Knowledge Management in Theory and Practice, third edition

by Kimiz Dalkir, Marco Beaulieu (Foreword)

A new, thoroughly updated edition of a comprehensive overview of knowledge management (KM), covering theoretical foundations, the KM process, tools, and professions. The ability to manage knowledge has become increasingly important in today's knowledge economy. Knowledge is considered a valuable commodity, embedded in products and in the tacit knowledge of highly mobile individual employees. Knowledge management (KM) represents a deliberate and systematic approach to cultivating and sharing an organization's knowledge base. This textbook and professional reference offers a comprehensive overview of the field. Drawing on ideas, tools, and techniques from such disciplines as sociology, cognitive science, organizational behavior, and information science, it describes KM theory and practice at the individual, community, and organizational levels. Chapters cover such topics as tacit and explicit knowledge, theoretical modeling of KM, the KM cycle from knowledge capture to knowledge use, KM tools, KM assessment, and KM professionals. This third edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect advances in the dynamic and emerging field of KM. The specific changes include extended treatment of tacit knowledge; integration of such newer technologies as social media, visualization, mobile technologies, and crowdsourcing; a new chapter on knowledge continuity, with key criteria for identifying knowledge at risk; material on how to identify, document, validate, share, and implement lessons learned and best practices; the addition of new categories of KM jobs; and a new emphasis on the role of KM in innovation. Supplementary materials for instructors are available online.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Business

552 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2005

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed to be more KM in Theory and More Theories. If you want to be able to talk the talk, this will do the trick. It is a very academic look at KM--many references, comparisons of abstract models, long bibliographies after every chapter, lists of Discussion Points for each chapter. But to walk the walk, I think the reader would be more confused than ready to march. It is a nice collection of all the key topics and researchers' models--good for an MBA program student but not a practitioner. I know this is intended as a text book but then it should be followed with more of a practical look at KM.

[Heather]

Lulz, like I actually got a chance to get through all of this in my final semester. That said, I enjoyed (yeah, that's right, enjoyed) what I did get to read.

[Alan Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was involved with KM for many years until a couple of years ago. During that time I read just about everything I could get my hands on, and for me this remains one of the top 5 best books on KM. I literally have no idea why anyone would give this book a low rating. It is one of the most complete and comprehensive presentations of the subject that you can get.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I really wasn't quite sure exactly what "knowledge management" was and didn't think it would be that heavy of a topic. I thought it would be something light and casual, and to my discovery it certainly was a lot more involved than a thought.

There are people who actually get PhD's in knowledge management, there are various certifications for it, there are tons of books and video content, and really just an incredible volume of information about this topic.

This book covers everything I imagine most people would want to know about knowledge management. Tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, how to capture and codify, varies knowledge cycles and management models, communities of practice, organizational culture, knowledge management tools (heavily reliant on technology), knowledge management roles (such as... Chief Learning Officer (CLO) as example of many), and is also full of diagrams, questionnaires, flow charts, and all kinds of other graphics related to knowledge management.

A lot of good stuff in here that can be applied to the small team level as well as the big picture enterprise point of view.

I can honestly say that I did enjoy this book and learning about this interesting topic about improving individuals and organizations through the power of knowledge management.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position, is in a position of trust/influence, and people who are motivated and feel like they can be an agent of change within their individual teams or even towards their organization as a whole.

[Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

my orientation and introduction to knowledge management. useful. provided me with an overview on how to approach this subject.