Track: Knowledge Management

Abstract

Due to SMMEs having limited resources, which includes limited manpower, enterprises must ensure that they take the strategy of knowledge management seriously. When this is not properly done it means that the employees who are knowledgeable in the enterprise, the "knowledge-rich" may leave the enterprise and join the enterprises' competitors, or even start their own manufacturing enterprises and be their direct competitors (their previous employers). This study aims to evaluate the importance of tacit knowledge management of business improvement strategies in the furniture manufacturing SMMEs. Findings make it clear that most of the studied SMMEs have employees of less than 20. It was also found that Total Quality Management is the most used business improvement strategy by furniture manufacturing SMMEs. This study adopted a quantitative approach where 117 furniture manufacturing SMMEs have responded to questionnaires. The Cronbach Alpha of this study is .865. This study is limited to Soweto furniture manufacturing SMMEs and with regards to business improvement initiatives, this study focused on Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Statistical Quality Control and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. Further study will focus on sharing the tacit knowledge of the business improvement strategies in the furniture manufacturing SMMEs.Due to SMMEs have limited resources, including limited manpower. Employees who are knowledgeable in the enterprise may leave the enterprise and join their competitors or even start their own manufacturing enterprises and be direct competitors of their previous employers. This study aims to analyse the importance of tacit knowledge management of business improvement strategies in furniture manufacturing SMMEs. This study is limited to Soweto SMMEs that are focusing on manufacturing furniture. It is clear that most of the studied SMMEs have employees of less than 20. It was found that Total Quality Management is mostly used by furniture manufacturing SMMEs. This study adopted a quantitative approach where 117 furniture manufacturing SMMEs have responded questionnaires and the Cronbach Alpha of .865. This study is limited to Soweto furniture manufacturing SMMEs and with regards to business improvement initiatives, this study focused on Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Statistical Quality Control and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. Further study must focus on sharing the tacit knowledge of the business improvement strategies in furniture manufacturing SMMEs.