'. . . a vast array of material that would be useful in a variety of courses and projects. Recommended.' - R.K. Murray, Choice

Knowledge Management (KM) is a hybrid discipline, containing elements of social sciences, technology and business. KM focuses on creating and sharing knowledge. The discipline is a holistic system for management of intellectual capital, organization change, knowledge creation and sharing, for continuous improvement and innovation, and organizational learning, resulting in increased value creation. This symbioses of disciplines takes place within the organizations' vision, purpose and strategy. Introduction to Knowledge Management provides a strategic roadmap for knowledge management and teaches how to implement KM in a company, step by step.

This book presents perspectives on the knowledge creation metaphor of learning, and elaborates the trialogical approach to learning. The knowledge creation metaphor differs from both the acquisition and the participation metaphors. In a nutshell trialogical approaches seek to engage learners in joint work with shared objects and artefacts mediated by collaboration technology. The theoretical underpinnings stem from different origins, including Bereiter and Scardamalia’s theory on knowledge building and Engeström’s activity theory. The authors in this collection introduce key concepts and techniques, explain tools designed and developed to support knowledge creation, and report results from case studies in specific contexts. The book chapters integrate theoretical, methodological, empirical and technological research, to elaborate the empirical findings and to explain the design of the knowledge creation tools. The target audiences for this book are researchers, teachers and Human Resource developers interested in new perspectives on collaborative learning, technology-mediated knowledge creation, and applications of this in their own settings, for higher education, teacher training and workplace learning. The book is the result of joint efforts from many contributors who took part in the Knowledge-practices Laboratory (KP-Lab) project (2006-2011) supported by EU FP6.

Written by some of the leading international scholars in the field, this book presents the current state-of-the-art in knowledge management. The book offers a strong response to the need for a body of scientific knowledge on the understanding, managing and measuring of knowledge in organizations and brings an international perspective to bear on the issues bridging theory and practice through case study illustrations from Europe, Japan and American companies.

As he did in his classic Synchronicity, Joseph Jaworski once again takes us on a mind-expanding journey, this time to the very heart of creativity and deep knowing. Institutions of all sorts are facing profound change today, with complexity increasing at a speed and intensity we’ve never experienced before. Jaworski came to realize that traditional analytical leadership approaches are inadequate for dealing creatively with this complexity. To effectively face these challenges, leaders need to access the Source from which truly profound innovation flows. Many people, including Jaworski himself, have experienced a connection with this Source, often when called upon to respond in times of crisis—moments of extreme spontaneity and intuitive insight. Actions simply flow through them, seemingly without any sort of conscious intervention. But these experiences are chance occurrences—ordinarily, we don’t know how to access the Source, and we even have a blind spot as to its very existence. In an extraordinarily wide-ranging intellectual odyssey, Jaworski relates his fascinating experiences with quantum physicists, cognitive scientists, indigenous leaders, and spiritual thinkers, all focused on getting to the heart of the Source. Ultimately, he develops four guiding principles that encompass the nature of the Source and what we need to do to stay in dynamic dialogue with it. Using the combination of narrative and reflection that made Synchronicity so compelling, Jaworski has written a book that illuminates the essential nature not only of visionary leadership but also of relationships, consciousness, and ultimately reality itself.

When The Knowledge-Creating Company (OUP; nearly 40,000 copies sold) appeared, it was hailed as a landmark work in the field of knowledge management. Now, Enabling Knowledge Creation ventures even further into this all-important territory, showing how firms can generate and nurture ideas by using the concepts introduced in the first book. Weaving together lessons from such international leaders as Siemens, Unilever, Skandia, and Sony, along with their own first-hand consulting experiences, the authors introduce knowledge enabling--the overall set of organizational activities that promote knowledge creation--and demonstrate its power to transform an organization's knowledge into value-creating actions. They describe the five key "knowledge enablers" and outline what it takes to instill a knowledge vision, manage conversations, mobilize knowledge activists, create the right context for knowledge creation, and globalize local knowledge. The authors stress that knowledge creation must be more than the exclusive purview of one individual--or designated "knowledge" officer. Indeed, it demands new roles and responsibilities for everyone in the organization--from the elite in the executive suite to the frontline workers on the shop floor. Whether an activist, a caring expert, or a corporate epistemologist who focuses on the theory of knowledge itself, everyone in an organization has a vital role to play in making "care" an integral part of the everyday experience; in supporting, nurturing, and encouraging microcommunities of innovation and fun; and in creating a shared space where knowledge is created, exchanged, and used for sustained, competitive advantage. This much-anticipated sequel puts practical tools into the hands of managers and executives who are struggling to unleash the power of knowledge in their organization.

This book arises from research conducted through Singapore’s National Institute of Education on such topics as integrating knowledge building pedagogies into Singaporean classrooms, with both students and teachers across school levels, from primary schools to high schools. Additionally, international scholars contribute research on theories of knowledge creation, methodological foundations of research on knowledge creation, knowledge creation pedagogies in classrooms and knowledge creation work involving educators. The book is organized in two sections. Section A focuses on theoretical, technological and methodological issues, where sources of justification for claims are predominantly theories and extant literature, although empirical evidence is used extensively in one chapter. Section B reports knowledge creation practices in schools, with teachers, students or both; the key sources of justification for claims are predominantly empirical evidence and narratives of experience The editor asserts that schools should focus on developing students’ capacity and disposition in knowledge creation work; at the same time, leaders and teachers alike should continue to develop their professional knowledge as a community. In the knowledge building vernacular, the chapters are knowledge artifacts – artifacts that not only document the findings of the editors and authors, but that also mediate future advancement in this area of research work. The ultimate aim of the book is to inspire new ideas, and to illuminate the path for researchers of similar interest in knowledge creation in education.

The Knowledge Evolution offers a unique and powerful road map for understanding knowledge creation, learning, and performance in everyday work. This book reframes current thinking by delving into the hidden world of knowledge supporting both individual and organizational performance, laying the foundation for the emerging art of knowledge management. Packed with best practices from leading edge companies, essential guidelines, design principles, analogies, and conceptual frameworks, it serves as a practical guidebook for mastering the Knowledge Era. It will help managers make more intelligent decisions about knowledge creation, reduce wasteful technology investments and lead to new ease and confidence in applying knowledge and learning principles for themselves and for their organizations. Verna Allee delves into current thinking and practice to unravel the genetic code of knowledge itself. This revolutionary approach has surfaced a simple and elegant knowledge archetype. She demonstrates how this archetype can help us deal with complexity and suggests ways of self-organizing that make profound sense in today's networked enterprises. From strategies for core knowledge competencies to the key components of individual expertise, The Knowledge Evolution zeroes in on the critical success factors for the knowledge-based enterprise. What emerges is an approach to knowledge management that is simple enough to communicate at every level of the organization, yet rich enough to encompass all the complexity of modern enterprises. Verna Allee is the founder of Integral Performance Group, a consulting practice in California that specializes in the learning organization, knowledge competencies, organizational systems change, systems thinking, total quality and learning, benchmarking support, best practices research, and strategic development. She holds a degree in the Study of Human Consciousness and her work is informed by a deep interest in intelligence, human development, cognition, intuition and consciousness. She is the author of Learning Links: Enhancing Individual and Team Performance, Pfeiffer and Co-Jossey Bass, 1996.

Promoting organizational knowledge is an important consideration for any business looking toward the future. Understanding the dynamics of knowledge-intensive organizations is a crucial first step in establishing a strong knowledge base for any organization. Organizational Knowledge Dynamics: Managing Knowledge Creation, Acquisition, Sharing, and Transformation introduces the idea that organizational knowledge is composed of three knowledge fields: cognitive knowledge, emotional knowledge, and spiritual knowledge. This book is useful for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in knowledge management, intellectual capital, human resources management, change management, and strategic management.

PRAISE FOR VALUE CREATION PRINCIPLES "In Value Creation Principles, Madden introduces the Pragmatic Theory of the Firm that positions the firm as a system fueled by human capital, innovation, and, at a deeper level, imagination. He challenges us to understand how we know what we think we know in order to better discover faulty assumptions that often are camouflaged by language. His knowledge building loop offers guideposts to design experiments and organize feedback to facilitate early adaptation to a changed environment and to avoid being mired in ways of thinking rooted in 'knowledge' of what worked well in the past—a context far different from the context of today. His book explains a way of being that enables those who work for, or invest in, business firms to see beyond accounting silos and short-term quarterly earnings and to focus on capabilities instrumental for creating long-term future and sustainable value for the firm's stakeholders. I can't recommend this astounding book enough especially given its deep and timely insights for our world today." —John Seely Brown, former Chief Scientist for Xerox Corp and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC); co-author with Ann Pendleton-Jullian of Design Unbound: Designing for Emergence in a White Water World "In contrast to existing abstract theories of the firm, Madden's pragmatic theory of the firm connects management's decisions in a practical way to a firm's life cycle and market valuation. The book promotes a firm's knowledge building proficiency, relative to competitors, as the fundamental driver of a firm's long-term performance, which leads to insights about organizational capabilities, intangible assets, and excess shareholder returns. Value Creation Principles is ideally suited to facilitate progress in the New Economy by opening up the process by which firms build knowledge and create value, which is a needed step in revising how neoclassical economics treats the firm." —Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University; co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution "Bartley Madden rightfully points out that both textbook and more advanced economic theories of the firm fail to address the concerns of top management and boards of directors. He offers a tantalizing pragmatic alternative that directly connects to quantitative changes in the firm's market value. His framework gives recognition to the importance of intangible assets, and his pragmatic approach is quite complementary to the Dynamic Capabilities framework that strategic managers implicitly and sometimes explicitly employ." —David J. Teece, Thomas W. Tusher Professor in Global Business, Faculty Director, Tusher Center for the Management of Intellectual Capital, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley