Implications of UK leaving European Union

Since the announcement of the referendum result we have been discussing, like most, the implications of the decision to leave the European Union, will it spell disaster or will be the best option for the UK for the future? 

I signed myself up for an email news summary on the subject from M Brain (http://www.stm-publishing.com/elsevier-launches-brexit-resource-centre/).   The feed is a daily summary of highlights covering UK individually but also giving a global view.  It is a free email subscription and is of general interest, covering many different areas.  What does stand out is that there is very little that is clear in terms of predicting future implications.  It is an evolving situation and one we are keen to keep a close eye on here at BIR. 

I spoke to one writer for BIR, Paul Pedley, who is an expert on everything copyright running valuable copyright training courses, on what potential implications there would be for copyright seeing as law on this is tied closely with Europe.  He sent me the following facts reviewing the impact of Brexit on copyright which are also highlighted in his training:

• ·      The process won’t start until Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty has been triggered
• ·      Brexit is unlikely to happen until 2019/2020
• ·      Existing directives which have been implemented into UK law will continue to have effect
• ·      The Westminster Parliament will have priorities other than copyright to contend with
• ·      There won’t be major changes occurring quickly
• ·      Once Brexit has taken place, UK judges wouldn’t have to follow EU case law which could lead to new judge-based law
• ·      Could lead to breakup of the UK, with Scotland needing to develop its own IP law
• ·      It is always possible that UK copyright law could become more onerous for users as a way of encouraging people to do business in the UK based on the strength of its copyright law (from a rights holder point of view).
• ·      In the long run, could mean less and less harmonization, with all the attendant bureaucratic implications that this would involve

To keep up to date with what might happen in regards to Brexit and those laws intertwined with European law the following link may be useful http://www.trethowans.com/site/library/legalnews/what-does-brexit-mean-for-uk-law.

We would be keen to hear comments or interested to hear from anyone who experiencing consequences (good or bad) in their area as they are happening.  For the moment thanks to Paul for his comments in this area.

Professional education

The September issue of Business Information Review carried an article by Jela Webb about mid-career professional education. In part the article addressed the place of doctoral education for Information Professionals. Traditionally PhDs have been undertaken predominantly by individuals hoping to enter academia as a kind of entry-level qualification. However in recent years a range of doctoral level qualifications have been developed specifically intended to facilitate mid-career education within professional contexts. Professional Doctorates are doctoral level qualifications that blend the research grounding of traditional PhDs with career orientated classroom based teaching; they are designed to be not only more relevant to professional practice but also more manageable within the context of part time study that traditional PhDs.  At the current time professional doctorates in information management, librarianship, and information science are scarce in the UK context. This raises questions about the role and function of professional education and the means by which it contributes to a shared body of knowledge and experience, and to the formation of a coherent and integrated professional identity. 

On the most fundamental level professional education benefits the individual by inculcating a set of professional knowledge and competencies that can be used as a kind of tool-kit to address both familiar and novel problems.  This “body of professional knowledge” idea also has a gate-keeper function ensuring at least in principle a base level of professional competency governed by the professional body. However, the benefits of undertaking professional education for the individual extend far beyond this basic idea, and include the development of professional networks and partnerships that benefit individuals throughout their careers. The social capital that individuals gain a consequence of undertaking educational courses is often what endures from the experience in the longer term. 

There is however also a broader role of professional education in generating and sustaining professional identities and communities. What binds the information profession is not merely a set of jobs with overlapping responsibilities, but a shared sense of values, identity, and belonging. It is this sense of coherence within a profession discourse, and difference with other professions and occupational groupings that define the nature of professions. Professional education and practice-based research, scholarship and publishing contribute to this shared identity, and to the relative status of practicing professionals. Business Information Review also aims to contribute to professional identity formation by offering opportunities for individuals to contribute to broader debates, and to the sharing of experience. 

It follows that the kinds of qualifications that make up the professional education provision have an influence on the status, coherence, and social capital of those professional groupings. Information professionals generally qualify and achieve chartership at an early stage in their careers; studying for (usually) an accredited masters degree often occurs in the years following undergraduate study, or in the early years of a paraprofessional role for returners or mid-career switchers. Predominantly post-chartership education is managed through short course provision and professional networking events, much of which lacks recognition beyond the profession. This is not unique; the teaching profession has a similar structure. While Information professionals in the commercial sector may also often follow the MBA route into, this may sometimes sit uneasily with the broader professional values.  

What has been missing in the information profession is ways for experienced practitioners to gain wider recognition of their professional seniority. It is this gap that an expansion of doctoral education in the information sector could fill, not as a replacement of senior fellowship of CILIP and other professional bodies, but as a stepping stone towards it. The benefits of this would be both for the individual, but also for the profession as a whole, increasing the status and social capital of library and information profession. As public librarianship has declined in recent decades, academic and commercial practitioners make up a greater proportion of the professional community, and in the financial, legal and academic sectors working alongside colleagues for whom higher level professional and academic qualifications are relatively commonplace. Interestingly, the area in which professional doctorates are most common is in education; the EdD or Doctorate in Education is for many educators a stepping stone to more senior roles and responsibilities. Perhaps there is scope in the Information Profession for similar qualifications both benefiting the individuals who undertake such programmes, but also the status and coherence of the wider professional community.       

September's issue sneak peak

We have a packed issue this month covering not only the exploration of culture, language and leadership on knowledge sharing, but the latest news on the development of international KM standards, experience on developing and implementing your first information strategy and information on managing your own career.  We also have our regular columns from Martin White and Allan Foster too.

News update on Developing International KM standards – Paul J Corney – Managing Partner, Knowledge et al.

Paul reviews the current state of developing KM standards and provides further news on what is being done by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) to establish a set of Knowledge Management Standards. Paul considers the importance and implications of the development of such a set of standards and how ultimately it could be a game changing move that will affect knowledge professionals across the globe.

Managerial Implications of Rocking the Floor by Employees: Consequences of Voice Behaviour - Faryal Batool, Department of Commerce Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan-Pakistan

Faryal and colleagues explore and discuss the implications of employees raising their voice to voice concerns or ideas.  They explore the merits and drawbacks of two types of voice – promotive and prohibitive discussing the impact they may have on achieving change in the work place and on the individual’s own personal working environment.  It also considers the effect on leadership and to some extent leadership style.

Knowledge sharing among employees in Ghanaian Industries: the role of transformational leadership style and communal organizational culture- Henry Boateng, School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney

Henry explores the effects of organizational culture and transformational leadership style on knowledge sharing.  It goes on to explore transformational leadership, its affect and importance for enhancing knowledge sharing.  

From Passenger to Pilot - taking the lead and building a business critical information management strategy – Siân Tyrrell Head of Horticultural Information & Advice, Royal Horticultural Society

Sian shares her experiences and explores the steps needed to develop and implement an effective information strategy from scratch.   She considers the challenges in different types of environment having worked in both public and private sectors within large and small information teams.  She makes suggestions for adapting approaches to ensure that the information strategy developed is fit for purpose regardless of the type of organization or their position in regards to the importance of an information strategy.

The mid-career information professional: managing your own career - Jela Webb MBA, MSc, ACIB, CCTS, Senior Lecturer, University of Brighton (Business School)

Jela reviews the current environment for those in the middle of their information professional career, what the different options are to consider and what is important in terms of career planning.  In particular, she reviews what will be important skill sets that organisations will look for in the future, looks at taking time out from your career to update your skills and what formal qualifications are available.  She identifies what career ownership and career capital means, their roles and why they are important for effective career development.

Perspectives and Initiatives

Martin White explores the dynamics of teams, what they need to enable them to function effectively and how they work together to support each other to complete a task.  In the articles he reviews he looks at a long term study of the introduction of knowledge management into the public sector as well as many aspects affecting team performance including: organizational culture, social networking and other technologies, collaboration and management innovation.

Allan looks at the increasing importance of due diligence and the critical role information professionals can play in providing important research.  He also cover’s new developments with information providers who are aiming to provide better and more complete information in this area.  He also takes an in-depth look at the growing digital skills gap, looking at what is being done and how that needs to be stepped up a gear to be able to keep UK industry competitive in the future.  Another important skill he looks at is data management and how it is under-valued at present in the work place.  Continuing with the digital theme is the strategic importance of digital transformation and what new technologies will disrupt business in the future.  Informal social media networks are playing an important role in supporting new business start-ups.  He also takes a look at different intelligence and research reports for Brexit and new product development from information vendors.

Navigating Uncertainty - Again

Author: 

 

Scott Brown, Owner, Social Information Group; Cybrarian, Oracle Inc.; and Business Information Review Board Member

Please note this post contains the personal views of the author and are not connected with his employer. 

 

The June 2016 issue of Business Information Review focuses on several aspects of security – policy and regulations, the complications introduced by social media, and the “human factor” in security, among other topics. If anything, the issue and articles illustrate the complexity of security issues, and the many grey areas that we need to navigate. 

 

With the late June “Brexit” referendum vote, another layer of uncertainty has been added to the mix. Many global tech companies were already struggling with the demise of the Safe Harbour framework for data transfer, security, and privacy within and outside of the EU. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, which, as of this writing, seems on the verge of formal adoption, imposes stronger guidelines on US companies to protect EU personal data. Hopefully, the adoption of Privacy Shield will provide the needed clarification for secure and compliant information exchange across borders. 

 

Should Brexit come to pass, these issues will likely need to be resolved in separate agreements with the UK, and between the UK and the EU. 

 

While several observers have speculated about the impact of Brexit, including the impact on IT spending and the effect on talent movement within the UK and EU, Outsell’s initial look at the effect of Brexit on the information industry highlights several potential effects that impact the information world. In addition to the various downside impacts, Outsell speculates that “winners” – or at least those that stand to benefit or become busier from Brexit – include legal consultants, and information providers such as LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and IHS Markit. 

 

The most marked effect of Brexit to date, outside of the immediate impact on global stock markets, has been to inject a lot of uncertainty around the longer-term outcomes and effects. As business information professionals, it’s more important than ever to be tracking this space, understanding the implications (as much as possible), and sharing relevant information within our organizations and with our clients. 

 

While many sources are clearly reporting on the effects of Brexit, Outsell seems dedicated to tracking and reporting on this space from the information arena. The Financial Times is covering this space more broadly, with detailed coverage particularly in the financial markets. Both sources are definitely worth tracking and including as part of your informational “toolkit”. 

 

As information professionals, we’re well-positioned to provide “early warning”, and to help our organizations and clients navigate this next stage of uncertainty.