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Firms are increasingly relying on 'knowledge activists' to facilitate the flow of knowledge. This paper discusses which initiatives by activists are most likely to succeed. It identifies a conceptual framework that illustrates the conditions essential to full knowledge sharing and illustrates its effectiveness through a selection of case studies. It concludes by saying that the rigidity and priorities of organisations often preclude the flexibility and entrepreneurism necessary for successful knowledge initiatives.

According to William E. Coyne, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at 3M, 'Most modern companies now recognise that the best way to increase corporate earnings is through top-line growth, and the best route to top-line growth is through innovation'. The ability to innovate, however, comes from a skill that is underdeveloped in most companies: collaboration. Knowing how to collaborate helps a company to create and transfer knowledge. Knowledge creation and utilisation, in turn, lead to innovation. Companies that understand this long-linked process, and make the appropriate investments needed to establish and maintain it, will be the big winners in the twenty-first century global economy.

The advent of cellular organizations in the 21st century will involve changes in the core competencies needed to develop a successful managerial career. In cellular organizations, the company serves as a mechanism that encourages the knowledge-intensive skills of its members. This will require members to possess attributes such as knowledge-based technical specialty, cross-functional and international experience and self-management skills.

The spherical network organization allows companies to organize their internal resources in a manner that permits the empowerment of all employees. This organizational form removes unnecessary administrative functions and creates autonomous business units that are divided into self-managing teams. The success of a spherical network organization depends largely on the willingness of managers to deploy people in such an arrangement, as well as their skill in ensuring that such an arrangement functions properly once it is implemented. This organizational form necessitates the use of a human resource management philosophy that stresses the need for employees to act as partners in their own professional development. Companies that use the spherical network form include such market leaders as Asea Brown Boveri, Nike, Motorola and Technical and Computer Graphics., Every organizational form - pyramid or pancake, centralized or decentralized - places unique demands on people. The evolution of network organizations is forcing a new view of human resources. Over [...]

The global business topography is changing swiftly due to the emergence of a new organizational form called network organization. Driven by market mechanisms and operating in clusters of downsized business, units, network organizations have replaced the traditional multilevel, centrally-managed organizational hierarchies. Among factors that incite the deployment of networks are globalization and technological change, changing regulatory processes, work force demographics, and advances in telecommunications. Although there are several varieties in network organization, three, namely stable, dynamic and internal, have gained significant prominence. Success of network organizations depends largely on three managerial roles: architect, lead operator and caretaker., A new form of organization--delayered, downsized, and operating through a network of market-sensitive business units--is changing the global business terrain. What does the growth of these new 'network organizations' mean [...]

The article presents a discussion on the benefits of a human resources approach to management, adapted from a paper presented at the Southwest Academy of Management meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana in April 8, 1966. The human resources approach to management maintains that managers must view employees as the company's greatest asset and must take advantage of their talents by presenting opportunities for challenge and contribution. The author supports his claim with findings gained from open-ended interviews and discussions with managers from various organizations.

Recent evidence indicates that business managers have now adopted not one but two theories of participative leadership. For their subordinates, managers prefer a human relations approach, aimed at improving morale and reducing resistance to formal authority. For themselves, however, they prefer a human resources approach, whereby they want their superiors to recognize and make full use of their own currently wasted talents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]