This paper is an analysis of the issue of knowledge sharing among employees in an international organization.

For the Unit III Essay, imagine you are the lead trainer for a global organization. Through data analytics and observations, you have noticed that employees across the organization do not share their knowledge with one another, whether that be from skills training they recently completed to general knowledge that could enhance the capabilities of the organization. This is a big issue for the chief executive officer (CEO), and the head of human resources (HR) has asked you to come up with solutions to address the issue. Within your essay, provide the information below.

Give three reasons as to why employees do not share knowledge.
Give three solutions that your organization can incorporate to encourage knowledge sharing among employees.
Discuss the benefits that each solution offers and how each solution promotes knowledge sharing.
For this essay, create a fictitious company name and location, and make your suggestions specific to that company. In the introduction, give the company name and location and some brief background information about the company and industry. Feel free to choose any industry (e.g., technology, manufacturing, or advertising) that interests you, and add any details that you think are necessary for your essay.

Your essay must be at least two pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages. You are required to use at least one outside source to support your explanation. All sources used, including required unit resources, must be cited and referenced according to APA guidelines.

Knowledge sharing in an organization 

To survive the current competitive pressures in the global markets organizations must focus on improving the knowledge and innovativeness of its workforce. The trends in the market have compelled companies to embrace knowledge and information sharing as a vital resource that can foster the continuous adaptation of the organization as well as promotes a higher performance (Sigala & Chalkiti, 2015). The emergence of social media platforms has changed the process of knowledge sharing in organizations allowing the knowledge management activities to be conducted and managed virtually (over the social networks) (Gasik, 2011). The social media platforms have enabled the employees and other stakeholders to acquire, synthesize, share, critique and store information from different sources leading to efficiency in knowledge management. While previous research has paid attention to the use of social media in knowledge sharing, the minimal focus has been laid on how the relationship between social media use for knowledge management purposes and the implications on employee innovativeness (Hemsley & Mason,2012). The latter is vital since organizations need to justify the time and resources spent on social media platforms by the employees, thus worth analyzing (Sigala & Chalkiti, 2014).

Factors influencing knowledge sharing among employees 
A clear meaning of the term “knowledge sharing” has remained elusive in the academic realms. Theorists have studied the concept of knowledge sharing a long period but have failed to agree on what the concept of organizational learning means (Huysman, 2000). According to Barão et al. (2017), most scholars indicate that organizational learning is a process that unfolds continuously throughout the organization’s life and is highly associated with the acquisition of knowledge and improved organizational performance. From a different perspective, Serrat (2017) has reported that knowledge sharing does entail not only the acquisition of knowledge but also encompasses the change of behavior. To them behavioral change is mandatory for learning to be accomplished, contrary to the reasoning of the first group of scholars who believed the acquisition of new ways of thinking is enough to accomplish learning within the organization.
Regardless of the different views presented on the concept of knowledge sharing, it can be deduced that the process entails the acquisition of new ideas, sharing of the knowledge acquired and modifying one’s behavior to reflect the new insights and knowledge acquired in a way that a higher organizational performance will be accomplished. The fact that new ideas are mandatory for any form of learning to take place, and the conviction that the acquired insights must be shared for a change of behavior and organization’s performance to be realized justifies the deduction made. Whatever the source of the new insights and ideas, they trigger the learning process and acquisition of knowledge within the organization creating an improvement in organizational performance.
Nature of Knowledge sharing among employees
The creation and sharing of knowledge have been crucial in any organization that desires to accomplish a higher competitive advantage. Knowledge is considered a valuable resource that can foster the development of the employees to support the attainment of a higher level of performance (Gasik, 2011). There are various kinds of knowledge the most fundamental one being tacit knowledge. According to Jashapara (2011), tacit knowledge exists in human minds and is difficult or impossible to articulate. On the other hand, explicit knowledge is in the form of words, computer programs or organized data and is documented such that it is accessible to all and can be useful to an organization (Hislop, 2009). Conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge (knowledge management process) is thus important to make the knowledge accessible for use by others in the organization.
Knowledge management refers to the process of adopting a systematic approach to capture, manage and disseminate knowledge within the organization. The idea is to ensure that the knowledge captured is not withheld by the receivers but rather used in promoting best practices and innovations amongst the employees in an organization (Girard & Girard, 2015; Van Looy, 2016). The emergence of new technologies and the internet have resulted in the availability of unlimited knowledge sources. However, proper management of the resulting information from the different sources is important for an organization to report any benefits.
Factors promoting knowledge sharing among employees
The emergence and development of social media platforms have changed significantly how people communicate and interact with communities and in an organizational set-up. Social media is an internet-based platform built on the technological foundations of Web 2.0 that allows for the to and sharing of information amongst the users of the platform (Razmerita, Kirchner & Nabeth, 2014; Chugh, 2016;). As indicated in the social network theory, the social network created when people interact with social media platforms influence their behavior (Sih, Hanser & McHugh, 2009). According to the theory, the difference in beliefs and views of individuals in a social network affects the outcome of their interaction process (Bharati, Zhang & Chaudhury, 2015; Behringer & Sassenberg, 2015). As such, the interaction of knowledgeable persons with different perceptions on an a can lead to the creation of a more informed idea, thus fostering innovations within the organization (Hislop, 2009). The continuous development of the social media platforms and their increase in number has enabled people to connect with others from different locations, thus supporting knowledge sharing and improving their innovativeness.