1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Knowledge management (KM) has overtime been overlooked by organizations and establishments to their own peril. The recognition of the fact that knowledge not just labour land or capital is the key resource of production, making it the “new wealth” of organizations is largely responsible for the development and implementation of knowledge management (KM) strategies in corporate organizations (Ahn& Chang, 2012).

In other to achieve employees’ performance and profitability in any establishment, knowledge management has to be given adequate treatment (Denham, 2005). For many companies, the time of rapid technological change is also the time of incessant struggle for maintaining a competitive advantage. It is obvious that knowledge is slowly becoming the most important factor of production, next to labour, land and capital. Even though some forms of intellectual capital are transferable, internal knowledge is not easily copied. This means that the knowledge anchored in employees’ minds can get lost if they decide to leave the organization. Therefore, the key objective of management is to improve the processes of acquisition, integration and usage of knowledge, which is exactly what knowledge management is all about (Bagozzi and Yi, 2008).

KM is a process that through creating, accumulating, organizing and utilizing knowledge helps achieve objectives and enhance firm performance. KM also consists of strategy, cultural values and workflow. In order to maximize its value, a change in strategies, processes, firm structures and technologies needs to be made (Artail, 2006).

One of the key benefits of introducing KM practices in organizations is its positive impact on firm performance. The research conducted in Croatia suggests that KM positively affects firm outcomes of company innovation, product improvement and employee improvement. According to Fugate et al, results collected in a logistics operations context prove the existence of a strong positive relationship between a KM process and operational and firm performance. Still, it is not well understood how different KM strategies affect employees’ performance. Choi et al, (2005) show that combining the tacit-internal-oriented and explicit-external-oriented KM strategies indicates a complementary relationship, which implies synergistic effects of KM strategies on employees’ performance.

1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

The general average or below average performance of most organizations in Nigeria when compared to their counterparts in the advanced world has become a source of concern. This neglect of knowledge management by Nigerian corporations has grossly affected the gross domestic product or economic fortunes of Nigeria. The present economic hardship may not be unconnected to the present neglect of knowledge management in Nigeria (Benbya, 2009).

Adequate knowledge management in companies and organizations has been neglected especially in Nigeria where knowledge generally is not placed at the front burner of the society; this has led to the lack of consistent progress in terms of employees’ performance, organizational productivity and profitability in Nigeria. This has regrettably spilled over to the economy which today has been a far cry from what it used to be in the 70’s and early 80’s.

Investing in Knowledge is an expensive venture most serious minded and business oriented organizations must invest in, if they are to strategically align themselves above competitors with substitute products/services (Winter, 2012). Creating, Designing, implementing and managing a robust knowledge system effectively in an organization is where most managers find it difficult.

The aim of every KM system is to share knowledge in the organization in the most effective manner and improving employees’ performance in the process. This aim is usually not achieved because of poor communication structures that exist in most public or government owned organizations in Nigeria (Orji, 2008). KM goes beyond mere training and retraining of staff to review of lessons learnt from each training. Every member of the organization contributes to the organization by sharing knowledge on a subject matter for strategic positioning of the organization. When there is a cut in the communication flow, knowledge is not effectively shared. According to Orji (2008), an internship student can contribute immensely to an organization by sharing his/her experiences in his/her previous job that could strategically align the organization in a vintage position. It is to this regard that researcher desired to examine knowledge management and employee performance

1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The main aim of the research work is to examine knowledge management and employee performance. Other specific objectives of the study are:

1. To determine the extent to which knowledge identification affect employees’ efficiency
2. To determine the extent to which knowledge acquisition affect employees’ efficiency
3. To determine the extent to which knowledge sharing affect employees’ efficiency
4. To determine the extent to which knowledge application affect employees’ efficiency
5. To determine the extent to which knowledge acquisition affect employees’ effectiveness
6. To determine the extent to which knowledge identification affects employees’ effectiveness
7. To determine the extent to which knowledge sharing affect employees’ effectiveness
8. To determine the extent to which knowledge application affect employees’ effectiveness

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION

The following questions were designed to be answered by the study

1. To what extent does knowledge identification affect employees’ efficiency in commercial banks?
2. To what extent does knowledge acquisition affect employees’ efficiency in commercial banks?
3. To what extent does knowledge sharing affect employees’ efficiency in commercial banks?
4. To what extent does knowledge application affect employees’ efficiency in commercial banks?
5. To what extent does knowledge acquisition affect employees’ effectiveness in commercial banks?
6. To what extent does knowledge identification affect employees’ effectiveness in commercial banks?
7. To what extent does knowledge sharing affect employees’ effectiveness in commercial banks?
8. To what extent does knowledge application affect employees’ effectiveness in commercial banks?

1.6 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no correlation between knowledge management and employees’ performance

H1: There is correlation between knowledge management and employees’ performance

Hypothesis 2

H0: knowledge management does not play any significant role in organization productivity

H1: knowledge management plays significant role in organization productivity

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This study will be of immense benefit to captains of industries and organizations especially commercial banks in Nigeria that are interested in improving their employees’ performance and firm productivity. Finally the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge in this field of study and provide a basis for further research.

1.8 SCOPE OF STUDY

This study on knowledge management and employee performance will determine the relationship between knowledge management and employees’ performance with focus on commercial banks (GTbank, Eco bank, UBA, First bank and Access bank).

1.9 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.10 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organisation.

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: Performance management includes activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner.

MOTIVATION: Motivation is the reason for people's actions, desires, and needs. Motivation is also one's direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior.

REFERENCES

Ann & Chang, (2012). Impact of Intellectual Capital on

Organizational Performance: Evidence from Nigeria Banking sector. JORINS II (2) December, 2013.

Denham, (2005). The Role of Knowledge Management in Enhancing

Organizational Performance. I.J. Information Engineering and Electronic Business Journal 5, 27-35.

Bagozzi & Yi, (2008). Knowledge Acquisition among Engineering in

MNCs. Independent Journal of Management and Production, Vol. 4, no.1.

Artail, (2006). Available at http://www.Knowledge

Managementtools,Net/Knowledge-Management-Definition.html, retrieved 26th August, 2014.

Choi et al, (2005). Review: Knowledge Management And Knowledge

Management System: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues. MIS Quarterly Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1, PP. 107-136.

Benbya, (2009). Organizational Learning and Performance: A

Conceptual model. Proceedings of the 7th International Management conference. “New Management for the new Economy”, November 7th -18th, 2013. Bucharest, Romania.

Orji, (2008). The Impact of Knowledge Management Processes on

the Improvement of Strategic Competence: An Empirical Study in Jordanian Insurance Companies. International journal of trade, Economics and finance, Vol.3.