Summary
Managing knowledge is a priority for universities. The objective of this article is to analyze the formation of knowledge communities among the administrative staff of the University of Zulia, as a strategy of the university sector, which allows generating, exchanging, and disseminating knowledge, developing and making the most of individual capacities., in such a way that communities of knowledge formed by these members can emerge to achieve optimal functioning in administrative processes and services. The method used in this research is based on the review and analysis of bibliographies and specialized documents through logical methods.
Taking human talent and its knowledge as fundamental variables, guides towards the productivity of the university sector. Some final conclusions are also expressed about the formation of knowledge communities in LUZ, as a viable strategy to face the emerging challenges of the knowledge society, where the benefits and contributions that can arise from this type of communities, builds and standardizes the processes administrative and the effective production of services and products generated by the University of Zulia.
Summary
To negotiate the knowledge constit a priority of the universities. The objective of this article is, to analyze the conformation of communities of knowledge among the administrative personnel of the University of the Zulia, like a strategy of the university sector that allows to generate, to exchange, and to diffuse the knowledge, developing and taking advantage of to the maximum the individual capacities, in such a way that communities of knowledge conformed by these members to reach the good operation in the processes and administrative services can arise. The methodical one used in this investigation is sustained in the revision and analysis of bibliographies and specialized documents through logical methods. Taking as fundamental variables, the human talent and their knowledge, guides toward the productivity of the university sector.They are also expressed some final conclusions about conforming of communities of knowledge in LUZ, as viable strategy to face the emergent challenges of the society of the knowledge, where the benefits and contributions that can arise from this type of communities, build and it standardizes the administrative processes and the effective production of services and products generated by the University of the Zulia.
Introduction
This study is the result of a documentary research focused on the formation of knowledge communities among the administrative staff of LUZ, as a strategy of the university sector aimed at achieving efficient and effective administrative processes, services and products.
A reflective analysis is made, on the knowledge communities as a strategy of the university sector, pointing out the multiple advantages and benefits that can come from the formation of this type of communities, in favor of continuous innovation and updating of administrative processes. Highlighting the definitions of authors such as: Visser (2000) and Nonaka (2000), who agree that communities of knowledge add value to the institution.
After the analysis of the knowledge communities as a strategy of the university sector, the contributions in institutional productivity that this type of communities represent are pointed out. Then it is specified about the main actors that make up these communities, human talent, cooperation, exchange and transfer of knowledge as direct competence of these members. Continuing with the enumeration of basic principles contemplated in the formation of knowledge communities.
As a last point, a proposed structure for the formation of knowledge communities, made up of members of the administrative staff, of the houses of higher education is presented.
It is considered a strategy of the university sector, to form knowledge communities that allow to take full advantage of the benefits and contributions that may arise from this type of communities, to achieve optimal functioning in administrative processes and services, seeking the firm recognition and positioning of the institution before society. In the same way, it is highlighted how these communities directly influence the development and growth of human talent, continually supporting them to reveal and effectively transfer their knowledge.
1. Knowledge communities: a strategy of the university sector
The university sector has two values; human talent and knowledge. A knowledge community made up of university staff represents an institutional strategy when the knowledge that human talent possesses is used not only for the benefit of the institution to which it belongs, but also throughout the environment in which it operates.
Vega (2004) defines the university sector as an interactive System of Wise Units dedicated to research activity in order to generate transferable knowledge and innovation in the training of qualified personnel and in the production of goods and services for the solution of problems of the society.
Creating knowledge communities with the direct support of the administrative staff of LUZ will allow the achievement of an updated, modern structure with the capacity to respond to the continuous generation and transfer of knowledge. This type of community pursues the continuous innovation and updating of the administrative processes and services that the University of Zulia provides to the entire intra and extra university community.
The strategy for the formation of knowledge communities at the University of Zulia must have as its north the unification of work by areas of knowledge dominated by the administrative staff who work in it, in order to achieve the maximum expression of knowledge in favor of application., modification and continuous innovation in the various activities that institutional recognition implies, since it will be through the products and services offered that universities will be able to strengthen relations of cooperation, communication, and institutional support, in search of a new and efficient one way of working.
Forming communities of knowledge among the administrative staff of the University of Zulia, then implies growing in individuals a positive attitude towards the sharing of knowledge, caring not only for departmental processes, but also for all institutional procedures and activities, to achieve continuous growth and development of human talent, saving time and effort, optimizing technological, material and economic resources, seeking excellence in the production of services and products, which link the university directly with the environment.
According to Visser: (2000) A knowledge community is a project of social and cultural transformation, which allows the actors involved to socially build knowledge. Knowledge communities are groups of people who share information, ideas, experiences and tools about an area of common interest, where the group provides value, and are based on trust and develop a way of doing things that is common, together with a purpose or mission that is also common, more important for a community is to have a vision and willingness to learn, that is, that the actors are willing to interact constructively with their environment, to be open to new knowledge and to identify from their own experience success factors and local knowledge.
Similarly for Nonaka (2000), the new knowledge arises from both objective and subjective information. She argues that particularly in Japan, the new knowledge arises from taking advantage of subjective perceptions, intuitions and hunches of employees, which are tested and exploited by the institution.
The formation of knowledge communities would then represent for the university sector, a different way of working where all the members who make up the community will be able to transfer and share knowledge, so that they can bring tangible and intangible benefits to the institution, since through the development of research work and community projects, the products and services derived from this effort will allow the university to achieve more than an institutional strategy, the commitment and shared responsibility among the members that make it up.
Likewise, the formation of knowledge communities in the university sector is an assertive strategy, since these institutions have the key elements for the creation of this type of work, human talent with a diversity of disciplines, knowledge, technological structure, relationships with the productive sector, physical structure, among others, fundamental components for the development of knowledge communities.
2. Communities of knowledge reflective of productive universities
Smart organizations generate, share and transfer knowledge, adapting suitable spaces that allow human talent to express and exchange all kinds of experiences and ideas, which has led us to what is now called the knowledge society. The university sector has its origin and development on the basis of the different areas of knowledge, but due to the complexity of its structure, it is often impossible to fully transfer the information and knowledge that is constantly growing and multiplying in the university environment.
According to Castaños: (2003). The evolution of new labor markets worldwide is raising the need to innovate the structures of educational institutions and the training processes of individuals, in order to achieve greater profitability, productivity, growth, efficiency and quality of goods and services produced. In this context, innovation and technological convergence of telecommunications, computer and audiovisual networks are fundamental factors of change, producing profound transformations in labor markets and higher education systems, and represent major challenges for developing countries.
On the other hand, Malvicino and Serra: (2005) assure that we enter a completely different era from the one we knew. The great change is being marked by the transition from the paradigm of the industrial society to the paradigm of the knowledge society.
Increasing productivity by trying to optimize job fragmentation or applying traditional schemes is no longer the solution. The productivity revolution understood in this way is already over. The new era of work involves the application of knowledge as the new source of creation of value and wealth.
The generation of added value, via knowledge, is the innovation and improvement of the company's products and services that come from the intelligence and creativity of people. Similarly, Vásquez: (2005), believes that the objective of innovative companies' strategies is to increase productivity and competitiveness, as well as improve market positioning.
Organizing university sectors in knowledge communities can lead to significant achievement of contributions, both intellectually and economically, allowing for consistent, practical and standard work. If the university sector made up of the administrative staff of the University of Zulia, which stands out in this case for its continuous dedication to professional growth and development, pursues the objective of forming knowledge communities, it will achieve integration and greater work productivity. set for the benefit of the entire university community.
Because knowledge management needs knowledge managers, there must be a group of people with clear responsibility, for this work with the functions of collecting and ranking knowledge, establishing knowledge-oriented technological infrastructure and monitoring the use of knowledge. facilitate the creation, distribution and use of knowledge. García (2006). Through the formation of knowledge communities, among the administrative staff of LUZ, multiple competitive advantages can be generated, which will redound to the benefit of the entire university community, since the constant and effective operation of this type of community will allow the institution the following tangible and intangible contributions:
- Effectiveness in the administrative processes and services offered to the intra and extra university community. Cost reduction, in terms of research and preparation of projects related to the generation, updating and innovation of administrative and managerial management. The knowledge communities They will allow LUZ to save proportionally as far as expenses for the hiring of external specialized personnel are concerned. Knowledge communities will promote the development and individual and professional growth of human talent. This type of community activity will increase cooperative relationships between different units of LUZ. It will allow to reach and strengthen the institutional image. The contributions will be constant allowing to offer better products and services.It will allow future exchange and collaboration with the external community. It will provide support and support for implementation in other universities. It will reduce leisure time at work. It will strengthen recognition and respect for the institution, directly influencing it, to achieve Support from external institutions It will allow you to obtain your own income, through the provision of services to sectors outside the university.
Organizing all the administrative staff of the University of Zulia in knowledge communities will allow an increase in their productivity, since these communities will become a concrete expression of the achievements that can be achieved, with the joint effort aimed at complying with the institutional mission and not at the conclusion of a departmental work. Exposed in a concrete way we can observe the following rule.
Human Talent individual work, Knowledge Communities group work, exchange of experiences and ideas that translate into greater effectiveness of the objectives and goals proposed, which leads to productivity, intellectual, economic and material. Allowing universities to advance towards the knowledge society.
3. The human talent of universities: an open window to the formation of knowledge communities
Human talent constitutes an irreplaceable resource for higher education institutions, they have as support in the organizational structure a considerable number of individuals concerned and motivated to constantly strengthen and update knowledge, an advantage that must be used to achieve maximum benefits in favor of the adequate transfer and management of knowledge that each individual possesses, directly and indirectly involved with the institution.
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1999). In their proposal on the creative organization of knowledge, they divide the creation of knowledge into two dimensions: the ontological and the epistemological. In the first case, they point out “knowledge is created only by individuals. A company cannot create knowledge without individuals ”. The tacit knowledge of individuals is the basis for the creation of organizational knowledge. In the epistemological dimension, they establish the differences between tacit and explicit knowledge. The tacit is personal and context specific, difficult to formalize and communicate.
The explicit or codified is one that can be transmitted using formal and systematic language. The tacit includes cognitive elements (mental models, schemas, paradigms, perspectives, beliefs, points of view and technicians) (know how, trades and specific skills). According to these authors, human knowledge is created and expanded through the social interaction of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge.
3.1. Cooperation, exchange, and transfer of knowledge, competence of human talent.
Individuals are the object and subject of any management paradigm. Therefore they will be above everything else and deciding everything else. And how? Through their work, their knowledge, and their organizations. Faloh (2006).
According to (Mayo, Lank: 2003) the complicated challenges that organizations face are such that isolated individual action has little chance of having a significant impact. Learning organizations must allow many forms of teamwork to emerge. Work teams, informal networks, work communities; all contribute differently to the creation of a flow of knowledge throughout the organization.
The University of Zulia, through the formation of knowledge communities, of its administrative staff will be able to devise clearly and easily techniques that allow it to exchange and transfer knowledge in the different units that make up this complex community, since they will be able to work in Organized way, according to the different areas of knowledge, supporting the institution in the consolidation and unification of efforts, making the most of the knowledge accumulated in certain places of the university in order to expand and internalize in members the spirit of collaboration and community work, that leads to the development and modification of university work.
Achieve internalize in the members of the university community that the learning organizations pursue in the knowledge society the maximum expression of institutional knowledge, and that this will only be possible, through continuous cooperation and exchange between the different dependencies that make up the LUZ's organizational structure, where the main function of human talent is to achieve collective and not individual progress in the university sector.
The University of Zulia currently has a significant population of administrative staff members who have successfully completed specialization, master's and doctoral studies; index that influences the use of this talent, to achieve the exchange and transfer of knowledge, between the different units; looking through this means to generate and produce, continuous improvements in the creation of products and services in the university community.
For all the aforementioned, it is considered that only the grouping of human talent in institutions leads to the achievement of goals and objectives in a practical, operational, fast and effective way, due to this LUZ must implement knowledge sharing techniques, developed at through group experiences, the exchange of information via email, meetings, exhibitions of works, development of joint projects, among others. Increasing the innovation in the processes and the work in community and not individual of the university members. If we detail the following rule, we will be able to observe how cooperation, competition, relationship, exchange and transfer of knowledge are conjugated between individuals to achieve the proposed goals:
Individual ---------- achievements ------ maximum efforts
Knowledge-Achievement Community ------ Minimal Efforts
It is the recognition, stimulation and exchange of knowledge that should characterize the being and doing of organizations. It is a fact that the most important thing of the company is not its material resources but its people, endowed with knowledge, creativity, and initiatives, which guarantee the continuous improvement of the organizations, promote innovative capacities and generate higher levels of competitiveness, therefore which makes it necessary to draw up policies and strategies that lead to the best performance of human capital.
3.2. The human talent of the universities directly responsible for establishing new and better administrative processes
The knowledge communities made up of the administrative staff of the University of Zulia, will have under their direct responsibility the constant creation and innovation of efficient administrative processes, through proper management of the knowledge communities, the members will be equally committed to The generation of quality services and products, this type of community work will allow the institution to structure in an organized and intelligent way, the workforce that pursues the constitution of a learning university community.
Developing and strengthening the administrative processes and services of the university community can be a success, through the formation of knowledge communities, in this case among the administrative staff, guaranteeing excellent progress to efficiently manage the administrative processes that many times they represent great inconveniences for the members of the intra and extra university community, due to the complexity of the procedures and the bureaucracy that these institutions contain. If human talent focuses its effort towards the formation of communities, the establishment of rules and steps in the processes will reach a desired efficiency standard.
Specifically reflecting the indisputable theory, on the responsibility of human talent in the pursuit of efficient and effective administrative processes and activities, the following cycle can be observed:
This cycle clearly represents how individuals go on to become the main asset in all activities, later becoming generators of knowledge, which leads them to reflect, and then practice an action to change, improve, or modify any institutional process, causing constant concerns that encourage them to innovate, starting again the cycle where human talent is the axis that activates it.
Choo (1999), expresses that the creation of knowledge is triggered by a situation that identifies gaps in the existing knowledge of the organization or the work group. Such gaps hinder the resolution of a technical or task-related problem, the design of a new product or service, or the exploitation of an opportunity.
4. Principles that govern the formation of knowledge communities in the university sector
The unit in charge of organizing knowledge management in a company must establish principles and a dynamic system capable of agilely establishing the information and knowledge needs that are required in each case. But its greatest commitment will be in creating an environment that favors making explicit what is implicitly known, which is why the exchange platform created between the members of the organization will be essential in the development of a knowledge management model.
Once the knowledge communities of the university sector have been specified as a strategy, of institutional productivity and of constant updating and development of human talent, we can point out some principles in the formation of this type of community:
1- Knowledge originates and resides in the minds of human beings.
2- Sharing knowledge requires trust
3- Technology allows new knowledge behaviors.
4- Knowledge sharing should be promoted and rewarded.
5- The support and support of the authorities and resources are essential.
6- Knowledge management initiatives should start with a pilot program. (Communities of knowledge of the administrative staff of LUZ)
7- Quantitative and qualitative measurements are needed to evaluate the initiative.
8- Knowledge is creative and its development must be promoted in an unusual way.
9 - The members that make up these communities must participate on their own initiative.
10 - These communities will not be able to work in isolation from their environment.
11- The products and services generated from these communities must be publicized throughout the University.
For Viedma, J. (2000). A company will be able to produce greater essential knowledge to the extent that it can provide its members with perceptions associated with the mission, desired future, strategies and organizational priorities.
5. Structure of a knowledge community made up of light administrative staff
The structure of a community of knowledge among the administrative staff of LUZ, must contemplate in addition to the individuals who are part of it, the environment organizing in an equitable, precise and clear way the commitments, functions, and activities that each of them must fulfill. the members. For this, the following structure is considered:
I. General Conditions: of the creation or reason of being, of the participation, of the leaders or activists of knowledge, of its structure and norms, of the promotion and diffusion.
II. Of the Operation: of the dedication in hours of the personnel, of the form of contacts and communication, of the remuneration, of the contributions for the university community, of the control and organization of the work, of the evaluation, of the experience, of the responsibility and respect between members.
III. Training: the updating and improvement of the members, the relationship with their environment for the transfer of knowledge, time and costs in the acquisition of new knowledge.
IV. Of the Benefits: of the contribution that they represent for the institution, of the generation of better products and services, of the saving of resources, of the relations of cooperation and exchange between the different dependencies, of the contact with the environment, of the maximum use of man hours, from the support of external organizations.
Because knowledge-based organizations are characterized by generating, processing and managing information to transform it into knowledge, and among its objectives we find the professional and personal development of its members, organizational goals, the application of the maximum potential of professionals and the continuous innovation and improvement of products and services, it is evident that a community of knowledge must then be supported by a structure that allows it to manage in an organized way its fulfillment and operation.
According to Espinoza (1999), it is assumed that educational institutions are to transform the consciences associated with all social, economic and political relationships, in order to make possible long-term changes in social structures.
To finish, we can conceive a structure of the knowledge communities of the university sector, made up of the human talent that works in the different faculties, centers, foundations and dependencies, that together will form a community that pursues the exchange and transfer of knowledge, to allow the innovation, changes and constant improvements in administrative processes, seeking how to socialize knowledge. See attached figure:
Conclusions
The formation of knowledge communities among the administrative staff of the universities, leads to the overcoming of barriers imposed by constant innovation, providing a new strategy of community work to the university sector.
The communities of knowledge among the administrative staff of the Universidad del Zulia LUZ, will foster relations of cooperation, exchange and transfer of knowledge in a continuous, precise and secure manner.
This type of community will provide universities with a notable development in the effectiveness and updating of products and services offered to members of the intra and extra university community.
Through the formation of knowledge communities among the administrative staff of the universities, the maximum and effective functioning of administrative processes will be achieved.
These communities will directly contribute to the constant development and updating of the capacities of human talent.
Forming communities of knowledge among the administrative staff of the universities will increase the productivity of the institution, with regard to multiple socio-economic benefits that will rise through the active participation of the members of said communities.
Through the communities of knowledge, higher education institutions will be able to demonstrate their broad and effective operation, in order to achieve recognition and support from society.
The formation of knowledge communities among the administrative staff of the universities will increase and strengthen institutional alliances with universities at the regional, national and international levels.
Bibliography:
CASTAÑOS, H, The Society of tomorrow: university, ethics and sustainability, Jesús Silva Herzog Collection. Mexico, 2003, P. 180.
CHOO, Ch, The Intelligent Organization, Editorial Oxford México, 1999, p. 346.
ESPINOZA, Rafael, Nature and Scope of the Relationship University Productive Sector, Ediluz Editorial. Maracaibo. Venezuela, 1999, p. 176.
FLOH Rodolfo. Presentation Organizations before the New Management Paradigm. Iberoamerican Conference on Knowledge Management at the level of organizations. Guatemala. 2006.
GARCÍA Enrique, Knowledge Management Presentation. Iberoamerican Conference on Knowledge Management at the level of organizations. Guatemala. 2006.
MAY, Lank, The Learning Organizations. Ediciones Gestión 2000.com. Barcelona, Spain, 2003.
MALVICINO, Serra The Importance of Knowledge Management and the Development of Human Capital in Organizations of the XXI Century. 2005. Retrieved on January 15, 2006. www.gestiopolis.com/dirgp/adm/gestionconocimiento.htm.
NONAKA, AND TAKEUCHI, The Knowledge Creator Company. In Knowledge Management, Harvard Business Review. Deusto, 1999, p.336.
VÁSQUEZ, Antonio, The New Forces of development, Antoni Bosch, Editor, Spain, 2005, p.162.
VEGA, Marinela, Networks, Smart Organizational Interaction. Ediluz Editorial. Maracaibo. Venezuela, 2004, p.134.
VIEDMA, J. The Management of Knowledge and Intellectual Capital. 2000. At www.gestiondelconocimiento.com/articles
