The literature on knowledge economies does not offer analysis specific to medium-sized cities despite their distinct economic characteristics. More specifically, the role of universities in medium-sized cities is not documented. This study attempts to add to the body of knowledge on both medium-sized cities and knowledge economies by conducting a case study of the current efforts of a medium-sized city in Georgia. The Augusta-Richmond MSA and the Medical College of Georgia are analyzed. It is hypothesized that the university is the major driver to initiating the construction of a technology transfer infrastructure within the city, a necessary component to a knowledge economy. It is found that the Medical College of Georgia and the Georgia Medical Center Authority, a state entity, are the initiators of developing a technology transfer infrastructure while the local government has made less effort in contributing to the process. Findings show that the lack of visibility of both the Medical College of Georgia and the Augusta region, lack of existing industry in the region, lack of financial resources and lack of venture capital and entrepreneurs in the region are the greatest barriers to efforts to transition the region into successful knowledge-based economy.

Nearing the end of the 20th century, countries across the world have gradually been going into depression, without exception, this effect has also influenced Taiwan. Moreover, with the coming of age of knowledge management and change of the industry structure of the 21st century, thus the industry structure in Taiwan has also gone through some changes, adding many new non-typical jobs into the job market. Some examples include Leased Employess, Telex of Labor, part-time work, multiple job holders. Previous study on part-time work has been focused on the characteristics of the part-time workers and the influence on female part-time workers¡¦ employment and the reasons why companies use part-time work. Less research has been made on the comparison between part-time workers and regular workers. In the Human Resources of Managenment survey made by the Minster of Affairs in1997, the content regarding multiple job holders describes the distribution situation of multiple job holders. Moreover, with the fast growth of knowledge management, there exists a non-equivalency between the structure of knowledge management and the need of such a structure. Does the increasing numbers of part-time workers and multiple job holders mean that the labor market will take on a more important role? What is the difference between the education level, occupations, industry and income of these workers and regular workers? After a comparison between these two, which gains more profit? These are the questions to be answered in this research. The statistical information used in this research is secondary information from Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics Executive Yuan, R.O.C regarding the Taiwan region Human Resources of Managenment statistical information, which divides labor into three groups, using work time and income level as a basis to find the characteristics between these three groups. Some implications made from the result of this research has been made for reference for the government. The results of this research are as the following: Part-time work 1¡BHighly educated part-time work are more better off than low educated part-time work because they have relatively higher pay for lesser work. 2¡BThe part-time workers of the higher level labor market are better off than the those from the agricultural, forest, fish and pasture and manufacturing. 3¡BThere is an increase of the laborers in the service sector, and a decrease of those from the agricultural, forest, fish and pasture sector, not much change in the manufacturing and industry sector. 4¡BFrom a comparison of the income of these sectors, those in industry have the highest income, and those in services are second ranking, from the level manufacturing gains the most and industry the least. Multiple job workers 1¡BThese are the least luckiest of the group because they have the highest work hours, but have the same income level as normal workers 2¡BNo matter which profession, multiple job workers are the most laborious because they have more work hours than normal workers but less income than normal workers. 3¡BNo matter which industry, multiple job workers are the most laborious because they have more work hours than normal workers but less income than normal workers. 4¡BThere is an increase of the laborers in the service sector, and a decrease of those from the agricultural, forest, fish and pasture sector, not much change in the manufacturing and industry sector. From a comparison of the income of these sectors, those in manufacturing have the highest income, and those in industry are second ranking, from the level manufacturing gains the most and services the least.

The aim of this thesis is to point out the critical position of University Continuing Education Units in the context of knowledge economy for their contribution to local development, and to analyse to what extent these units in the case of Turkey serve for this function. For this purpose, first, the nature of knowledge economy and transformations initiated in this process in labour markets and in nature of education are analysed. Next, new understanding of lifelong learning and restructuring process in universities, which are connected with transformation in these two fields, are discussed. Later, position of cities and importance of urban policy for local development within the context of knowledge economy is examined. Consequently, as a product of these intertwined transformations, it is revealed that University Continuing Education Units appear to be key actors for cities for their contribution to local development. Then, based on the facts developed in the theoretical arguments / data of University Continuing Education Units of Turkey and Middle East Technical University Continuing Education Center (METU CEC) scrutinised in order to reveal how far these units in Turkey serve for local development. Finally, findings and conclusions are summarised, and policy proposals are developed for University Continuing Education Units should follow in order to serve local development effectively.

The study investigates knowledge management (KM) practices in the public sector in Botswana. The underlying premise is that good KM leads to efficiency and effectiveness. The study assesses the KM practices in the government departments by means of a questionnaire survey of senior managers. The assumption is that the corporate manager/directors will know what knowledge is there, how knowledge is created, shared and flow in the organization. The main question of this study is whether the Botswana public sector is practicing KM. The study explores the problem and questions by means of a questionnaire survey amongst 43 departmental directors of the Government of Botswana. The overall finding is that information management rather than KM is being practiced. The respondents, senior public service managers, certainly recognize the value of and the need for KM. But, they themselves identify certain weaknesses, such as lack of knowledge of KM among their staff, weak communication inside and across the departments, lack of policy and lack of good KM systems.

<p>The study investigates knowledge management (KM) practices in the public sector in Botswana. The underlying premise is that good KM leads to efficiency and effectiveness. The study assesses the KM practices in the government departments by means of a questionnaire survey of senior managers. The assumption is that the corporate manager/directors will know what knowledge is there, how knowledge is created, shared and flow in the organization. The main question of this study is whether the Botswana public sector is practicing KM. Related questions are:&nbsp / What are the views of public service managers/ directors on the benefits that can be reaped from KM practices?&nbsp / What evidence is there that the public service has a culture of sharing information and knowledge? And how are staff members encouraged to internalize and use new knowledge? How are creativity and new ideas encouraged?&nbsp / Are there appropriate technological resources to facilitate effective KM, for example central knowledge repositories and social networking?The study explores the problem and questions by means of a questionnaire survey amongst 43 departmental directors of the Government of Botswana. The overall finding is that information management rather than KM is being practiced. The respondents, senior public service managers, certainly recognize the value of and the need for KM. But, they themselves identify certain weaknesses, such as lack of knowledge of KM among their staff, weak communication inside and across the departments, lack of policy and lack of good KM systems.<br /> .</p>

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis seeks to contribute towards a much-­‐needed operational definition of the knowledge economy – a term which is as widely used as it is misunderstood. Despite two decades of academic contemplation and debate, much uncertainty still surrounds the concept of a knowledge economy, making it exceedingly difficult for researches, academics and policymakers to find a shared perspective. The problem extends beyond just semantics – often contained within a certain definition are underlying assumptions that have the potential to inform decision-­‐making and guide action. Chapter One introduces the aims of this thesis, and outlines the intended approach. In particular, it highlights the challenges of conducting a literature review based on an extensive and highly varied set of contributions towards the concept of the knowledge economy. Chapter Two seeks to clarify the concept of the knowledge economy and how it distinguishes itself from the broader, more inclusive concept of the knowledge society. After drawing distinctions between the two concepts, Chapter Two develops upon the knowledge society concept’s more inclusive nature, and suggests that the extensive scope of the term detracts from its usefulness as a guide for policymakers – in particular, in relation to the somewhat more precise concept of the knowledge economy. Chapter Three begins the focus on the In order to provide some conceptual clarity in this regard, a number of the most prevalent and/or enduring contributions are grouped under the four overarching categorisations that emerged as a result of the discussion in this chapter: namely, Propositional Knowledge, Prescriptive Knowledge, Cultural Knowledge and Understanding. Chapter Four focuses on the next component of the term knowledge economy, and places attention on the economic aspects of knowledge which have emerged over the past two decades as a result of the technological and academic shifts that have taken place in this period. Chapter Five uses the foundation of understanding built up to this point to answer the question: what is new about the knowledge economy? Here, the impact of ICTs comes to the fore in illustrating the way in which these technologies have altered modern societies on a deep and profound level. Secondly, Chapter Five develops upon the way in which knowledge as an economy commodity has caused widespread upheaval in Industrial Era economic theory. Here, the idea that the tenets that governed the physical paradigm economy of industry and manufacturing are no longer relevant or valuable in the face of a core commodity which does not obey the principal rules of physical paradigm goods. Chapter Six concludes the discussions that have unfolded in this thesis, and highlights how the preceding chapters all contribute towards achieving the initial aims of the thesis. On top of this, it highlights the challenges uncovered during the course of the thesis that will continue to provide limitations to the achievement of a precise definition of the concept of the knowledge economy. It is concluded that the discussions developed in this thesis would achieve their goal in providing a valuable and comprehensive ‘working definition’ of the knowledge economy for academics and policymakers seeking to find conceptual clarity and a platform of ‘common ground’ from which to base their conversations and debates. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oogmerk van hierdie tesis is om by te dra tot die gangbare definisie van die kennis ekonomie – ’n term wat net so wyd gebruik word as wat dit misverstaan word. Ten spyte van twee dekades van akademiese nadenke en debatvoering, is daar steeds onduidelikheid rondom die kennis ekonomie as konsep, wat dit vir navorsers, akademici en beleidmakers moeilik maak om ’n algemeen-­‐aanvaarde perspektief te bereik. Die probleem is nie bloot semanties van aard nie – sommige definisies behels onderliggende aannames wat die potensiaal het om besluitneming and handeling te beïnvloed. Hoofstuk Een dien as inleiding tot die doelstellings van hierdie tesis en omskryf die benadering van die tesis. Dit beklemtoon spesifiek die uitdagings rondom die skryf van ’n literatuuroorsig wat gebaseer is op ‘n uitgebreide en hoogs-­‐gevarieerde stel bydrae tot die konsep van die kennis ekonomie. Hoofstuk Twee se doel is om lig te werp op die konsep van die kennis ekonomie en hoe dit onderskei kan word van die breër, meer omvattende term van die kennis samelewing. Nadat onderskeid getref is tussen die twee konsepte, ontwikkel Hoofstuk Twee die kennis samelewing se meer insluitende aard, en stel voor dat die uitgebreide omvang van die term afbreuk doen aan die nut wat die term as ’n riglyn vir beleidmakers het – spesifiek in verhouding tot die meer presiese konsep van die kennis ekonomie. Hoofstuk Drie begin die fokus op die ekonomiese komponent van die term ‘kennis ekonomie’. Ten einde konseptuele duidelikheid te skep, word die mees algemene en/of blywende bydrae gegroepeer onder vier kategorieë, wat blyk uit die bespreking in hierdie hoofstuk, naamlik: Proposisionele Kennis, Voorskriftelike Kennis, Kulturele Kennis en Begrip. Hoofstuk Vier fokus op die volgende komponent van die term kennis ekonomie en rig die aandag op die ekonomiese aspekte van kennis, wat oor die laaste twee dekades na vore gekom het as gevolg van tegnologiese en akademiese klemverskuiwings wat gedurende hierdie tydperk plaasgevind het. Hoofstuk Vyf gebruik die grondslag van begrip wat tot dusver geskep is, om die vraag te beantwoord: wat is nuut omtrent die kennis ekonomie? Hier word die impak van ICTs duidelik deurdat dit illustreer hoe hierdie tegnologieë moderne samelewings op ‘n fundamentele en diepgaande vlak verander het. Tweedens, ontwikkel Hoofstuk Vyf verder die manier waarop kennis as ekonomiese kommoditeit wydverspreide omwenteling in Industriële Era ekonomiese teorie. Hieruit word dit duidelik dat die beginsels wat die fisiese paradigma ekonomie onderskryf nie meer geldig is met ’n kern kommoditeit wat nie die beginsels van fisiese paradigma goedere gehoorsaam nie. Hoofstuk Ses sluit die besprekings wat in die loop van die tesis ontwikkel het af, en beklemtoon hoe die voorafgaande hoofstukke almal bydra tot die doelstellings wat aanvanklik in die tesis voorgestel is. Verder, beklemtoon dit die uitdagings wat uitgelig is in die tesis wat steeds beperkings stel ten opsigte van die bepaling van ’n presiese definisie van die kennis ekonomie. Die gevolgtrekking wat gemaak word is dat die besprekings wat ontwikkel is tydens die tesis hul doel van ’n waardevolle en omvattende operasionele definisie bereik. Dit is van nut vir akedemici en beleidmakers in terme van konseptuele duidelikheid en ’n basis of gemeenskaplike grond vanwaar besprekings en debat kan geskied.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The world economy has over the last few decades rapidly moved from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy, creating a new business reality. Organisations have increasingly realised the importance of innovation as it has become the main sources of their competitive advantage. Innovation networks and communities of practice are two areas of inquiry of interest to organisational management, especially when innovation is an important organisational goal. These two areas are separated by different foci, assumptions and approaches. For this reason they are often seen as opposing approaches to enabling innovation. The thesis argues that whilst innovation networks and communities of practice are different structures, they have complementary roles to play in innovation. It is shown that innovation networks possess the structural attributes, according to three network concepts, necessary to facilitate and support exploration, as well as allow the large-scale diffusion of information and knowledge. In the same sense, communities of practice are shown to possess the structural attributes for exploitation, as well as implementation and small-scale diffusion, to take place which are also required for successful innovation. Subsequently, the argument is that combining the structural elements of innovation networks and communities of practice may allow organisations to move closer to the optimal innovation structure of a particular context, leading to improved innovation performance. Innovation networks and communities of practice exhibit different sensitivities to management which requires management to be more flexible and subtle when trying to facilitate their creation and development. Creating an optimal innovation structure, just as innovation networks and communities of practice individually, requires organisations to create an enabling context for them to thrive in. Consequently, management is required to exhibit a dual focus on network and community facilitation and support in order to improve innovation. The practical question then becomes to what extent management interventions in aid of the one structure are counter-productive for the other. The challenge is to direct networks in order to gain access to novel knowledge as well as diffuse it throughout the network, whilst at the same time enabling communities to develop in aid of proper exploitation, small-scale diffusion and implementation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die wêreldekonomie het oor die laaste paar dekades vinnig van 'n industrieel geörienteerde na 'n kennis geörienteerde ekonomie verander en gevolglik 'n nuwe besigheidsomgewing vir organisasies geskep. Organisasies het toenemend die belangrikheid van innovasie besef soos innovasie die hoof bron van 'n organisasie se kompeterende voordeel geword het. Innovasienetwerke en praktykgemeenskappe is twee areas van ondersoek wat van belang is vir organisatoriese bestuur, veral wanneer innovasie 'n belangrike organisatoriese doelwit is. Die twee velde verskil op grond van hul uiteenlopende fokuspunte, aannames en benaderings. Gevolglik word hul as teenstrydige benaderings tot innovasie beskou. Die tesis beweer dat alhoewel innovasienet-werke en praktykgemeenskappe verskillende strukture is, hul komplementêre rolle in innovasie vervul. Dit word gestel dat innovasienetwerke oor die nodige strukturele eienskappe beskik, op grond van drie netwerkkonsepte, om die ondersoek vir nuwe kennis te fasiliteer en ondersteun asook om die grootskaalse verspreiding van inligting en kennis aan te moedig. Terselfdertyd word geargumenteer dat praktykgemeenskappe oor die nodige strukturele eienskappe beskik om ontginning van bestaan-de kennis te bevorder, asook om die implementering en kleinskaalse verspreiding van nuwe kennis aan te moedig wat ook benodig word om die proses van innovasie te voltooi. Gevolglik word daar geargumenteer dat die strukturele kombinering van innovasienetwerke en praktykgemeenskappe organisasies kan help om nader aan 'n optimale innovasiestruktuur in elke spesifieke konteks te beweeg, wat innovasieprestasie moontlik sal laat verbeter. Innovasienetwerke en praktykgemeen-skappe toon verskillende sensitiwiteite tot bestuursingrype wat bestuurders dwing om meer buigsaam/veelsydig en subtiel op te tree wanneer hul die ontwikkeling van dié strukture probeer fasiliteer. Die ontwikkeling van 'n optimale innovasiestruktuur benodig, nes innovasienetwerke en praktykgemeenskappe, 'n omgewing wat dit in staat sal stel om daarin te floreer. Gevolglik benodig bestuurders 'n gesamentlike fokus op beide networke en gemeenskapsfasilitering en ondersteuning om innovasie in hul organisasies te bevorder. Die praktiese vraag is dan tot watter mate bestuursingrype vir een tipe struktuur, teenproduktief is vir die ander een. Die uitdaging is om netwerke aan te moedig om toegang tot nuwe kennis te verkry asook om dit verder deur die netwerk te versprei, terwyl praktykgemeenskappe gesamentlik aangemoedig word om bestaande kennis te ontgin, te implimenteer en te versprei.

The main aim of this work is to analyze human resource management and knowledge economy in a selected company and to propose steps to improve the situation. I divided the thesis into two parts. In the first part I concentrated on theory. After the study of technical literature I described the basic theoretical concepts regarding human resource management and knowledge economy. I then conducted a questionnaire survey. I used a questionnaire VSM 1994 and 2013 by Geert Hofstede for determining the desirable cultural dimensions. I used TBSD to identify the most shared words in the chosen company. Finally there were proposed some steps to improve the situation.

The aim of the thesis was the analysis of motivation and stimulation of the employees, focused on education and management of human resources in chosen companies. The first step was the studying of literature, related to motivation and stimulation in human resources management and their education in current and future knowledge economy. The selection of the companies, which were analyzed, followed. Using anonymous questionnaire, the survey was made in both companies among the employees and the information obtained from the questionnaires were completed by the addition of information from undirected interviews. The employees were divided in two categories, the worker and the administrative worker. The questionnaire contained a total of 31 questions that were chosen mostly closed, semi-open less often. They included questions related to motivation, stimulation and education. The results were displayed, using charts and graphs, also the discussion concerning the given topic was added. All relevant facts were summarized in conclusion of the thesis and the suggestions for practical use and improving of the situation in companies were made.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze corporate culture in a selected organization with a proposal for a change in corporate culture leading to the desired state of cultural dimensions of the knowledge economy. This thesis is divided into two main parts - theoretical and practical. The first part consists of a literary research, which was developed on the basis of the literature related to this issue, including corporate culture and related concepts. In the second part, an analysis of the given issue was carried out. Required information was obtained using the VSM 94 & 2013 questionnaire by Geert Hofstede and the TBSD test. For better quality research, unstructured interviews with the staff took place, as well as an observation, which contributed to the understanding of the organization's entire structure. In the end, changes were proposed in order to improve the situation in the organization and shift it further toward the desired knowledge economy.