Knowledge sharing in a multicultural environment: challenges and opportunities
The article underscores the process of knowledge sharing in a multicultural organisational environment. Generally,<br />multiculturalism emanates from being influenced by different contexts that provide the potential for human diversity. It<br />results in disparate behavioural patterns...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch University
2012-12-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://sajlis.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/48 |
| Summary: | The article underscores the process of knowledge sharing in a multicultural organisational environment. Generally,<br />multiculturalism emanates from being influenced by different contexts that provide the potential for human diversity. It<br />results in disparate behavioural patterns and bodies of knowledge which lead to variance in terms of racial, sexual, age<br />and cultural orientations. The process of sharing knowledge is complex and is susceptible to multicultural variances.<br />Considering that knowledge sharing processes and probable multicultural influences are contextual, the purpose of the<br />article is to establish the extent of knowledge flows in the Department of Information Science at the University of South<br />Africa. In particular the article seeks to give an overall view on how knowledge is shared across intergenerational, cultural<br />and interracial lines in the Department. The qualitative approach was considered appropriate for this study because it<br />focuses on observing events from the perspectives of those who are involved and is aimed at understanding the attitude,<br />behaviour and opinions of those individuals (Powell & Connaway 2004). A basic interpretive qualitative research design<br />was used for this study. Data was collected through interviews and document analysis. The data were inductively analysed<br />and the findings are presented and discussed using references to the literature that informed the study. |
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| ISSN: | 2304-8263 0256-8861 |