Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Economics, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 148-155.

Studies have shown that computers have a positive impact on productivity, but the reality remains that the productivity figures have not yet changed. This aforementioned irregularity is referred to as the “productivity paradox”. The question of how productivity is measured is complicated when, for example, a company connects all their computers onto a network or installs an information system to keep record of customer information or even supplier information, for there are no input and output ratios that can be measured. In these cases, productivity is not so evident, and some might argue that it does not exist. Companies always look for the competitive advantage and it is therefore important to show whether investing in information technology does in effect give them a greater return on investment. The question of why it is important for information technology to increase productivity is answered by looking at what all companies seek, which is sustainable growth. This can be measured by the accounting return on investment, economic value added (EVA), and growth in sales or assets. The goal of this study is to determine the impact the information technology productivity paradox has on the heavy metal engineering industries, whether it be good or bad. Information technology has expanded to such an extent that more people are starting to rely on information technology in order to do their work and communicate with one another. This is what makes this study so important, especially from an organisation's perspective, as the organisation is spending more money on expanding its information systems. One of the aspects to be covered in this study is the evolution pertaining to the history of information technology and how it has improved over the years. It also looks at the laws of information technology like Moore's Law which explains that the transistors on a chip would roughly double every two years, and Gilder's Law that explains in total communication a system triples every twelve months. Within this study the knowledge expansion and how human knowledge had to expand in order to keep up with the ever escalating information technology is covered. When looking at the future and the rate at which knowledge increases people tend to assume that the current rate of progress will continue in future periods. This, however, when looking at the rate at which technology progresses, is evident that the progress is not constant. The research topic for this study is the information technology productivity paradox. This term suggests that there is no correlation between a company’s investment in information systems and its business performance measured in terms of productivity. This phenomenon was shown to exist within this study. Open source systems are covered, which is a method of developing software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. Open source systems have the following advantages like easing of licensing restrictions; cross–platform simplicity; possibility to run modules on any operating system; low cost due to no licensing fees; modification of system is possible; and disadvantages like lack of necessary expertise to do modifications; less user–friendly, support is not always available; security might be a problem. In this way open source systems will affect productivity in information technology due to the less user–friendly interface. Some of these open source systems might take longer to do the task than it would on the commercial software. Implementation of the open source system might take longer than that of a commercial system as there might be a lack of support for the system. Another topic covered within this study is the development of human capital, which is a necessity for employees in an organisation in order to enhance both knowledge and skills within an organisation. This is, however, a double bladed sword as even though the combined knowledge and skills of an organisation are expanded, it takes time which inevitably leads to productivity loss. Finally this study investigates social networking, which is defined as the application of websites that support the maintenance of personal relationships, the discovery of potential relationships and should aim in the conversion of potential ties into weak and strong ties. List of key terms: Information technology, productivity paradox, social networking, competitive advantage, knowledge expansion, development of human capital. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Studies have shown that computers have a positive impact on productivity, but the reality remains that the productivity figures have not yet changed. This aforementioned irregularity is referred to as the “productivity paradox”. The question of how productivity is measured is complicated when, for example, a company connects all their computers onto a network or installs an information system to keep record of customer information or even supplier information, for there are no input and output ratios that can be measured. In these cases, productivity is not so evident, and some might argue that it does not exist. Companies always look for the competitive advantage and it is therefore important to show whether investing in information technology does in effect give them a greater return on investment. The question of why it is important for information technology to increase productivity is answered by looking at what all companies seek, which is sustainable growth. This can be measured by the accounting return on investment, economic value added (EVA), and growth in sales or assets. The goal of this study is to determine the impact the information technology productivity paradox has on the heavy metal engineering industries, whether it be good or bad. Information technology has expanded to such an extent that more people are starting to rely on information technology in order to do their work and communicate with one another. This is what makes this study so important, especially from an organisation's perspective, as the organisation is spending more money on expanding its information systems. One of the aspects to be covered in this study is the evolution pertaining to the history of information technology and how it has improved over the years. It also looks at the laws of information technology like Moore's Law which explains that the transistors on a chip would roughly double every two years, and Gilder's Law that explains in total communication a system triples every twelve months. Within this study the knowledge expansion and how human knowledge had to expand in order to keep up with the ever escalating information technology is covered. When looking at the future and the rate at which knowledge increases people tend to assume that the current rate of progress will continue in future periods. This, however, when looking at the rate at which technology progresses, is evident that the progress is not constant. The research topic for this study is the information technology productivity paradox. This term suggests that there is no correlation between a company’s investment in information systems and its business performance measured in terms of productivity. This phenomenon was shown to exist within this study. Open source systems are covered, which is a method of developing software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. Open source systems have the following advantages like easing of licensing restrictions; cross–platform simplicity; possibility to run modules on any operating system; low cost due to no licensing fees; modification of system is possible; and disadvantages like lack of necessary expertise to do modifications; less user–friendly, support is not always available; security might be a problem. In this way open source systems will affect productivity in information technology due to the less user–friendly interface. Some of these open source systems might take longer to do the task than it would on the commercial software. Implementation of the open source system might take longer than that of a commercial system as there might be a lack of support for the system. Another topic covered within this study is the development of human capital, which is a necessity for employees in an organisation in order to enhance both knowledge and skills within an organisation. This is, however, a double bladed sword as even though the combined knowledge and skills of an organisation are expanded, it takes time which inevitably leads to productivity loss. Finally this study investigates social networking, which is defined as the application of websites that support the maintenance of personal relationships, the discovery of potential relationships and should aim in the conversion of potential ties into weak and strong ties. List of key terms: Information technology, productivity paradox, social networking, competitive advantage, knowledge expansion, development of human capital. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The rural environment and its issues have become a center of interest in regional development quite recently. Due to its complex transformation over the last few decades, it must be cared for and developed further so that it can be enjoyed by future generations as well. Rural development should therefore be a complex process, focused on all the rural components that make it. To properly target rural development, it is necessary to identify the key factors that can make development possible. The identification of key development factors is closely related to development agents. Without development agents and their cooperation at all levels, it is very difficult to achieve effective and successful rural development. Development in municipalities is also influenced by the geographical location of municipalities and their distance from the regional center. The problems of municipalities are enhanced by its size. The smaller the village, the bigger the problem and the more complicated the development. For small municipalities it may be crucial to draw on development from their own resources, which are human and social capital. These soft factors of development have been in the forefront of interest in recent years, and the leading world. Key words Countryside, rural development, human capital, social...

The rural environment and its issues have become a center of interest in regional development quite recently. Due to its complex transformation over the last few decades, it must be cared for and developed further so that it can be enjoyed by future generations as well. Rural development should therefore be a complex process, focused on all the rural components that make it. To properly target rural development, it is necessary to identify the key factors that can make development possible. The identification of key development factors is closely related to development agents. Without development agents and their cooperation at all levels, it is very difficult to achieve effective and successful rural development. Development in municipalities is also influenced by the geographical location of municipalities and their distance from the regional center. The problems of municipalities are enhanced by its size. The smaller the village, the bigger the problem and the more complicated the development. For small municipalities it may be crucial to draw on development from their own resources, which are human and social capital. These soft factors of development have been in the forefront of interest in recent years, and the leading world. Key words Countryside, rural development, human capital, social...

「高潛力人力資本」即所謂的「高潛力人才（High potential或Talent）」係指那些具備企業目前與未來所需要的核心職能，並具有卓著績效貢獻者而言。在人才類型而言，他們即屬核心人才（Core Employees），如企業中的關鍵性管理與研發人才。 然而高潛力人才的培育也是有等級性的區分，公司同時要考慮到內部初階、中階及高階的高潛力人力資本的需求。高潛力人才是公司未來高階經理人的種子，相對於企業間對於各等級的經理人彼此挖角的人才競爭方式，越來越多企業意識到自行培育能認同公司理念的高潛力人才之重要性。是故很多企業開始打造自己的高潛力人才─也就是未來經理人的培訓之路，而因此促成了「儲備幹部制度」（Management Associate Program，簡稱MA制度）的誕生。 而近年來台灣企業紛紛起而效之，除了本土金融公司之外，科技公司與零售服務商也一一加入儲備幹部的招募、培訓制度的設計，與未來發展的考量，希望發展出適合所屬產業與自身公司體制之儲備幹部制度。 然而關於台灣本土企業之儲備幹部制度研究量尚有限，是故本研究希望從「高潛力人力資本」在「企業智慧資本」中的定義出發，結合學術理論與業界訪談，探究不同企業在運行儲備幹部制度的動機、邏輯與制度設計，進而透過綜合的分析與探討，歸納出儲備幹部在人力資本的定位與角色，以及儲備幹部發展的內涵與特質，再進而推論出台灣本土企業在運行儲備幹部制度時應有之綜合考量與成功因素。 / The definition of high potential human capital, also regarded as high potentials, refers to the employees who have the core competency and could contribute extinguish performance to the company. They are the core employees in the company, playing an important role in management and development functions. The cultivation of high potentials differentiates into the basic class, intermediate class, and high class, based on the demand of company. Because high potentials are candidates of future chief executive, more and more companies realize the importance to cultivate their own high potentials who identify with company’s philosophy, rather than to hunt the talents from other companies. Based on above reasons, the management associate program (MA program) was applied and well developed in many companies. Recently, not only finance holding companies but also technology and retail service companies, based on their industry features and future development, are working on their own MA program. However, the studies related to MA programs of Taiwanese companies are not abundant. Therefore, this study focused on the definition of high potential human capital and intellectual capital, combining with industry interviews, to discuss the motivation, design, and the operation of MA programs in different companies. This study summarized the position and importance of MA in human capital, discussed the intrinsic characteristics of MA program, and thus concluded the dominant factors to achieve successful MA program that could be applied in Taiwan.

In modern conditions, the formation and development of human capital within the enterprise is becoming increasingly important due to the fact that the required and specific competencies of employees are the basis for ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise. The aim of the master's thesis is to develop guidelines for the formation and development of human capital of employees based on corporate education. The thesis examines the theoretical and methodological issues of human capital research, as well as the ways of its formation and development on the basis of corporate education. The sources used were teaching and research literature, regulatory acts, corporate statistics, official statistics of the Federal State Statistics Service and the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistics System on the topic of the study. In the master's thesis, methodological recommendations were developed on the formation and development of human capital of employees of an information technology enterprise based on corporate education, which allows us to improve the forms and methods of corporate training implemented at the enterprise, and increase the effectiveness of managerial decisions in the field of personnel policy. / В современных условиях формирование и развитие человеческого капитала внутри предприятия приобретает все большую значимость ввиду того, что необходимые востребованные и специфические компетенции сотрудников являются основой для обеспечения конкурентоспособности предприятия. Целью магистерской диссертации является разработка методических рекомендаций по формированию и развитию человеческого капитала сотрудников предприятия на основе корпоративного образования. В работе рассматривается теоретические и методические вопросы исследования человеческого капитала, а также способы его формирования и развития на основе корпоративного образования. В качестве источников использовалась учебно-методическая и научно-исследовательская литература, нормативно-правовые акты, данные корпоративной статистики, официальные статистические данные Федеральной службы государственной статистики и Единой межведомственной информационно-статистической системы по теме исследования. В магистерской диссертации были разработаны методические рекомендации по формированию и развитию человеческого капитала сотрудников предприятия сферы информационных технологий на основе корпоративного образования, что позволяет совершенствовать формы и методы корпоративного обучения, реализуемого на предприятии, повышать эффективность управленческих решений в сфере кадровой политики.