A new world-economic order based on global trade and transfer of knowledge is gaining momentum. Some call it the "weightless economy", others call it the "network society".
Whatever the term, economists and theorists are having a tough time fashioning and refashioning concepts for these fast-paced post-industrial transitions. Whereas, previous economic activity was valued by industry and hard labor, today, data, information, knowledge and innovation -- in their totality -- are the key drivers to the economic wealth of nations.
In his pioneering book, "Landmarks of Tomorrow", management guru Peter Drucker warned businesses of the need to shift from labor-intensive to knowledge-intensive forms of production. "Productive work in today's society and economy is work that applies vision, knowledge and concepts (which) is based on the mind rather than the hand."
As universal as this idea might seem, its visionary message is more relevant today than it was over 40 years ago. Many nations have taken this valuable advice and are in the process of devising strategies to enable them to shift into the age of knowledge and Intellectual capital. In 1997, the Canadian government and the World Bank hosted the first Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto to discuss the growth and impact of sophisticated information technologies on the economics and social dynamics of people around the world.
At the wake of the event, the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) initiative was born.
Three years later, members of the GKP and other interested parties continued this dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some 1,200 participants from 90 countries -- and thousand others from all over the world -- were involved via satellite teleconferencing. The objective of this 2-day action summit was to convert concepts and dreams into plans, policies and programs to build the foundation for a future never imagined before in history.
Today, there is hardly a nation or a business that is not carefully scrutinizing the real economic wealth of their country or their corporations in terms of their intellectual and human capital. The burning issue facing businesses today lies in their ability to develop, utilize and commercialize the intellectual capabilities of their people. Debra Amidon, a pioneer in the field of Knowledge Economies defined this process as "Knowledge Innovation."
In her article "The Intellectual Capital of Nations", she defines this concept as the creation, evolution, exchange and application of ideas for new products and services that aim to benefit the success of profit and non-profit enterprise, the vitality of a nation's economy and more significantly, the advancement of society as a whole. This revolutionary paradigm shift from "production jobs" to "knowledge jobs" is what Saudi businesses need to venture into.
The challenge ahead thus lies in their ability -- or lack thereof -- to take significant leaps to enable the advancement of high-tech, knowledge-based workers to fill the ever increasing "Smart Gap" syndrome that is at the center of most Saudi businesses' desperation.
The root cause of the "Smart Gap" syndrome is the inability of these organizations to capture experiential learning as a tool for advancing performance.
Almost always, organizations are in the predicament of having to reinvent the wheel when working with old practices, simply because tacit knowledge of former workers was never captured and shared.
Tacit and explicit knowledge are two types of knowledge that are needed for high performance and sustainable business practices. Explicit knowledge is usually referred to as data and information, and almost always attempts to answer the technical question of "know-what"? It is easily articulated, captured, and shared. Tacit knowledge is more elusive because it is gained by experiential learning and usually answers the question of "know-how."
Tacit knowledge is subjective, intangible and not easily transferable because it usually resides in the mind of its programmer. Expert knowledge workers excel by the creative use of both.
Survival in a constantly changing economy requires that businesses capitalize on the only sustainable competitive advantage that is harbored in the mind of their employees -- in either explicit or tacit form. This task cannot be left to chance but must be preempted by action. The strategic importance of fostering and facilitating the growth of knowledge workers is no more an incentive as it is sound business sense.
The Second Arab Human Development Report published in 2002 concluded that the Arab world was in a die-hard situation that necessitated major reform measures to unleash "knowledge" as the single economic enabler of these times.
It concluded by presenting a strategic vision to position Arab economies as key players in a new playing field. Certain pillars were identified, with key focus on:
1. High quality education focusing on science and technology;
2. Building and broadening the capacity for research and development across society;
3. Shifting rapidly toward knowledge-based production;
4. Developing an authentic, broad-minded and enlightened Arab knowledge model.
Till this day, four years later, these aims remain elusive.
By Fatin Yousef Bundagji
© Arab News 2006
