CISCO’s strategy on Knowledge Management, manage knowledge through effective process of knowledge

generation, sharing, and transfer among their employees.

IT Sustainability and Human Resource
Fundamental to today’s knowledge economy is how
Management companies foster learning by obtaining and retaining
Corporate organization strategies are often driven by the intent knowledge from their workers (Wild, Griggs & Downing, 2002
to gain maximum output from the process implemented. p.371). The common practice in many multinational companies
Hence, many multinational organizations implement business is to acquire and transfer tactical knowledge from head office
practices which yield them steady results and future to their subsidiaries by the help of domain experts (Fang,
enhancement opportunities. To gain competitive advantage, Jiang, Makino & Beamish, 2010). However, CISCO has a
organizations develop a pool of human talent who act as the revolutionary approach where information technology is used
important sources, transmitters and implementers of the to impart explicit and tactical knowledge. This KM system
knowledge, derived from core competencies developed over known as “e-Learning” helps people learn more continuously
time (Vaiman & Vance, 2008 p.6). with a specific agenda and choice, virtually or in-person,
among peers or from organization’s stored knowledge
Sustainability is a complex issue and, to implement it,
resources, and for measured business outcomes (Kelly &
businesses require long term orientation and commitment to
Bauer, 2003 p.511). CISCO’s vision is to develop an agile
change the way they conduct all their activities (Issa, Issa &
workforce that can create, capture and share knowledge
Isaias, 2017 p.4). Hence, it is important for large corporate
among peers, distribution partners and supply chain vendors;
organizations to be morally responsible by setting precedence
resulting in an empowered network of skilled professionals
on sustainable approaches in managing their IT operations so
who ensure customer satisfaction, scalable delivery and
that others can follow which in turn will benefit the wider
optimal learning experiences (Kelly & Bauer, 2003 p. 512).
society.
CISCO through the implementation of e-Learning system as an
As we proceed further in subsequent paragraphs, a case study
enterprise wide application was able to bring across a cultural
about the management strategies of CISCO Systems Inc. will
change. Moving away from class – room based physically
be discussed and critiqued on the concepts of knowledge
interactive training, they published technical white papers, on-
management, sustainable measures adopted and the
demand video and audio simulators, in addition to the
treatment towards human resources as intellectual and social
structured and instruction oriented hands-on virtual labs. The
capital. CISCO Systems Inc. being a global tech-giant in
result was an instant acclaim of the free accessible technical
networking and tele-communication products has been
content available over the internet for working professionals
specifically chosen as an example because many companies
globally (Kelly & Bauer, 2003 pp. 515-520). These labs though
adopt their standard practices. Companies like CISCO,
self-paced had a fixed schedule with moderate to minimal
Microsoft, Google, Apple or even, Facebook have their
interaction of subject experts dedicated in providing the
organizational practices which have been applauded and
training. Students with different areas of expertise were allotted
appreciated globally. Through the references cited in this
in groups and blended together to complete the course through
document which have been conducted by various academic
presentations, journals and online assessments. The approach
researchers, a retrospection on these practices will be
led to an upswing in completion rates of the course and
reviewed and analysed.
achieved higher learner satisfaction. The success of the e-

CISCO’s strategy on Knowledge Management Learning system further accentuated when net savings
estimated at $42 Million for the fiscal year of 2001 was
Knowledge is an information that is linked to potential actions
achieved (Kelly & Bauer, 2003 pp. 522). Today, CISCO
because an individual is able to use it, whereas data can be
product certifications, virtual labs and e-Learning courses are
sent by an originator to a recipient, and information is simply
industry standard and have been followed by many academic
data that are intelligible to the recipient (Davenport & Prusak,
universities and multinational organizations.
2000).
Early 2010s, with the explosive growth of social networking
The above statement summarizes the importance of
and online video streaming, CISCO had started to invest in
knowledge and its management. Knowledge is a key asset and
network based intelligence projects which centred around
differentiates one organization from the next. However, it is
content sharing (Frazier & Fishman, 2010). Mentioning one
arguably the least managed asset in most organizations
such KM project is CISCO Pulse, a vocabulary – based
(Vaiman & Vance, 2008 p.24). Thus, companies strategize and
tagging and search engine that hosts indices up to 35 Million
records which yields high-speed queries in a search time CISCO has incorporated their commitment towards IT
ranging in milliseconds (Frazier & Fishman, 2010). The product sustainability on their product design, networking and security
is customizable to meet client’s requirements through a appliances sold to consumer markets. Cisco engineers
personalized library and tags user’s activity, content and consider the entire lifecycle of their security products, building
behaviour in electronic communications to match the long-lasting devices that also consider physical footprint,
vocabulary, presenting valuable information that simplifies and packaging, documentation, power consumption, and ultimately
accelerates knowledge sharing across an organization (CISCO decommissioning and disposal (CISCO Systems, 2009). For
Pulse, 2017). Built on open source technology, CISCO is example, CISCO ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance) provides
bringing across a new culture of staying connected through a virtualized layer for integration of security features like
knowledge management without any high financial firewall, remote access, virtual private networks and intrusion
expenditure. It correlates to CISCO’s vision to make prevention systems. This dislodges the requirement of a
information available to everyone and accessible at all times. dedicated facility with physical components consuming power
and energy resources, and brings a new concept of converged
CISCO’s strategy on IT Sustainability IT environment managed through virtual layer. The below
Sustainability is a widely discussed topic as people are now power efficiency table describes the advantage of converged
more concerned about climate change and preserving systems over traditional security solutions (CISCO System,
environment. Many corporations by adopting sustainable 2009) in the efficiency to curb power consumption.
strategies are reducing their carbon footprint and
environmental damage thus, conserving raw materials for the
future generations (Issa, Issa & Isaias, 2017 p.29). However,
as argued by Melville in the MIS Quarterly report that few
corporate research studies have integrated the role of
information technology in environmental sustainability. There
was an emphasis that companies involved in information
technology business should take a more committed stance
towards sustainability through their processes, organizational
policies and supply chain methods (Melville, 2010).

CISCO’s strategies and innovations are generally targeted to Figure 01: Comparison of Power Consumption (in Watts) between
their social responsibilities by developing environment friendly CISCO ASA 5540, CISCO 3845 Router and dedicated security
appliances.
technological products for communities and larger society. To
reduce greenhouse emissions, CISCO has pledged to avoid CISCO’s strategies on Human Resources as Social
one million metric tonnes of GHG emissions from their supply and Intellectual Capital
chain operations by 2020 (Shaver, 2016). Future initiatives like
In early 2000s, CISCO System’s CEO John T. Chambers had
Integrated Greenhouse Gas Reduction roadmap has been
the strategy that personal and organizational vision should be
thought over with an aim to reduce carbon footprint. In CISCO,
unified so that company’s work is shared, and the company
sustainability is now seen as an integrated business imperative
works harder to develop relationships with its multiple
in the global supply chain rather than a trade-off that needs to
stakeholders that provide for both credibility and basis for
be made (Shaver, 2016). CISCO in their CSR report for
building social capital internally and externally (Waddock,
FY2016 had mentioned several programs related to IT
2001). Over the next decade with the boom of internet and IT
sustainability. Among them the few important ones are
communications, CISCO had seen a gigantic rise with the
(Paquette, 2017)
development of innovative products through strategic and
 Use of renewable source of energy to meet 77% of successful acquisitions and mergers. A close analysis will
their electricity demands for FY 2016 reveal that the strategy employed by CISCO was to expand
 Launch of several internal engagement programs their business and invest in the social and intellectual capital
through which employees can learn how to reduce acquired from these acquisitions (Mayer & Kenney, 2004 pp.
their environmental footprint and inspire their 299 – 325). CISCO pioneered a strategy of creating
community. “sponsored start-up” by investing and holding shares of a
company started by their ex-employees. They would set some
criteria of functional requirements and milestones which the CISCO has set their future from a product based company to a
company eventually had to achieve, before CISCO acquires service oriented solution provider where the primary focus is
the business (Mayer & Kenney, 2004 pp. 309). The example of towards cloud networking. Through hyper-converged
this strategy was Ardent Networks Inc., where CISCO by datacenter solution, CISCO achieves to deliver a software
trusting and investing on their employees’ new ideas and defined virtualized infrastructure to its customers. To meet this
innovations was able to stay ahead of their competitors like business demand, CISCO completed the acquisition of
Lucent and Alcatel (Mayer & Kenney, 2004 pp. 309). CISCO Springpath Inc., a US based leader in hyper-convergence
even had lucrative retention tactics to retain new hires and software (CISCO Newsroom, 2017). However, they still rely on
best minds in the industry. Employees were benefitted by their core business strategy of growing business through
some of the retention tactics like state-of-the-art day care intellectual and social capital received from acquisitions.
centre with nanny cams installed on employee’s desks, CISCO believes that through their continual business
supporting employees during calamities and personal strategies, they will be able to meet and excel customer
contingency, buddy programs for new hires and reward system demands and achieve the great success of early 2000s.
for employees which were aligned to company’s strategy and
values (Chatman, O’Reilly & Chang, 2005).

Another example of CISCO’s investment towards human

capital was during the 2008 financial meltdown. When most
companies had disowned their employees due to economic
turmoil, CISCO had gone extra mile to ensure the laid-off
employees were financially sustained. They gave six months’
severance pay to the employees who were laid-off, contacted
recruiters from other companies on their behalf, and helped
employees who were foreign nationals to deal with immigration
issues. Cisco treated such employees well in the hopes that
these workers would return to Cisco when the company could
hire them back. In fact, the company developed a creative
program in which it agreed to pay employees one-third of their
salary and continue their health benefits and stock-option
grants if they agreed to work for a local charity or community
organization. Approximately 80 employees accepted the offer
(Chatman, O’Reilly & Chang, 2005).

Conclusion
In a nutshell, CISCO has over the years defied the traditional
methodology of business strategies in dealing with their
knowledge assets, corporate social responsibilities and human
resources. The core value of CISCO lies in innovation and
excellence through knowledge management and intellectual
capital. Cisco’s mission was to “be the supplier of choice by
leading all competitors in customer satisfaction, product
leadership, market share, and profitability” (Chatman, O’Reilly
& Chang, 2005). Throughout their company’s history, with
highs and lows in financial market, CISCO has managed to
keep their core values intact. They ensured that they
developed a knowledge management platform which can build
networking engineers all over the world. Their certifications are
accepted industry wide and have set an accreditation
benchmark for individuals who are new to the IT industry.
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