Assignment

Introduction

Knowledge management (KM) and information management (IM) are 2 of the most important processes in operating a company. In these days, knowledge become more and more important because having a good KM will make the work flow of the company more effective, avoid human brain and become more reactive with the changing environment nowadays.

Nike is a multi-national company with the biggest market share in the sportswear industry. Nike also has a very advance technology in KM and IM and that does give Nike competitive advantages. This report will analyze how Nike manages their knowledge and information so effective. Moreover, this report also provides a KM plan for Nike to predict and plan for the future.

History

Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.

According to Otis Davis, a student athlete whom Bowerman coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight. Says Davis, "I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the waffle iron, and they were mine.

In 1966, BRS opened its first retail store, located at 3107 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the Swoosh newly designed by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used...