Human resource development (HRD) strategies for knowledge sharing: a preliminary study

Abstract

The changing trend of organizations in the information age is focusing more on knowledge as their unique business competitive advantage strategy. Organizations are increasingly dependent on knowledge workers as they compete through their employees’ know- how (Reich, 1991). Since knowledge becomes a prominent source for organizational competitive advantage in the uncertain economic environment, therefore organizations should create supporting culture for knowledge sharing (Nonaka, 1991). People would be the most important source in this new environment as their ideas, suggestions, criticism, experience and skills becomes a vital source for organizations improvements. Organizations must realize that the basis of growth of modern society has shifted from natural resources and physical assets to intellectual capital. It has become the source of innovation, growth and value (Arora, 2002). As a result, investment in human capital (HC) becomes critical in a knowledge based economy (k-economy) (Ramlee and Abu, 2005; ACCSM, 2005). The process of KS is not just for transferring the knowledge but more on the value and the impact of the knowledge itself (Smith, 2005). Technology is not the main issue that deter the KS acculturation, rather than the human resource itself. It is difficult to trigger KS because knowledge resides within the individuals (Bock et al., 2005; Riege, 2005; Davenport et al., 1997), and peoples’ non- supportive beliefs in sharing knowledge either formally or informally can result in knowledge management efforts to fail in an organization (Smith, 2005). In higher education institutions (HEI), KS will flourish if this institution is innovative, exercise dynamic changes and is really looking for a new source of values. When innovation and creativity are the hallmark of the present competitive arena, an organization should be swift in finding the right kind of knowledge in the right form, from the organizations (Bhatt, 2001). KS is becoming a key phrase, especially for those who have useful knowledge and want to share it with those who need it (i.e., industry, the public sector, or the public in general). However, to achieve this is not an easy task. Many universities in developing countries are completely unprepared for such demands, and even local knowledge users, for example industries, are frequently hesitant to let students invade their facilities (Thulstrup et al., 2006). In fact, it is not enough to establish only capacity in an organization but it must also be shared. For this reason alone, many universities in developing countries are believed to still lack in using academy capacity in real practice (i.e, integration of education, research and real life applications), even if it is essential for KS (Thulstrup et al., 2005). In order for organizations to develop their organizational capacity and ensure that the capacity is fully utilized, they must also develop their human resources in order to nurture and harness peoples’ intellectual capital (i.e., knowledge, skills, attitudes), so that they can contribute to sharing knowledge effectively.