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1 – 10 of 12
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2001

Charlotte Linde

This paper discusses the role of narrative in the expression and transmission of social knowledge as a specific type of tacit knowledge. Narrative is a central mechanism by which…

4753

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of narrative in the expression and transmission of social knowledge as a specific type of tacit knowledge. Narrative is a central mechanism by which social knowledge is conveyed. Narrative provides a bridge between the tacit and the explicit, allowing tacit social knowledge to be demonstrated and learned, without the need to propositionalize it. Institutions can best maintain their stock of stories by providing occasions on which they can be told. Archival systems such as databases, lessons learned systems, and video records are less effective, particularly when they attempt to store records or transcripts of oral stories. However, they can be improved by attention to key design dimensions, including appropriate allocation of the effort required from system administrators and users, and attention to translation between genres.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Charlotte Linde

Knowledge management for space exploration is part of a multi‐generational effort. Each mission builds on knowledge from prior missions, and learning is the first step in

1359

Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge management for space exploration is part of a multi‐generational effort. Each mission builds on knowledge from prior missions, and learning is the first step in knowledge production. This paper aims to use the Mars Exploration Rover mission as a site to explore this process.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an observational study and analysis of the work of the MER science and engineering team during rover operations, to investigate how learning occurs, how it is recorded, and how these representations might be made available for subsequent missions.

Findings

The paper finds that learning occurred in many areas: planning science strategy, using instruments within the constraints of the Martian environment, the Deep Space Network, and the mission requirements; using software tools effectively; and running two teams on Mars time for three months. This learning is preserved in many ways. Primarily it resides in individuals' memories. It is also encoded in stories, procedures, programming sequences, published reports, and lessons learned databases.

Research limitations/implications

This paper shows the earliest stages of knowledge creation in a scientific mission, and demonstrates that knowledge management must begin with an understanding of knowledge creation.

Practical implications

The paper shows that studying learning and knowledge creation suggests proactive ways to capture and use knowledge across multiple missions and generations.

Originality/value

This paper provides a unique analysis of the learning process of a scientific space mission, relevant for knowledge management researchers and designers, as well as demonstrating in detail how new learning occurs in a learning organization.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Monica Colon-Aguirre

The purpose of this study is to look at organizational stories shared among academic librarians who work at the reference desk, and create a typology of the stories based on the…

1427

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to look at organizational stories shared among academic librarians who work at the reference desk, and create a typology of the stories based on the knowledge transferred in these. Previous research suggests that stories are the main way in which organizations communicate common values, organizational rules and promote organizational learning. The main question researched here will be: what kind of knowledge is transferred through the stories shared among librarians? This is an important consideration since the meaning carried through the story can shape the employee’s perception of the organization.

Design/methodology/approach

This research employed long interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the works of Yiannis Gabriel (2000) as a guide. A total of 20 reference librarians working at four different academic institutions in the southern USA participated in this study.

Findings

The analysis of the data reveals a typology of organizational stories shared. The main topics covered by the stories all deal with cultural knowledge exchanges, while also serve as coping mechanisms and present important organizational culture aspects. The stories shared also reflect negative aspects related to the lack of proper communication within the organizations, with the presence of rumors among the narratives shared.

Originality/value

These findings can serve as a first step for the development of healthier organizational cultures in libraries and may have implications for training and development, change management, motivation and collective memory.

Details

Library Management, vol. 36 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Phillip Olla and Jeanne Holm

This article aims to describe the importance of knowledge management (KM) to the space industry.

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Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to describe the importance of knowledge management (KM) to the space industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from a range of literature published in the academic and industry arenas, also including articles published in this special issue. The authors also apply their personal experience and practical knowledge.

Findings

Implementations in KM within aerospace organizations and space industry have grown beyond mere technology thrusts, and now include aspects of culture, people, and process. These more sophisticated KM tasks build on technology and information to help guide organizations through the intricacies of working with international teams and making ever‐more‐complex decisions.

Practical implications

All organizations make mistakes; an important factor for recovering from these errors and avoiding the repetition of these problems is the implementation of a knowledge management system (KMS).

Originality/value

Most general KM articles discuss KM from the technology thrusts; this article describes how the implementation in KMS within space organizations has grown beyond mere technology thrusts and now includes aspects of culture, people, and process.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1956

VERNON D. FREEDLAND

Although textiles is one of the oldest crafts and goes back to prehistory—it is believed that weaving grew up in the neolithic or later stone age—our modern civilization is…

140

Abstract

Although textiles is one of the oldest crafts and goes back to prehistory—it is believed that weaving grew up in the neolithic or later stone age—our modern civilization is producing such rapid and numerous developments in so many aspects of the subject that the individual is hard put to keep up with only a fraction of them.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

Fabien Martinez

This article aims to draw on the contingency theory to develop a conceptual model of compatibility between corporate environmental responsibility and business strategy that…

2431

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to draw on the contingency theory to develop a conceptual model of compatibility between corporate environmental responsibility and business strategy that reflects heterogeneity in this relationship. Four dimensions of compatibility are explored: trade-off, ambidexterity, synergy and symbiosis.

Design/methodology/approach

The intended contribution is essentially conceptual. A company case study is included to contribute to the development of the four dimensions of compatibility and support the practical relevance of the model. Twelve in-depth interviews with six managers in different functions of the company were conducted. A grounded theory approach was used to identify and express the patterns of compatibility that emerge from the qualitative data and how these patterns are grounded in managers’ meaning-in-use.

Findings

The contribution of the compatibility framework is essentially made to the literature on environmental strategy management, evolved from an implicit and, at most, two-dimensional (win–win and win–lose) conceptualisation of the relationship between green and business strategy into an explicit and multi-dimensionally grounded identification of processes and strategic challenges of corporate environmental and social responsibility. The resulting model contributes to a better understanding of corporate greening as a strategic and moral concern to individuals acting on behalf of business organisations and a greater understanding of the linkages between green and business strategies and operations.

Originality/value

By clarifying the construct of corporate environmental sustainability and providing useful directions for theory and practice, this research claims to inform green management decision-making. While the compatibility model is not intended to explain all pathways by which firms may elicit contingencies of relevance to environmental and social responsibility, it is suggested that the model paints a more complete and contextualized picture of environmental management mechanisms in business.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2024

Charlotte V. Farewell, Priyanka Shreedar, Diane Brogden and Jini E. Puma

The early care and education (ECE) workforce plays a pivotal role in shaping early childhood developmental trajectories and simultaneously experiences significant mental health…

Abstract

Purpose

The early care and education (ECE) workforce plays a pivotal role in shaping early childhood developmental trajectories and simultaneously experiences significant mental health disparities. The purpose of this study is to investigate how social determinants of health and external stressors are associated with the mental health of ECE staff, which represent a low-resourced segment of the workforce; how psychological capital (psycap) can mitigate these associations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors administered an 89-item survey to 332 ECE staff employed in 42 Head Start centers in the USA. The authors ran three hierarchical linear regression models to analyze associations between social determinants of health, external sources of stress, psycap and potential moderation effects and mental health outcomes.

Findings

Individuals experiencing greater finance-related stress reported 0.15 higher scores on the depression scale and 0.20 higher scores on the anxiety scale than those experiencing less finance-related stress (p < 0.05). Individuals experiencing greater work-related stress reported 1.26 more days of poorer mental health in the past month than those experiencing less work-related stress (p < 0.01). After controlling for all sociodemographic variables and sources of stress, psycap was significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptomology (b-weight = −0.02, p < 0.01) and the number of poor mental health days reported in the past month (b-weight = −0.13, p < 0.05). Moderation models suggest that higher levels of psycap may mitigate the association between work-related stress and the number of poor mental health days reported in the past month (b-weight = −0.06, p = 0.02).

Originality/value

The implications of these findings suggest a need for policy change to mitigate social determinants of health and promote pay equity and multi-level interventio ns that target workplace-related stressors and psycap to combat poor mental health of the ECE workforce.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2014

Qiang Wu, Qile He and Yanqing Duan

The objective of this paper is to address the question whether and how firms can follow a standard management process to cope with emerging corporate social responsibility (CSR…

1708

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to address the question whether and how firms can follow a standard management process to cope with emerging corporate social responsibility (CSR) challenges? Both researchers and practitioners have paid increasing attention to the question because of the rapidly evolving CSR expectations of stakeholders and the limited diffusion of CSR standardization. The question was addressed by developing a theoretical framework to explain how dynamic capabilities can contribute to effective CSR management.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 64 world-leading companies’ contemporary CSR reports, we carried out a large-scale content analysis to identify and examine the common organizational processes involved in CSR management and the dynamic capabilities underpinning those management processes.

Findings

Drawing on the dynamic capabilities perspective, we demonstrate how the deployment of three dynamic capabilities for CSR management, namely, scanning, sensing and reconfiguration capabilities can help firms to meet emerging CSR requirements by following a set of common management processes. The findings demonstrate that what is more important in CSR standardization is the identification and development of the underlying dynamic capabilities and the related organizational processes and routines, rather than the detailed operational activities.

Originality/value

Our study is an early attempt to examine the fundamental organizational capabilities and processes involved in CSR management from the dynamic capabilities perspective. Our research findings contribute to CSR standardization literature by providing a new theoretical perspective to better understand the capabilities enabling common CSR management processes.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2022

Christian Ritzel and Stefan Mann

While it is incontestable that eating in restaurants leads to a higher energy intake than eating at home, this paper explores the even more environmentally relevant connection…

Abstract

Purpose

While it is incontestable that eating in restaurants leads to a higher energy intake than eating at home, this paper explores the even more environmentally relevant connection between meat intake and the location of eating.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on secondary data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the authors apply a latent class model (LCM), combining latent profile analysis (LPA) and regression analysis. Different (latent) consumer classes are modeled based (1) on share of meat consumption and (2) share of eating out by means of LPA, while class-specific socio-demographic characteristics are estimated by means of ordered logistic regression.

Findings

Results of the LPA reveal four (latent) consumer classes with regard to the share of meat consumption and the share of eating out. One class consists mostly of male meat lovers with a high share of eating out, which, however, only represents 7% of the sample. A much larger class represents an affluent social group that consumes the majority of food outside of the home but does not consume significantly more meat than the large group of moderates who mostly eat at home. The fourth class mostly consists of children with a very low intake of meat.

Originality/value

By applying a LCM, the authors shed some light on the relation between meat consumption and eating out. The authors demonstrated that commonly assumed relations, such as men eating more meat than women, do not necessarily apply. Similar findings apply to factors potentially influencing meat consumption, such as education, marital status and income.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2019

Jennifer Wheeler-Webb and Sandra L. Furterer

The purpose of this study was to improve the quoting, scheduling, invoicing and paying for campus office moves at a university. The Lean Six Sigma project goal was to improve the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to improve the quoting, scheduling, invoicing and paying for campus office moves at a university. The Lean Six Sigma project goal was to improve the campus office move process by making it less complicated, free-up program managers’ time and pay the vendor on time.

Design/methodology/approach

The team used the Lean Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control methodology to improve the process.

Findings

The average time from the campus move to when the invoice was paid improved by 27%, with an improved median of 16%. The standard deviation was greatly reduced by 51%. The average invoiced date to paid date remained statistically the same, and the median increased from 20 to 30 days, due to a policy change to move the target from 20 to 30 days. The standard deviation of the invoice to paid date was greatly reduced by 38%. This was a successful project because the sponsors were on-board from the beginning and included the process owners in the improvement effort.

Originality/value

Other higher education institutions or other industry areas with a similar process can implement this methodology and processes outlined in this case study to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness and as a guide for improving other processes within institutions.

Details

International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-4166

Keywords

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