Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Shikha N. Khera for being a wonderful mentor to me, guiding and inspiring me wholeheartedly and taking keen interest in my work throughout the period. I would like to thank her for her invaluable time, support, encouragement, for being a facilitator and helping me throughout my project work. I thank her for her patience for helping me solve my problems and putting me through to the right channel during the course of the study. I have gained immensely from my paper in terms of experience and expertise and take this opportunity to extend the warm thanks to all those people who have devoted their valuable time and extended support as and when called for.

Karishma Gulati 2K11/PhD/DSM/04

Introduction

1.1

HRM practices

Human resource management (HRM) is defined as the productive use of people in achieving the organizations strategic business objectives. It is well recognized that human resources are critical inputs in the production process. Organizations manage human resources through establishing human resource (HR) departments in a functional organizational structure, even though the role of HR is not limited to just the HR department itself (Chee-Yang Fong et al., 2011). Human resource management (HRM) practices are widely recognized as playing a crucial role in creating and sustaining organizational performance (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). Specific HR practices such as training, teamwork or incentives should be implemented to foster knowledge sharing and creation in organizations (Currie and Kerrin, 2003; Cabrera and Cabrera, 2005; Chen and Huang, 2009). HR practices should be designed specifically to push exploration activities in a different manner. It is likely that while culture and leadership can be established in a broader sense and affect both types of activities, HR practices should be more specifically adapted to exploration initiatives (Mario Javier Donate and Fatima Guadamillas, 2011). Although there is an abundant literature that has investigated the relationship between HRM and organizational performance but there is a shortage of concrete findings on the strength of the relationship between HRM practices and knowledge sharing behavior. 1.2 Management of Tacit knowledge of Internal customers

Tacit knowledge is practical, action oriented, experience based, context linked, individual, objective in its consequences, and the outcome of the processes of tacit knowing (Jon-Arild Johannessen and Bjorn Olsen, 2011). Knowledge is generated and resides in the mind of employees (Alavi and Leidner, 1999), and will contribute little to the firm if it is not widely shared among the organizational members. It is even more detrimental to the firm if knowledgeable employees leave the firm, following better opportunities offered by other firms. This results in a brain drain, with the employees taking their knowledge with them. There are two types of knowledge, with different propensity for sharing: explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge (Koskinen, 2003). Explicit knowledge is usually shared and communicated by employees willingly, e.g. technical details of products, materials, tools, etc. Conversely, tacit knowledge is reluctantly and rarely shared among employees, e.g. perceptions, belief, experience etc. Tacit knowledge is transmitted through interaction between whoever possesses tacit knowledge and whoever wants to know (Jon-Arild Johannessen and Bjrn Olsen, 2011). According to

Hsu and Shen (2005), tacit knowledge should not be seen as independent of explicit knowledge, as the sharing of explicit knowledge must rely on the tacit knowledge of the receiver for explicit knowledge to be understood and facilitate new knowledge creation. Knowledge sharing is defined as the dissemination of information and knowledge through the whole department and/or organization (Yang, 2004). Knowledge sharing should be encouraged for firms to enjoy the synergistic effect of collective wisdom through the exchange of ideas and information. Consequently, the capability to generate better ideas will enable the firm to create and maintain long-run sustainable competitive advantage (Lin, 2007) of the firms as it facilitates the generation of new and better ideas, processes, products and services. Hence, knowledge sharing acts as a mechanism that drives the formation of new knowledge and refinement of old knowledge, as well as synthesis of more knowledge in the future. Knowledge sharing is confirmed leading to improvement in innovation capability (Lin, 2007), better performance in business process enhancement and better product and service offering to customers. 1.3 Link of HRM practices with Knowledge Management

Wong Choy Har et al. (2010) in their study provides a framework that focuses on the well-established HRM practices namely; selective hiring (recruiting right people), recognition and reward (motivating employee), performance appraisal (job evaluation), self-managed team (active cooperation culture) and extensive training (continuous education and development) to enhance the level of knowledge management. As knowledge is residing in the human resource and organizations are using this knowledge for competitive advantage, a well positioned HRM is essential to the success of KM activities due to the systematic process of knowledge cycle (Soliman and Spooner, 2000). HRM and KM are interlinked as employees knowledge can be shared by motivating him and can be made available to others through Knowledge sharing tools (Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall, 2003). HRM practices can become the facilitators or constraints for knowledge sharing among employees (Soliman and Spooner, 2000).

Work Done
A.

Paper entitled Knock on effect of HRM practices on tacit knowledge sharing behavior of employees: Evidence from insurance companies has to be communicated to MDI, 12th IHRM conference, till 15th July 2012.

Abstract for the same is: There is so much euphoria about the HRM practices that it almost seems too good to be true. New customers land in India every day, new insurance companies are opened every month, and existing ones are growing at an unbelievable pace. And one of the reason for the growth of these companies are the HRM practices implemented in these to motivate their employees to increase their customer base and to share their tacit knowledge. To search the best fish from the water is the main task of the companies as more talented will be the fish, more the number of customers can be attracted. And therefore, recruitment process is one of the most crucial processes in this industry today , and the onus of attracting and selecting the best talent from the country rests on the recruitment team. Not only do they have to ensure quality, they have to constantly innovate ways to strength , full proof , and better their procedures ,thus introducing the best practices in the industry today. Just recruitment is not enough as after recruitment is is imperative to retain the talent in the company and therefore other HRM practices like performance appraisal, reward system etc are the benchmarks. Also, Subhash C. Kundu and DivyaMalhan (2009) proved that both multinational and Indian insurance companies have to significantly improve their practices regarding performance appraisal, training and financial benefits, and hr planning and recruitment. Although the Indian companies scored better but still there are many things that have to be more emphasized. The organizations may feel complacent regarding these practices due to the labor surplus economy of India. Organizations must enrich the HR practices, such as performance appraisal in terms of service delivery, service oriented training programs, and service performance based financial and other benefits. Service organizations should plan to attract employees having a service attitude and orientation. The authors have tried to search out the HRM practices that are practiced the most in the insurance companies and their effect on the tacit knowledge sharing of the employees.

B.

Paper entitled Role of HRM practices and KM tools in transfer of tacit knowledge of internal customers: Evidence from banking industry will be communicated to some international journal (yet to find) for publications. Abstract for the same is:

Tacit knowledge transfer remains one of the most allusive aspects of knowledge management (KM) efforts today (Brenda C. Ledford, 2008).According to Mohammad Safari Kahreh, Heidar Ahmadi and Asgar Hashemi (2011) employees empowerment facilitates the creation of an integrated quality environment, where superior products and services become practical. In order to increase effectiveness in the banking industry, management must become active in empowering their employees. This is done by sharing information, creating autonomy, and establishing self-directed teams. It is already analyzed by Wanjun Deng, Wei Shan and Fajie Wei (2010) that tacit knowledge transfer more happens to the employees with chose friendship, similar working age, different education levels and high position. Position has a positive function on knowledge provider's importance. Staff with an extroverted disposition and a short working age learns from more persons. The challenging aspect of knowledge management which is addressed in this research paper is the overarching question of the role of various HRM practices and KM tools in transfer of tacit knowledge of internal customers of various banks. The authors have further fuelled the more HR practices other than the practices of the existing literature review that create conducive environment for employees for the transfer of their knowledge.

C.

Literature Review : Following literature review is done for the research papers

1. Chee-Yang Fong et al. (2011), emphasizes on the association between human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing behavior. The results indicated that recruitment and selection, teamwork, training and development, and performance appraisal, showed a positive relationship with knowledge sharing, as perceived by the managers in the Malaysian manufacturing and service organizations. 2. Silva et al. (2008) investigates that mentoring is becoming ever more effective as a means to facilitate knowledge creation and sharing and build intellectual capital. It is suggested that informal mentoring is highly correlated with KM; whereby the more employees practice mentoring willingly the more knowledge will be shared, preserved, and used within the organization. However, formal mentoring is supported less. The results also indicated that management should be highly supportive of informal mentoring as a means to capture and retain organizational knowledge.

3. Carla Curado (2008) analyzes the link between the perceptions of knowledge management and intellectual capital in the banking industry. The final aim of the paper is to identify the relevancy and perceived value of knowledge management strategies (exploitation and exploration) and intellectual capital components (human capital, internal structures and external structures) in the banks. 4. Ahmed et al. (2006) reported that KMS could be of most significance for enhancing the organizations performance and led them to better position in todays competitive environment. These benefits are fundamental issues related to different encouragements in KMS implementation such as better decision-making, improving the customer relationship and management, create new value through new services (innovations), and creating additional businesses. 5. Geoffrey Chivers (2011) contended that HRM practices are important tools in harnessing core competencies, and performance of organizations. It is proved by evidence that experienced traders in investment banks based in London learned by informal methods and this informal learning was ad hoc, poorly recorded, and limited in scope. HRD professionals were almost entirely concerned with organizing formal training courses, and had little knowledge of, or involvement with, informal learning by traders. 6. A.S. Seleim and Omar E.M. Khalil (2011) analyzed that the knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) are believed to influence each other, and the relationship between the two constructs is of vital importance to organizational effectiveness. The analysis revealed three patterns of relationships between KM and IC: one-way influence from KM to IC (e.g. knowledge application influences each of human capital, organizational capital, and relational capital; oneway influence from IC to KM (e.g. human capital influences knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer); and two-way influence between KM and IC (e.g. between knowledge documentation and organizational capital, between knowledge transfer and relational capital). 7. Knowledge is conceptualized as codified information including insight, interpretation, context, experience, wisdom, and so forth (Thomas Davenport and Volpel, 2001), which enhances a firms value and the achievement of its objectives, mission and vision. In an organization, job-related knowledge is an essential element determining the career success of an employee, together with her/his skills and ability. 8. Boxall and Purcell (2000) conclude that most firm HR strategies are created to suit environmental contingencies, favoring HRM practices and knowledge sharing the best-fit model. However it does not invalidate all best practice thinking. 9. In general, the HRM practices deployed by organizations are staffing i.e. HR planning, recruitment and selection; HR development i.e. training, development and career planning and

development; compensation i.e. direct and indirect financial compensation and nonfinancial compensation; safety and health; and employee and labor relations (Mondy, 2010). 10. The work of Wright et al. (2001) suggested that HRM practices enable the shaping of employees skills, abilities, values, belief, attitudes and behaviors through hiring, socializing and developing a firms pool of human. HRM practices formed the basis of dynamic capability, knowledge management and intellectual capital, leading to the achievement of core competencies. 11. Knowledge is generated and resides in the mind of employees (Alavi and Leidner, 1999), and will contribute little to the firm if it is not widely shared among the organizational members. It is even more detrimental to the firm if knowledgeable employees leave the firm, following better opportunities offered by other firms. This results in a brain drain, with the employees taking their knowledge with them. 12. According to Hsu and Shen (2005), tacit knowledge should not be seen as independent of explicit knowledge, as the sharing of explicit knowledge must rely on the tacit knowledge of the receiver for explicit knowledge to be understood and facilitate new knowledge creation. 13. Knowledge sharing is defined as the dissemination of information and knowledge through the whole department and/or organization (Yang, 2004). Knowledge sharing should be encouraged for firms to enjoy the synergistic effect of collective wisdom through the exchange of ideas and information. Consequently, the capability to generate better ideas will enable the firm to create and maintain long-run sustainable competitive advantage (Lin, 2007a) of the firms as it facilitates the generation of new and better ideas, processes, products and services. Hence, knowledge sharing acts as a mechanism that drives the formation of new knowledge and refinement of old knowledge, as well as synthesis of more knowledge in the future. Knowledge sharing is confirmed leading to improvement in innovation capability (Lin, 2007a), better performance in business process enhancement and better product and service offering to customers. D. Data Collection :data is collected for the research paper from 84 respondents from 13 banks using questionnaire method

Conclusion There are various HRM practices but not all HRM practices enhance knowledge sharing; wrong HRM practices can be harmful to knowledge sharing behavior (Currie and Kerrin, 2003). Therefore it is imperative to know the HRM practice best suited for the organization and employees and implement it in proper way to motivate knowledge sharing. As concluded, recruitment and creativity of employees are those HRM practices that are not much taken care in the banks, it is suggested that banks should focus on these practices as recruiting right candidate at right time may benefits the organization in a large extent. It is also revealed that respondents are clear in their mind for the importance of selective hiring, training, work environment, performance appraisal, reward system and pay system in knowledge sharing. This also underscored by Cabrera and Cabrera (2005) that there are certain HRM practices that are found to be effective in encouraging knowledge sharing behavior, e.g. staffing, training and development, performance appraisal and compensation in line with the motivation theory by Robbins and DeCenzo (2008) emphasizing that compensation and reward reinforce the motivation for improved individual performance by employees. The authors also suggested that along with formal and informal mentoring, job rotation should be designed and rewarded within the organization. This will help the employees to be more effective and efficient in their work. Murray and Owen (1991) and Ehrich (1999) also identify several benefits of mentoring including increased productivity, increased commitment, improved recruitment efforts, improved communication (that will help in tacit knowledge sharing), cost effectiveness, improvement in strategic and succession planning and the development of skill and knowledge of mentees necessary for carrying out the role. The results of this study strongly support that database, web base and e-portals are the best tools for sharing knowledge in banks; although after action reports also contribute in this. But artificial Intelligence and expert system are the least used tools although Aastha Dogra (2011) asserted that banks rely on intelligent software for data validation

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Appendix
1.

Questionnaire for paper entitled Role of HRM practices and KM tools in transfer of tacit knowledge of internal customers: Evidence from banking industry