Universities as Learning Organizations in the Knowledge Economy (original) (raw)
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Adapting the pattern of university organisation to the needs of the knowledge economy
European Journal of Education, 2000
Universities worldwide are facing two major challenges. The first concerns the continuous need to generate and disseminate adequate knowledge that can significantly contribute to the development of the emerging knowledge economy. The second is the ability to adequately train a new class of workers, the knowledge workers. Universities are becoming more and more`knowledge enterprises' because they produce, intermediate and disseminate all kinds of knowledge to develop knowledge economies and train knowledge workers. The new economy is based more upon knowledge than upon capital or manual labour (Thurow). Universities play a crucial role in the context of opportunities and risks generated by the new economy. Universities are first of all partners or promoters of brainpower industries as Information and Communication Technology, biotechnology, chemistry, advanced services, government, etc. In these industries, products and services will be developed increasingly through the combination of expert and tacit knowledge (Nonaka), through a new relationship between theory and practice: this is a challenge that universities should face. Universities in technology, economy, social sciences and others-should rapidly generate meaningful scientific and practical knowledge, especially in countries which are not at the lead of the new economy, as many European countries. Information and Communication Technologies upset organisations, institutions and societies, but do not redesign them: universities Ð as multidisciplinary agencies Ð should help in visioning and designing new ones, especially in ancient traditions such as Western and Eastern Europe. IC Technologies will provide individuals and communities with an unprecedented power in action and communication, but this may increase inequality and conflicts (Tapscott): Universities have the scientific and moral authority to support both innovation and social developments, mainly in areas of intense social differentiation and of immigration as Europe. The`information marketplace' (Dertouzos) which is supported or made by ICTs will allow economic transactions of the same magnitude as the traditional market: universities may contribute to redesign the economic and social dimensions of traditional and virtual markets. Universities in Europe operate both in a global economy and in differentiated cultural and social local settings: they are the best equipped global and local agencies for facing the problems of the institutional embeddedness of the economic processes (Powell). Universities are going to train`knowledge workers' (Drucker), i.e. scholars,
Transforming the University into a Learning Organization
Successful twenty-first century universities will have to be lean, flexible, and nimble. In fact, Peter Drucker claims that 30 years from now the "big universities will be relics" and will not survive. In the corporate world, businesses are becoming learning organizations in order to survive and prosper. This paper explains why it is necessary for universities to become learning organizations and provides ideas as how to make the transformation.
2016
There are voices in the research field suggesting that universities should become learning organisations in order to survive and become competitive in a complex environment. Two research aims have been raised. The first was concerned with in what way the organisational qualities of a university match the characteristics of a theoretical model of a learning organisation. The second was regarding in what way the organisational characteristics interact with one another in order to find out whether they support or hinder organisational learning. The selected case, Karlstad University, had an explicit vision to become a learning organisation. An integrated theoretical model of a learning organisation was created, based on different perspectives. The university was divided into six subsystems (vision, grouping, communication, norm, sanctions and evaluation system) and method triangulation has been applied, based on interviews, documents and a survey. Data analysis has been focused on the identification of organisational characteristics of the case, in relation to the theoretical model. Furthermore, explorative factor analysis as well as system theory analyses has been applied. The results show that out of six subsystems, four (communication, norm, sanctions and evaluation system) do not meet the characteristics in the theoretical model of a learning organisation. One subsystem (vision system) turned out to meet, as well as not to meet, the requirements in the theoretical model, while one-the grouping system-matches the requirements. The conclusion has been drawn that the university's inner life is not in harmony with the characteristics of the theoretical model of a learning organisation.
Policy of knowledge management in universities. From theory to practice
2012
Higher education plays an essential role in society, creating new knowledge, transferring it to students and fostering innovation. Mass access to higher education and the spectacular expansion of research are two concepts that become increasingly competitive and developed heavily in the recent years. If initially, the former enhanced the resources for the latter in the modern era of scientific discovery, the postmodernism brought equilibrium between the two concepts, in the production of knowledge time. Nowadays, there s a strong consensus around the idea that there s a new paradigm which forces people and organizations to reposition themselves. This new paradigm has evolved around concepts such as learning organizations and knowledge-based organizations, designations that emphasize teamwork, decentralization, organizational learning and knowledge. The proposed survey in this paper is the outcome of an European project whose main purpose was to help school leaders to improve ICT usa...
The university in the learning economy
2002
In all parts of the world, universities are exposed to a growing pressure to change. This is caused by the emergence of new relationship between the economic dynamics and the production of knowledge as well as by policy and administrative initiatives finding their rationale in interpretations of these changes. In this paper an attempt is made to specify some of the new challenges, and suggest appropriate responses. Under the heading 'the learning economy' changes in the context of universities are identified. One important conclusion is that traditional modes of organisation, characterised by sharp and rigid borders between disciplines and isolation from the society at large are being challenged and alternatives have to be developed. Another conclusion is that strategies of alliance and networking have become a key factor behind the success of universities. A third conclusion is that the universities' most significant contribution to society and the economy will remain welleducated graduates with critical minds and good learning skills.
Innovative Management of a University
Proceedings of the 11th Business & Management Conference, Dubai, 2020
The transformation of universities from the classic model to the entrepreneurial university and later to the innovative university is the stimulator for the creation of a knowledge society providing the foundation for an economy based on knowledge. This process is the effect of internal disputes running between traditionalists and pragmatists at universities. Among the traditionalists there is a conviction that knowledge is of a theoretical dimension that comes down to the value of discovery, retention and conveyance of knowledge in its own right. The aim of the herein paper is to conduct an analysis of the process of innovative management of a university, while also to define the innovative features of a university and the principles of management of a university of the third generation. The effect of the pilot research conducted is the proposal of the model of the university of the third generation, whose development is generated by constant innovation, cooperation with the economy, while also social partners and civic society.
University 3.0 as a Corporate Entity of Knowledge Economy: Models and Missions
The University 3.0 is established in higher education systems in developed countries, performing social missions of education, research, and knowledge commercialization. The purpose of the article is the study of the University 3.0 as a corporate entity of knowledge economy. For this purpose the author discloses the content its fundamental social and economic missions and models in the context of social reality and management policy; gives examples of scientific studies of the University 3.0 challenges. Based on the analysis of social reality it is shown that strategic systems of social development conceptualizations – " New Public Management, " " Network Governance, " " Neo-Weberian State "-demonstrate basic transformations from which the University 3.0 takes its origin. The University 3.0 is built on the basis of interrelated models of network, creative, innovative and entrepreneurial universities. The University 3.0 is becoming the basis for global competitiveness of national economies and geopolitical alliances.
Towards universities as learning organisations
Learning Organization, 1998
The notion of "learning organisation" is, arguably, gaining credibility. This article takes this position as a starting point and, in the context of the authors' own declared assumptions and beliefs, explores the meaning and potential application of the concept. This is achieved through examination of the literature on "learning organisations", especially as it connects with emerging thinking on strategy and strategic management, and postmodern analyses of organising. The examination is then used as a comparison with conventional practices in UK universities. The argument is advanced that universities, as providers of management education, have both privileged opportunities and critical responsibilities to seek to adopt the ideal and practices associated with the concept of "learning organisation". Some initial suggestions are included on what this might mean, and "look like", in practice if the attempt to move towards learning organisation status is taken seriously.