Using Knowledge Management and Critical Thinking to Understand Thai Perceptions and Decisions towards Work-Life Balance in a Multinational Software Development Firm

Work-life balance has been acknowledged and promoted for the sake of employee retention. It is essential for a manager to realize the human resources situation within a company to help employees work happily and perform at their best. This paper suggests knowledge management and critical thinking are useful to motivate employees to think about their work-life balance. A qualitative case study is presented, which aimed to discover the meaning of work-life balance-s meaning from the perspective of Thai knowledge workers and how it affects their decision-making towards work resignation. Results found three types of work-life balance dimensions; a work- life balance including a workplace and a private life setting, an organizational working life balance only, and a worklife balance only in a private life setting. These aspects all influenced the decision-making of the employees. Factors within a theme of an organizational work-life balance were involved with systematic administration, fair treatment, employee recognition, challenging assignments to gain working experience, assignment engagement, teamwork, relationship with superiors, and working environment, while factors concerning private life settings were about personal demands such as an increasing their salary or starting their own business.

Authors:

• N. Mantalay
• N. Chakpitak
• W. Janchai
• P. Sureepong

Keywords:

• knowledge management
• work-life balance
• knowledge workers
• decision-making
• critical thinking
• diverse workforce

References:

[1] Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2005). Communication at work:
Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
[2] Anonymous. (2004). Leeds Lists the Benefits of better Work-Life
Balance. Human Resource Management International Digest, 12 (7), 21-
23.
[3] Anonymous. (2008a). Happy employees have a good work-life balance:
Staff trusted to balance personal needs with employment responsibilities.
Human Resources Management International Digest, 16 (6), 27-28.
[4] Anonymous. (2008b). Work/life Balance, Job Security, and Dedication:
Top Career Goals Among Diverse Students. Black Collegian, 39 (1), 73-
73.
[5] Bailey, C., & Clarke, M. (2000). How do managers use knowledge about
knowledge management?. Journal of Knowledge Management, 4 (3),
235-243.
[6] Beijerse, R. P. (1999). Questions in knowledge management: defining
and conceptualizing a phenomenon. Journal of Knowledge Management,
3 (2), 94-109.
[7] Brookfield, S. D. (2005). The power of critical theory: liberating adult
learning and teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
[8] Burke, R. (2000). Do managerial men benefit from organizational values
supporting work-personal life balance?. Women in Management Review,
15 (2), 81-89.
[9] Carlson, D. S., Derr, B. C., & Wadsworth, L. L. (2003). The Effects of
Internal Career Orientation on Multiple Dimensions of Work-family
Conflict. Journal of Family and Economic, 24 (1), 99-116.
[10] Carr, A. (2000). Critical theory and the management of change in the
organization. Journal of organizational Change Management, 13 (3),
208-220.
[11] Darroch, J. (2003). Developing a measure of knowledge management
behaviors and practices. Journal of Knowledge Management, 7 (5), 41-
54.
[12] Deery, M. (2008). Talent management, work-life balance and retention
strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 20 (7), 792-806.
[13] Doherty, L. (2004). Work-life balance initiatives: implications for
women. Employee Relations, 26 (4), 433-452.
[14] Drew, E., & Murtagh, E. M. (2005). Work-life balance: senior
management champion or laggards?. Women In Management Review, 20
(4), 262-278.
[15] Drucker, P., & Maciariello, J. A. (2004). The Daily Drucker 366 Days of
Insight and motivation for getting the right things done. New York:
HarperBusiness.
[16] Gorelik, C. (2005). For performance through learning, knowledge
management is the critical practice. The Learning Organization, 12 (2),
125-139.
[17] Greenberg, J., & Barron R. A. (2000). Behavior in organizations:
Understanding and managing the human side of work. USA: Prentice-
Hall, Inc,.
[18] Hofstede, G. (1984). Cultural dimensions in management and planning.
Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 1 (2), 81-99.
[19] Hong, J., & Kuo, C. (1999). Knowledge management in learning
organization. The Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 20
(4), 207-215.
[20] Hyman, J., & Summers, J. (2004). Lacking balance? Work-life
employment practices in the modern economy: Personnel Review. 33
(4), 418-429.
[21] Johnson, P. R., & Julie I. (1997). The scourge of the workplace:
depression at work. Journal of workplace learning, 9 (1), 12-16.
[22] Jurie, J. D. (2000). Building capacity: organizational competence and
critical theory. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13 (3),
264-274.
[23] Kalkan,V. D. (2008). An overall view of knowledge management
challenges for global business. Business Process Management Journal,
14 (3), 1-3.
[24] Kay, T. (2003). The Work-Life Balance in Social Practice. Social Policy
& Society, 2 (3), 231-239.
[25] Komin, S. (1991). Psychology of Thai People: Values and Behavioural
patterns. Bangkok: Nida.
[26] Manshor, A. T., Fontaine, R., & Choy, C. S. (2003). Occupational stress
among managers: A Malaysian survey. Journal of managerial
psychology, 18 (6), 622-628.
[27] Michailova, S., & Nielsen B. B. (2006). MNCs and knowledge
management: a typology and key features. Journal of Knowledge
Management, 10 (1), 44-54.
[28] Michelle, T., Helen, L., & Valerie, F. (2009). Work-life balance: an
exploratory supports and barriers in a constructions project.
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2 (1), 94-111.
[29] Moore, F. (2007). Work-life balance: contrasting managers and workers
in an MNC. Employee Relations, 29 (4), 385-399.
[30] Natale, S., & Ricci, F. (2006). Critical thinking in Organizations. Team
Performance Management, 12 (7/8), 272-277.
[31] Ogbor, J. O. (2001). Critical theory and the homogeny of corperate
culture. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 14 (6), 590-
608.
[32] Petison, P., & Johri L. (2008). Managing local employees: expatriates
role in subsidiary. Management Decision, 46 (5), 743-760.
[33] Petress, K. (2004). Critical thinking: An extended definition. Education,
124 (3), 461-466.
[34] Rusaw, C. A. (2000). Uncovering training resistance: A critical theory
perspective. Journal of organizational change management, 13 (3), 249-
263.
[35] Sriussadaporn, R. (2006). Managing international business
communication problems at work: a pilot study in foreign companies in
Thailand. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 13 (4),
330-344.
[36] Stevens, J. (2005). Managing risk: the human resource contribution.
LexisNexis, United Kingdom.
[37] Straub, C. (2007). A comparative analysis of the use of work- life
balance in Europe: Do practices enhance females' career advancement?.
Women in Management Review, 22 (4), 289-304.