The development of capabilities and the management of knowledge in the potentials of university competitiveness and change

Abstract

This article is focused on the consideration that there are companies that do not know the mechanisms necessary for boosting the dynamism and preserving the knowledge generated in their daily interactions by means of the professional profiles and roles of the people that work for those companies. The study is based on the supposition that these companies, due to being focused on the chains of production, do not aim their attention at the management of the knowledge, allowing it to leak into other sectors. This knowledge leak constitutes an irreparable loss in terms of the human potential and cognitive capital. With the objective of acquiring knowledge on how to improve and develop the professional capability regarding the learning, the information and communication technologies and the communication strategies within a framework of a competitive organization, the project was carried out based on a case study in Universidad de Medellín and its Department of Basic Sciences under a qualitative methodology and using the ethnographic method. The following are several results worth highlighting: 1. If the management necessary for evaluating the performance of the professors does not work adequately, there is a possibility that they feel unmotivated to undergo professional changes; 2. The “Permanencia con Calidad†(Remaining in the post with quality) project shows a process of change accompanied by the development of professional capabilities and a new practice, which is manifested in the way the professors express themselves about their professional role.