Knowledge Management in Higher Education: a comparison of individualistic and collectivist cultures

The research discusses the impact of national culture on the processes of knowledge management (KM) in Higher Education. In particular, it focuses on the extent to which teamwork approaches to IC development are favoured in individualistic and collectivist cultures.
The study was carried out in two phases. The first, aimed at generating emerging theory, involved interviews in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in an individualistic culture (UK). The second, aimed at testing emerging theory, utilised questionnaire responses from researchers in an individualistic (Australia) and collectivist society (Slovenia). The results revealed that, in the first phase, the absence of teamwork resulted in feelings of isolation and reduced research output. In the second, there was a statistically significant correlation between engagement in teamwork and membership of a collectivist society on the one hand, and engagement in teamwork and increased research output. This article shows the value of teamwork in facilitating KM, and the extent to which it is facilitated in a collectivist culture.     

Long-range Perspectives in Environmental Education: Producing Practical Problem-solvers

This paper addresses postgraduate environmental education by supported distance learning, as offered by the Open University—a major international provider of distance teaching resources. While distance teaching offers advantages of accessibility and cost-effectiveness, it presents difficulties in developing certain skills. In the environmental area, this is especially important in the difference between rote learning and developing practical problem-solving skills. This applies most notably in relation to anticipatory problem -solving, which is a role of environmental auditing. These issues are discussed in the context of the course ‘Enterprise and the Environment’, a module within the MSc programme ‘Manufacturing: Management and Technology’. The role of this course in wider initiatives is also outlined, to include its worldwide use in training accreditors of environmental management systems. The approaches and techniques used by the Open University in providing high-quality, supported open learning materials at such distances provide a model in environmental education at a distance. This paper also refers to techniques for regular updating of material in rapidly developing areas, as well as integrating teaching and research. Reference is also made to a new modular course on ‘Integrated Safety, Health and Environmental Management’.