HUMAN RESOURCE

Source: Soliman and Spooner (2000: p. 344)

In relating the earlier review to the M alaysian context, Yahya and Goh (2002) found an association betw een four areas of h u m an resource m anagem ent (i.e. training, decision-m aking, perform ance appraisal, and com pensation an d rew ard) and the five areas of know ledge m anagem ent (i.e. know ledge acquisition, know ledge docum entation, know ledge transfer, know ledge creation, know ledge application). In this view , it has also been arg u ed th at h u m an resource m anagem ent needs to ad o p t a unique role to assist an d su p p o rt the successful in p u t a n d /o r factors of the im plem entation of know ledge m anagem ent. In other w ords, it could be assum ed th at h u m an resource m anagem ent m ay su p p o rt the "socialisation", "externalisation", "com bination" an d "internalisation" stages m ore efficiently. As a separate entity from know ledge m anagem ent,

p erh ap s w h at h u m an resource m anagem ent should do is to becom e m ore strategic in n atu re i.e. a strategic business partner, rath er than just becom ing a service provider. By doing so, the strategic alignm ent needs to m eet several requirem ents of the issues th at are closely related to m anaging know ledge w orkers, such as flexibility an d freedom of autonom y, practising em pow erm ent, having flat m anagem ent and w ork-life balance.

P erhaps this w ork could also provide a signal of the active m ovem ent of the new concept of m anaging h u m an resources in developing countries such as M alaysia. H ere, it has been claim ed th at the em ergence of W estern h u m an resource m anagem ent will become crucial for efficient people m anagem ent in developing countries (Budhwar, 2004; B udhw ar and Debrah, 2001; D ebrah and Smith, 2000; Rowley and W arner, 2004; Rowley and Benson, 2000). This is because it has been arg u ed fu rth er th at w ith the existence of th o u san d s of M ulti N ational C om panies (MNCs) in developing countries, such as African states and the Asia Pacific region, W estern h u m an resource m anagem ent could become influential in these countries (B udhw ar and D ebrah, 2001; Rowley an d W arner, 2004). In fact, it has been stated that:

"These MNCs often introduce new working practices which are in line with their global strategies. The MNCs generally have well-develop HRM systems. It is thus conceivable that as more and more developing countries succeed in attracting FDI [i.e. foreign direct investment], the local firms they work with might emulate their HRM policies and practices. Thus, indirectly, the local firms can learn from the MNCs regarding how to transform their personnel into HRM." (Budhwar and Debrah, 2001: p. 246)

N onetheless, Rowley (2003) has argued th at differences in HRM in any country could only be u n d ersto o d by looking at the pros an d cons of four crucial approaches (i.e. convergence, contingency, culture an d institutional factors). In this regard, the practice of h u m an resource m anagem ent stages is different in each country and thus requires the m ost ap p ro p riate approach for the com pany in order to fit in w ith the w orking culture of th at

com pany w ith o u t neglecting the existing su p p o rtin g social and economic values an d local practices. For instance, in China, according to Cooke (2004: p. 31), little attention is paid to the practice of h u m an resource m anagem ent an d the relationships betw een w orkers are very m uch transactional in n atu re (i.e. I have the m oney, I em ploy you, therefore you should do a good job for me). In Thailand, the principle of m anagem ent tau g h t in B uddhism , kn o w n as "B rahm ivihaara 4", is applied in m anaging h u m an resources (see, for exam ple, Siengthai and Becther, 2004). A sim ilar thing h appens in M alaysia, w here the m ajority of the citizens are M alays a n d /o r b u m ip u tra (i.e. Princes of the Soil) and the national religion is Islam. Thus, these tw o aspects have undeniably affected the m anagem ent of w orkers in M alaysia (Mellahi and W ood, 2004). F urther discussion on h u m an resource m anagem ent issues in M alaysia is pro v id ed in C hapter 4, Section 4.4.

Aside from these differences, these developing countries have one thing in com m on, nam ely the applicability of resource-based theory in explaining fu rth er how their h u m an resources are being m anaged. In relation to this, it has been pointed out by B udhw ar and D ebrah (2001: p. 251) th at "In the era of g lo b alisatio n ...[an d ]...in achieving com petitive advantage, developing countries m u st transfer their PM [i.e. people m anagem ent] into HRM [i.e. hu m an resource m anagem ent]. It is for this reason th at Kam oche argues th at the resource based-view can be applied to u n d erstan d in g of the role of HRs in strategic m anagem ent in Africa and m ight contribute to the form ulation of an HRM approach th at is m ore ap p ro p riate for the Kenyan situation an d p erh ap s for all developing countries in g en eral...". In the light of the earlier discussion on theories u n d erp in n in g this study, the overall u n d erstan d in g on how h u m an resource m anagem ent m ay su p p o rt know ledge m anagem ent is show n here in Table 3.4. The overall view on the im pact of this u n d erstan d in g on the cu rren t research is th at it will encourage as well as su p p o rt know ledge w orkers to participate in any

know ledge m anagem ent activities. To take a sim ple exam ple, d u rin g the socialisation processes as show n in Table 3.4, know ledge w orkers are expected to participate in custom er interaction activities such as having lunch together, visiting the site and regularly checking on the p roducts and services sold to the custom ers.

Table 3.4

Managing Knowing in the Knowledge-Based Company Knowledge Management Elements anchor Processes Knowledge Management Activities

Strategic Human Resource Management

Socialisation Brainstorming Informal Meetings Discussions Dialogues Observation On-the-job training Customer interaction Coaching Mentoring Learning groups

To provide suitable environments like 'family day', 'dinner or lunch with the customers', 'staff annual dinner', 'company retreat' etc.

To encourage workers' participation in knowledge management activities by creating 'team-based performance assessment'.

To ensure that the com pany's planning on staffing and recruiting is aligned with the needs of the company. It is essential to get the right workers who will fit with the company working culture, for instance.

To ensure high commitment from the top management.

Externalisation Meetings

Building hypotheses and models Communicating by cartoons After-reaction reviews Workshops Best-practice exchange Master classes Assignment

To support the embodiment and dissemination of knowledge management activities into the workplace. To provide competitive initiatives for workers to share more.

To provide competitive compensation & rewards systems.

To encourage the practice of 'flat' management that requires management to be more flexible, with an emphasis on worker involvement and empowerment. To emphasis the role of top management for encouraging team-based work.

Combination The application of the uses of information technology groupware such as 'company yellow pages' and 'intranet system'.

To work with the relevant authorities in creating a n d /o r providing effective IT system for knowledge

management activities to n m smoothly.

To provide an effective training programme to introduce knowledge management systems among workers and utilise it at the maximum level.

Internalisation Facilitation skills Knowledge sharing Client customer feedback review

Development counselling and new ideas

Perhaps, the strategic hum an resource management in the company could apply the strategies suggested in the externalisation and combination processes, but the main focus should be on the following aspects:

To create a situation of learning by doing.

To provide more training and personal development programmes.

In this regard, w h at h u m an resource m anagem ent of a com pany can do is to m onitor these m ovem ents by assessing w hether the com pany really has the rig h t know ledge w orkers to present the com pany's deals to the custom ers. If the individual know ledge w orkers are lacking in self- confidence a n d /o r have bad public relation skills, then p erh ap s they need to be sent on training program m es in order to im prove. O ther th an that, know ledge w orkers could also be given g roup tasks a n d /o r team projects d u rin g the externalisation processes. In this view, w h at h u m an resource m anagem ent could do is to use a better com petitive com pensation and rew ard s system s u p o n com pletion of the project. In this case, team -based rew ard s could be better than individual rew ards. Also the need for an efficient system to encourage know ledge-sharing activities is im portant. H ere, p erhaps top m anagem ent of the com pany should consider m aking an investm ent to this end. Furtherm ore, continued su p p o rt m u st be provided an d exam ples m u st be show n in o rd er to encourage the rest of the w orkers to a d o p t the know ledge-sharing attitude. Finally, training an d personal developm ent are clearly pertinent, allow ing know ledge w orkers to keep abreast of w h at is going on w ith in their fields of w ork. Thus, strategic h u m an resource m anagem ent should consider this as one factor th at could contribute to the retention of know ledge w orkers.

3.5 Summary

Overall, in ord er to design and im plem ent strategic h u m an resource m anagem ent w ith in the know ledge m anagem ent context, it is best to look at w h at Raich (2002: p. 269) said: " ...w e are convinced th at the hu m an resource function in the fu tu re will be different from th at in the past. The com panies th at do n o t see this and do n o t act accordingly will have a serious problem w ith the core assets of the 'n ew econom y': the know ledge w orkers and the know ledge professional...". It seem s th at know ledge w orkers in the know ledge-based society w ould prefer to have high autonom y, significant drives for achievem ent, a stronger identity and

affiliation w ith a profession rather th an a com pany, and are likely to have a greater sense of self-direction (Amar, 2002; D espres an d H iltrop, 1995; Drucker, 1988 an d 1998; H orribe, 1999; H u n ter et al. 2002; Thite, 2004). In this view, neglecting know ledge m anagem ent in the com pany w ould lead to loss, as know ledge th at resides in the w orkers' brains is crucial for survival in the current, com petitive business w orld.

In this regard, h u m an resource m anagem ent should play a m ore pro-active role by becom ing m ore strategic in nature rath er th an just acting as a service provider. Thus, as in the business w orld, w here com panies have to continuously review , revisit, an d u p d ate their b ran d s a n d /o r products to m eet custom ers' changing needs, the sam e thing applies to their know ledge w orkers. An u n d erstan d in g of how to best m anage their know ledge w orkers should be the centrepiece of all com panies' concerns. To do this, the h u m an resource m anagem ent position m u st regularly be w illing to m ake to u g h decisions about w h at it will an d will n o t contribute to the success of know ledge m anagem ent im plem entation, as described by the earlier SECI M odel (N onaka and Konno, 1998) and the Know ledge M apping M odel (Soliman and Spooner, 2000). Every h u m an resource professional shall fu rth er craft initiatives using the benefits offered by the know ledge m anagem ent practices.

To conclude, from the earlier discussions, the m ain proposition of this study is to u n d erstan d the role of h u m an resource m anagem ent as a strategic business p artn er and how it can help to develop an effective system a n d /o r w orkplace to enable know ledge m anagem ent im plem entation. This is then congruent w ith the context in w hich the com panies' end objective is a sustainable com petitive advantage. This is because, as has been highlighted before, the techniques of know ledge m anagem ent are indeed n o t sufficient w ith o u t the su p p o rt of h u m an resource m anagem ent practices.