When Social meets Strategy

1. Executive Summary

In a rapidly evolving world where knowledge is constantly increasing, companies need to adapt their business

model in order to maintain their clientele's satisfaction and be at a competitive advantage. Hewlett-Packard, an

organization operating worldwide, succeeds in doing so by placing the human capital at the center of their

knowledge management initiative, while focusing on social interaction for a better leveraging of their

knowledge. The current paper will use a specific three-leveled theoretical framework to demonstrate that by

means of social interaction an effective knowledge management is achieved. We will begin by investigating on

HP’s approach to knowledge conversion based on the two dimensions, explicit and implicit, using specific tools

such as the Knowledge-maps. Secondly, we will discuss how their newly implemented Learning Communities

constitute Communities of Practices that enable the transfer of know-how amongst the employees. Thirdly, we

will explore on the two strategies focus on personalization and codification, adopted by HP, whilst debating on

the dominant one. Lastly we will inspect the limitations of our work and our intended recommendation for HP.

2. Introduction

We have focused our investigation on HPC and how the internal communication affects their knowledge

transfer, while discussing how by means of social interaction they accomplish an effective knowledge

management. We will undertake different lenses to approach the knowledge transfer within an organization.

Furthermore, we will discuss the aim of learning communities and the effects they have upon the knowledge

management, and how they have been beneficial for the company’s successful knowledge management team.

Additionally, we use the personalization and codification concepts in order to illustrate the dominant view of

knowledge transferal. It is our belief that these different theories and concepts have been beneficial in

augmenting how the knowledge management has taken place.

3. Case description

As the second leading global provider of software, computing solutions and computer related services for

business and home, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has decided on supporting the growth of the company by means of

reconstructing their approach to knowledge management. The solution-consulting body within HP is Hewlett-

Packard Consulting (HPC), with more than 4000 employees assisting clients on software and hardware related

matters while ensuring that they receive the greatest return from products and services acquired from HP

(Parskey & Martiny, p. 3); by doing so, the company enables the integration and optimization of systems sold by

HP and other vendors, whereas achieving broad recognition in the industry for their excellence in knowledge

management. However, when clients were required to provide them with feedback, HP discovered that the

customers expected the consultants to use not only their personal experience, but rather the broader knowledge

within the organization. With regard to this business problem, HPC states that their “clients believe that the

value and depth of HPC knowledge is highly dependent on the consultants assigned to their project” (Parskey &

Martiny, p. 4), therefore their business need became to deliver “increasing new and innovative services in a

consistent, high quality manner regardless of the consultants assigned to the engagement” (Parskey & Martiny,

p. 4), thus their focus on leveraging knowledge from different projects and from different parts of the world. In

turn, the Knowledge Management (KM) team in collaboration with the HPC leadership decided to begin with a

Project pilot within the North America unit whose success eventually aided them in developing a three phased

model for the KM implementation across the world-wide organization.