Track: Knowledge Management Systems
Minitrack: KM in a Changing Society: Retirement, Contingent
                   Workers, Immigration and Other Societal Impacts 

Knowledge management (KM) is beginning to have an impact on society. For example, we may actually see KM leading to less knowledge worker offshore outsourcing (although offshore sourcing for knowledge needs may increase) as it becomes difficult for organizations to maintain two or more classes of knowledge workers and wages and position will tend to equalize over national boundaries. Quality of life concerns will guide knowledge workers to where they want to live and work and this will also support equalization of living standards and critical infrastructure. This will be disruptive to the organization as traditional management and governance structures will be stressed to handle distributed knowledge in a distributed organization. Workers may rethink traditional careers as they may work in organizations where they never physically meet their boss or colleagues and will be more loyal to local organizations and local social structures. This will likely increase transience, a trend we’re observing now in many organizations, and increased transience will likely lead to increased intellectual property and knowledge ownership issues.

Similarly, societal changes have an impact on KM. If hiring practices change as organizations hire and retain staff based on the knowledge they possess, this may actually lead to a higher valuation of older, experienced workers. This will tend to force knowledge workers into being lifelong learners if they are not already. Unfortunately, with the Baby Boomers expected to retire now and in the near future, organizations are faced with the problems of retaining the knowledge and expertise of this population. With Generation X and Y individuals prototypically having “spiral” or “transitory” career paths, this also impacts KM practices. With reduced birthrates in the developed countries, the increased immigration impacts KM in terms of under-utilization or undervaluing the immigrant population’s knowledge. The increased rate of use of contingent (or non-standard) workers (e.g., contract employees, temporary employees, seasonal or non-permanent employees) also impacts the type of knowledge entering the organization and KM practices.

This mini-track seeks papers that investigate these impacts and explore how organizations are using KM to help meet these impacts on society and how these societal trends impact organizations. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Using KM to mitigate impacts of retirement and worker transience

• Impact of immigration and cultural issues on KM initiatives

• Measuring risk of knowledge loss due to retiring or transient employees

• Developing knowledge capture processes and technologies for retiring and transient workers

• KM issues with retiring and transient workers and their impact on organizational governance and management processes

• Knowledge loss risk management

• Developing KM Systems to mitigate risks of retiring, transient, and immigrating workers
   

Minitrack Co-Chair:

Murray E. Jennex (Primary contact)
Information and Decision Science Department, San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego CA 92182
Phone: +1-760-722-3801
Fax: +1-760-722-2668
Email: murphjen@aol.com or mjennex@mail.sdsu.edu

Dianne J. Ford
Business Administration
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St.John’s, NL, A1B 3X5, Canada
Phone: 709-737-8511
Fax: 709-737-8690
Email: dpford@mun.ca
www.busi.mun.ca/dpford