Sulzer Innotec AG: Sustainable anchoring of knowledge management in the company

Der Fall Sulzer Innotec AG veranschaulicht Meilensteine und Fallstricke auf dem Weg zu einer konkreten betrieblichen Verankerung von Wissensmanagement. Aus dem Fall lassen sich folgende Erkenntnisse für die Initiierung von Wissensmanagement gewinnen: Eine angemessene Konkretisierung von Wissensmanagement führt über den Weg einer mehrfachen Re-Definition des Themas. Verschiedene Zugänge müssen von allen relevanten Akteuren überprüft und in ihrem wechselseitigen Zusammenhang verstanden und kommuniziert werden. Dabei ist eine längerfristige Perspektive auf Wissensmanagement anzustreben, um einen nachhaltigen Veränderungsprozess zu initiieren. Es bedarf einer breit abgestützten Sensibilisierung von Beteiligten und Betroffenen. Die Zusammenarbeit mit exter¬nen wissenschaftlichen Partnern, die im Rahmen einer Begleitforschung einen interventionsorientierten Ansatz verfolgen, hat sich als prozessunterstützend erwiesen, wobei der methodischen Unterstützung von Sensibilisierungsprozessen für das Thema Wissen eine besondere Bedeutung zukam. Die Institutionalisierung eines Kernteams ermöglichte es, Akteure aus verschiedenen Unternehmensbereichen in den Prozess zu integrieren. Eine zusätzliche, strategische Verankerung des Themas über ein Steering-Committee signalisierte das Commitment des Top-Managements

Taking Actors' Perspectives Seriously: Whose Knowledge and What is Managed? Knowledge Management in a Transdisciplinary Perspective

Knowledge is often considered to be the most important intangible asset of the future. The management of knowledge is generally understood as management of data and information Consequently, most approaches see knowledge management primarily as a matter of sophisticated information technologies. In this contribution, knowledge is understood as something that is generated, transferred and reproduced in interaction processes. Hence, knowledge is an irreducible part of the interaction process itself. To assess, exchange, and eventually, manage knowledge all actors participating in a knowledge interaction process and their specific perspectives have to be taken into account. To be able to do so, a transdisciplinary perspective in indispensable in theory, method, and the implementation of knowledge management strategies and tools. A promising way to study the different actor’s perspectives is by analysing the use and role of language in knowledge management processes as proposed here

Co-operation at Work: a Process-Oriented Perspective on Joint Activity in Inter-Organizational Relations

In this paper the authors present a conceptual framework for analysing co-operation between organizations as a situated process, highlighting co-operation, co-ordination and co-construction as different modes of joint activity. Within this framework, the analysis of unexpected events becomes a crucial issue. The analytic power of reconstructing the (psycho-) logics of unexpected events in inter-organizational relations will be demonstrated in the presentation of selected outcomes of a research project on the dynamics of producer-supplier relationships in the German automobile industry. Also in this empirical part, the significance of trust and confidence in inter-organizational relations will be reflected

Studying Trust in Virtual Organizations

The core objective of this article is to introduce the repertory grid technique as a powerful methodology into research on trust in virtual organizations. This technique is particularly capable of yielding insights into the subjective meaning of trust. Virtual organizations have been chosen as our empirical field because the literature shows a broad consensus that trust is one of the most important success factors for the initiation, development, and continuation of activities in these types of hybrid regimes. On the basis of a discussion of the literature on trust in networks and virtual organizations, we present our empirical case study of two Swiss virtual organizations. It reveals that the emergence of trust in virtual organizations depends strongly on personal bonds and shared experiences in the practical realization of projects, whereas generalized rules and contracts play only a supplementary role. Localized and experience-based commitments as well as the proactive behavior of the partners involved are identified as decisive denominators of trust

Analysis of Ti- and Pb-based particles in the aqueous environment of Melbourne (Australia) via single particle ICP-MS.

The analysis of natural and anthropogenic nanomaterials (NMs) in the environment is challenging and requires methods capable to identify and characterise structures on the nanoscale regarding particle number concentrations (PNCs), elemental composition, size, and mass distributions. In this study, we employed single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SP ICP-MS) to investigate the occurrence of NMs in the Melbourne area (Australia) across 63 locations. Poisson statistics were used to discriminate between signals from nanoparticulate matter and ionic background. TiO2-based NMs were frequently detected and corresponding NM signals were calibated with an automated data processing platform. Additionally, a method utilising a larger mass bandpass was developed to screen for particulate high-mass elements. This procedure identified Pb-based NMs in various samples. The effects of different environmental matrices consisting of fresh, brackish, or seawater were mitigated with an aerosol dilution method reducing the introduction of salt into the plasma and avoiding signal drift. Signals from TiO2- and Pb-based NMs were counted, integrated, and subsequently calibrated to determine PNCs as well as mass and size distributions. PNCs, mean sizes, particulate masses, and ionic background levels were compared across different locations and environments

Porous Upconversion Nanostructures as Bimodal Biomedical Imaging Contrast Agents

Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society. Lanthanide ion doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) hold great promise as multimodal contrast agents for a range of medical imaging techniques, including optical bioimaging (OBI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT). However, it is challenging to obtain UCNPs with both maximal contrast enhancement effects for both OBI and MRI simultaneously owing to the dilemma in the size of UCNPs. UCNPs in large dimensions contain more photonic Ln ions and less surface defects, which is favored for high luminescent emissions, while small UCNPs with high specific surface areas allow a higher proportion of paramagnetic Ln ions to be more accessible to water molecules, which offers enhanced contrast in MRI. In this work, we report the novel design of core-porous shell UCNPs with both high luminescent emissions and magnetic relaxivities as potential dual-modal contrast agents. The core-porous shell UCNPs were fabricated via the selective etching of the inert shell of NaYF4: 30%Gd at the active core of NaYF4: 20%Yb, 1%Er. Their morphology and composition were carefully characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and high resolution TEM. Their photoluminescent and magnetic resonance properties were experimentally determined and compared for the core, core-dense shell, and core-porous shell UCNPs. Core-porous shell UCNPs were found to display bright luminescence and superior MRI contrast enhancement, thus showing great potential as bimodal OBI and MRI contrast agents