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The second part of this paper reports the results of application of the theory and methodology to the analysis of Indian society in the current decade. It explains the nature of retrodictive confirmation and predictive inference obtainable from the present approach. A methodological realization of the concept of a performance panel for societal systems is demonstrated.

Poverty situation and problems of development in a remote village of U.P., India are briefly outlined. The dynamics of the situation are represented in the form of a multi‐loop system. Problems of development are seen as outcomes of malfunctioning feedback cycles. Disaggregation of salient variables of the multiloop system serves to identify the empirical dimensions of the problem situation and corresponding control policy requirements. A binary matrix procedure is utilized for deriving the relative importance of problem dimensions and policy measures.

This paper presents very briefly a general model of the dynamics of urban systems. The behaviour of urban systems is characterized by varying magnitudes of in‐migration, overcrowding, slums, pollution, traffic congestion, crime, social tensions, public unrest, pressure on electric and water supply and inadequate facilities for education, medicine, transport and recreation. The inefficiency and ineffectiveness of urban governments appear as another pervasive feature. These behavioural aspects are, however, systemically interrelated. They emerge as an output of the cyclic interaction of a set of basic factors, Their abnormal values mark the pathological states of urban systems. The model presented here outlines the nature and pattern of interaction that engenders the varying modes of system behaviour.

Inferences concerning analysis, explanation, prediction, problem‐solving, policy formulation and decision‐making are systematically derived by means of a social cybernetic methodology. The basis of the methodology lies in the construction of a multi‐feedback loop model of the social phenomenon/situation investigated. Salient variables of the system are then identified as those located at the intersection of several feedback cycles. They represent analogs of Ashby's “essential variables”. Their measurement in terms of a scale of “regulatedness” or viability (λ), permits an estimation of time‐varying states of the system's “health” and defines the specific goals of a problem solution. The λ ‐ equivalence of salient variables in terms of Wiener's Principle of Entrainment of Frequencies, yields verifiable predictive inferences. Their hierarchic disaggregation generates a “morphological map” of the problem/phenomenon. This map shows the micro‐level requirements of policies and/or problem‐solving. Maximisation of the viability of decision alternatives provides a logically simple approach to multi‐criteria/attribute decision‐making.

The second part of this paper briefly discusses the nature of analysis for problem‐solving and verifiable predictive inferences based on the multi‐loop model. Themes of empirical research and validation are outlined in this context. Cybernetic model of the dynamics of ethnic tensions is briefly illustrated with reference to the problem of Hindu‐Sikh tensions in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Examples of predictive inferences are given.

This study is divided into two parts: The first part outlines the theory and methodology of investigation developed by the author; the second part describes the results obtained for the progress of Indian society from 1970 to 1980 and then deals with the issues for an intelligent management of societal systems. This paper i.e., the first part, delineates a universal model of the macro‐level dynamics of total society systems. The methodology describes two procedures for estimating the viability of a societal system; both yield the same results. One of the procedures is a simulation algorithm that makes possible the predictive inference and retrodictive confirmation of the course of system behaviour. The other procedure computes societal viability (Z) by integrating the viability measures (λ) of the ‘essential’ performance variables of the system.

This paper describes the interrelated nature of explanation, prediction and problem‐solving in social systems. Cybernetic analysis of social phenomena provides a unifying framework in this context. The analytic framework is briefly considered with reference to the problem of ethnic tensions in national societies. The first part of the paper discusses the conceptual apparatus of analysis and develops an integrated multi‐feedback loop model of the complex social phenomenon of ethnic tensions.

Organizational culture is a critical factor in building and reinforcing knowledge management in organizations. However, there is no theoretical framework that comprehensively explains the effect of organizational culture on knowledge management in organizations. This paper endeavors to develop a theoretical integrative framework for organizational knowledge management and organizational culture.

This is a conceptual paper. It modifies the “competing value framework” by adding a new dimension representing ethical and trusting culture, and then integrates it with the SECI model of knowledge creation and conversion by identifying the conceptual parallels between the two frameworks and then analyzing the interaction effects among the dimensions.

Based on the congruity between the modified competing values framework and the knowledge creation and conversion framework, the paper formulates six propositions about the propensity of organizations of different dominant cultural styles to engage in the four processes of knowledge creation and conversion.

The dynamic nature of the framework presented in the paper points to the importance of longitudinal and comparative research in understanding the effects of organizational culture on organizational knowledge management systems in organizations.

The proposed integrative framework would facilitate organizational learning and lead to the improvement of knowledge management practices in organizations as it helps managers to understand the linkages between culture and knowledge management.

This paper presents a new framework linking organizational culture to knowledge management. It moves away from analyzing culture only in terms of its positive and negative influences on knowledge management. Instead, it suggests a typology of the kind of knowledge management processes that organizations are likely to focus on depending on the culture that prevails in an organization.

The purpose of this study is to compare the level of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) of firms in the high technology and traditional sectors of the economy.

In order to provide a framework to evaluate the level of disclosure of the different categories of intellectual capital (IC), the author develops an IC model based on an integration of the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm, the knowledge management, and IC literature. The model is called the RBV IC model. Content analysis was conducted using the SEC Form 10‐K annual reports of 143 high‐technology companies (HTCs) and 141 traditional sector companies (TSCs) US publicly traded firms for fiscal year 2000 and 2004. The components of IC as delineated in the RBV IC model are the subject of the analysis with the frequency of disclosure being used as the measure of disclosure.

HTCs had a higher frequency of disclosure of customer capital, organizational capital, human capital, and intellectual property than TSCs. Regarding supplier capital, the data were inconclusive. HTCs had an overall higher level of ICD than TSCs both in fiscal years 2000 and 2004.

The frequency of the use of words or phrases alone is used as the measure of the level of ICD.

This is the first study to compare the level of ICD of high tech and traditional sector US publicly traded companies. The results have significant implications for setting standards of disclosure in that it supports the argument that high‐tech companies may be providing higher levels of ICD because of the failure (actual or perceived) of the traditional accounting model to provide value relevant information about a company's IC.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among top management teams' (TMS) entrepreneurial leadership, international human capital management (IHCM), and global competitiveness.

Given the exploratory nature of this research, the authors adopted a purposive sampling process and targeted companies headquartered in Taiwan but with foreign subsidiaries. In addition to in‐depth interview, a questionnaires survey was administered to secure information from either top managers or human resources professionals. Altogether, 114 companies took part in the study.

The results indicated that entrepreneurial leadership of TMS not only had direct positive influences on a firm's IHCM, but also had indirect positive influences on a firm's global competiveness through the meditating effects of IHCM.

One contribution of this study is the development of appropriate metrics to measure a firm's “IHCM” practices that enhance a firm's global competiveness. A second contribution is the development of metrics of a firm's global competiveness and to explain a firm's global competiveness from a human capital management perspective. Additionally, this study contributed to the literature by empirically investigating the mediating effect of IHCM on the relationship between TMS entrepreneurial leadership and global competiveness relationship.