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ARTICLES Here you will find a selection of : Executive briefs: briefings on key topics and practical guides to implementing frameworks and methodologies White papers: opinion pieces and reports on research and practice Articles: drafts and copies of published articles (Available to download but please respect copyright)
MAXIMIZING ROI IN HUMAN & INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL: AN INTEGRATION METHODOLOGY (Executive brief)People and other intellectual resources have become for many organizations their most important forms of capital, resources in which they invest with an expectation of returns through improved performance and capabilities. While human capital is generally regarded as the most important form of intellectual capital it forms part of an interconnected triad of capitals, the other two commonly defined as social or relational capital (relationships between people: employees, customers, suppliers and others) and structural or organizational capital (technologies, processes, brands, patents and other intellectual assets). All three capitals are closely interdependent - in organizations what you know is often dependent on who you know and vice versa; people, systems, technologies and processes need to operate in unison to influence performance. The interconnected and interdependent nature of intellectual resources
suggests that they would benefit from holistic and integrated approaches
to planning and management. The OECD and other expert bodies have
shown however that organizations typically do not have well integrated
strategies for managing what are often their most critical assets.
The Paradox of Knowledge Management: Progress, Issues and Future Directions ( Article)(Burton-Jones, A. (2008). 'The Paradox of Knowledge Management: Progress, Issues and Future Directions', The International Journal of Knowledge Culture and Change Management, 7/11: 23-34)This paper reviews the current status of knowledge management and its future prospects from theoretical and managerial perspectives. Technological, humanistic and intellectual capital-based approaches to knowledge management are presented and compared. Knowledge management is shown currently to be in a paradoxical state, simultaneously enjoying both high levels of interest and adoption and criticisms for failing to live up to user expectations and for being philosophically naive and conceptually confused. The current confusion surrounding knowledge management is shown to be largely due to a blurring of the conceptual boundaries between human knowledge and its disembodied representations, compounded by widely differing views as to what constitutes human knowledge. Confusion between embodied human knowledge and its symbolic representations is shown to have led to an over emphasis by firms on knowledge codification strategies, misperceived relationships between knowledge and other organizational resources, and difficulties in demonstrating how knowledge influences organizational performance. A systemic approach to future knowledge management is proposed which while repositioning knowledge as an exclusively human resource emphasizes the importance of interrelationships between knowledge, knowledge representations, and other resources. The resultant framework provides a basis for integrating currently divergent humanistic, technological, and intellectual capital-based approaches to knowledge management. The Knowledge-based Firm : Strategies for Growth and Competitive Advantage (White Paper)Contemporary business strategies frequently reflect an outmoded vision of the firm, based on industrial era concepts of production factors and associated competitive dynamics. Viewed through such traditional lenses, knowledge is typically viewed as a commodity like labour, materials or money to be organized and managed using traditional methods. As a result, critical differentiating features of knowledge are overlooked, links between knowledge and business strategy are misperceived, and knowledge management strategies either never get off the ground or produce suboptimal results.
The Knowledge Supply Model: A Framework for Developing Education and Training in the New Economy. (Article) (Burton-Jones,A.(2001) The Knowledge Supply Model: A Framework for developing Education and Training in the New Economy', Education and Training,43:4/5, 225-232). The increasing economic importance of knowledge is redefining firm-market boundaries, work arrangements and the links between education work and learning. This article proposes a new framework: the Knowledge Supply Model, which helps individuals, firms and learning institutions understand the dynamics of change and emerging patterns of knowledge demand and supply in different sectors of the economy. It also assists learning institutions to tailor their products and services to the needs of knowledge consumers.
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