Knowledge Management in Organizations

Building on the success of the first edition, the second edition of Knowledge Management in Organizations presents a critical introduction to the subject. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, encompassing issues of strategy, structure, systems and human resource management, the text introduces the reader to the concept of knowledge before examining how, and whether, knowledge can be managed within the organizations in which we work. Three brand new chapters have been included in the second edition, enhancing the book's coverage of leadership, defining knowledge management, and examining how organizations replace and "unlearn" knowledge. New case examples and longer end of chapter case studies have been added to this new edition, with other features including definition boxes, further reading and review questions being retained. Online Resource Centre Supporting resources, delivered online, are new for the second edition. Users of the website will find web links and extended cases which present knowledge management in virtual and knowledge-intensive firms, and global organizations.

 

1. Introduction: The Contemporary Importance of Knowledge and Knowledge Management; SECTION 1: EPISTEMOLOGIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT LITERATURE; 2. The Objectivist Perspective on Knowledge; 3. The Practice-Based Perspective on Knowledge; SECTION 2: AN INTRODUCTION TO KEY CONCEPTS; 4. What is Knowledge Management?; 5. Knowledge Intensive Firms and Knowledge Workers; 6. Learning and Knowledge Management; SECTION 3: KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND LOSS; 7. Innovation Dynamics and Knowledge Processes; 8. Forgetting and Unlearning Knowledge; SECTION 4: SOCIO-CULTURAL ISSUES RELATED TO MANAGING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE; 9. The Influence of Socio-Cultural Factors in Motivating Workers to Participate in Knowledge Management Initiatives; 10. Communities of Practice; 11. Cross Community, Boundary Spanning Knowledge Processes; 12. Power, Politics, Conflict, and Knowledge Processes; 13. Information and Communication Technologies and Knowledge Management; 14. Facilitating Knowledge Management via Culture Management and HRM Practices; 15. Leadership and Knowledge Management; 16. The Production and Consumption of Knowledge on Knowledge Management and Some Reflections on Its Future as a Subject