowledge repositories.
- 43 -
BARRIERS FOR IMPLEMENTING KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT
Conceptual/mindset related issues:
We need to create a culture of sharing. Often knowledge is seen as power and in a

competitive environment there could be a tendency to hoard knowledge. Key to success
of KM is creation of knowledge sharing culture and elimination of organizational and
cultural barriers for communication. We should move from “hoarding of knowledge to gain
power” to “sharing of knowledge to gain power.”
Operational issues:
Time – The typical executive is already hard pressed for time. He has no time for an
additional initiative, if it is seen as a diversion from focus on immediate results. So, it is
important to integrate KM into existing business processes in the company and embed
into workflow. KM should not be seen as a separate initiative, but should be integrated
into current workflow as a more effective way to achieve business results.
The experience of practitioners of KM demonstrates that it succeeds only when we are

able to signal to employees, strong senior management endorsement for KM. Like all
organizational transformation processes, KM needs to be led by senior management.
Knowledge Management programs are typically tied to organizational objectives and are
intended to achieve specific outcomes, these can include, improved performance,
competitive advantage innovation, lessons learnt transfer (for example between projects)
and the general development of collaborative practices.
One aspect of Knowledge Management, knowledge transfer, has always existed in one
form or another. Examples include on-the-job peer discussions, formal apprenticeship,
discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs.
- 44 -
However, with computers becoming more widespread in the second half of the 20th
century, specific adaptations of technology such as knowledge bases, expert systems,
and knowledge repositories have been introduced to further simplify the process.
Knowledge Management programs attempt to manage the process of creation (or

identification), accumulation and application of knowledge across an organization. As
such Knowledge Management is frequently linked to the idea of the learning organization
although neither practice encompasses the other. Knowledge Management may be
distinguished from Organizational Learning by a greater focus on specific knowledge
assets and the development and cultivation of the channels through which knowledge
flows.
Frequent Knowledge Management practices include:
• enabling organizational practices, such as Communities of Practice and corporate

Yellow Page directories for accessing key personnel and expertise
• enabling technologies such as knowledge bases and expert systems, help desks,
corporate intranets and extranets, Content Management, wikis and Document
Management
- 45 -
CHALLENGES FOR HR PROFESSIONALS IN THE
KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is

success”
The new millennium is here & this is definitely not a bad time for professionals to gear
themselves up and think about the future, their future! It is time to plan, envision, prioritize
and set goals for the new millennium.
The challenge is not just in terms of updating technologies but also in terms of keeping
young workforce motivated and challenged at all the time. This breed of young and
energetic individuals is challenging a lot of the time-tested theories of employee
recruitment, staffing, motivation and general HR practices. There are lots of challenges
while recruiting these young bloods. They are as under:
• Attract people with multidimensional experiences and skills.

• Infuse fresh blood in the organization.
• Develop a culture that attracts people.
• Design entry pay that competes on quality and not quantum.
Hence it follows that the role of HR will be: -
• To develop fully "self–expressed" individuals.

• To enable and facilitate their effective participation in teams.
We need to increase the credibility of HR within the organization that can be done
by:
a) Being accurate in all HR work
b) Being predictable and maintaining consistency
- 46 -
c) Meeting commitment to do what we say on time and within specified budget
d) Being personally comfortable with peers, subordinates and superiors.
• How then do HR processes and practices impact the knowledge sharing in a firm?
Some of the HR processes and practices that should be aligned to strengthen knowledge
management are as follows:
• Job rotations: Well-planned job (role) rotations across geographical locations and
businesses in a firm help not only people development, but also provide an
important vehicle for transfer of knowledge and best practices, even though an
organization cannot obviously depend on this as the main source of knowledge
transfer.
• Networked organization : A networked organization with people playing multiple

roles, being part of multiple teams- a vertical team (Business/category) as well a
horizontal team (functional/knowledge domain), is the way forward to effectively
“leverage collective knowledge” of an enterprise. HR should play a key role in
developing such a networked organization, through sponsorship and or facilitation
of knowledge communities, cutting across formal organizational silos.
• Training: Learning and knowledge are inter-linked. Knowledge strategies should

encompass learning initiatives and knowledge initiatives need to converge with
training program needs to focus on functional and business specific skill
development programs as well as competency development focused programs.
• Knowledge communities (Teams), as the owners and users of the knowledge,

should play an active role in developing suitable course material for the functional
and business specific courses.
- 47 -
• E – Learning is on line learning. It is made available through company web sites
and even through CD – ROMs. It allows the learner to enroll in to courses or
programs of their choice and acquire knowledge at their own pace at the place of
their choice. Corporate online universities, exclusive learning space to induct
managers or develop future leaders, ongoing programs for sales personnel and
induction into new products and services are some of the e-learning offerings,
some of the companies are making available to their employees to develop
themselves. E- Learning provides the benefit of convenience—allows the learner to
do the learning at his or her pace, flexibility –Learner does not have to sacrifice a
training program because of its clash with customer or personal visit, and ease of
learning. Experience in US / Europe seems to confirm that e-learning also saves
cost. As of now Band width might pose some constraints, but with fast changing IT
infrastructure, even in India, this could offer interesting opportunities.
• Another very useful role HR could play is to capture stories of success and failures
in the company, archive them in the company training centre for reference for
future. This would not only support learning but could prevent repeat same
mistakes.
• Culture Change: Leveraging collective knowledge is possible only when people

value building on each other’s ideas and sharing their insights. Much of this
shaped by the culture of the organization. In some cultures, where knowledge is
seen as power, knowledge sharing may be seen to be in conflict with individual’s
personal interest. Therefore, institutionalization of knowledge management
requires HR to focus on the managing the culture change/mindset of the people to
strengthen collaborative team working and knowledge sharing.
- 48 -
• How can we create a knowledge sharing culture?
Realign incentive and reward program:
“People do not do what you tell them, but what you measure them for.” HR needs to
institute a system of rewards and recognition, training and performance development
practices- activities that reinforce the discipline of sharing, documenting knowledge and
reuse of others ideas with pride to achieve business goals.
People in business most often behave in a way that increases their career opportunities,
reward individual effort or task achievement. They reward something done in a crisis, but
most incentive programs do not reward avoiding a crisis. The best KM practitioners
reward employees for learning, sharing and collaborating.
APQC’s four-step knowledge management strategy for human resources

professionals follows.
1. Identify -- Determine what knowledge is critical for the success of the enterprise.
2. Capture -- Collect critical knowledge using techniques such as interviews and best
practices submissions.
3. Retain -- Store the captured knowledge in a format where it can be easily retrieved
for use at a later time.
4. Transfer -- Transfer through training, apprenticeships, mentoring, and other

opportunities.
- 49 -
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Objective of the study: There are three main objectives of the study as follows:
1. To study the status of KM in the organization and to check the competency of the
employees.
2. To study the perception of employees on the basis of job profile towards
KM
3. To practice research methodology as a student
Research design: Exploratory as well as descriptive
Universe: Universe belongs to E, F and G grade employees belonging to KRIBHCO,

out of which 50 samples is selected.
Sampling design: Stratified random sampling design
Research method: Survey method
Research tool: Questionnaire and informal personal interview
Sources of data collection: Primary data and secondary data
Sample size: 50
Research area: KRIBHCO, SURAT (Hazira)
- 50 -
Limitations of research study: While conducting research, at most care was taken to
collect data in unprejudiced manner to make this study precise and truthful. But, due to
certain unavoidable reasons, there are certain limitations which are as mentioned below.
• This study engrosses only a part of total number of employees working at Surat
manufacturing plant.
• Research was to be conducted maintaining the decorum of the company.
• Employees were busy in their work and thus did not spare much time to respond
openly to the questions asked.
• Information and responses given by the respondents may be a biased due to
several reasons.
• Limited time span for carrying out study also restricted the research work.
• As company is too large, as per their tactics and guiding principle employees were
not ready to disclose confidential facets.
- 51 -
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
As reported earlier, the objective of the research is to get an idea regarding the
competency level of the employees and to check status of KM in the organization.
Through exploratory study data collection was done. It is based on the main parameter
namely job profile. Frequency distribution method is used for data analysis.
Job profile includes following three main categories: Chief Managers, Sr. Managers,
Managers, and Dy. Managers.
Graph showing the age of respondents:
AGE 20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 50 &

Above
No. of 0 0 0 1 3 18 28
Employees
30
25
20
15
AGE
10
0
31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 50 & >
Graph showing the years of experience of the respondents:
YEAR 0-5 6-15 16-25 26-30 30 & Above
- 52 -
No. of 0 1 17 20 12
Employees
20
15
10
EXPERIENCE
0
6--15 16--25 26--30 30 & >
QUESTIONS
1. Do you feel you are doing the job according to your job profile?
ANSWER YES NO CAN’T SAY

No. of Employee 45 5 0
50
40
30
20 No. of Employees
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From the above table and chart we can say that 90% of the respondents
agrees that they are doing the job according to their job profile while the 10% disagree.
- 53 -
2. Do you finish every work assigned to you within the time limit?
ANSWER ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER

50
40
30
20 No. of Employees
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From the above table and chart we can say that 84% of respondents always
finishes every work assigned to them within the time limit, while 16% sometime complete
their work in time.
3. Do you require the guidance from your superior?
ANSWER ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER

50
40
30
No. of Employees
20
10
0
Always Sometimes Never
- 54 -
Inferences: From the above table and chart it is clear that 90% of respondents
sometimes need guidance from their superiors while 8% never need any guidance from
their superior.
4. Do you feel you need training to perform your work?

35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From the above table and chart its clear that 28% of respondents feel they
need training to perform their work, 64% do not need training to perform their work, while
8% were unable to say anything about this.
5. Do you feel the type of work you were performing at the time of your joining and
today is the same?

- 55 -
40
35
30
25
20
No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From the above table and chart we can say that 28% of respondents agrees
that the type of work they were performing at the time of their joining and today is the
same while 72% respondents disagree to the statement.
6. Does competency mapping helps you to do manpower planning?

50
40
30
No. of Employees
20
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
- 56 -
Inferences: From above we can say that 86% of respondents admits that competency
mapping helps them to do manpower planning and only 2% disagreed while 12% didn’t
answered.
7. Do you perform competency mapping regularly in your company?

30
25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From above we can say that 60% of respondents admits that competency
mapping is done regularly in KRIBHCO where as 20% disagreed and 20% didn’t
answered.
8. Does Recruitment and Selection processes carried out considering competency

of the individuals?

- 57 -
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From above its clear that 70% of respondents agrees that Recruitment and
Selection processes carried out considering competency of the individuals while 10%
respondents disagreed.
9. Does competency mapping helpful in individual’s career development?

45
40
35
30
25
20 No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From above its clear that 84% believes that competency mapping is helpful
in individual’s career development while only 2% disagreed to the statement.
10. Knowledge is critical for your kind of organization?
- 58 -
40
35
30
25
20
No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From above table and chart its clear that 78% respondents believes that
Knowledge is critical for their organization while 16% disagreed.
11. What are the sources of knowledge in this organization?
ANSWER A) Reports and B) Meetings C) Experience D) Others

journals and group of the incidence
discussions sharing
No. of 18 35 24 6
Employees
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
A B C D
- 59 -
Inferences: From above table and chart its clear that 18 employees feel Reports and
journals, 35 feel Meetings and group discussions, 24 Experience of the incidence sharing,
and 6 feels others are the sources of knowledge in KRIBHCO.
12. How knowledge is shared among different departments of this organization?
ANSWER A) Formal meetings B) Informal meetings/chat

No. of Employees 42 17
50
40
30
No. of Employees
20
10
0
A B
Inferences: Looking to above graph it can be said that 42 respondents feel that
knowledge is shared among different departments through formal meetings whereas 17
says that informal meetings is the way to share knowledge.
13. What is the current status of knowledge management in your company?
ANSWER A) Not in B) Nascent C) Introduction D) Growth

existence at all stage stage stage
No. of 6 6 8 27
Employees
- 60 -
30
25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
5
0
A B C D
Inferences: It can be inferred that 6 respondents believe that knowledge management is

Not in existence at all, 6 believe its in Nascent stage, 8 believe its in Introduction stage
while 27 believe its in Growth stage.
14. Does IT play a part in sharing knowledge in this organization?

50
40
30
No. of Employees
20
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From the above table and chart we can say that 92% of the respondents
agrees that IT plays a part in sharing knowledge while 2% disagreed and 4% didn’t
answered.
- 61 -
15. Is available knowledge exploited to an adequate extent in this organization?

25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
0
Yes No Can't Say
Inferences: From above its clear that 46% respondents agrees that knowledge is
exploited, 22% believes it is not exploited while 30% didn’t answered
.
16. Do you undertake additional personal efforts to enhance your knowledge level
and improve your competency?
ANSWER A) Invariably B) Frequently C) Rarely D) Never

No. of 13 36 1 1
Employee
- 62 -
40
35
30
25
20
No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
A B C D
Inferences: From above its clear that 13 employees invariably undertake additional
personal efforts to enhance their knowledge level and improve their competency, 36 take
frequently, 1 take rarely and 1 never take any personal efforts to enhance their
knowledge level and improve their competency.
17. What additional personal efforts do you undertake to enhance your knowledge
level and improve your competency?
ANSWER A) None B) Further C) Personal D) Private E)

education effort research Magazines
and training work
in my own
time
No. of 0 20 30 4 18
Employee
- 63 -
30
25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
0
A B C D E
Inferences: The above table and graph are explanatory by itself.
18. Do you share your learning with your colleagues?
ANSWER A) Invariably B) Frequently C) Rarely D) Never

No. of 12 38 2 0
Employee
40
35
30
25
20
No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
A B C D
Inferences: From above its clear that 12 employees invariably share their learning with
their colleagues, 38 do it frequently, 2 do it rarely their learning with their colleagues.
- 64 -
19. Which one is the biggest cultural barrier in knowledge management in
company?
ANSWER A) ‘I am in B) Indifference C) Lack of D) Lack of open

position’ of people significance mindedness
attitude towards and recognition
developmental to ‘knowledge
processes sharing’
No. of 10 16 7 19
Employee
20
15
10
No. of Employees
0
A B C D
Inferences: The above table and graph are explanatory by itself.
20. How significant is the role that effective KM can play in achieving the best
result with respect to the following in company?
NOTE: The answers to this question (i.e. from a to l) is given point-wise from 1to 5 in
ascending order.
a) Improving competitive advantage
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 1 3 13 8 18
- 65 -
Employee
18
16
14
12
10
8 No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
Inferences: The above table and graph are explanatory by itself
b) Improving customer focus
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 4 12 8 15
Employee
16
14
12
10
8
No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
- 66 -
c) Innovations
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 5 8 18 8
Employee
18
16
14
12
10
8 No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
d) Inventory reduction
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 1 3 10 10 17
Employee
- 67 -
18
16
14
12
10
8 No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
e) Employee development
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 6 5 12 18
Employee
18
16
14
12
10
8 No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
f) Cost reduction.
- 68 -
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 1 6 8 8 20
Employee
20
15
10
No. of Employees
0
A B C D E
g) Revenue growth
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 1 3 10 11 16
Employee
- 69 -
16
14
12
10
8
No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
h) Better decision-making.
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 1 8 1 13 19
Employee
20
15
10
No. of Employees
0
A B C D E
i) Intellectual property rights management
- 70 -
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 5 20 5 9
Employee
20
15
10
No. of Employees
0
A B C D E
j) Faster response to key business issues
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 8 6 10 16
Employee
16
14
12
10
8
No. of Employees
6
4
2
0
A B C D E
- 71 -
k) Improving quality
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 2 5 2 8 25
Employee
25
20
15
10 No. of Employees
0
A B C D E
l) Improving delivery
ANSWER 1 2 3 4 5
No. of 0 8 6 6 21
Employee
- 72 -
25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
0
A B C D E
21. What is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in company?
a) Changing people’s behavior from knowledge hoarding to knowledge sharing.
b) Lack of understanding of KM and its benefits.
c) Determining what kind of knowledge to be managed & making it available.
d) Justifying the use of scarce resources for KM.
e) Lack of top management commitment to KM.
f) Overcoming technological limitations.
g) Attracting & retaining talented people.
ANSWER a) b) c) d) e) f) g)
No. of 11 34 7 5 18 2 10
Employees
- 73 -
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
A B C D E F G
22. Knowledge is crucial for your type of organization.
ANSWER STRONGLY AGREE(A) DISAGREE(D) STRONGLY

AGREE(SA) DISAGREE(SD)
No. of 25 21 0 0
Employees
25
24
23
22
No. of Employees
21
20
19
SA A D SD
Inferences: From the above table and graph 25 employees strongly agreed that
Knowledge is crucial for KRIBHCO and 21 agreed to the same.
- 74 -
23. Your organizational culture is supportive to KM.

No. of 8 34 3 0
Employees
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
SA A D SD
KRIBHCO’s organizational culture is supportive to KM, 34 agreed to the same and 3
disagreed to the statement.
24. Critical technical knowledge is given more preference in your organization.

No. of 12 36 6 1
Employees
- 75 -
40
35
30
25
20
No. of Employees
15
10
5
0
SA A D SD
Inferences: From the above table and graph 12 employees strongly agreed that Critical
technical knowledge is given more preference, 36 agreed to the statement while 6
disagreed and 1 strongly disagreed to it.
25. Competent and knowledgeable employees are given due recognition.

No. of 8 31 7 2
Employees
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
SA A D SD
- 76 -
Competent and knowledgeable employees are given due recognition, 31 employees
agreed, 7 disagreed while 2 strongly disagreed to the statement.
26. Experiences or knowledge shared in different organizational forum/meetings in

practice needs to be documented in scientific and structural manner.

No. of 12 32 3 0
Employees
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
SA A D SD
Experiences or knowledge shared in different organizational forum/meetings in practice
needs to be documented in scientific and structural manner, 32 agreed, while 3 disagreed
top the statement.
27. There is a need of a management system for managing knowledge in this

organization.
- 77 -
No. of 10 33 5 0
Employees
35
30
25
20
15 No. of Employees
10
5
0
SA A D SD
Inferences: From the above table and graph 10 employees strongly agreed that there is
a need of a management system for managing knowledge, 33 agreed, while 5 employees
disagreed to the statement.
28. KM plays a significant role in organizational development.

No. of 26 20 0 0
Employees
- 78 -
30
25
20
15
No. of Employees
10
0
SA A D SD
Inferences: From the above table and graph 26 employees strongly agreed that KM
plays a significant role in organizational development and 20 respondents agreed to the
above statement.
- 79 -
A QUESIONNAIRE ON STUDY OF COMPETENCY MAPPING AND KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT IN KRIBHCO
PERSONAL INFORMATION
• Department/Plant: __________________________
• Discipline:
• Designation: __________________________
• Age:
• Number of years of experience:
20-25 ( )
0-5 ( )
26-30 ( )
6-15 ( )
31-35 ( )
16-25 ( )
36-40 ( )
26-30 ( )
41-45 ( )
30 & above ( )
46-50 ( )
50 & above ( )
• Gender: ______________
Education qualification:
Stream Graduate Post Graduate Doctorate
Science
Commerce
Arts
Engineering
Management
Research
- 80 -
QUESTIONS
1. Do you feel you are doing the job according to your job profile?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
2. Do you finish every work assigned to you within the time limit?
• Always [ ]
• Sometimes [ ]
• Never [ ]
3. Do you require the guidance from your superior?
• Always [ ]
• Sometimes [ ]
• Never [ ]
4. Do you feel you need training to perform your work?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
5. Do you feel the type of work you were performing at the time of your joining and today
is the same?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
6. Does competency mapping helps you to do manpower planning?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
7. Do you perform competency mapping regularly in your company?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
- 81 -
• Can’t Say [ ]
8. Does Recruitment and Selection processes carried out considering competency of the
individuals?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
9. Does competency mapping helpful in individual’s career development?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
10. Knowledge is critical for your kind of organization?
• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
11. What are the sources of knowledge in this organization?
• Reports and journals [ ]
• Meetings and group discussions [ ]
• Experience of the incidence sharing [ ]
• Others [ ]
12. How knowledge is shared among different departments of this organization?
• Formal meetings [ ]
• Informal meetings/chat [ ]
13. What is the current status of knowledge management in your company?
• Not in existence at all [ ]
• Nascent stage [ ]
• Introduction stage [ ]
• Growth stage [ ]
14. Does IT play a part in sharing knowledge in this organization?
• Yes [ ]
- 82 -
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
15. Is available knowledge exploited to an adequate extent in this organization?

• Yes [ ]
• No [ ]
• Can’t Say [ ]
16. Do you undertake additional personal efforts to enhance your knowledge level and
improve your competency?
• Invariably [ ]
• Frequently [ ]
• Rarely [ ]
• Never [ ]
17. What additional personal efforts do you undertake to enhance your knowledge level
and improve your competency?
• None [ ]
• Further education and training in my own time [ ]
• Private relationships [ ]
• Private research work [ ]
• Magazines [ ]
18. Do you share your learning with your colleagues?

• Invariably [ ]
• Frequently [ ]
• Rarely [ ]
• Never [ ]
19. Which one is the biggest cultural barrier in knowledge management in company?
a) ‘I am in position’ attitude [ ]
b) Indifference of people towards developmental processes [ ]
- 83 -
c) Lack of significance and recognition to ‘knowledge sharing’ [ ]
d) Lack of open mindedness [ ]
20. How significant is the role that effective KM can play in achieving the best result w.r.t
the following in company?
a) Improving competitive advantage 1 2 3 4 5
b) Improving customer focus 1 2 3 4 5
c) Innovations 1 2 3 4 5
d) Inventory reduction. 1 2 3 4 5
e) Employee development. 1 2 3 4 5
f) Cost reduction. 1 2 3 4 5
g) Revenue growth 1 2 3 4 5
h) Better decision-making. 1 2 3 4 5
i) Intellectual property rights management. 1 2 3 4 5
j) Faster response to key business issues. 1 2 3 4 5
k) Improving quality 1 2 3 4 5
l) Improving delivery 1 2 3 4 5
21. What is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in company?
h) Changing people’s behavior from knowledge hoarding to knowledge sharing. [

]
i) Lack of understanding of KM and its benefits. [ ]
j) Determining what kind of knowledge to be managed & making it available. [

]
k) Justifying the use of scarce resources for KM. [

]
- 84 -
l) Lack of top management commitment to KM. [ ]
m) Overcoming technological limitations. [

]
n) Attracting & retaining talented people. [

]
In the following set of questions each question has four options.

• Strongly agree SA
• Agree A
• Disagree D
• Strongly disagree SD
NO S S
STATEMENTS: A D
. A D
22. Knowledge is crucial for your type of organization.
23. Your organizational culture is supportive to KM.
24. Critical technical knowledge is given more preference in
your organization.
25. Competent and knowledgeable employees are given due
recognition.
26. Experiences or knowledge shared in different
organizational forum/meetings in practice needs to be
documented in scientific and structural manner.
27. There is a need of a management system for managing
knowledge is this organization.
28. KM plays a significant role in organizational development.
- 85 -
RESEARCH FINDINGS
• Employee in KRIBHCO believe that they are doing the job according to their
job profile. They finish every work assigned to them within the time limit, which
shows that they are competent, though many of them need guidance from their
superiors sometimes.
• Few believe that they need training to perform their job which is contradicting
to their competency level, since the type of type of work they were performing at
the time of their joining and today have changed.
• Many admitted that competency mapping helps them to do manpower
planning.
• Many believe that competency mapping is carried out regularly in KRIBHCO
and recruitment and selection process is carried out considering the competency of
individuals but few disagreed to this statement.
• Almost all employees believes that competency mapping is helpful in
individual’s career development.
• Knowledge is critical for this organization
• Formal meetings are the major sources of knowledge in this organization
informal meeting and chats are also alternative for knowledge sharing.
• An excellent IT infrastructure exists in this organization. E-mail and intranet is
the major source of sharing knowledge in the company as far as IT is concerned.
Electronic media plays a significant role in networking of knowledge in this
organization.
- 86 -
• Knowledge is exploited to the adequate extent in this organization. Majority of
employees frequently undertakes additional personal efforts to enhance their
knowledge level as quest for knowledge is there in the employees.
• Though employees frequently share their learning with their colleagues after
attending seminars or training but it is in a non regular manner through informal
chats. It is not institutionalized but can be structured in a proper manner as scope
is there.
• Some of the major cultural barriers are “Indifference of people towards
developmental processes”, and “Lack of open mindedness”.
• Major outcomes out of the implementation of Knowledge Management can be
Improving quality, Improving delivery, Better decision making, Intellectual property
rights management and cost reduction etc.
• “Lack of understanding of KM and its benefits.” and “Lack of top management
commitment to KM” are the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in
company. Majority of employees believe that the organizational culture is
supportive to KM and Critical technical knowledge is given more preference in your
organization.
• Majority of employees agree with Knowledge created is being captured in their
organization up to some extent.
- 87 -
SUGGESTIONS
• In this organization competency mapping must be regularly done in order to check

the competency level of the employees.
• Since many of the employees are performing different jobs to what they were doing
at the time of their joining they need training to perform the new work allotted them.
• There is an acute need of a structured knowledge management system in order to
preserve and maintain the knowledge status in the company. In order to move in a
unified path for leveraging the knowledge, it is important to link these nodes of
knowledge in structured form of “Knowledge Management”.
• Different sources of knowledge acquisition must be encouraged among the
employees.
• Linkages of one’s Key Result Area with Knowledge Management implementation
should be done.
• There is need for the support from the top management since it is considered a
major hurdle in effective knowledge management implementation and the
employees must also be made aware of importance of knowledge management
system.
• For sure and systematic implementation of KM, organization should explore
possibility of implementation of KM through some certified (accrediting) agency.
- 88 -
• As there is an excellent IT network in this organization so it should be utilized
efficiently for KM implementation through usage of some standard KM applications
(soft wares).
• Some motivation should be given to the employees so that they take interest in
knowledge enhancement and management.
• E – Learning is on line learning. It is made available through company web sites
and even through CD – ROMs. It allows the learner to enroll in to courses or
programs of their choice and acquire knowledge at their own pace at the place of
their choice.
CONCLUSION
Hence, with the given research study conducted in this organization, it can be concluded
that the concept of competency mapping and Knowledge Management is in between the
introduction and growth stage that is it is ahead of introduction stage and has not reached
yet to growth stage. It has been also concluded that there is certainly a quest for
knowledge in the employees and combining this factor with highly established HR
Department and advanced Information Technology in the organization, competency
mapping is need to be regularly carried out here and Knowledge Management will
definitely reach to the growth stage in due course of time in this organization.
- 89 -
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The books referred are :-
 Kothari C.R, Research Methodology, New Delhi. New age International (P) ltd
publishers 1985.
 K. Ashwathappa, Human Resource Management, New Delhi, Tata Mac graw hill
Publishing company 1997.
Websites :-
www.google.com
www.kribhco.org.in
www.kribhcosurat.com
www.wikipedia.com
- 90 -

Competency Mapping and Knowledge Managemet at Kribhco Jignesh R Panchal Luhariya

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A Project Report On

Competency Mapping and Knowledge Management in

PREPARED BY:- SUBMITTED TO:-

I undersigned Mr. JIGNESH R LUHARIYA a student of MBA-II semester,

Date: 13.6.2009 JIGNESH R LUHARIYA

I am glad to express my profound sentiments of gratitude to all who rendered their

My genuine sense of gratitude goes to my university that gave me a chance to

The MBA training of the SHREE SAMANVAY INSTITUTE OF MBA, BOTAD

During this period, I had an overview of the HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Competency mapping examines two areas: emotional intelligence quotient

4. Knowledge Management Roles and Organizational Structure 37

5. Why Knowledge Management 42

6. An Overview of Knowledge Process 43

7. Barriers for implementing Knowledge Management 44

8. Challenges for HR Professionals in Knowledge Industry 46

10. Data Analysis and Interpretation 52

12. Research Findings 88

India lives in villages” said Mahatma

A fertilizer is any material, organic, inorganic, natural or synthetic, that is placed on

Fertilizer production is of permanent importance for this country because fertilizer

The work of administering the Retention Price Scheme (RPS) is entrusted to

Growth of Fertilizer Industry

1. Pro Green Revolution Period:

This period is described in 1952-1953 era where increased growth of food

3. The Post Green Revolution Period:

Fertilizer Industry Scenario in India

• The Fertilizer And Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT)

There are only two fertilizer manufacturing societies in Co-operative sector.

• Indian Farmers Fertilizers Co-Operative Ltd. (IFFCO)

There are 17 companies in private sector, which are producing fertilizer.

• Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Ltd. (GNFC)

“KRIBHCO” the world’s premier fertilizer producing co-operative has an

C. Zonal offices: - Bhopal, Bangalore, Lucknow and Chandigarh.

Besides marketing its products “KRIBHCO” carries out various other

A cooperative thrives on the trust of, its members. Membership of “KRIBHCO” is

b) To promote economic interest of its members by undertaking manufacturing of

In furtherance of these objectives “KRIBHCO” may undertake one or more of the

Encourage with the successful operation of fertilizer plant of Kalul, Kandla

“KRIBHCO” Ltd to made the new giant plant of Hazira.

DEPARTMENT AND MANPOWERS AT “KRIBHCO”

Highest Production Urea 18.06 Lakh mt

Profit After Tax Rs.140.59 Crores

JGM JGM JGM JGM JGM JGM

A problem with competency mapping, especially when conducted by an organization is

Competencies in organizations tend to fall into two broad categories:

- Personal Functioning Competencies. These competencies include broad success

- Functional/Technical Competencies. These competencies include specific success

Three other definitions are needed:

• Competency Map. A competency map is a list of an individual’s competencies that

• Competency Mapping. Competency mapping is a process an individual uses to identify

1. Organization-Wide (often called “core competencies” or those required for

How can it help the overall HRD process of an organization?

Competency is a vehicle for organizational HRD applications such as:

• Mapping succession possibilities for employees within the organization.

• Assigning compensation grades and levels to particular jobs and roles.

• Selecting applicants for open positions, using competency-based interviewing

A list of compelling reasons includes, at a minimum, the following. An individual:

key positions of interest.

• Projects an appearance as a “cutting-edge” and well-prepared candidate, who has taken

• Demonstrates self-confidence that comes from knowing one’s competitive advantages

• Secures essential input to resume development - a set of important terms to use in

• Develops the capability to compare one’s actual competencies to an organization or