Today in the Warsaw Business Journal Online there is an announcement of the "first-ever international HR conference in Warsaw" beginning this Thursday, March 25, 2004. What I find exciting about this announcement is the focus of these HR leaders on the 'knowledge' in their organizations. And their readiness to step up to the proverbial plate and address the 'corporate culture' issues involved in creating successful knowledge flow in organizations from small to large.
..."IT tools have been increasingly important in HR," says Marzena Mielecka, project manager at the Management Institute, which co-organizes the conference. "They make it possible to dispel the notion that investing in people does not bring specific benefits," she continues.
...Another illustration of the interaction between HR and IT specialists, who operate in seemingly widely different fields, is the issue of knowledge management. While the information technology aspect of knowledge management is perhaps better known, the conference will look at the human side of the issue.
"Many employees are unwilling to share their knowledge, fearing they will thus become dispensable," Mielecka says. "That is an issue of corporate culture, something that only HR managers can address." And, while HR is commonly thought to be relevant to large corporations alone, Mielecka adds that the issues of knowledge management are equally pertinent to small, and, in particular, midsized companies. It is, however, to those companies that the long-term nature of investments in human capital and changes to corporate culture can be a particular problem...
K-Collector Topics: Corporations Knowledge Management