Roadmap to change: emerging roles for information professionals

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Obiora Omekwu ◽  
Uwem Eteng

PurposeTo map out routes along which the library and information profession can chart its future development.Design/methodology/approachA literature‐based opinion piece which looks at “roadmaps to change” in library and information work from the historical, knowledge economy and information technology perspectives.FindingsChange is inevitable for organizational survival and the maintenance of professional relevance.Practical implicationsLibrarians and information professionals are by training positioned to continue to make a difference in information handling and management both now and in the future. The paper recommends the forms of repositioning that are vital for them if they are to continue to be relevant in information service delivery.Originality/valueNew and emerging roles for the profession are highlighted from various authors and authorities in the field.

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Epaminondas Koronis ◽  
Stavros Ponis

Purpose The paper aims to adopt a strategic view of organizational survival and argue that preparedness, responsiveness, adaptability and learning abilities constitute organizational drivers of resilience and provide a new direction on crisis management. Design/methodology/approach As a conceptual and literature exploration, the methodological focus is to combine various concepts within a unified model for resilience. Findings The proposed conceptual model highlights the need for strategic reconfigurations toward the construction of a resilience culture and the development of a supporting social capital in organizations. It also portrays organizational survival and sustainability as being dependent on strategic characteristics rather than on the managerial ability to handle situations and manage crisis. Research limitations/implications In this paper, implications, methodological concerns in the study of resilience and further research directions have been presented. Practical implications The paper approaches a new way of thinking about crises and provides a set of cultural and organizational characteristics that would increase resilience and crisis management abilities. Originality/value While organizations are nowadays more than ever affected by disruptions and crises, their inherent ability and strategies to protect their sustainability have been undertheorized. This paper aims at contributing to a growing and fruitful discussion.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devendra Dilip Potnis ◽  
Joseph Winberry

PurposeThis literature review aims to identify conscious, intentional, repetitive and transferrable information-related decisions and activities (i.e. information practices) for individuals to alleviate their information vulnerability. Information vulnerability refers to the lack of access to accurate, affordable, complete, relevant and timely information or the inability to use such information, which can place individuals, communities or society at disadvantage or hurt them.Design/methodology/approachConceptual literature review.FindingsThis review presents seven conscious, intentional, repetitive and transferrable information practices to alleviate information vulnerability.Practical implicationsDue to the transferability potential of the seven information practices, diverse populations in varied contexts could refer to, adapt and benefit from appropriate combinations of information practices and their manifestations. The framework can be used by individuals for alleviating information vulnerability. Thus, this paper responds to the call for conducting action-driven research in information science for addressing real-world problems. Information professionals can help individuals select and implement appropriate combinations of seven information practices for alleviating information vulnerability.Originality/valueWe propose (1) a parsimonious, episodic framework for alleviating information vulnerability, which depicts the inter-relationship among the seven information practices and (2) a three-dimensional plot with information access, use and value as three axes to map the manifestation and outcome of alleviating information vulnerability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-587
Author(s):  
Tevfik Demirciftci ◽  
ChihChien Chen ◽  
Mehmet Erdem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of revenue management (RM) studies that focus on information technology (IT) and consumer behavior published between 2008 and 2018. Design/methodology/approach In total, 112 articles published in 17 journals were identified and analyzed. Findings This study shows the importance of IT and RM and focuses on the consumer perspective. It also emphasizes that technology is not the enemy of humans: it complements and adds value to their existing jobs. Research limitations/implications Book chapters and conference proceedings related to IT and RM were not included in this study. Besides, only journal papers published in English were included in the study. The categorizing of subjects can be seen as subjective. Practical implications This study helps researchers discover articles from 2008 to 2018 and helps hospitality executives interested in RM technologies from the demand side to use these findings in their business environment. Originality/value Based on the interaction between service providers (hotels) and users (consumers) on IT and RM platforms, the paper identified eight key components that have been relevant over the past decade.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 42-44

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – We are, as we are constantly reminded, in a knowledge economy, and as such are liable to succumb to different market forces and variations than in previous paradigms. However if this is true, there is a central irony to our development of business activities in this area, in that there seems to be somewhat of a vacuum of knowledge about the knowledge economy. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-3

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – One of the most predictable things about today’s business world is its unpredictability. Hence, even the largest operators have to frequently evolve to retain their competitive edge. But that’s all in a day’s work for the folks at Cisco Systems. You don’t get to be world leader in any industry for nothing. So to achieve that position in such a competitive and rapidly changing sector as technology is perhaps even more remarkable. Since its inception in late 1984, the company has been driven by a desire to, in its own words, “connect the unconnected”. Few would argue that Cisco constantly achieves this objective. This innovative firm’s diverse range of customers have successfully navigated various shifts within communications and information technology thanks to its design, manufacture and supply of different groundbreaking solutions. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannifer Gregory David

PurposeThis research examines how job seekers' levels of harmonious work passion (HWP) and obsessive work passion (OWP) affect the importance job seekers place upon job and organizational elements in recruiting messages.Design/methodology/approachEmployees who had recently completed job searches read multiple recruiting messages and ranked the importance of different elements in the messages.FindingsGeneral linear modeling found statistical differences between the importance of recruiting message elements for participants with varying levels of HWP and OWP.Research limitations/implicationsThe participants were information technology, engineering and human resource professionals limiting the generalizability of these results to other professions.Practical implicationsRecruiters should vary the information in their recruiting messages depending on the levels of HWP and OWP they want to attract to their applicant pools.Originality/valueThis research adds harmonious and obsessive work passion to the constructs considered in the recruiting message development process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-14

Purpose – Reveals that, in an era when almost all businesses accept that the customer comes first, a company that is putting its employees in pole position is reaping the benefits in terms of innovation, customer satisfaction and profitability. Design/methodology/approach – Underlines the reasons for the employee first, customer second approach at HCL Technologies, the information-technology and software-development division of HCL Enterprise, how this has evolved into the corporate philosophy of “ideapreneurship” at the company and the effects of this corporate philosophy. Findings – Explains that grassroots innovation has led to 20,000 ideas being put forward by some 12,000 employees over the last eight years. Almost 4,500 ideas have been implemented and a further 3,000 are being introduced. They have generated more than $250 million of value. On a wider level, HCL has seen a 500 percent increase in revenues since 2005. Practical implications – Demonstrates that the company, a software-engineering partner for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner passenger jet, is delivering one of the best returns on equity among offshore IT providers by creating an entirely differentiated set of offerings focused both on running and changing the business. Originality/value – Reveals an unorthodox approach to human-resource management that has helped to turn round the fortunes of an information-technology company.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungin Lee ◽  
Wonhong Jang ◽  
Eunsol Lee ◽  
Sam G. Oh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of, and identify core techniques of, search engine optimization (SEO) techniques applied to the web (http://lg-sl.net) and mobile (http//m.lg-sl.net) Science Land content and services at LG Sangnam Library in Korea. Design/methodology/approach – In accordance with three major SEO guidelines, ten SEO techniques were identified and applied, and their implications were extracted on three areas: improved search engine accessibility, increased relevance between site content and search engine keywords, and improved site credibility. The effects were quantitatively analyzed in terms of registered search engine keywords and influx of visits via search engines. Findings – This study shows that SEO techniques help increase the exposure of the library services and the number of visitors through search engines. Practical implications – SEO techniques have been applied to a few non-Korean information service organizations, but it is not a well-accepted practice in Korean libraries. And the dominant search engines in Korea have published their own SEO guidelines. Prior to this study, no significant endeavors have been undertaken in the context of Korean library services that have adopted SEO techniques to boost exposure of library services and increase user traffics. Originality/value – This is the first published study that has applied optimized SEO techniques to Korean web and mobile library services, in order to demonstrate the usefulness of the techniques for maximized exposure of library content.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Jones ◽  
Richard Vines

Purpose This paper aims to advocate that significant human and systems-based capabilities (termed “socio-technical capabilities”) need to be developed in government departments and other public sector organisations to support more effective description of information resources, collections and their context in online environments. Design/methodology/approach The ideas in this paper draw upon the findings of several action research interventions undertaken within a government department in Victoria in Australia since 2011 as part of a knowledge management initiative. Specific focus is given to the design and development of a new record-centric knowledge curation tool (KCT). Findings Effective functioning of KCT relies upon the input of well-structured, standards-based metadata used to describe collections, information resources and their context. The central claim is that the move towards standards-based descriptions will fundamentally change the capabilities required to manage, search for and disseminate knowledge and records. Research limitations/implications In addition to the capabilities discussed, management of records and knowledge through time requires commitments to stable repository, workflow and administrative systems, and working with contemporary systems involves technical knowledge such as the use of application programming interfaces. These aspects are not discussed here. Practical implications The capabilities discussed in this paper are socio-technical in nature. This means there is a requirement to shift current perspectives about who is responsible for managing organisational information as collections. Originality/value While some of the concepts discussed will be familiar to information professionals, the paper provides a unique description of how existing archival and recordkeeping practices are being integrated in innovative ways within organisations outside the information management professions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 2-15
Author(s):  
Diana K. Wakimoto

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe different collective ways that archivists, librarians and those with dual-roles experience archives. Design/methodology/approach Using a phenomenographic approach, a total of 24 librarians, archivists and dual-role individuals were interviewed, and interview transcripts were analyzed to create categories that described the varying ways in which archives are experienced. Findings Librarians experienced archives in four ways: historical resources, preserving history, preserved access and political. Archivists experienced archives in four ways: accessible collections, connection, collaboration and stewardship. Dual-role individuals experienced archives in five ways: collections, preserved access, progress, connection and knowledge creators. There are variations among and within each group on how archives are experienced. However, there is a significant overlap in many categories in terms of access, preservation, use and collections. Practical implications Understanding each other’s different perspectives could lead to stronger partnerships among librarians, archivists and dual-role individuals. These partnerships have the potential to increase the visibility of archives, providing greater access and engagement for community members. Originality/value The study supports previous phenomenographic research on experiences of archives and provides a more nuanced understanding of information professionals’ varying collective experiences of archives.


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