Developing a sustainability KM strategy for HA planned works

Effective management of sustainability-related knowledge is central to the development of sustainable construction practices. Despite progress In other contexts, existing knowledge management efforts have been of limited value to contexts such as housing association planned works (cyclical replacement of housing components) due to an inability to reflect the specificities of these projects. This paper presents the development of a structured strategy to improve the capture, storage, retrieval and exchange of sustainability-related knowledge within housing association planned works. Knowledge mapping exercises based on semi-structured interviews were carried out within four different sized Scottish housing associations. Sustainability-related knowledge maps were developed for each activity focusing on managerial, economic, social, environmental aspects and overall flow of knowledge providing the basis for recommendations to improve the management of sustainability-related knowledge during planned works. The strategy promotes a structured approach providing housing associations with the opportunity to tailor the strategy to reflect their context and requirements. Practitioners from the case studies confirmed its usefulness especially for housing associations committed to sustainability but struggling to engage with high-level policy and strategies. One case study association has implemented the high-level principles to support its wider sustainability policy and is piloting a strategy for its planned works. </jats:p

The making of knowledge cities: Lessons learned from Melbourne

Knowledge cities are seen as fundamental to the economic growth and development of the 21st century cities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the knowledge city concept in depth. This paper discusses the principles of a knowledge city, and portrays its distinguishing characteristics and processes. The paper relates and analyses Melbourne’s experience as a knowledge city and scrutinises Melbourne’s initiatives on science, technology and innovation and policies for economic and social development. It also illustrates how the city administration played a key role in developing Melbourne as a globally recognised, entrepreneurial and competitive knowledge city. Then this paper identifies key success factors and provides some insights to policy makers of the MENA region cities in designing knowledge cities

Knowledge management enabler factors and firm performance : an empirical research of the Greek medium and large firms

Knowledge has become one of the most important driving forces for business success. Knowledge management helps organizations to find, select, organise, distribute, and transfer vital information. Through a successful knowledge management (KM) organizations improve their effectiveness and gain competitive advantage. The development of KM has led to the need of identifying its critical success factors. This study identifies and discusses the critical success factors or enablers that determine the KM effectiveness within organizations, which in turn influence the total performance of the firm. Based on existing frameworks and models, this study outlines the five most important factors that are believed to be critical for an effective KM implementation. This paper also investigates the effect of knowledge management effectiveness on firm performance. The proposed research model is tested via an online survey sent to 280 medium and large sized enterprises, randomly selected, all over Greece; from those only 109 answered the questionnaire correctly. The results of the study will help organizations to understand the impact that different enablers have on the KM successful implementation and how the effectiveness of KM affect firm performance.peer-reviewe

Organizações na era pós-industrial: a complexidade, as "fintechs" e os bancos

Desde o primórdio da Era Industrial até os dias atuais, observamos grandes mudanças organizacionais, atreladas ao surgimento de novas tecnologias e a alterações sociais, culturais e econômicas. Nelas, a complexidade se fez cada vez mais presente e hoje, em plena Era pós-Industrial, o uso de suas teorias e preceitos - juntamente com o uso das TIC - se mostra essencial para a sobrevivência e evolução das organizações. No mercado financeiro, tal como nos outros, a concorrência está cada vez mais acirrada e os grandes bancos necessitam rapidamente reagir e se moldar ao mundo digital, aos novos consumidores e à crescente ascensão das "fintechs". Diante disso, com este trabalho objetivamos - e acreditamos que conseguimos - demonstrar a importância e as vantagens de se utilizar conceitos e teorias da complexidade nos processos de análise e gestão das organizações. Para tanto, realizamos a revisão de literatura, sobre os temas supracitados; o estudo de caso, com contextualização do mercado atual e explanação sobre o Banco do Brasil; e, por fim, a recolha de dados, de questionários respondidos por clientes e colaborados do BB, e sua análise através de ferramentas estatísticas.From the beginnings of the Industrial Age to the present day, we have observed great organizational changes, linked to the emergence of new technologies and to social, cultural and economic changes. In them, complexity became more and more present and today, in the post-Industrial Era, the use of its theories and precepts - together with the use of ICT - is essential for the survival and evolution of organizations. In the financial market, just like in the others, competition is getting fiercer and big banks need to quickly react and mold to the digital world, new consumers and the growing rise of fintechs. Therefore, with this work we aim - and we believe we did - demonstrate the importance and advantages of using concepts and theories of complexity in the processes of analysis and management of organizations. For this, we carry out the literature review, on the aforementioned themes; the case study, with contextualization of the current market and explanation about the Bank of Brazil; and, finally, the collection of data, questionnaires answered by BB clients and collaborators, and their analysis through statistical tools

A performance metric system for the long-term sustainability of a multi-national enterprise

The purpose of this Qualitative research was to determine the metrics required to define the Long-Term Sustainability of a Multinational Enterprise (MNE). The study investigated and analysed how the individual subsidiaries of a listed organisation interpreted LTS and what measurements (metrics) were the most important in supporting this long-term approach. The research analysed questionnaires administered to managers from different disciplines within the organisation. This process sought to accumulate a set of responses and through the statistical analysis of these responses, in particular, extensive qualitative research was used to find a common thread of relevant metrics, which can be used presently and in the future to determine LTS. The researcher reviewed models and the literature to establish a set of questions for the construction of individual questionnaires. This was based on current theory combined with institutional knowledge and experience. The questionnaires were designed to provoke responses from management of their view of the important contributors to LTS. The individual questionnaires (Annexures I to VIII) comprised a series of focused questions and multiple-choice answers based on either 5 or 10-point Likert scales and a few open-ended questions. The main respondents were VPs, MDs, OMs, Human Resource Managers, Financial Managers, and Sales and Marketing Managers of the subsidiaries within the MNE. These “At the heart of an excellent manufacturing business rests the efficiency of its operations, the commitment of the people who manufacture the products, the level of motivation of the workforce, the passion of its salesforce and the innovation shown by its engineers” respondents were all best suited to answer questions at the required level of expertise, when taking into consideration the LTS of the organisation. The data obtained from the research was used to devise suggested scorecards that may be used as guidelines for current and future initiatives when considering LTS. Qualitative research methods were used in this research as they seek understanding of “how things work in particular contexts”. This allows for the building of new theory and the conceptual advancements of knowledge, starting with very general concepts which, as the research progresses, change their definition (Brannen, 2016). In qualitative research, researchers use themselves as the instrument, attending to their own cultural assumptions as well as to the data. to achieve imaginative insights into the respondents’ social worlds. (McCracken, 1988). Concepts and categories are relevant to qualitative research. as quantitative research is an exercise in analytical induction