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Critical Article Review Knowledge Management and Organizational Competitiveness A Framework for Human Capital Analysis
Critical Article Review: Knowledge Management and Organizational Competitiveness: A Framework for Human Capital Analysis
Knowledge management literature highlights the fact that in the current economy, the attainment of a constant competitive advantage relies on the organization’s capacity to develop and deploy its knowledge-based resources (Rodriquez & Patricia, 2003, 43). In the article, Rodriquez and Patricia state that people are the most difficult organizational resources to be controlled (McManus, 2006, 24). Thus, executives have traditionally based their competitive strategies on other factors like product and process technology, access to financial resources, economies of scale and protected market niches (Crawford & Cabanis-Brewin, 2005, 12). They examine the means through which organizational resources are used and combined, the causes which determine the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage and the nature of payments generated by organizational resources (Badiruet al., 2007, 23).
Turner (2007, 16) states that they view a firm as the accumulation of unique resources of a diverse nature and that certain characteristics ought to be represented in order for organizational resources to become a source of sustainable competitive advantage. They also say that these resources ought to be rare, valuable, without substitutes and difficult to imitate (Phillips, 2005, 31). They also say that organizational knowledge that is used frequently is one that distinguishes between tacit and explicit knowledge, although there are many other knowledge. Tacit knowledge is attained via experience (Levine, 2002, 17). It is a form of knowledge with which we are all intimately familiar. In contrast, explicit knowledge is transmitted via formal, systematic language, and adopts the form of computer programs, parents, diagrams, among others (Lewis, 2004, 34).
However, even though people are the most difficult organizational resources to be controlled as said by Rodriquez and Patricia in the article, they are the most significant organizational resources as well. Thus executives are not supposed to look for other alternative as stipulated by the two authors but look for means through which they can improve their performance and efficiency. This is due to the fact that even if they decide to adopt use of technology, people shall be still required to run and operate that technological system or machines. The authors say that certain characteristic ought to be presented in order for organizational resources to become a source of sustainable competitive advantage. The article fails to mention these characteristics thus making it ineffective.
References
Badiru, A, Badiru, B, and Badiru, A, 2007, Industrial project management: concepts, tools, and techniques, New York, CRC Press
Crawford, J, and Cabanis-Brewin, J, 2005, Optimizing human capital with a strategic project office: select, train, measure, and reward people for organization success, Oxford, Auerbach Publications
Levine, H, 2002, Practical project management: tips, tactics, and tools, New York, John Wiley and Sons
Lewis, J, 2004, Team-Based Project Management, Washington, Beard Books.McManus, J, 2006, Leadership: project and human capital management, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann
Phillips, J, 2005, Investing in your company’s human capital: strategies to avoid spending too little–or too much, Washington, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Rodriquez, J, and Patricia, P, 2003, Knowledge Management and Organizational Competitiveness: A Framework for Human Capital Analysis, Journal of Knowledge Management, V (7), No. (3), 2003, 82-91
Turner, R, 2007, Gower handbook of project management, New York, Gower Publishing, Ltd.
Development Stages
Development Stages
Student’s Name
Institution
Development Stages
Understanding the development stages is an essential part of understanding the growth and development of human beings. According to Erik Erikson, there are eight main stages in human development which include; trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, industry vs. inferiority, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation (Erford, 2017). This paper will provide observation of two children both aged ten yeas by describing their social, cognitive, physical, and personality characteristics.
The two children, as a result of their ages, fall under the industry vs. inferiority stage. According to Armitage et al. (2013), the industry vs. inferiority stage of development usually captures children between the ages of six and twelve. In this case, the two children were both males. One of the observations which I made from observing the interactions between the two boys was that they were physically growing from childhood. They had fairly strong muscles, which were short of a normal teenager but stronger compared to children of a younger age. Another observation was based on the social aspect of the boys. The two boys displayed a willingness and interest to interact with other people. They were enthusiastic about playing together as well as making new friends. The boys also belong to peer groups, which was comprised of other boys, which they befriended. I also noticed that the boys preferred interactions with other boys and had a tendency to avoid interactions with children of the opposite sex. The two boys were also enthusiastic about showing their best attributes to their friends. The approval and opinions of their friends were important. They would delight in a positive comment given by their friends and sulk from a negative attribute given by a friend.
On the cognitive aspect of the observations, both boys showed a desire to learn new things. They were determined to understand more complex problems presented to them by their teachers. They also showed a positive and increased interest in the learning material whenever they received commendations from their teachers. A positive comment on their work increased their motivation and hard work. Also, they tend to show discouragement or lack of interest when harshly spoken to or when they do not receive a positive comment from the work done. As a result, their performance and interest in subjects in school heavily relied on the motivation offered by their teachers towards them.
The personality observations received several things. One of the observations made was that the boys were sensitive. Another personality observation made from the two boys is that they were very sensitive to issues such as justice and fairness. They were keen to see that their friends and family members treated all people equally. They were particularly vocal about whether they felt that one of the people around them was being mistreated. Also, they were self-critical. Their self-criticism was especially high whenever they felt like they did not achieve certain objectives set by parents or teachers and, in some other instances, when one of their peers does something better than them. Curiosity was also another observation which was easily evident about the two boys. They were curious to know new things from both their school and home environment. One could easily see them develop interests in areas such as how cars operate or develop curiosity about birds outside the classroom set up.
Conclusion
Understanding the eight development stages is vital in learning about the growth and development of human beings. The observation of the two boys aged ten years each clearly demonstrated social, cognitive, physical, and personality attributes, which were similar to the industry vs. inferiority stage of development.
References
Armitage, A., Donovan, G., Flanagan, K., & Poma, S. (2013). Developing professional practice 14-19. Routledge.
Erford, B. (2017). An Advanced Lifespan Odyssey for Counseling Professionals. Nelson Education.
Development Stages of Early Childhood
Development Stages of Early Childhood
Name
Institution
The stages of a child’s development from birth to eight years
Development of a child entails all changes either psychological or biological that occur in a child at the stages between births towards the end of adolescent in human beings. As a child develops his dependency on other continues to reduce progressively as they learn how to be autonomous (Keenan, 2002). We can discuss the development of a child by breaking it down into three major categories. That is, the child’s physical development, its cognitive development, its development of language and also speech and its development socially and emotionally.
The physical changes in a child from the time of birth to three years include changes in height and body. The height of the child doubles while the weight quadruples. The child at this stage begins to show adult like appearances (Keenan, 2002). The child also masters skills such as use of a spoon, sitting on his own, walking and can as well coordinate use of his hands and eyes. The child can see an object and reach for it. The child at this stage learns to use the toilet. At the age of one the child begins to develop emotionally and socially. The child begins to relate with the people surrounding him. Language begins to develop and the child can express themselves using simple vocabulary (Marshall & Stuart, 2001). A child at this age is able to use language to describe their surroundings.
At the age of three to about five years the child begins to show fine motor ability. Here the child is able to control his pencil and can balance on a single foot as well as skip. Physical growth in a child between these stages is reduced as motor skills development take centre stage (Marshall & Stuart, 2001). A child of about five years is able to construct simple sentences of about seven words. The child is able to tell a story and can use the past tense.
At the age of eight years the child is able to use language to solve problems with others as well as communicate. An eight year old can understand concepts that are not concrete although its reasoning has not fully developed (Marshall and Stuart 2001). The child is more social and relates better with others especially when they are playing.
Piagets sensori-motor stage of development
When an infant is at this stage of development they are mainly preoccupied trying to discover the relationships they have with their environment and their bodies. At this stage the child has its sensory abilities well developed. Children mainly depend on their senses to learn about their bodies’ ant their surroundings (Keenan 2002). This stage is called sensori-motor due to the fact that this is where we learn early signs of a child’s intelligence (Marshall and Stuart 2001). We learn this signs from a child’s motor activities and his sensory perceptions.
The importance of this stage is that it helps infants to understand that they are distinct from the world around them. At this stage the child is able to coordinate different activities. For example a child can look at an object and reach for it. At the later stages of sensor motor stage is the object permanence concept (Keenan, 2002). With this concept the child is able to keep the existence of an object in mind even if they are not viewing it. Object permanence is more active in older infants as they have mastered most objects.
Direct groping concept emerges after object permanence. At this stage a child is curious to learn the outcomes of various experiments. The child wants to learn how various movements have varying results (Marshall & Stuart, 2001). If a child is aware of his doings effects, he might want to intentionally cause these effects.
Pre operational stage of development
This is the stage where a child’s reactions to objects that are similar are identical. The child at this level uses one thing to make inferences to another. Example if the child sees the moon his reasoning will be that, that is a ball since his ball is round. Children between the age of four to seven experience intuition.
Thinking in this stage is highly egocentric; hence the child will only understand life from his own perspective. Egocentrism in a child makes him believe that the world shares in their way of thinking. They believe the world is theirs and they have the ability to control it. At preoperational stage the child is able to use symbols as well as masters conversations. The child can also use words to express the things he cannot see (Keenan, 2002). At the latter levels of preoperational stage the child a child can distinguish fantasy and reality and can reason logically (Marshall & Stuart 2001). Egocentrism begins to decline.
Comparing paiget development to brain development
In the development of the brain the early years of a child are very important. At the time of birth the brain of a child has billions of neurons (Miller, 2006). The child grows the neurons mature and leads to formation of synapses. At the age between two and four months the vision neurons begin to send messages to the brain. The child’s brain begins to register the objects they see and they are stored permanently. In paiget development this is where the child vision begins to function. The first month of piagets development the child cannot see but in the second month their vision begins to be more active.
When a child is exposed to certain words his brain will create neural connections that help the child learn the words. The stimulation of sounds in a child’s brain helps them to learn languages (Miller, 2006). The brain is very vital in a child’s language development. In the paiget development this is the stage where the child learns how to produce sounds in the early years of development.
In conclusion, child development takes place in stage, each stage building on the preceding stage. The development can tri-categorised; the child’s physical development, its cognitive development, its development of language and also speech and its development socially and emotionally. All development processes are necessary for normal maturation of a human child.
References
Keenan, T. (2002). An Introduction to Child Development. London: SAGE.
Marshall, J., & Stuart, S. (2001). Child development, GCSE Home economics for OCR services. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers.
Miller, M. W. (2006). Brain Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.