BUSINESS MANAGERS & INTERNET ECONOMY

By Paolo Manzelli LRE@UNIFI.IT  “EUROPEAN PROJECT “FORCO PRECANET “ http://www.narnia.it/forcoprecanet/

 (Producing Innovative Culture for European Knowledge Economy)  See also in : : https://www.edscuola.it/lre.html

From : The world bank approach on Knowledge Economy perspectives

Premise:

For the last two hundred years, neo-classical economics has recognised only two factors of production: “labour and capital”. Recently  a new parameter is taken in more and more consideration for developing economy all over the world . This new economic parameter is the “Information” and the potential of information as well as an new important  economic parameter is increasing with the Internet. . As a matter of facts the marked globalization is favoured by the low costs of information interactivity, that generate an extensive deep change of Net- economy based of a new relationship between  “Competition and Net-working -co-operation” .

The following is now changing : information and as a consequence knowledge itself, are progressively modify for  replacing capital and energy as the primary wealth -creating additional value of intangible assets ad in a way that is useful to prevail over the value of the production of tangible goods. This contemporary tendency is included as the major indicator of  the KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY development; that represent a “new paradigm” of socio economic development. Knowledge Economy in the contemporary epoch has not a  linear growth because of the conservative strong resistance of the obsolete industrial society aptitudes in organizing the social division of labour on the productin system organization and also in the maintenance of the traditional separation of knowledge in disciplinary vocational studies that impede the overcoming of the academic separation between University and Industry.

Due to those resistances to the change the recent start up of  NET ECONOMY  falls into collapse.

But nowadays it is possible to understand the  failure of the first approach of net-economy and to make important correction to avoid the previous mistakes that generate a fail in the appreciation of the fundamental changes that advanced societies need to develop for implementing the future Knowledge Driven Economy.

In fact NET-ECONOMY at first time is based mainly on IT&C technology innovation but not in knowledge contents progress.

The most important factors of the net economy preliminary fall down are owing to : 

A)     Lack in Education

The Educational system is nowadays organized in a way that is functional to the past industrial concept of the efficient division of social labour , i.e. the educational system is till now subdivided the contents into traditional disciplines instead of to rethink and rearrange them for facilitating the problem solving generated by the new demands of overcoming skill shortage in order to realize business and managing multidisciplinary team-competencies more appropriated to the digital economy.

See for instance SKILL SHORTAGE Program : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/alis/index.htm

B)      Lack in world wide “ e.Govern”structures .

The most important change on “e.govern”  ethodology is coming from the consideration that interactivity of internet information system gives more power to the consumers in relation to the previous influence on policy makers and opinion leaders expressed by the industry. Therefore the lack in understanding this new direction of democratic power of Digital Societies, aggravate the deficiency of an appropriated world wide legislation;  for instance it is possible to underline a lack on electronic security of signatures and on  financial exchange electronic assets, that generates  fundamental obstacles  to “e.commerce” development  

See for instance some consideration in : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/job_insecurity.htm

C)      LACK in “MENTAL CHANGE”

Low attention and mass media to help citizen in building up the essential basis for a common understanding in social-economic contemporary dynamics related to the  global change .

see for instance the European project : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/mental/index.html

For those reasons, without a clear understanding of the need of  changes in Education , e.Goverv and on the general mentality of people, the possibility of a well regulated growth of world wide knowledge economy on contemporary times is failing in the industrial countries;  but in spite of this debacle of industrial counties NET-ECONOMY advancement, the macro-economic assessment in the global world  is continuously varying in IT&C technology and knowledge innovation,( for instance Bio-technology, nano – technology etc… )  so that they are now becoming the key factors of competitive production of the new era of Knowledge Economy.

Therefore while the  NET ECONOMY  falls into recession in the majority of the industrialized countries in other developing countries the Internet Economy  permits a new opportunity of development; China, and India for instance, are growing on high average per cent each year in respect of the previous two decades, demonstrating  the potential to become a new powerhouse for the world wide economic growth, that can be increased in  speed by the utilization of interactive tools, generating a risk to the old industrial society if cannot be able of self- renewing in terms of Education, e.Govern and in changing general citizen mentality about the dynamics of evolution of the global market that now is becoming to implement a new international division of labour.  

In addition innovative education contents and  tools  need to be developed  without more delay in Europe for implementing  novel skills and competencies of Business Managers in the context Knowledge Economy world wide development.

Certainly  if  the European countries don’t like to appreciate and favour an innovative perspective of  NET –ECONOMY advancement needs,  the European Knowledge Economy risks to  become a flop like recent end of the many branches of  “e-commerce” enterprises.

So that the EUROPEAN PROJECT LEONARDO  FORCO PRECANET , need to help the development of  an pioneering education on line system based on mutual learning international activities , for helping Business Managers  to understand internet economy new contents and to favour a new business and cultural approach  in order to:

·         Understand and improve the utilization  of the internet and learn to navigate on the web to get critical information and knowledge practices using online tools, and  tele-working team methods, to improve organizational networking performance and  knowledge management developmental forecast’s  abilities

·         Understand and learn how the internet is changing the ways we manage intellectual capital in  favour to increase the economic value of intangibles resources.

·         Understand the potential factors of critical success and risk management for “e-commerce” world wide development and how to make them workable in the business world wide multi-dimensional by means “peer to peer” co-organizations ( or abbreviated P2P) e.g. a type of network in which each working structure has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities .

·         Understand the elements of internet-based knowledge editing  and know how of e.books and hyper-tests and portal production to provide and disseminate the citizen’s comprehension of the knowledge changes for following the consumers needs and for optimizing the adaptation of  the productive  organizations to the new realities of the Knowledge Society. .

In conclusion  to assist business managers to achieve ITC managing and economic changes, nowadays any companies need to enrich their ability to forecast a long term vision of future Knowledge Economy, that now they seems to  have lost following a conservative understanding that remain closed on the knowledge paradigm the old  industrial society. As a consequence the industry especially the SMEs  are living and thinking  in an survival mode, and they just can't see beyond the future  as the FORCOPRECANET interviews and reports of LRE/EGO-CreaNET  largely demonstrates.

Without any doubt there's  a much greater awareness today for favouring the IT&C/business in a NET-WORKING alignment than there was four  years ago, before the LISBON EUROPEAN EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL. But till now the Small and Medium Enterprises  don't  see the fundamental and widespread needs to act in the global market as well as  networking  Digital Districts  passed on  extended European Partnership.

IT&C NETWORKING methodology need to develops agreements for advancing complex multidimensional  enterprises based on  a great number of business partners  integrating public and private enterprises for a sustainable post-industrial ecological and economical growth, in a way that will became useful  to power and to leverage  business into extended initiatives as well as  can be necessary to add  value  beyond the European development of Knowledge Society foundation based on  building the innovative capacities to grow up a better  world wide creative future.

GENERAL CONSIDERATION AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

This bibliographic  lists the electronic resources related to the field of  networking economy and knowledge based  society. future perspectives. Keyword-based bibliographical search:  ( Report in English  language )

PRINCIPAL ARGUMENTS  ( BUSINESS MANAGERS ) Key Words : ( Internet Economy ; Knowledge Economy   ) (ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS) SEARCH ENGINE  : www.google.it.

(1)   David J. Skyrme Title The Global Knowledge Economy: and its implication for markets (Article)

Electronic Document (English)  : http://www.skyrme.com/insights/21gke.htm

ABSTRACT: Various observers describe today’s global economy as one in transition to a ‘knowledge economy’, or an ‘information society’. But the rules and practices that determined success in the industrial economy of the 20th century need rewriting in an interconnected world where resources such as know-how are more critical than other economic resources. This briefing highlights recent thinking and developments and offers guidance on developing appropriate organizational strategies to succeed into the new millennium. It summarizes key conclusions from our trends database and research analysis.

Responsible : D.SKYRME Associates : david@skyrme.com

Page consulted on Date – 10/MARCH/2004

(2)  “Knowledge economy” : The Enterprise Development Website  ( Report Collection)

Electronic Document (English) : http://www.enterweb.org/know.htm

ABSTACT : ENTERWeb is an annotated meta-index and information clearinghouse on enterprise development, business, finance, international trade and the economy in this new age of cyberspace and globalization. The main focus is on micro, small and medium scale enterprises, cooperatives, community economic development, both in developed and developing countries.

Responsible : ENTERWeb The Enterprise Development Website ; <enterweb@enterweb.org>

Page consulted on Date – 10/MARCH/2004

3) Building Knowledge Economy Capacities (  Project and Program in USA)

Electronic Document (English)  : http://ke.communitiesofthefuture.org/articles/ke-build-caps.html

ABSTRACT : Look at how business has been transformed in the last decade:

-          Globalization has increased the scope of trade and the need for capital

-          Computerization, robotization, and telecommunications has increased productivity through systemic automation at the same time that the labor force has been redefined.

-          The requirements for "knowledge labor" demands a higher skill level. There is a shortage of skills. This would have been a prescription for inflation in a traditional economy. In a Knowledge Economy "knowledge labor" can be accessed anywhere in the world… thus redefining the assumptions which cause inflation in any national economy.

-          As hierarchies reduce in size through downsizing, interconnected webs of entrepreneurs and small companies energy to link work and income opportunities in totally new ways.

-          As we move to a "web world" of organizing work, play, and learning throughout the whole society, the role of traditional players of an economy is forced to rethink what gives value to society and to retool their individual and organizational concepts of how value is provided.

"A growing need to work closely, cooperatively and collaboratively with customers suppliers, partners, and other allies will become the defining factor of enterprise innovation. Meeting this challenge will raise new challenges of trust, security, and openness, particularly when it comes to sharing intellectual capital and other forms of corporate know-how."

Responsible : The Knowledge Economy Project .A Communities of the Future Initiative : <ricksmyre@communitiesofthefuture.org>

Page consulted on Date – 10/MARCH/2004

(4) Dan Bricklin’s : Title :Thoughts on Peer to Peer  (Article)

Electronic Document : http://www.bricklin.com/p2p.htm

ABSTRACT : basically “Peer-to-peer”  is a style of networking in which a group of networking persons communicate in internet directly with each other, rather than through a central server. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) organization is a term used a lot these days. It refers to the topology and architecture of the computers in an business  system that can have a variety of networking interpretations.

Responsible : Dan Bricklin : http://www.bricklin.com/default.htm

Page consulted on Date – 10/MARCH/2004