Alessandro Margherita

Intangible Assets in Higher Education and Research: Mission, Performance or Both?

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the role of intangible assets in higher education and research institutions and to present a measurement framework, along with an illustrative application.Design/methodology/approach – A review of existing theories and practical experiences is undertaken to build the core conceptual model and a dashboard of indicators. The model is then applied to investigate the mission and performance angles of intellectual capital with reference to an Italian higher education and research institution.Findings – Creating intangible assets is at the core of the mission of education and research organizations. The identification and measurement of intellectual capital are thus an operational priority to evaluate the alignment between strategic orientation and performance within such institutions.Research limitations/implications – The research has to be considered as exploratory and presents a single case, resulting in the need for further applications. However, the dashboard of metric...

Enhancing product development through knowledge‐based engineering (KBE)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show with figures the potentialities of knowledge‐based engineering (KBE) methods in new product development (NPD). It estimates the business value generated by a tool which integrates the handoff between engineering groups of a large aerospace company.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on three years of observation and interviews at a leading Italian firm. A process‐based approach is used for assessing business value.Findings – The KBE application automated the preparation of data transferred to computer‐aided engineering engineers for analysis by computer‐aided design engineers and reduced the time required by more than 90 percent. This allowed time savings which contributed to enhance product quality.Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on a single case, though its findings are consistent with prior studies. Future research will implement like applications in other contexts at the subject firm and other firms.Practical implicatio...

A knowledge-based decision support system for shipboard damage control

The operational complexity of modern ships requires the use of advanced applications, called damage control systems (DCSs), able to assist crew members in the effective handling of dangerous events and accidents. In this article we describe the development of a knowledge-based decision support system (KDSS) integrated within a DCS designed for a national navy. The KDSS uses a hybrid design and runtime knowledge model to assist damage control operators through a kill card function which supports damage identification, action scheduling and system reconfiguration. We report a fire fighting scenario as illustrative application and discuss a preliminary evaluation of benefits allowed by the system in terms of critical performance measures. Our work can support further research aimed to apply expert systems to improve shipboard security and suggest similar applications in other contexts where situational awareness and damage management are crucial.

ICT‐enabled and process‐based change: an integrative roadmap

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors affecting information and communication technology (ICT) adoption and process redesign within organizations, with the objective of defining a systematization framework and a set of methods and tools useful for students and practitioners., – The review of literature focused on organizational change and ICT‐enabled process innovation allows to extract the key issues for building the model and approaches presented., – The effective introduction of change requires addressing aspects placed at strategy, people, process and enablers level. A system view of these components and their relationships is a key to streamline ICT adoption and process redesign., – The roadmap is addressed to support only the design or pre‐implementation phase of change, with a major intra‐organizational perspective., – The main asset of this paper is to combine several frameworks into a unique roadmap to support the investigation of human, process, and technology dimensions of organizational change. Besides, a set of methods and tools are proposed to streamline the design of ICT‐enabled and process‐based change within an organization.

Business process management system and activities: Two integrative definitions to build an operational body of knowledge

– Business process management (BPM) is still mostly associated with methods and software tools for process modeling, automation and redesign/performance analysis, with limited effort toward building and applying interdisciplinary approaches which capture the real complexity of business processes. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate a system view of BPM and presents an actionable body of knowledge to enhance process-related decisions and actions within organizations. , – A design science approach is used to build a conceptual contribution based on extended process management literature and a multi-year author experience in the area of business process engineering in both research and education contexts. , – A business process management system includes strategy, model, execution and performance dimensions whereas the management of a process involves activities related to scope, structure, resource, systems, dependency, exception, performance and external integration. , – The frameworks and related definitions need further theoretical development and refinement in terms of the components and reciprocal relations among system and activity elements. In this vein, the study would also benefit from real-life applications and empirical analysis. , – The paper can support process implementation, maturity assessment and competence development efforts within organizations as well as be a foundational work to advance the creation of a global body of knowledge on process management. , – The paper proposes a holistic perspective on BPM as a system of components and a bundle of activities, thus providing a twofold strategic and operational tool for process analysts and managers at different levels.

Optimizing competence management processes: a case study in the aerospace industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the case of a leading Italian aerospace company which developed an integrated system aimed to optimize the management of engineering competencies within the Chief Technical Office function.Design/methodology/approach – The paper was based on a set of interviews to company referents and a one‐year period of researchers observation at the company site to analyze competence management processes and the application on the field of the methodology and the tool. The approach adopted is to present a real practice following a pragmatic and illustrative approach.Findings – The integrated system provides an objective method to support critical evaluations related to the management of competencies and actors. The benefits achieved derive from a more effective and efficient monitoring of competencies available to perform given activities, and from the analysis of gaps, actor allocation, and job‐rotation issues.Research limitations/implications – The application of t...

The stakeholder university as learning model of the extended enterprise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for a new corporate learning archetype in the extended enterprise scenario and to present the stakeholder university as a suitable model oriented to create value for a large number of business and non‐business actors.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual development is integrated with field studies to describe the distinguishing features of the stakeholder university and provide a cross‐discussion with the extended enterprise concept.Findings – The stakeholder university is characterized by large focus, extended scope, and rich interconnection, which address in a comprehensive manner the needs and expectations of the resource base, industry/market and socio‐political stakeholders of the extended enterprise.Research limitations/implications – The topics investigated are mostly relevant for large international companies. Besides, further discussions are needed to validate the links between business models, organizational configurations and huma...

The Emergence of the Stakeholder University

In the previous chapters we moved from major transformations in the economic and business scene (Chapter 1) to address the need for a new managerial mindset (Chapter 2), to offer a different perspective on human capital development in companies behaving as universities (Chapter 3), and to posit new organizational models to drive innovation (Chapter 4).

Networked Learning for Human Capital Development

In Chapter 1 we moved from major transformations in economy and business to raise the need for a new framework, the Open Business Innovation Leadership that should inform the practice of management at a threefold level: (a) the need to develop a new mindset that incorporates the changing competitive paradigms, strategic levers and drivers of success; (b) the need for a new perspective about human capital development in terms of people, learning processes and strategic purpose; and (c) the centrality to develop social capital and stakeholder value by adopting an integrated organizational learning and innovation model. From this perspective, Chapter 2 has investigated the emergence of a competitive mindset suitable for the new scenery; whereas this chapter focuses on the centrality of intangible resources, and in particular on human resources, in leading organizations that create value.

Next-generation human resource management: a system for measuring and visualising professional competencies

The analysis of traditional CVs to evaluate professional competencies can be a challenging endeavour, particularly when a large amount of candidates has to be examined. The main reason is due to people that use different terms and criteria to describe and measure their experiences. This makes the selection for a given job or project role a time-consuming process, with no assurance that the best person is selected. This article presents an integrated methodology to standardise the assessment and visualise the professional expertise of individuals. A set of classifications, an algorithm and the core elements of an info-graphics tool are presented with the purpose to provide comparable competence measures and charts that can speed up the pre-screening and selection processes in large-scale recruitment campaigns or project management scenarios.