Several midsize and large firms have made themselves multinational and have continued to globalize their companies' operations because doing so can result in a cost advantage over competitors, and a differentiation advantage in terms of gaining innovative ideas and other such valuable information, extending an organization's focus toward continuously growing foreign markets, and gaining access to effective R&D facilities that promote the utilization of technological advances, new expert ideas, and product concepts. While other companies may have other motives for venturing into globalization, such as acquiring a foreign partner and searching for potential managerial talent, a company's tasks can be distributed by means of a parallel buildup and through a system of operations throughout other geographic, socio-political, and cultural areas.
A flow-cell-type portable laser particle counter was developed for in-situ counting of process-induced particles. We measured process-induced particles when small amounts of moisture and oxygen were intentionally added to SiH 4 diluted to 10% in argon gas. It was found that there existed a threshold concentration for particle generation caused by the reaction between SiH 4 and moisture/oxygen; i.e., the number of particles was not linearly proportional to the moisture and oxygen concentrations. We also found that the size distribution of generated particles varied due to complex mechanisms such as coagulation of small particles.
At certain times, members of an organization may feel discouraged from pursuing their ideas since they may have heard that an idea similar to theirs has failed in an earlier endeavor, and may think that working on its improvement will only result in a waste of time and effort. Whether this role be played by a manager or by fellow members of the company, situations like these call for a knowledge activist to encourage and rejuvenate the team's commitment and energy in order to continue the process of knowledge creation. Mobilizing knowledge activists should be important for a company as they play no small part in the following steps of knowledge creation: 1) the formation of knowledge microcommunities; 2) concept generation and justification; 3) prototype building; and 4) cross-levelling of knowledge.
Although some companies would indeed assert that knowledge creation is an essential in their processes, especially companies focused on innovation and high-technology firms, experiencing conflicts and tensions within the company is unavoidable, as supporting and sustaining such knowledge creation is, without a doubt, an arduous task. Because traditional management techniques may no longer be appropriate in dealing with the process of knowledge creation, organizations and their members are bound to encounter several different barriers to sharing knowledge. Regardless of the managerial style imposed within a company, barriers to knowledge will still occur as the processes involved will concern various degrees of intellectual capabilities and human relationships. This chapter sheds light on such barriers, which can be classified into two interrelated categories — individual and organizational.
