Botswana's Novel Approaches for Knowledge-Based Economy Facilitation

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
The Public ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
The Government

The Vision 2016, which is a set of strategic plans desired to position Botswana at the completive edge of the socio-economic hierarchy in Africa, is being implemented with concerted efforts from both the private and the public sector, including ordinary citizens. One of the major motivations for drawing this strategy has been the desire to transform Botswana from a resource and industry-based (e.g. agriculture and diamond mining) to knowledge-based economy. This has come from the realisation that in order to compete favourably at a global scale, there is need to put in place efficient knowledge value chains. To this course, several initiatives have been devised and/or implemented by both the government and the public sector. This article surveys the fundamental concepts on which this paradigm shift is hinged and brings out the different issues, initiatives and policies (such as Information and Communications Technology development, nurturing of an appropriate human resource base by way of strategic human resource development plans, investment in intellectual capital, etc.) that have been done so far in Botswana. The article, however, does not claim that it offers a compendium of existing programs towards a knowledgebased economy initiated by Botswana. The article posits that although significant strides have been scored in Botswana’s efforts towards a knowledge-based economy, a lot more needs to be done if it were to compete favourably at an international stage.

Botswana’s Novel Approaches for Knowledge-Based Economy Facilitation

2011 ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
The Public ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
The Government

The Vision 2016, which is a set of strategic plans desired to position Botswana at the completive edge of the socio-economic hierarchy in Africa, is being implemented with concerted efforts from both the private and the public sector, including ordinary citizens. One of the major motivations for drawing this strategy has been the desire to transform Botswana from a resource and industry-based (e.g. agriculture and diamond mining) to knowledge-based economy. This has come from the realisation that in order to compete favourably at a global scale, there is need to put in place efficient knowledge value chains. To this course, several initiatives have been devised and/or implemented by both the government and the public sector. This article surveys the fundamental concepts on which this paradigm shift is hinged and brings out the different issues, initiatives and policies (such as Information and Communications Technology development, nurturing of an appropriate human resource base by way of strategic human resource development plans, investment in intellectual capital, etc.) that have been done so far in Botswana. The article, however, does not claim that it offers a compendium of existing programs towards a knowledge-based economy initiated by Botswana. The article posits that although significant strides have been scored in Botswana’s efforts towards a knowledge-based economy, a lot more needs to be done if it were to compete favourably at an international stage.

scholarly journals Status of Knowledge Based Economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 268-277
Author(s):  
Omar Salem Bashehab
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
The Government

This paper highlights on the emerging issues that compelled Saudi Arabia in transforming its economy to a knowledge-based one. It discusses the pillars of a knowledge-based economy i.e. the institutional model; education; research and development (R&D); and information and communication technology (ICT) adopted by the World Bank Institute framework to analyze the status of a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia. The primary objective of this article is to understand the status of the knowledgebased economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Secondary data was collected for writing the paper. The nine developmental plans of Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Economy and Planning), Ministry of Education reports, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology reports, and Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) reports are some of the important sources of data. The government of Saudi Arabia has laid the foundation for transforming its economy to a knowledge-based one but more is required especially in the field of human resource development and innovation to expedite the easiness of the transforming process.

Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy – the Case of Botswana A Discussion Article

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelvin Joseph Bwalya
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
National Development ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Management Paradigms ◽  
The Government

Botswana is keen to position itself as a knowledge-based economy as early as 2016 due to the realisation that to compete on a global scale, efficient knowledge value chains must be put in place, which includes indigenous knowledge management systems. This realisation is primarily caused by falling demand in the price of diamonds (due to the world’s recession), which is the country’s current economic mainstay. Today, Botswana is pushing for further economic liberalisation and diversification by employing and encouraging novel frontiers of knowledge with emphasis placed on research and efficient knowledge management as a vital resource for national development. In Botswana, the role of scientific and technical knowledge is being emphasized as the main driver of sustainable development, but not forgetting the potential contribution of indigenous and mythological knowledge to this aim. Several initiatives have been devised or implemented by both the government and the public sector to position Botswana as a knowledge-based economy. This paper surveys the fundamental concepts on which this paradigm shift is based and brings out the different initiatives that have been undertaken while emphasizing the role of research and efficient knowledge management paradigms in shaping Botswana as a knowledge-based economy.

A Critical Assessment of the Evaluation Methods of ICT Investment

2012 ◽  
pp. 145-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taruna Ramesur
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Unexplored Area ◽  
The Government ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Accounting Rate

With the aim of becoming a cyber island and making Information and Communications Technology (ICT) one of the main pillars of the economy, the government of Mauritius has been investing huge sums of money in ICT projects. For instance, in 2009 ICT investments accounted for 5.7% of the total share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Given this situation, it becomes crucial to evaluate ICT investments, and as such, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the existing methods used in the evaluation of ICT investments in the public sector and propose a framework for the evaluation process. The main contribution of this work lies in the fact that evaluation of ICT projects in the public sector has remained an unexplored area, and even in the context of the private sector, most studies have concentrated on developed countries. The main results from the survey carried out in the 22 ministries reveal that Payback Period (PB) and Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) are the main financial criteria used for the evaluation. The survey also shows that the major factors, which are prioritised during evaluation process, are the relevant costs, risks, and benefits. Based on the research findings, this chapter also proposes a framework for evaluating investments in ICT projects by the public sector.

scholarly journals Human Resource Development Climate and Employee Engagement in Developing Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Theresa Obuobisa-Darko ◽  
Victoria Tsedzah
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Resource Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale ◽  
High Power Distance

The purpose of the paper is to identify the specific dimensions of Human Resource Development Climate (HRDC) that significantly affect Employee Engagement (EE). It places the importance of HRDC in enhancing EE within the public sector in a developing country and finds answer to the question on the dimension of HRDC that causes employees to be engaged. The paper uses a self-designed questionnaire, made up of Rao and Abraham (1990) HRD Climate survey and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale by Schaufeli et al., (2002) to gather data from 355 respondents and analysed using multiple regression. Based on the data analysed, results showed that HRDC has a positive and significant effect on employee engagement. Additionally, it was found that employees are highly engaged in situations where their organisation exhibits the HR Mechanism dimension of HRDC. The limitation is, it did not focus on the entire public sector but focused on civil servant. It is therefore recommended that further studies could be carried out with focus on other public sector organisations to confirm or refute the findings. This study adds to the limited literature on HRDC and EE in public sector organisations in a developing country. This finding brings to bear the major dimension of HRDC that managers should focus on to improve employee engagement in a developing country where there exist a high power distance culture.

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