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Previous issues of Knowledge Management (KM) have highlighted macro transitions from Globally Competitive Communities of the 1990s to Electronically Networked Communities and Electronically Networked Intelligent Enterprises with Virtual Communities Of Practice. An August 2002 issue of KM highlighted a global digital divide between African and G8 nations. “Africa is the only continent where poverty is on the rise. Over 40% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 659 million people live below the international poverty line of US$1 a day. Africa’s share of world trade has plummeted, accounting for less than 2%. More than 140 million young people in Africa are illerate, and Africa is the only region where the number of children out of schools is rising. Life expectancy in Africa is the lowest in the world, and continues to decrease with HIV/AIDS incidence rates of more than 25 percent in some countries. More than 200 million Africans have no access to health services, and more than 250 million lack access to safe drinking water. One African in five is affected by armed conflict and the number of civilian casualties of war is higher than anywhere else in the world.” G8 economies account for 48% of the global economy, 80% of the economic activity of developed economies, and 49% of global trade. Africa is the second largest continent after Asia covering 30 million square kilometers including several surrounding islands. Africa has 54 independent countries, 48 mainland and 6 island states, with an estimated total population of 700 million. North of the Sahara Desert lie 5 predominantly Muslim countries all bordering the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. South of the Sahara Desert are three group of nations: (a) a group led by South Africa, (b) an Economic Community of Central African States, and (c) 16 nation states in West Africa.
The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) was formed
in 1975 and consists of 16 states with the objective of promoting trade
and self-reliance in West Africa. A revised ECOWAS treaty, designed
to accelerate economic integration and to increase political co-operation
was signed in 1993. The revised treaty designates the achievement
of a common market and a single currency as economic objectives, while
in the political sphere it envisages the establishment of a West African
parliament, an economic and social council and an ECOWAS court of justice
to replace the existing Tribunal and enforce Community decisions.
The treaty also formerly assigned the Community with the responsibility
of preventing and settling regional conflicts. ECOWAS is registered
in Nigeria. http://www.mbendi.co.za/cb17.htm DIGITAL DIVIDE vs DIGITAL DIVIDEND A Digital Divide exists between “have” and “have not” groups in each G8 economy and among the G8 nations when compared on the basis of variables like applications of a firm’s strategies. And, accelerating applications and convergence of technologies widens the gap between have and have not groups in a G8 economy and between G8 countries and poor nations. What entrepreneurial strategic thinking must focus on converting digital divides into dividends? Business development begins with an analysis of domestic strengths. “Domestic” is broadly defined in the United States in that interstate commerce can be conducted with relative ease. And, commerce with Canada can be done with ease in comparison to other regions of the world. Agriculture is a business development opportunity that can meet a need in many developing areas. Research Question: How can collaborative entrepreneurial strategic thinking for an economy sector, like agriculture, become a core mission priority for an alliances of enterprises?
Analysis of business and economic development strategy includes critique
of economic, government/political, and technological variables in countries
interested in commerce. Guinea has indicated an interest in pursuing
commerce with the U.S. Information about Guinea includes:
Main
Trading Partners: USA, Germany, the former USSR, Spain, Canada, and
France.
Business and economic development strategy could include critique of variables
in a few
A Framework for Entrepreneurial Strategic Thinking about business
development is displayed to assist in organizing ideas for creating strategy.
The “Trade and Development Act of 2000" (PL 106-200) provides resources
for both Sub-Saharan and Caribbean Basin countries.
2004 2005
2006 2007
2008 2009 Business
Development – Domestic Business
Development – Africa and Caribbean Basin Business
Development – South America Demand Driven Emerging Global Economy
On May 1, the European Union expanded eastward, shifting from a tight-knit,
club-like association of 15 countries, centered around France and Germany,
to an assemblage of 25 countries representing 455 million people whose
outlook on many issues, including wealth and business, varies greatly. As the European Union expands its borders in a quest for prosperity and power, hundreds of thousands of people may find themselves not invited to the party, their situation having been a result of decades of Communist-ruled state control and command economies. During the industrial age, output, rather than outcome, was a key measure of success. Today, economies are increasingly based on knowledge. Although finding a better way of doing things has always been a virtual guarantee of long-term growth and success, what is different in the information age is that a growing portion of production is now in the form of intangibles. This is sometimes referred to as the weightless economy, which consists of three elements: (a) technologies such as the Internet; (b) intellectual property, ranging from patents and trademarks to consulting and professional services; and (c) information stores such as libraries and online databases. Spira,
Jonathan B. (May 2004). Eastern Europe’s KM Conundrum. KMWorld,
13(5), 1 and 3.
BRAZIL,
ARGENTINA. AND CHILE Brazil The U.S. trade deficit with Brazil was $6.7 billion in 2003, an increase of $3.3 billion from $3.4 billion in 2002. U.S. goods exports in 2003 were $11.2 billion, down 9.4 percent from the previous year. Corresponding U.S. imports from Brazil were $17.9 billion, up 13.3 percent. Brazil is currently the 15th largest export market for U.S. goods. Argentina The U.S. trade deficit with Argentina was $734 million in 2003, a decrease of $868 million from $1.6 billion in 2003. U.S. goods exports in 2003 were $2.4 billion, up 546 percent from the previous year. Corresponding U.S. imports from Argentina were $3.2 billion, down 0.6 percent. Brazil is currently the 39th largest export market for U.S. goods. Chile
Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America, pursuing
agricultural growth and development of vast natural resources such as bauxite,
gold, iron ore, manganese, tin, phosphates, platinum, uranium, and petroleum.
Brazil is an area slightly smaller than the U.S.
IBM debuted its “e-Business on Demand” strategy with much fanfare in late 2002, highlighting on demand as a way of making supply chains more agile and adaptable to changing market conditions. But behind the scenes, IBM itself has been going through a significant supply chain revolution: The company set up an Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) group in 2002, consolidating dozens of different supply chains into a single organization that now runs most of Big Blue’s supply operations. The goal: become more flexible, more responsive to customers’ evolving needs, in short, more “on demand.” Reese,
Andrew K. (April/May 2004). Breaking the Silo Mentality. Supply
& Demand Chain
E-COMMERCE TAKES OFF Back in 1999, at the height of the internet frenzy, Forrester, a research company, forecast that online retail sales in America could reach $100 billion by 2002. .... The 200m Americans who now have web access are likely to spend more than $120 billion online this year. And, that is only part of the story. E-commerce has not only grown into a huge thing in its own right, it has done so in a way that will change every kind of business, offline as well as online, as our survey .... p. 9. A
Perfect Market: A survey of e-commerce, May 15, 2004, The Economist, 371(8375).
Articles:
THIS THREAT COULD KILL E-COMMERCE
They can be alarming, threatening, or enticing. Many are convincing.
Called phishing schemes, they are emails – usually with links to websites
– that appear to come from legitimate sources like online retailers or
banks and try to trick users into divulging valuable personal data. Savage, Marcia (May 2004). This threat could kill e-commerce. SC Magazine 15(5), 22-25. SC
MAGAZINE AWARDS 2004
Definitions of what, exactly, constitutes the mid-market vary, of course.
Some analysts suggest that the mid-tier companies begin somewhere around
$50 million in annual revenues and ends just shy of the Fortune 1000, which
starts at a little over $1 billion in annual sales. + more Reese,
Andrew K. (April/May 2004). Stuck in the Middle. Supply & Demand
Chain Executive,
DEMAND MANAGEMENT
Achieving excellence in demand management – discovering, creating, growing,
and fulfilling demand – is the core of market leadership. In the
1990s, advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems and collaborative
planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) brought some improvements.
But here we are, a decade later, and many companies have thrown up their
hands, accepting poor forecast accuracies and focusing almost exclusively
on execution improvements and lead-time reduction as the only way to improve
demand management. McBeath,
Bill. The Analyst Corner: Demand Management. Supply & Demand
Chain Executive,
TOP 25 THIRD-PARTY LOGISTICS PROVIDERS EXTEND GLOBAL REACH With international trade mushrooming and supply chains expanding around the world, third-party logistics providers have taken on an increasingly important role for multinational manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers need absolutely reliable sources of supply. Retailers need flexible links to suppliers with low-cost production. Foster,
Thomas A., and Armstrong, Richard (May 2004). Top 25 Third-Party
Logistics
An
elite group of just 25 3PLs increasingly dominate logistics outsourcing.
The top seven are:
Wireless fidelity is no longer considered a novelty amongst a growing number of corporate IT professionals, and it is largely being embraced as a much more cost-effective and flexible alternative to the traditional enterprise LAN. While the inherent cost benefits of the technology are certainly driving more corporate IT deployments toward a wireless local-area network (WLAN) infrastructure, worker productivity gain is the most compelling reason why corporate executives are embracing the technology. (Article covers Deployment, Roaming, Security). Sullivan,
Tom (June 2004). Boiling It Down: WI-FI Explored. Mobile Enterprise,
5(6), 20-23.
Pity the enterprise that does not achieve full coverage in its deployment of a wireless local-area network (WLAN). Its mobile workers, desperate to roam, could find themselves stranded, cut off from the network in hallways and between buildings. The stakes grow higher yet for the enterprise that similarly bungles the appropriate security requirements of a WLAN overlay. Hacking into a wireless network becomes literally child’s play in the absence of .... McWhirter,
Douglas (June 2004). Enterprise WLAN Best Practices. Mobile
Enterprise, 5(6),
A COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK IN CHICAGO
Access Community Health Network, a Chicago-based operator of health clinics,
is the largest private community health center organization in the metro
area. It provides primary and preventive healthcare in underserved
local neighborhoods through its 42 health centers and caseworkers in the
field.
Britt,
Phil (June 2004). A Community Effort. Mobile Enterprise, 5(6),
43-45.
Remember a few years ago when the wireless mobile enterprise was the next
big thing? High-speed 3G bandwidth would hover in the air everywhere,
enabling you to whip out a wireless PDA and turn the backseat of a taxicab
into a rolling office with seamless access to ... apps.
Knorr, Eric (May 10, 2004). Is True Mobility At Hand? InfoWorld, 26(19), 33-39. Also, read: Chee,
Brian, and Rist, Oliver (May 17, 2004). The Wi-Fi Security Challenge.
InfoWorld, 26(20),
Author’s
presentations at above-mentioned conference VIA VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE (VCOPs) A synthesis of research on above-mentioned topics will be followed by implications. And, resources will be provided including Knowledge Management newsletters and other publications. Applications of biometric, card, voice, and wireless technologies will be briefly discussed for a few economy sectors. A conversion from “charts” and paper-based formats to digital hospitals, requires that education prepare “point-of-care” knowledge managers. The sessions will include suggestions for research topics for career planning and curriculum development plus ideas for e-newsletters and portals for business and economic development. An attempt will be made to create VCOPs for above-mentioned topics and for creating developmentally appropriate learning about “basics” for converting digital divides to digital dividends for better Quality Of Life (QOL). AFRICAN
YOUTH FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (AYF-IC3)
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM) and OTHER RESOURCES KM
can be accessed and mined: http://www.members.cox.net/greenka6/wgnewweb/wgmenu.html
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