THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES WITHIN LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS

In this changing environment the managers and the employees have to rapidly adapt. They have to be opened and prepared for new strategies and to understand the fact that risk and innovation are unavoidable. Organizations cannot compete in this ever-changing environment without proper knowledge and lack of capacity for renewal. Managers have to manage the organization in such a manner that the employees will change their vision, ideas and attitudes on long term. Organizations need to see knowledge management as a strategy, this means knowing how to apply knowledge management (KM) concepts to enhance the performance of the system and processes. The aim of the paper is to identify ways in which companies can develop and support the KM strategy to drive more value, by revising the practices in order to ensure the knowledge focus. The companies are more and more aware about the potential of focusing on learning and training. Among the benefits of approaching knowledge management strategy within organisations we must underline its positive impact on organisational performance, ensuring not only its survival but even providing a competitive advantage

The relationship between EFQM levels of excellence and CSR development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) development, in accordance with the dimensions of Maon et al.’s (2010) model, which could be achieved when organisations adopt the EFQM model, as well as how the EFQM model can foster this CSR development. Design/methodology/approach The research method chosen was a qualitative methodology involving multiple case studies. The empirical research relies on an in-depth study of four cases of organisations recognised by the EFQM model in Spain. Findings The findings show that, although a higher commitment to the EFQM model implies a greater level of CSR development, with the knowledge and attitudinal dimensions more developed than others, organisations still have to make CSR an internalised management ideology. Research limitations/implications The very nature of the process of EFQM assessment does not ensure uniformity in all aspects of management. Limitations that are inherent to case studies: factors that can be chosen by the researcher, such as geographical location, size, sector and ownership, can have an influence on the characteristics of the CSR practices that are found. Practical implications This study contributes to the literature on excellence by approaching the EFQM model as a tool to integrate CSR issues into management. Social implications A relationship between commitment to excellence and CSR development does exist. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous analysis has been performed to address the potential relationship between CSR development in accordance with Maon et al.’s (2010) model and commitment to excellence

Knowledge management capabilities in social enterprises

Many studies have researched how organisations can benefit from Knowledge Management (KM). Critical factors, models and frameworks for successful implementations of KM have informed practitioners in different industries and countries. However, there is still a need for exploring other dimensions of KM as well as its application in different contexts. Further empirical evidence and operationalisation, which assure successful implementations, is also needed to improve not only companies but also society in general. Building on that observation, this study presents conceptual and empirical evidence to support the view that KM, understood as an organisational capability, improves organisational performance of the under-researched and increasingly important Social Enterprises (SEs). These, normally micro and small organisations, are gaining worldwide attention and importance as they address, following business principles, crucial social and environmental problems and provide more sustainable solutions. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of empirical evidence of how these organisations operate, perform and scale up. The study supports this view by developing and empirically testing a model named Knowledge Management Capabilities in Social Enterprises (KMC-SE), which is the main contribution to knowledge of this study. The model describes the organisational pre-conditions and the knowledge activities that can develop Knowledge Management Capabilities (KMCs), which then have an impact on SEs’ performance. A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods’ research design was followed to test the model with empirical evidence from 432 SEs in the UK. The evidence suggests that current KMCs account for up to 20% of overall improvements in SEs’ performance, based on a year-to-year comparison. Moreover, the KMC-SE Model proposes new insights in the traditional way of approaching KM and KMC development, highlighting (a) the important role of human and cultural factors, giving less emphasis to extrinsic motivations and technology, (b) the importance of studying informal KM practices, and (c) the essential inclusion of external dimensions into the equation. Because of the limited research in organisational characteristics of SEs, and more specifically, their KM practices, the KMC-SE Model may have omitted other important elements that were particular to these organisations in their development of KMCs, as well as their performance measures. Therefore, the obtained KMC-SE Model needs to be considered as only a starting point in the study of KM in SEs

Innovation brokers and their roles in value chain-network innovation: preliminary findings and a research agenda

Intervention approaches have been implemented in developing countries to enhance farmer's livelihoods through improving their linkages to markets and inclusiveness in agricultural value chains. Such interventions are aimed at facilitating the inclusion of small farmers not just in the vertical activities of the value chain (coordination of the chain) but also in the horizontal activities (cooperation in the chain). Therefore value addition is made by not just innovating products and services, but also by innovating social processes, which we define as Value Chain-Network Innovation. In Value Chain-Network Innovation, linkage formation among networks and optimisation is one of the main objectives of innovation enhancing interventions. Here some important roles for innovation brokers are envisaged as crucial to dynamise this process, connecting different actors of the innovation system, paying special attention to the weaker ones. However, little attention has been given to identify different innovation brokering roles in those approaches, and to the need that they facilitate innovation processes and open safe spaces for innovation and social learning at different organisational settings and levels, to have more effective and sustainable impacts. This paper offers some preliminary empirical evidence of the roles of innovation brokers in a developing country setting, recognising the context-sensitive nature of innovations. Two cases from work experience with intervention approaches are analysed in light of the theories of innovation brokering, presenting some empirical evidence of different types of arrangements made by innovation brokers. A third case was taken from the literature. Data from questionnaires, key informant interviews, participant observations of different types of activities and processes carried out in those approaches, SWOT analysis and project reports were used for the analysis of different types of brokering roles and to draw some lessons. One important outcome of this preliminary analysis was that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in integration with other media facilitate new ways of social organisation and interaction of innovation networks, which offer more possibilities for processes of innovation, aggregating value to the production and sharing of knowledge. There is already a transition of paradigm for approaching agricultural innovation to more participative and open approaches, which offers a promissory landscape for organising the value chain actors in a way that is more favourable for small farmers

Benchmarking performance management systems

The Balanced Scorecard and associated performance management approaches, has become a widely practiced and popular management reporting method in recent times. Moreover, enabling technology, which assists in the delivery and personalisation of corporate performance information, is having a deeper and more rapid impact than ever before. This paper presents a brief comparative benchmarking study of leading enterprise performance management systems. Also, the author discusses the merits of bespoke internet technology development and out-of-the-box portal functionalities. An analysis of key business drivers and implementation risks of such approaches is highlighted via a case study example, and concludes the paper

Career advancement of the professional women in the UK construction industry: Career success factors

The issue regarding the lack of women in the UK construction industry has become more prominent for some time, attracting government and industry wide attention due to this potential skill shortage facing the industry. In order to meet these future demands the industry cannot rely on recruiting only from the male workforce. Therefore women?s participation for the construction industry especially for professional level is important. This paper explores the importance of career success factors among professional women in the UK construction industry to achieve their career advancement. E-questionnaires were designed and data was collected from 31 professional women, consist of 10 women in idealism career phase (early career phase),10 in endurance career phase (mid career phase) and 11 from reinventive career phase (advanced career phase). Using relative important index technique, the level of importance of career success factors were group in to three categories. The critical career success factors, moderately important career success factors and the least important career success factors were categorised among women in each career phase. The results indicated that the age and gender didn?t have impact on professional women?s career advancement. Ability to work with people have been identified as one of the critical career success factors both in early and mid career with the highest overall index of 1.00, while strategic vision has became the one of the critical career success factor in advanced career with the highest index of 0.95. The finding of this study will have input towards the identification of different training and development activities to advance women?s career in the construction industr

A rail revolution

This report summarises a number of initiatives undertaken across the Australian and New Zealand rail industry by the Australasian Railway Association from 2006 to 2008. It aims to provide a clear view on what the rail industry collectively needs in targeted occupations over the next five to 10 years and how skills and labour shortages need to be tackled. The report presents key findings and outlines actions required at company, industry and government levels. To conclude, a series of strategic recommendations are proposed offering a framework to the broader rail industry in order to facilitate continued industry growth and prosperity. This report was produced in partnership by Business Group Australia (BGA), InfoRM, APD HR Consulting and the Australasian Railway Association and funded by the Australian government