The coming decades, the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) are going to retire. This retirement wave will cause a loss of knowledge for organizations and thus threatens the organization‟s ability to make knowledge productive and thus competitiveness. As knowledge management (KM) is the formal discipline that aims at improving knowledge productivity, knowledge management seems to be the discipline to provide the solutions to this problem. Although KM literature provides ample solutions, hardly anything has been said about the applicability and the effectiveness of these solutions in the context of retaining knowledge from retiring employees. Therefore, the objective in this research is to make a structured comparison of six KM interventions that are used in practice to retain knowledge from retiring employees (Modeling, Leaving expert interview, File-transfer protocol, Master-apprentice relation, Individual gap analysis, and Knowledge recall). This comparison is based on the four components of the CIMO-logic that is used in design-based research, which implies that this study contains information on what to do (I), in which type of situations (C), to produce what effect (O), and it offers some understanding of why this happens (M). Based on the comparison, this study discovered that the CIMO-logic of the six different interventions demonstrated many similarities, which resulted in the formulation of an overall CIMO-logic. In addition, based on the differences, we also formulated three distinctive CIMO-logics for File-transfer protocol, Master-apprentice relation, and Individual gap analysis. Important finding of this study is that the six KM interventions seem to fit the target group (retiring employees) very well, because they anticipate on the desire to round off and hand over. Another important finding in this study is that retaining knowledge from retiring employees is not only beneficial to the organization, but also to the retiring employee himself. From a methodological point of view, important finding of this study is that the CIMO-logic provides a valuable framework for revealing the similarities and differences between different management interventions.
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Our ageing population is the result of two demographic trends: decreasing fertility levels and higher life expectancy. As a corollary to these demographic trends, the working population is ageing and shrinking at the same time. This development will affect the performance of organizations in the next decades. As today‟s economy and the performance of organizations is mainly based on knowledge, the ageing workforce will mainly affect the organizations ability to be knowledge productive. As current knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) literature hardly addresses the issue of ageing, the aim of this paper is to explore this topic in order to formulate an agenda for further KM/IC research. Combining the temporary consequences of ageing (brain drain and talent gap) and the false assumptions about the capabilities of older workers (older workers contribute negatively to a firm‟s performance), the current ageing of the working population reveals two main risks for organizations and management: underutilization of older employees, and loss of knowledge. Based on the exploration of these two risks in this paper, several issues are proposed for further research. These issues focus on the specific competences of the older knowledge worker, the implications for talent development programs, the benefits of inter-generational learning, and effectiveness of knowledge retention strategies. Today, the main fear is that large scale retirement will lead to a shortage of skills, talents, knowledge. Although acknowlegding the risks and threats of this brain drain, the current temporary ageing of our workforce might also contribute to a structural better valuation of the potential of the older knowledge worker and its specific contribution to the process of knowledge creation. In an ageing knowledge economy, increased understanding about the abilities and distinct qualities of older workers will provide opportunities for organizations to enhance knowledge productivity and thus gain competitiveness.
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Conceptual metaphors play a vital role in our ability to think in abstract terms like knowledge. Metaphors structure and give meaning to the concept of knowledge. They hide and highlight certain characteristics. The choice of metaphor when reasoning about knowledge is therefore of vital importance for knowledge management (KM). This paper explores the possibility of introducing new knowledge metaphors to the field of KM. Based on a ‘wish list’ of characteristics of knowledge they want to highlight, the authors choose to explore the Knowledge as a Journey metaphor as a new metaphor for knowledge. This results in new insights regarding knowledge sharing, acquisition, retention, and innovation.
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The purpose of this paper is to perform a metaphorical analysis of knowledge as energy. This paper is based on a theoretical research concerning the nature, perception, basic laws and challenges brought up by these fundamental concepts of knowledge and energy. The metaphorical analysis of knowledge and intellectual capital has been initiated by Daniel Andriessen and his findings have been presented in several seminal works (Andriessen, 2006; 2008; Andriessen and Boom, 2007). In his work, Andriessen concluded we need to find new metaphors for knowledge. In our theoretical research we shall consider the knowledge as energy metaphor, with energy as the source domain, and knowledge as the target domain, and we are interested in identifying the metaphorical semantic kernel and the limitations of this analysis. The semantic kernel contains: (1) the concept of field as a nonuniform and nonlinear distribution of knowledge; (2) dynamics of potential and kinetic forms of manifestations; (3) dynamics of work and heat, and (4) entropy and syntropy process characteristics. Limitations of this analysis come from the conservation laws of energy transformation which cannot be applied to the knowledge domain.
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In this article the idea of contextualising vocational knowledge is theorised to understand the nature of vocational knowledge and this process of contextualising is illustrated with empirical examples from culinary education.
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We all use metaphors of knowledge in knowledge management. What are the effects of this use for our knowledge management practice? And, basically, how do metaphors work?
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The sources of productivity have always been the main subject of economic debate because they are the main determinants of profitability and competitiveness. In order to improve productivity we should be able to identify the sources of productivity. This article presents a method for measuring the sources of knowledge productivity in order to give direction to knowledge management initiatives. The method is based on a theoretical framework which combines two different perspectives (economic and process) on knowledge productivity. This article presents the methodological and theoretical framework, the initial design of the method and the results of the first two case studies. The relevance of this article is that it combines the concepts of knowledge management and intellectual capital measurement in the relatively new concept of knowledge productivity.
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Conceptual metaphors play a vital role in our ability to think in abstract terms like knowledge. Metaphors structure and give meaning to the concept of knowledge. They hide and highlight certain characteristics. The choice of metaphor when reasoning about knowledge is therefore of vital importance for knowledge management (KM). This paper explores the possibility of introducing new knowledge metaphors to the field of KM. Based on a ‘wish list’ of characteristics of knowledge they want to highlight, the authors choose to explore the Knowledge as a Journey metaphor as a new metaphor for knowledge. This results in new insights regarding knowledge sharing, acquisition, retention, and innovation.
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De maat is vol: jonge mensen spijbelen voor het klimaat. Maar de ecologische crisis is een crisis in ons denken, en daarmee ook een crisis in ons onderwijs. Het aangaan van de grote ecologische en economische uitdagingen is niet geholpen met ‘oud denken’. Ze vragen om mensen die minder atomistisch en meer ecologisch kunnen denken over hoe zaken elkaar beïnvloeden en met elkaar verbonden zijn. Leren kritisch te denken is niet genoeg. Ontwerpgericht leren denken en samen nieuwe kennis construeren, is cruciaal. Velen zien leren als een neurologisch of cognitief informatieverwerkingsproces. Leren is vooral een psychologisch proces waarbij kennis in-ter-actie ontstaat. In de rede wordt deze stelling conceptueel besproken en onderbouwd met semantische, sociale netwerkanalyses van student-interacties. De rede eindigt met handreikingen voor studenten en docenten voor responsief en kennisconstruerend leren.
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Teacher knowledge guides a teacher's behaviour in the classroom. Teacher knowledge for technology education is generally assumed to play an important role in affecting pupils' learning in technology. There are an abundant number of teacher knowledge models that visualise different domains of teacher knowledge, but clear empirical evidence on how these domains interact is lacking. Insights into the interaction of teacher knowledge domains could be useful for teacher training. In this study, the hypothesised relations between different domains of teacher knowledge for technology education in primary schools were empirically investigated. Subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy were measured with tests and questionnaires. Results from a path analysis showed that subject matter knowledge is an important prerequisite for both pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy. Subsequently, teachers' self-efficacy was found to have a strong influence on teachers' attitude towards technology. Based on the findings in this study, it is recommended that teacher training should first of all focus on the development of teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. This knowledge will positively affect teachers' confidence in teaching and, in turn, their attitude towards the subject. More confidence in technology teaching and a more positive attitude are expected to increase the frequency of technology education, which consequently increases teaching experience and thereby stimulates the development of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. This circle of positive reinforcement will eventually contribute to the quality of technology education in primary schools.
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