THE path to a better and more competitive economic performance through a knowledge-based economy (K-economy) is very relevant to an ambitious nation like Malaysia.
Indeed, knowledge is a prerequisite for every achievement. Knowledge to Peter Drucker affects two critical aspects of competitive advantage: productivity and innovation.
When knowledge is applied to what we already know, we call it productivity; and when it is applied to new and different things, we call it innovation. Both require application of knowledge to work.
In the present situation, we should move a step further by going all out to nurture and develop within our society a culture of innovation.
We need to encourage new ways of doing things and produce high-quality products and services at reasonable prices, thereby contributing to the well-being and happiness of people.
This ultimate objective is very noble and it definitely can contribute to our competitiveness.
Caring for others in our economic activities is, indeed, a religious and social responsibility. We have to be creative in order to develop the culture of innovation.Since our work is being carried out through organisations, the running of and the environment within an organisation must be conducive to and supportive of this development.
Most modern management theorists argue that creativity is an intrinsic and essential element in business success.
An American management consultant, Maurice Zeldman, puts the accepted view: “Creativity for organisations, like vitamins for people, is essential for good health and growth.”
M. Badawy, in another work, says: “Creativity is like height, weight and strength.”People vary considerably in these dimensions, but everybody has some height, some weight and some strength.
“Likewise, there is a certain amount of creativity in all of us, but some of us are obviously more creative than others.”
Thus, the main role of a manager is to enable creativity to fulfil itself.
He is not there to stop people from being creative; he is there to help people to be creative.
Thus, organisations that are the most successful are those most adept in harnessing the talents of the creative people they employ to produce the products and services their customers want.
This demands a quality management capability within an organisation.
Jean-Jacques Servan Schreiber, an eminent French thinker, writes: “Management is, all things considered, the most creative of all arts.
“It is the art of art. Because it is the organiser of talent.”
The organisations that depend on creativity will thus continue to depend, forever, upon creative individuals and upon managing them successfully.
Islam is always supportive of enhancing individual capability for better productivity and innovation.
It considers this improvement as a religious virtue because Islam believes in the human potential. It regards man as the best of all creations. Allah says: “We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.” (Quran 95:4).
This positive attitude towards the nature of human potential is the starting point for man to achieve success.
In fact, every Muslim is required to be productive and innovative with righteous deeds and to continuously improve these deeds with quality.
In running an organisation, Islam encourages a progressive management principle–enhancing individual workers to be independent and, at the same time, to promote interdependent relationships.
This management principle is very relevant in nurturing a worker’s productivity and innovation.
This is because, firstly, it recognises the need for a worker to be given space and room to develop his potential to be productive and innovative and, at the same time, demands the manager to recognise that better interdependent relationships among individual workers can lead to strong teamwork in the organisation.
The leadership in an organisation should strive for this harmonisation, to satisfy the human requirement.
Man by nature is an individual and social being. Islam insists that to achieve success in developing human potential, one has to fulfil this human requirement.To go against human nature in managing workers can never lead to success.
This knowledge of human nature is, indeed, the knowledge that one can learn from divine revelation.The understanding that man is solely an economic being (homo economicus) by secular ideology contributes significantly to our present predicament.
In our quest to be a knowledge-based society and to develop our economy based on the need to enhance our knowledge capability, Islam has a lot to offer.
Islam from the beginning insisted on the Muslims, males and females, to equip themselves with knowledge to develop themselves successfully in this world in all their activities.
Right knowledge can develop a right and dynamic worldview.
It can also enhance our desire to be creative for a better economic performance.