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Characteristics
and Necessary Abilities of the Knowledge Worker
--
Regina
Negri Pagani,
Luiz Alberto Pilatti and Hélio Gomes
de Carvalho
This
paper intends to project the traits relevant to the knowledge
worker in the strategic, managerial and operational levels,
according to the perspective of Human Resources Managers.
An exploratory research of qualitative character was conducted,
with the intentional sample of `Human Resources Managers
of 20 companies of Ponta Grossa city, Paraná, Brazil'.
The analysis of the results display the ideal profile-a
versatile and multifunctional worker whose predominant emotional
characteristic is self-regulation, a trait that enables
him to work in teams, empowering him to deal with different
situations in his daily work. The ideal profile also includes
informational and organizational abilities, cognitive and
emotional abilities.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Future
Prospects of Knowlege-Intensive
Business Services (KIBS) and Implications to Regional Economies
--
Marja
Toivonen
Knowledge-Intensive
Business Services (KIBS) have aroused much interest during
recent years due to their role as central actors in innovation
systems. This article discusses the future prospects of
KIBS on the basis of the analysis of driving forces and
trends. Three driving forces characteristic of today's society
seem especially relevant from the viewpoint of KIBS: the
development of information and communication technologies,
the globalization of the economy and the generalization
of network-based business models. These driving forces provide
KIBS with new business opportunities and make the continuity
of the growth of the sector probable. On the hand, they
pose new challenges to the working practices of KIBS and
cause restructuring in the sector. Important trends in KIBS
are, among others, client-specific specialization, broadening
of the service content, and the generalization of consultative
way of working. Along with these changes in KIBS' working
practices, the relationships between sub-sectors and companies
also change: the different KIBS sub-sectors converge and
the position of big KIBS strengthens. The concentration
trend reinforces the already strong geographical concentration
of KIBS further. In order to correct the unbalanced situation,
all options available to peripheral regions should be applied:
importing services, supporting local supply and favoring
extra-regional investments. An important `survival strategy'
for small local KIBS is the building of networks, which
can be used for creating new client contacts, for widening
one's own expertise, and for adopting best practices.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Recruitment
Strategies in the Indian Software Industry
--
Geetika
and Piyali Ghosh
The
size of an organization, among various other factors, plays
an important role in determining the type and shape of organizational
strategies, including human resource strategies. This paper
aims to examine the relationship between different strategies
of recruitment in the Indian software industry and size
of organization (in terms of number of employees) with the
help of a survey. It also attempts to explore the dimensions
of recruitment strategies, namely whom to recruit, from
where to recruit and how to recruit, in this industry. Research
premises have been examined on the basis of several variables
like internal and external recruitment, recruitment of people
with right skills, strategy of succession planning, identification
of manpower requirements in advance and manpower planning
with five yearly projections. The findings corroborate the
proposition that recruitment strategies of such organizations
vary with their size and that such strategies are focussed
to meet short-term requirements.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
A
Case Study on Knowledge Management Practices in an Oil Company
in Malaysia
--
Juhana
Salim*
This
paper focuses on the Knowledge Management (KM) practices
in an oil company in Malaysia. The study aims to answer
some of the research questions that need some concrete answers
like: the perception of KM as perceived by the oil company
being studied, the effectiveness of KM activities, sources
of knowledge practices, the personnel that play the main
role in KM initiatives, KM initiatives practiced in the
concerned oil company and whether they measure the effectives
of the Knowledge Management practices. This company was
chosen because the review of literature revealed that ,
oil companies are prominent among the companies that have
succeeded in implementing KM initiatives and programs. Such
practices have proved effective in meeting the objective
of managing knowledge for internal knowledge integration
and external knowledge interfaces for operative and strategic
effects. This research has found that Knowledge Management
or initiatives practices in the oil company being studied
are not limited to developing systems for storage and dissemination
of tacit to explicit or recorded knowledge. It involves
the process of continually creating new knowledge and making
it accessible through the organization's knowledge base.
New knowledge iscaptured and embodied quickly in new products
and services, technologies and systems. Such initiatives
and enablers aim at perpetuating changes within the organization
and equips this oil company with competitive advantage.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Knowledge
Management in SMEs Clusters: The Case of a Spanish Textile
Cluster
--
Josep
Capó-Vicedo and Manuel Expósito-Langa
In
recent years, the balance between knowledge and resources
has changed so dramatically in the developed economies that,
the former has become the most decisive factor in relation
to standard of living. Knowledge has become even more important
than traditional resources such as land, machinery and work.
However, at both a European level and at a national level
in Spain, the existence of economic systems based on Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises(SMEs) represents an important
barrier for transition to take place from traditional economies
to those based on knowledge. This paper highlights the necessity
for establishing relationships with other companies and
external agents in order to empower the creation and diffusion
of knowledge, through factors such as innovation. Likewise,
the influence of geographical and territorial factors will
be studied in the context of this economy. SMEs normally
work and are immersed in particular geographical regions.
This paper analyzes the particular case of the textile cluster
of Valencia (Spain).
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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