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Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

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Strategies for Increasing <strong>Knowledge</strong> Retenti<strong>on</strong> in<br />

Universities Through Intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>Knowledge</strong><br />

Transfer<br />

C<strong>on</strong>stantin Bratianu, Adriana Agapie and Iv<strong>on</strong>a Orzea<br />

Academy <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ec<strong>on</strong>omic Studies, Bucharest, Romania<br />

cbratianu@yahoo.com<br />

Adriana.agapie@clicknet.ro<br />

Iv<strong>on</strong>a.orzea@gmail.com<br />

Abstract: The new Law <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Educati<strong>on</strong> promulgated recently in Romania enforces pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors retirement at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 65. The previous law had a provisi<strong>on</strong> for full pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors to remain in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> academic life up to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 70, if<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir universities needed <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m. The new legislati<strong>on</strong> produces an earthquake in our universities due to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

eliminati<strong>on</strong> from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> academic life <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a very important segment <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge and wisdom owners. This dramatic<br />

situati<strong>on</strong> shows how important it is to develop strategies for increasing knowledge retenti<strong>on</strong> in universities. Since<br />

a university is by its own nature a multigenerati<strong>on</strong>al workforce, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> best strategies should be based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge transfer. The purpose <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> our paper is to investigate two main strategies for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge transfer: a) encouraging cooperati<strong>on</strong> through teamwork, and b) encouraging<br />

individual competiti<strong>on</strong>. The first strategy is emphasizing <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> synchr<strong>on</strong>ic knowledge transfer, while <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> sec<strong>on</strong>d <strong>on</strong>e<br />

emphasizes <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> n<strong>on</strong>-synchr<strong>on</strong>ic knowledge transfer. Each <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se strategies can be implemented through<br />

different mechanisms specific for academic life. We have c<strong>on</strong>sidered in our research three <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m: 1) research<br />

grants; 2) writing books, and 3) writing papers for scientific journals. Our investigati<strong>on</strong> is based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Analytic<br />

Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, and <strong>on</strong> using questi<strong>on</strong>naires structured according to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se strategies<br />

menti<strong>on</strong>ed above. We distributed 500 questi<strong>on</strong>naires to all <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> faculties <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> ec<strong>on</strong>omics and business from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> state<br />

universities, and we have received 223 valid questi<strong>on</strong>naires. Based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m we computed using AHP <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> priority<br />

vectors for each strategy and activity c<strong>on</strong>sidered. Numerical results show <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> importance <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> cooperati<strong>on</strong><br />

strategy in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge transfer, for increasing <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge retenti<strong>on</strong> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> university.<br />

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge<br />

transfer<br />

1. Introducti<strong>on</strong><br />

The Romanian Parliament promulgated recently a new Law <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Educati<strong>on</strong> that introduces a<br />

compulsory retirement at 65 for all pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors. The previous law c<strong>on</strong>sidered <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age 65 <strong>on</strong>ly as an<br />

opti<strong>on</strong>al age for full pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors. They could c<strong>on</strong>tinue <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir academic duties until <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 70 if <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

university needed <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m. Thus, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> new legislati<strong>on</strong> c<strong>on</strong>tributed to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> eliminati<strong>on</strong> from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> academic life<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a significant number <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> very knowledgeable people. C<strong>on</strong>sidering all 56 state universities existing in<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Romanian higher educati<strong>on</strong> system, we may approximate that <strong>on</strong>ly in this year will be forced to<br />

retire about 1000 pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors, which amount to a huge loss <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge and <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> disc<strong>on</strong>tinuities in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

academic life. The direct impact is mostly <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> doctoral programs since many <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>essors<br />

have been involved as academic advisers for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> doctoral students. This legislati<strong>on</strong> has been based<br />

<strong>on</strong> some political grounds, and it is against <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> educati<strong>on</strong> policies implemented in o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r countries. We<br />

shall menti<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>ly <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> fact that in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> USA <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is no imposed age for academic retirement since<br />

knowledge and wisdom are not proporti<strong>on</strong>al with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> biological age. Academic and scientific values<br />

cannot be strictly related to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> biological age. However, our politicians think primarily in a<br />

deterministic and linear way which is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> effect <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> inertial socialist culture (Bratianu & Murakawa,<br />

2004; Bratianu & Vasilache, 2009; Bratianu & Vasilache, 2010).<br />

Since universities are knowledge intensive organizati<strong>on</strong>s (Bratianu, 2011a; Duderstadt, 2000; Marga,<br />

2011;, Ruegg, 2004; Shattock, 2003) <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> loss <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge c<strong>on</strong>tributes directly to decreasing <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir<br />

competitive advantage. In <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> new legislative c<strong>on</strong>text, universities should c<strong>on</strong>ceive strategies for<br />

enhancing knowledge retenti<strong>on</strong> through intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge transfer, filming <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> old masters<br />

classes, promoting special c<strong>on</strong>ferences for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> benefit <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> younger generati<strong>on</strong>s, making <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m scientific<br />

Journals Editors, and inviting <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m as c<strong>on</strong>sultants for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> academic life. Universities are multilayer age<br />

nested structures where intergenerati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge fluxes are generated by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> str<strong>on</strong>g<br />

n<strong>on</strong>uniformity and n<strong>on</strong>linearity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> organizati<strong>on</strong>al intellectual capital (Bratianu, 2011b; Bratianu,<br />

2011c). <strong>Knowledge</strong> creati<strong>on</strong> and knowledge transfer are intertwined processes, and both <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m are<br />

str<strong>on</strong>gly influenced by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age scale.<br />

124

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