Search results

This paper aims to explore the relationship between face-to-face social networks and knowledge sharing.

Qualitative data gathered through 25 semi-structured interviews in five manufacturing firms were collected and analysed. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data, which was supported through NVivo qualitative data analysis software.

The results reveal that face-to-face social networks facilitate knowledge sharing in diverse ways. These include the use of multiple communication styles, brainstorming and problem-solving, learning and teaching, training, consultations and employee rotation.

The findings of this research are expected to help practitioners to comprehend the big picture and scope of the steps they take to facilitate knowledge sharing in organisations. Viewing knowledge sharing from a holistic perspective can help practitioners comprehend how face-to-face knowledge sharing fits with and complements other knowledge-sharing channels, such as electronic social media and document repositories. In addition, through face-to-face social networks, practitioners can leverage work groups to increase knowledge sharing, meaning that potential cost savings and improved work practices can be achieved.

For researchers, three new models are developed which provide new insights into the nature of the relationship between face-to-face social networks and knowledge sharing. The first model relates to brainstorming and problem-solving, the second to knowledge levels and the direction of learning and teaching and the third to factors influencing social networks and knowledge sharing.

Broadly conceptualised, a consultant's work can be evaluated by the deliverables produced and by the process used to achieve those deliverables. This paper seeks to report the use of a survey instrument to assess and compare management consultant process performance and client performance (in specifying the contract), enabling meaningful dialogue between the parties.

A validated instrument, previously developed by the authors, was employed to survey all local and regional authorities in New Zealand regarding the expectations they have of their management consultants and their perceptions of process performance. Congruence of the performance profiles was assessed with the aid of profile similarity indices.

While results for the sector indicate that New Zealand local authorities appear to be generally well satisfied with the levels of service they are receiving from their management consultants, individual authorities are experiencing significant gaps between their expectations and what is being delivered. In addition, misalignments between client expectations and benchmark process performance measures indicate a lack of rigour when specifying contracts.

The research makes use of subjective measures of excellent consulting practice sourced from industry‐respected consultants and authors in the field, rather than attempting to justify their choice from a theoretical basis. Conceptual difficulties with the use of profile similarity indices in alignment research are noted. The generalisability of the benchmark performance standards to consultants operating in other sectors remains to be tested.

Benchmark consultant performance standards provide the basis for local authorities to insist upon internationally recognized and recommended standards of contract delivery. The use of well‐developed process performance measures to assess differences between local authority expectations and perceived consultant performance, and between perceived consultant performance and benchmark expectations, provides the opportunity for local authorities and their consultants to engage in meaningful and objective dialogue. Skilled consultants will benefit from dialogue that should translate into greater respect and understanding of their true worth, and into the setting of contract specifications and pricing that reflect this assessment.

Previous authors have argued the lack of well‐developed performance measures and attendant benchmark performance standards expected of consultants. The present study directly addresses these gaps and focuses on the manner in which management consultants work with public sector clients to produce contract deliverables. Validated benchmark measures are used to detect process performance gaps, providing the opportunity for local authorities and their consultants to engage in meaningful dialogue.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of (local) e‐government impact and development philosophy in China, New Zealand, Oman, and the UK.

A survey instrument was used to collect data from policymakers in 114 civil service organisations in four countries during 2007.

Policymakers in every country report only low‐medium levels of agreement that their e‐government initiatives had yielded significant benefits for organisations and citizens alike over a broad range of performance measures concerning service quality, citizen satisfaction, productivity, and management effectiveness. In interactions with stakeholders that are both directive and maintain control over citizens, policymakers also favour the provision of online services that offer ever increasing amounts of information, rather than collaborative service channels that engage citizens in local decision making.

Less than a 100‐percent response rate gives an incomplete snapshot of the e‐government scene in the four countries studied. Also, a lack of understanding of some key e‐government issues plus cultural response bias may have led to erroneous/biased responses.

In an era in which public sector organisations worldwide are under pressure to demonstrate success in service delivery and organisational performance, policymakers do not perceive online services as an opportunity to reduce the costs of physical infrastructure or to improve democracy via shared decision‐making. Thus, further erosions of trust and participation in democracy may continue unless citizens are given similar choices in the democratic system to those they have in their everyday lives.

The paper is undertaken at the local level of government and in a diverse range of countries where the political, social, economic, and cultural environments can differ markedly. It evaluates the significance of key e‐government issues in Western, Arabic, and Eastern contexts, enabling international comparisons to be made across these cultural settings. Impacts of the e‐government initiatives on organisations and citizens are presented and compared; and policymaker attitudes to new technology having the potential to enhance the democratic process are presented.

The aim of this paper is to report on development and use of a survey instrument that captures qualitative, process‐related data from local authority officers in New Zealand, from which is derived a rigorous and parsimonious set of critical performance measures.

An instrument was developed utilising performance exemplars promoted by industry‐respected consulting experts. New Zealand local authorities were surveyed and exploratory factor analysis used to identify what the factors represent conceptually. Profile Similarity Indices (PSIs) describe the alignment between expected and actual consultant performances.

A rigorous set of five critical process‐related dimensions of performance and their associated (18) scales were derived, which demonstrate the desired properties of reliability and validity. Interpretation of the Profile Similarity Indices values is provided.

Subjective data on excellent consulting practice sourced from industry‐respected consultants was used rather than justifying reasons for their choice from a theoretical basis. Generalisability of results to other business and industry sectors remains to be tested.

The derived performance measures may be used by practitioners to objectively assess management consultant performance and local authority performance (in specifying the contract). Where performance discrepancies exist, reasons and remedial actions may be determined via consideration of the individual scale items.

There continues to be a lack of research into the practices employed by local authorities when they retain and manage their management consultants; such purchasers often experience difficulty judging what is being offered and what kinds and levels of performance are relevant and achievable. Underperformance may be due to a lack of objective and well‐developed consulting performance standards. The present study examines these gaps.

In New Zealand (NZ) there are plans afoot to create an e‐government that will automate government‐to‐government and government‐to‐citizen interactions and allow anyone, anywhere to go online any time to obtain information, to complete transactions, and to communicate with their elected representatives, cheaply, quickly, and efficiently. A total of 16 key issues, which various authors argue are critical to the success of USA e‐government initiatives, are described and evaluated in light of the NZ e‐government environment. The significance afforded to these issues by NZ local authority e‐government policymakers when they implement their own e‐government initiatives suggests that eight of the issues are considered significant, four are not considered significant, and four remain inconclusive at this time. Of the key issues, six are not well understood. It is also concluded that NZ local authorities are at an early evolutionary stage of e‐government development.

The purpose of this paper is to critique the discourse of the digital divide and to propose ways of responding to digital inequalities.

Illustrations of arguments are based on reviews of academic literature, projects reports, policy documents and research findings from the Penceil project, and are informed by critical theory. The research consisted of 47 semi‐structured interviews and action research involving designing an e‐literacy curriculum and running a course based on it.

A discourse of missed opportunities and “being left behind”, present in policy statements and popular media, leads to objectifying non‐users of information and communication technologies (ICT) as “others”. This discourse is often internalised by non‐users, but it does not necessarily lead to positive actions, leaving some feeling inadequate. So far initiatives seeking to address the digital divide have had moderate success. To respond to digital exclusion we need to oppose the unchecked spread of e‐services, and help non‐users of ICT to become users or (if they choose to) informed “refusniks”. Initiatives aiming to facilitate people's sustainable and meaningful use of ICT ought to draw on individual and community resources. A curriculum should be determined by learners' experiences and their expressions of needs, and go beyond IT skills.

The paper does not offer a comprehensive review of digital exclusion, concentrating instead on chosen problems and arguments. It is based on the UK experience, and thus more relevant to developed rather than developing countries.

The paper raises awareness of different issues related to digital exclusion and ways of addressing them.

The paper calls to question current discourse and initiatives addressing the digital divide, highlighting their limitations. It presents alternative ways of responding to digital exclusion.

The position of these Irish agitators is illogical and untenable; the remedy they propose is no remedy at all – nevertheless they are talking about the tenure of land and the right to land; and thus a question of worldwide importance is coming to the front.³

Identity often comes up in discussions of information experience, just as it is an increasingly salient concept in today's political landscape. What does identity mean? Oftentimes identity is assumed to mean social identity, or membership in a social group. We can also discern personal identity, emphasizing a person's uniqueness. Compare a ∈ A (social identity) and a = a (personal identity). In essence, identity is a relationship of equivalence. Of course, no two entities are exactly equal, if only because they occupy different points in space. Identification then requires abstraction, or discerning what particular aspects of a thing matter for the purposes at hand. Two industrially produced products can be said to be identical if we ignore differences in space and accidents of production. Likewise, a person can identify with a social group if the only features of that person that matter (for the moment) are those which characterize the social group. When a person says they identify with X or as Y, they are making a claim about what matters to them in defining their self right now – because experience itself is pointing out some aspects of existence that matter to a person (that are attended to by that person) at a particular time. Information can contribute to a person's identity in that it helps a person discover what aspects of their self matter to them; this mattering in turn influences one's future information seeking and use.

Describes the changing role and function of libraries caused by cuts, new technology, etc. Discusses future directions and challenges, especially with regard to IT. Examines new initiatives for libraries, including training shopkeepers as librarians and having in‐store libraries. Uses the case of Brent Libraries as an example.