Product Description
This resource provides a thorough, up-to-date understanding of knowledge management (KM) and details the techniques needed to identify, manage, control the flow, store, and share access to information. Utilizing real-world case studies and in-depth discussions, the book is designed to help the reader develop a strategy for implementing programs to take advantage of the power of knowledge, create systems to make knowledge readily available throughout an organization, and prepare directory systems that provide a source for locating and interacting with knowledge workers and automating the sharing of knowledge. From leveraging intangible knowledge assets, enterprise data warehousing, and data quality, to the three-level model for managing knowledge, the network economy, and groupware tools, the authors cover critical KM topics and show how knowledge management is a key strategic tool. Moreover, the book shows how to formulate an effective knowledge management policy that addresses technological, organizational and process elements. ... Read more

Product Description
Provides new concepts about how knowledge in organizations can be created and used for competitive advantage by describing knowledge-enabling conditions.Discusses 'practical approach' approaches to the amorphous, constantly evolving human realm of knowledge. DLC: Creativity ability in business. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Documented and thoughtful
This book made me discover knowledge management. It is very well documented, very thougthful, easy to read... An excellent starting point.

Knowledge Enabling not KM !!
I had a pleasant surprise when a friend of mine decided to gift me "Enabling Knowledge Creation" by Georg Von Krogh, Kazuo Ichijo and Ikujiro Nonaka. It forms a sequel to "the Knowledge Creating Company" co-authored by Nonaka and Takeuchi published in 1995 . The first book was a seminal work which has profoundly influenced my views on Knowledge Creation (Nonaka refuses to entertain the concept of KM , resolutely denying that Knowledge
can ever be managed!) along with writers like Tom Davenport and Larry Prusak. However, the first book was open to a lot of criticism saying that it was just too "theoretic", "vague" and "generalised" ...Nonaka et al try and get more hands on, and tool bookish with this book.

However, this book is likely to disturb people who have read and formed ideas about KM by reading works of the American thought leaders.

In the start of the book the authors try and make the difference explicit.

In a passage titled "what's wrong with knowledge management?" they spell it out :

Pitfall I: KM relies on easily detectable, quantifiable information.
Pitfall II: KM is devoted to the manufacture of tools.
Pitfall III: KM depends on a Knowledge Officer.

While the premises of Knowledge Enabling and Creation are:

Premise I: Knowledge is justified true belief, individual and social, tacit and explicit.
Premise II: Knowledge depends on your perspective.
Premise III: Knowledge Creation is a craft , not a science.

The authors reiterate that organizational Knowledge Creation involves five main steps :

1. Sharing tacit knowledge
2. Creating concepts
3. Justifying concepts
4. Building a prototype
5. Cross-leveling knowledge.

To facilitate this the following 5 enablers need to be in place :

1. instill a knowledge vision
2. manage conversations
3. mobilize knowledge activits
4. Create the right context
5. Globalize local knowledge

The book is rich in case studies which show how different companies that follow these concepts are growing in leaps and bounds and innovating over others who remain stuck in the KM paradigm.

The authors note that in the Knowledge journey companies can be mapped in 3 phases, which might or might not be sequential.

1. The Risk Minimisers , whose focus is capturing and locating knowledge. The tools they use are data warehousing, datamining, Yellow pages, IC-Navigator, Balanced Scorecard, Knowledge Audits, IC-Index, Business Information Systems, Rule-based systems [these firms still view knowledge as a resource that needs to be collected and managed]

2. The Efficiency Seekers, who focus on transferring and sharing knowledge. The tools they use are internets, intranets, Lotus Notes/Groupware, Networked organization, knowledge workshops, knowledge workbench, Best Practice Transfer, Benchmarking, Knowledge-gap analysis, Knowledge sharing culture, Technology transfer units, Knowledge transfer units, Systems Thinking

3. The Innovators who enable Knowledge creation are typically those who embrace a knowledge vision, managing conversations, creating the right context, mobilize knowledge activists, globalize local knowledge, professional innovation networks, new organizational forms, New HRM-systems, new corporate values, project management systems, corporate universities, communities and storyboards.

Highly Recommended!
Dust off those liberal arts degrees before opening this challenging treatise on knowledge management, written by a trio of academics who call themselves "constructionists," quote Sartre and speak passionately of "post-modernism." Their work explains how to gain initiative and constructive input from workers by modifying traditional command structures - a grounded approach that is much more realistic than the revolutionary conversions called for by other experts. Managers who balk at the thought of granting autonomy or increased access to their employees may well be converted away from their hierarchical dogma here. We at getAbstract particularly recommend the lively knowledge-creation case histories and the wonderful section explaining how companies can create valid, imaginative futures. (What if IBM had imagined a world in which software was more important than mainframes?)

Sustainable advantage through knowledge enabling
In the many publications on Knowledge Management, the writings by Von Krogh and Nonaka (and, in this case, Ichijo) stand out in a number of aspects: 1) their emphasis of knowledge "management" as anessentially human and social process 2) their emphasis on linking knowledgemanagement with strategic focus and business results 3) the inspiringexamples and writing style.

This book is a clear showcase of theseelements. It provides a profound yet pragmatic guidance on the road tobecoming a learning organisation.Where capturing & locating, andtransferring & sharing knowledge are essential in achieving competitiveadvantage through knowledge, the real source of sustainable advantage is,as the authors claim, the continuous creation of new knowledge, as a resultof developing a strategic vision and an enabling organisation and cultureto realise that (evolving) vision.

Being involved in implementing anumber of the concepts in our organisation, I am convinced this bookprovides many ideas and tools that will help today's corporate world inreshaping our business for the knowledge economy.

Highly recommended!

Focus on knowledge creation, but what about integration?
The author's of this book are leading thinkers in the KM field. Perhaps the best way to describe this book is as a sequel to Nonaka's earlier 1995 book. But, we all remember what happened to Scarlett,again a much toutedsequel. Although this book was a slight disappointment since Nonaka has setreader's expectations a little too high with his earlier groundbreakingtitle "The Knowledge Creating ompany" that, for the most part,defined KM as we know it. An academic reader will appreciate theytheoretical insights provided and extensive references to supportingliterature. But there are some aspects that this book underplays: 1.Knowledge creation is fine, but knowledge integration is perhaps asimportant---an issue to which the authors pay little attention. 2.Excellent ideas aside, this book underplays the significance of empiricalevidence and most cases tend to be descriptive qualitative analyses. 3. Therole of technology is highly underplayed.4. The book has"sufficient" overlap with the authors' research papers in theuropean Management Journal. For academic readers who have read those, thismight be a little disappointing. 5. The concept of KM and it's relationshipwith innovation at architectural and component levels is not described inmuch detail.

On the positive side, you will find that: 1) Lots of issuesthat were barely touched uponin Nonaka's preceding book are described infurther detail. 2) The book is very well written and the tone is accsibleto both academic and non-academic readers. 3) the concept of BA iselucidated in further detail Readers who do not follow academic researchjournals might find that an interesting extension. 4) A link betweenstrategy and KM is well illustrated. For businesses, KM is of little valueif there are no results. The authors describe how to look for those results(or in lay terms, ROI). Academic readers will also find Nonaka's recentpaper in a recent issue of Organization Science (2000) to be of muchinterest. Academic readers must also realize that the approach here seemsto be "post modern," and indeed quite qualitative in the Europeanresearch tradition.

To sum my opinion, this book is a worthy addition tothe bookshelves; but, it is not to be read without reading Nonaka'spreceding book "The Knowledge Creating Company." A word ofwarning is in order: Academic readers will enjoy this title however,managerial readers might find it a little heavy and abstract. Indeed, thisbook stands out of the crowd with three authors who are well respected inthe American research circles---consequently, its high overall qualitycomes as no surprise. Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Knowledge is a corporate asset which needs to be identified, guarded and shared. Corporate Memory: Strategies for Knowledge Management shows the innovative manager how to explore its company's intangible asset, identify knowledge within his organization culture and look towards knowledge sharing. This book will help you: identify whether your company is a 'knowledge-based company'; understand the context for knowledge management within your organization; determine the culture of your organization and determine to what extent it will support knowledge sharing; understand the ways your company generates knowledge, thus determining whether you are using it to its potential or losing it; survey, elicit and capture knowledge; design and mount a campaign to identify critical knowledge functions; design a collaborative knowledge generating venture; put together an action plan to build the right infrastructure to support knowledge sharing in your organization.Intellectual Capital Series: Intellectual Capital: Core Assets for the Third Millennium Enterprise; Dream Ticket: Corporate Strategy with Intellectual Capital; Corporate Memory: Strategies for Knowledge Management; Invisible Strength: Building Corporate Infrastructure That Work ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Egocentric author who puts little value on Experts
I thought the author was high on herself and down on anybody with a little knowledge.She presents Knowledge Management with a "black and white" attitude.This is right and that is wrong.It's very simple minded conversation about an extremely complex subject matter.Also, she uses generic and vague statements like "Know who needs to know what in the Orgnaization."That's obvious, tell me how to do that.What tools, work processes?She doesn't give much details on this.In summary, the book provides very little insight to solving a very complex matter.It's merely a gather of vague, wonderful proverbs!

"Critical Knowledge Can be Transient"
Annie Brooking writes, "In order to manage knowledge within the organization some decisions have to be made. What knowledge is important? Where do we start? Should we manage the knowledge of all employees or just a select few. Which select few? Should we get everyone to document what they know? Wait a minute...if they are documenting everything they know when do they have time to do their jobs? It's a conundrum, let's not even get into whether or not it's possible to document all the types of knowledge a company must be interested in. The solution is as usual to focus; to look at the types of knowledge which are essential to the company in order to enable it to achieve its corporate goals."

In this context, in Chapter 3, she shows some examples of types of knowledge which can be critical in a company as following:

1. Knowledge of a particular job such as how to remove the wings from an aircraft or how to clean out a boiler.

2. Knowledge of who knows what in a company.

3. Knowledge of how to get things done in a company-using the culture to maximum effect.

4. Knowledge of who is best to perform a particular job or task.

5. Knowledge of corporate history, why the company works the way it does.

6. Knowledge of a particular customer account.

7. Knowledge of a geography, country and its business customs.

8. Knowledge of how to put together a team that can achieve a particular task.

9. Knowledge of how to approach a particular problem which is difficult to solve.

Finally, she writes about critical knowledge that "it's important not to fall into a false sense of security when considering critical knowledge in the organization, as it may be the case that know-how which is important today, this month or this year is not important next year. Understanding the dynamics of the business is important in manipulating the organization to perform as best it can every day."

Highly recommended.

A great introduction and a great value
Brooking provides a concise description of the collection, organization, and management of corporate knowledge.This book is economical in its description, as well as its price.Good examples of the concepts throughout the text.

Technologies for knowledge management will come andgo.This book focuses on the human element, understanding how we know whatwe know, and the processes needed to elicit, capture, and maintainknowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
What fuels long-term business success? Not operational excellence, technology breakthroughs, or new business models, but management innovation - new ways of mobilizing talent, allocating resources, and formulating strategies. Through history, management innovation has enabled companies to cross new performance thresholds and build enduring advantages. In "The Future of Management", Gary Hamel argues that organizations need management innovation now more than ever. Why? The management paradigm of the last century - centred on control and efficiency - no longer suffices in a world where adaptability and creativity drive business success. To thrive in the future, companies must reinvent management.Hamel explains how to turn your company into a serial management innovator, revealing: the make-or-break challenges that will determine competitive success in an age of relentless, head-snapping change; the toxic effects of traditional management beliefs; the unconventional management practices generating breakthrough results in 'modern management pioneers'; the radical principles that will need to become part of every company's 'management DNA'; and, the steps your company can take now to build your 'management advantage'.Practical and profound, "The Future of Management" features examples from Google, W.L. Gore, Whole Foods, IBM, Samsung, Best Buy, and other blue-ribbon management innovators. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

I'm throwing away all my other Management Books
This has just surpassed 'E-Myth' as my favorite book on business management and has made it impossible to read a 'traditional' management book or article in the same light as before.It was recommended to me by an instructor in a business process re-engineering class and my mind has been spinning with the possibilities since the first chapter.It meshes with my own perspective of the 'right' way to manage people and I am sure that influences my opinion, but it builds an excellent case for the 'maverik' business models of companies like Whole Foods, Google and Gore. If I have to give a criticism, it is full of thought provoking theory, but short on 'how to'. If you think bureaucracy is killing the productivity and creativity of your company, read this book.

All factors point to the fact that "Innovation" is management's future - Hamel is peerless!
Of all the books I've read on building competitive advantage, Gary Hamel's "The Future of Mangement" is the best! Hamel's thoughts deliver the most thorough, authentic, realistic, evidenced-based, significant, and more importantly, "relevant" case for the future of management compared to any other business/mamgement thinker!
Do yourself a favor, buy this book; digest its principles, become a management innovator, become a true leader. The future is now.

A Wake-Up Call
"The Futureof Management" is a wake-up call for those in the bureaucratic class who believe that they can preserve their 19th century management model in a post-Internet world. Gary Hamel rattles this belief by cogently noting that sometime over the next decade every company will be challenged to change in a way for which there is no precedent. That's because we are reaching the limits of management as most ofus have known it. Hamel observes that most of today's managers are "poltergeists" blindly following the rules and conventions of an obsolete technology whose heyday was in the early years of the 20th century. As a consequence, the main constraint and the greatest threat to the continued success of most companies may very well be their own managers.

"The Future of Management" makes a compelling case for the need for a paradigm shift in the ways managers lead organizations in our new century. The most successful companies over the next decade will be those who write the new rules for the new age spawned by the social revolution that is now gathering on the Web. To thrive in this increasingly disruptive world, managers will need to learn how to coordinate the efforts ofthousands of individuals without creating burdensome hierarchies. Because the Web is turning the traditional smoke-stack management model on its head, the underlying technology of management will need to be reinvented.

Reinventing management means coming to terms with the new reality that, in a web-based world, the most effective organizations are collaborative communities. Letting go of hierarchical bureaucracies and embracing collaborative communities will demand a mental revolution and an imaginative leap that will be both uncomfortable and unfamiliar for the typical manager. However, if you are ready to take the leap, this book will help you to image the innovative possibilities for a new architecture of participation and collaboration so that you can become part of the reinvention of the new discipline that is the future of management.

Brilliant!
Innovation is a developing issue nowadays. If you want to follow the best steps to implement successful innovation strategies, you MUST read this book. You will be surprised to find that one of the most important business innovation strategy is located inside you, as responsible of your organization.
Going deep through management innovation, it is a obscure and difficult matter to analyze. Here again, Hamel shows us one of the most hidden frontiers to innovation.
Evidence in management innovation is still a pending subject, but the door which Hamel has opened, will soon develop new ways and reports, which can lead to another way to reach the innovation impact everyone wants to get from the market.

Insights on possible management revolution

Gary Hamel's "Future of Management" suggests that the 20th century management styles have come to an end and a different management paradigm is to be expected in the 21th century. He demonstrates several problems that will need to be solved in the 21th century, uses several case studies and gives ideas on how we might expect management to change. The book is an insightful and thought provoking book which tries to challenge deep management assumptions.

The book consists of four parts. In the first part (two chapters) Hamel demonstrates that management styles in the world have been the same for the last 50 years, there hasn't been major management innovations. He states that the potential benefits of management innovation are much larger than strategic or operational innovation and that therefore... this is important.

The second part covers three case studies of management innovation. The first case study is Whole Foods Market which is strongly team-based and locally management. The second case study is WL Gore which where there are no managers, only leaders elected by followers and the last case study is google with its focus on innovation and small teams.

The third part sets the agenda for creating management innovation. Management innovation contains three ingredients. First, a structured method for challenging current management assumptions and brainstorming alternatives. Second, new principles need to be adopted as the old principles behind management (such as command, control, hierarchy, standardization) do not work anymore in the 21th century. Last, current management alternatives need to be studies (such as the earlier case studies) to learn what they did different, how, and if that can also work in your company.

The last part of the "change chapter" of how can you bring this to your organization. First Hamel introduces two different case studies of small management innovation (which were not very convincing) and tries to extract lessons that you can use in your journey to become a management innovator. The final chapter, Hamel speculates that management 2.0 will be like web 2.0... a social web of relationships. He closes the book with stating that he doesn't know how management will change... but it will change in the next 20 years.

I found the future of management an insightful book. It tries to ask questions and give examples rather than give you the answers to how to manage your company. It is well written, very relevant, concrete and yet also highly conceptual. It is definitively recommended for managers who want to make their companies a better place to work. ... Read more

Product Description

The need for resolution of knowledge inconsistency arises in many practical applications of computer systems. This kind of inconsistency results from the use of various resources of knowledge in realizing practical tasks. These resources often are autonomous and use different mechanisms for processing knowledge about the same real world. This can lead to inconsistency. This book provides a wide snapshot of intelligent technologies for inconsistency resolution.

Features and topics include: Knowledge inconsistency resolving; consensus and conflict theories; inconsistency of knowledge – syntactic and semantic; methods based on inconsistency measures for inconsistency processing; knowledge conflict profiles; conflicts of ontologies; practical aspects of applications of proposed methods.

This book presents state-of-the-art research, filling a void in the literature within the field and offers researchers and graduates an invaluable source of reference on the topic.

Product Description
The value of an organization is given not just by its tangible assets but also by the knowledge embodied in its employees and in its internal and external structures. While explicit knowledge can be shared as information and is easy to handle, this tacit knowledge has been neglected by effectiveness-oriented management techniques but is crucial for both the operational efficiency and the core competencies of an organization. This book provides a survey of the use of information technology for knowledge management, and its chapters present specific research on how technologies such as computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), workflow, and groupware can support the creation and sharing of knowledge in organizations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good but Expensive book
Interesting book...primarily intended for an academic audience....shows a lot of examples and tools... ... Read more

Product Description
The fastest growing sector of the financial services industry requires professionals from the fastest growing industry in history. There are reports of a shortage of private bankers and wealth managers across the globe and consequently a shortage of business-aligned IT professionals that support the business. Private banks and wealth management firms are stocking up on IT staff - and they're less fussy. "Business Knowledge for IT in Private Wealth Management" is packed with information that will ensure that IT professionals become as knowledgeable about the business of private wealth management as their business counterparts. The information contained therein includes: overview of private wealth management including discussions of boutique PWMs and family offices; recent trends in the private management industry; portfolio construction; and, regulatory and tax issues and the systems used in private wealth management firms and family offices.Contributors to this book include Chris Skinner of Balatro, International Private Banking Systems, Odyssey , Thomson, Pyxis Mobile, Taylor Young Investments, Oracle, FinObjects , Pulse Software and more.'"Business Knowledge for IT in Private Wealth Management" is an invaluable handbook for professionals working in private wealth management and crossovers. It is targeted at IT professionals such as: Project Managers; Application Developers; Development Managers; Test Managers; Business Analysts; Data Analysts; Systems Analysts; Test Analysts; Support Analysts; Database Administrators; and, HR staff responsible for IT recruitment. This book is concise ensuring that readers don't get distracted by superfluous information. ... Read more

Product Description

Enhances the use of enterprise models as an effective communication medium between business and technical personnel.

Details the blue-print of the to-be developed business system.

Product Description
Is public administration an art or a science? This question of whether the field is driven by values or facts will never be definitively answered due to a lack of consensus among scholars. The resulting divide has produced many heated debates; however, in this pioneering volume, Norma Riccucci embraces the diversity of research methods rather than suggesting that there is one best way to conduct research in public administration. "Public Administration" examines the intellectual origins and identity of the discipline of public administration, its diverse research traditions, and how public administration research is conducted today. The book's intended purpose is to engage reasonable-minded public administration scholars and professionals in a dialogue on the importance of heterogeneity in epistemic traditions, and to deepen the field's understanding and acceptance of its epistemological scope. This important book will provide a necessary overview of the discipline for graduate students and scholars. ... Read more

Product Description
Today, no one is, nor can be, an expert in everything. In every challenge, it is easy to feel that you don't know enough to keep up with the accelerating pace of change inside our organisations, let alone the world outside. Start with the assumption that somebody somewhere has already done what you are trying to do. How can you find out whom, and learn from them? Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put knowledge management theory into practice, sharing the tools used and the experience and insights gained by two leading practitioners.

Completely updated for the second edition, Learning to Fly shares the authors’ experiences from BP and other leading knowledge organisations.and incorporates new material on implementation and best practice, including a CD-ROM with KM tools and exercises.

“Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell show how new ideas and tools are making working and learning inseparable.” Peter Senge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Most practical bookl
If you are wanting to implement knowledge management, look for practical advice here. I always recommend this book in project knowledge environments. These authors have a wealth of experience and are very approachable too.

Definitely not a masterpiece
Learning to Fly is fairly useful as a general overview of knowledge management principles, but it is far from great.

First, it doesn't quite live up to the promise made in the blurb: 'Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put theory into practice'. For one thing, there's very little theory in the book, which is not necessarily a bad thing -- just don't expect to gain a deeper understanding of the discipline by reading this book. But even the practical guidelines are a bit shallow and don't always give the reader a very clear idea of how things can be implemented.

Take, for instance, the crucial point of how to get started, presented in chapter 12 ('Embedding it in the organization', the second-to-last chapter). Here's all the authors have to say about the 'starting' stage (pp. 170-171):

"Starting with something simple. Applying one of the tools and techniques in this book to address a simple part of the issue is a good start. Demonstrating a 'quick win' is important to gain the interest and commitment of the team. If they see that these techniques can be applied, without spending too much time on them, to deliver some tangible results, then they are likely to come back for more. We have found it best to introduce some formality after this stage into the planning. What specifically will be done, what are the costs and the benefits and will the team commit some resources to it?"

That's it. They don't suggest, or give an example of, what might constitute a 'simple part of an issue' that could be used for a quick, low-cost demonstration. Since all the useful tools and techniques mentioned in the book have to do with changing the way a whole team, if not the whole organization, works, I would very much like to be given an example of how a 'quick win' can be accomplished. Surely not by suggesting a peer assist that will mobilize a bunch of people for a whole day -- management will never agree to that if they can't see the value of KM to start with.

Second, the book is written in an informal style that is probably supposed to give it a down-to-earth, let's-get-our-hands-dirty feel. But it's actually just not very well written and even more poorly edited (as evidenced by numerous ungrammatical bits like 'at the time when it most useful' and 'who are the people are involved') which, together with the shoddy typography, reveal overall carelessness and subpar organization.

Last, there's a lot of white space surrounding each paragraph, so the 220 pages could probably easily fit into 120 or so well laid-out pages.

The bottom line: U$25 is a steep price to pay for just okay contents packaged in a poorly designed paperback.

The Best Yet
Very down-to-earth, applicable guidelines for building a learning environment within an organization. Focuses on tools and techniques and difficult issues of embedding habits of sharing/learning.
I've read a lot of knowledge management books and this is the one our organization is using as a "starting point" for our efforts.

Don't hesitate...
...trust me and the other reviewers. you will have to wait for a long time to come across another book equally informative, full of sound practical advice, and entertaining. proceed to check-out now.

Insightful!
The knowledge management craze may be passing right before our eyes, but Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell do a good job explaining what's behind all the hype. Although a bit dry in tone, the authors manage to capture the critical elements of KM and explain the whys and hows as they relate to individual businesses. Despite a somewhat sterile presentation, we from getAbstract recommend this book as a thorough introduction to knowledge management theory and practice. ... Read more

Product Description
The efficient and effective creation, transfer, sharing and management of knowledge remain on the critical business agenda. They are key methods of gaining and sustaining competitive advantage for relatively little financial investment.

In fact, knowledge management increases in importance as the products and services of more and more companies exist as ideas and innovations. Knowledge management is equally applicable to the intangible and the tangible. The management of knowledge and therefore diversity also grows in significance the quicker and more complex organisations become. These issues are important for businesses both small and large, and this book has been written to address companies of all sizes.

With effective knowledge management you can expect a reinvigorated corporate culture, an accessible pool of talent and creativity, a motivated and flexible workforce, loyal customers and more efficient systems and processes. This book will enable you to benchmark best practice, measure and leverage intangible assets, and implement quickly and effectively relevant knowledge management practices. It will be of particular interest for mid- to senior- level execs, owner-managers of SMEs, consultants, trainers and business advisers. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (33)

Crystal clear, highly effective advice
I picked up Behind Closed Doors right when it came out in late 2005 because, as a programmer, I was a fan of the Pragmatic series and I was curious about what they had come out with on the topic of management. What a great decision! I immediately began applying the advice and techniques described in the book and seeing success:

* I setup one-on-one's with by boss.
* I got better at prioritizing my work, which made me more productive.
* I finally figured out how to set reasonable expectations with the sales team.
* I began developing mentoring relationships between my peers.

It wasn't long before I found myself earning more and more responsibility. I became an unofficial leader at the company. When my boss finally asked what my secret was, I pointed to Behind Closed Doors on my bookshelf and told him I'd been trying a few things from it.

After reading the book himself, my boss went out and bought enough copies for the entire management team at our company and handed them out. On my next review I got a VERY nice raise, and was promoted to manager.

Five years later, I still reference the book occasionally. Whether its to figure out how to improve a meeting thats usefulness has become questionable, or to step-in and save an ailing project, or to coach an unhappy team member, the book is a great source of solid, well reasoned approaches to difficult problems.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to improve themselves and their peers professionally, even if you're not in management but especially if you are.

Decent at best
This book is a "by example" style book.It makes up a fake manager in a fake office with fake situations and tries to use that to emphasize its points.This makes it easier to read than a text book, but has the downside of making it both very prescriptive and very limiting.Most of what is recommended will not apply to you unless you fill the same role as the fake manager they follow in the book.

That said, the book does recommend some good practices.But over all, I found it to be too focused on special cases and not broad enough for its techniques to be extended and applied in circumstances not specifically addressed in the book.

Stolen book
Sir:
My only review is that the book that I ordered...someone stole it somewhere in mailing to me.Fortunately the seller contacted me to refund my money.I appreciate that.Other than that, I appreciate the respectable business you have!BZ!R/Mike

Rothman & Derby are reliable guides

Rothman and Derby won't steer you wrong.This is one of the best basic management books you can buy.There are few books as devoid of faddish buzzwordism as this short text.Nothing here is new.Nothing is revolutionary.Everything is the most reliable good sense.After reading this guide, you feel as though you have been given a great orientation seminar by consultants you trust.

One can concur fully with the reviews that didn't find this book revealing of any closed-door secrets ... and all the same find this book supremely helpful in making the most of a first-time opportunity to manage staff.

The fact that the lessons are broken down to the most elemental protocols of behaviors in no way means that a first-time manager can easily come up with this stuff on his or her own.Indeed, that's the whole point.Sure, it's not rocket science, but one's unexamined, ill-fitting habits are the most obvious culprits when the chemistry isn't there.If one has been developing skills in a research or contracting environment, the likelihood is you'll blow many basic opportunities to build bonds of good rapport with your team.This book is a great guide to finding opportunities you may have missed in those situations.

And, it should be noted that this book can be applied equally well to any management specialty -- there's nothing here that is relevant to software design and related niches.I work on international economic development projects.

A Must-Read For Managers and Technical Leads
In my opinion, this book is a must-read for every Manager and Technical-Lead on the planet.

The book is a fictional story centered around a Manager whom has just been hired on at a company. For the next 8 weeks, it follows him around, showing the reader how he handles the issues that arise with his direct reports (four managers). Personality issues, prioritization - it's all here. It's awesome.

I'm a technical lead, looking to make the jump to Architect. Much of an Architects job (at least where I work), is about influencing and mentoring others. This book has given me a wealth of insight into how to deal with the management aspect of the job at the next level.

I highly recommend. ... Read more

Product Description
A company's success ultimately depends on each worker's completion of an infinite series of little "now's". To achieve peak efficiency in a climate of "now", organizations must use all possible resources to support each individual's performance of various tasks. "Integrated Performance Support" (IPS), a new concept developed by Andersen Consulting, helps employees perform to their optimum capability. This book shows how IPS builds specific information and tools directly into business processes and systems, enabling workers to independently solve problems on the job. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must read for anyone involved in performance improvement
I bought FutureWork after I had already read it. Check out our summary & reactions to this great book at http://www.uwm.edu:80/People/kenhahn/brhome.htm ... Read more

Product Description
Knowledge management is becoming more and more important in a changing business climate, as organizations are faced with tremendous competitive pressures. Technological developments such as e-commerce have made company strategies and customer interfacing more visible, so this resource-based view of strategy has become a key issue in gaining differentiation in the eyes of the customer and maintaining competitive advantage. Knowledge management skills and processes are crucial to this, as they leverage a companyÆs renewable, reusable and accumulating assets.This book provides an essential guide to the area of knowledge management, and specifically highlights new developments such as Knowledge Management Systems. Featuring insights and perspectives from contributors from the UK, Europe and the USA, this book presents cutting edge theory and evidence about the use of information technology for the management of organizational knowledge. The book is split into three sections:Experiences in KMS Practice, featuring practical case studies taken from well-known companies and organizationsDesigning KMS Enterprise Architectures, explaining different structures for integrating and sharing knowledge within an organisationImplementing KM Solutions, which demonstrates the fundamental principles to implementing systems, and the hurdles that must be facedThis book covers a fast-growing topic in great depth, and will prove invaluable to students taking Knowledge Management courses on degrees in Business, Management or Information Systems. It is also a useful guide for practitioners contemplating new technological developments in the field. ... Read more

Product Description
If you are responsible for the management of an intelligence enterprise operation and its timely and accurate delivery of reliable intelligence to key decision-makers, this book is must reading. It is the first easy-to-understand, system-level book that specifically applies knowledge management principles, practices and technologies to the intelligence domain. The book describes the essential principles of intelligence, from collection, processing and analysis, to dissemination for both national intelligence and business applications.

This unique resource provides a balanced treatment of the organizational and architectural components of knowledge management, offering a clear understanding of the system infrastructure, tools and technologies necessary to implement the intelligence enterprise. You explore real-world applications and get a detailed example of a competitive intelligence unit design. Including over 80 illustrations, the book offers a highly practical description of enterprise architecture design methodology, and covers the full range of national, military, business and competitive intelligence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Magnum Opus for Organizational Decision-Making
Ed Waltz has produced a book that is far more useful and important than its title or intended audience suggest.It is perhaps the single finest soup-to-nuts how-to manual on how an organization can design its decision-making processes to maximize utility, whether this takes the form of national security or profit or anything in between.

Waltz covers knowledge management (KM) encyclopedically, from the intake of data on the external and internal environments (e.g., the market or the battlespace and the organization's own capabilities and situation), through the processing and assessment of the data, to its finished state as an input to rational decision-making.Topics include the basic principles of intelligence in the classic national security sense, through the epistemology and methodology of knowledge-creation and -management, the characteristics of a learning organization, analytical and synthetic methods, and the IT implications -- what network, data and computational systems and tools are required to implement advanced organizational learning, and the power these can confer.

The unexpected importance of the book lies in its applicability across the entire spectrum of organizational planning and decision-making.In this regard, 'intelligence' is simply a rubric for information and knowledge, which can be applied to national intelligence, military planning, and in fact to all governmental agencies, private-sector corporations, law firms, hospitals, etc. -- all organizations, that is, that plan and decide based on data and analysis -- which would seem to cover most of them.

Waltz emphasizes the information-technological dimensions of KM and ideal reasoning processes organizations need to implement.The only topic that remains to be discussed involves human cognition, group processes and organizational culture and specifically how these behavioral tendencies impede perfect rationality and how management can overcome this impediment.Psychologists, however, have provided a substantial literature on cognition, while basic research and theory in the socio-cultural dimensions remains immature.

For organizational managers who have read the theoretical literature on learning organizations and knowledge management (e.g., Peter Senge and Nonaka & Takeuchi), Waltz's volume is the practical and technical handbook for actual corporate implementation.Given its value, its price, which is steep for individuals, is a pittance for those who need it most.

Moreover, for a technical treatise that warrants close study, the book is surprisingly easy to read.Although packed with complex concepts and interrelated processes, the graphics are extensive and clear and the text is engaging.The reader feels like he is receiving a personal briefing by the author, who now (2005) is Chief Scientist of BAE Systems Advanced Information Technologies.

Insightful and well documented
The information in this book is applicable to a wide variety of organizations. It is packed full of visual models and tables. The literature is cited appropriately and not excessively. It is a small book but not a quick read. It contains insights that I have not seen in other places, such as a brief reference to the relevance to Jungian personality theory (as implemented by Myers and Briggs) to the design of a collaborative culture. I think the book is worth the price because of the number and quality of the insights it contains. The author writes clearly. There is some use of symbolic logic and formulas.Most of the ideas are communicated in text and/or by visual models.

An excellent KM reference and "How to Do It" book!
This book is a must read for analysts, their managers and analytic solutions developers.

Ed Waltz's newest book "Knowledge Management in the Intelligence Enterprise" capitalizes quite handily on the theoretical and practical aspects of "information theory" as presented in his previous book "Information Warfare Principles and Operations" and his extensive contacts and experience with the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Waltz's book provides a comprehensive reference that readily marries the technologies, techniques and latest theories and practices of Knowledge Management with the priorities, real-world evolutionary pressure, culture and tradecraft of the U. S. Intelligence Community. He artfully covers the complex trade offs between organizational culture, social trends, real-world realities and analytical innovation.

There are more good ideas and success paths identified within its pages than any other book that I have read in the Knowledge Management field. His insights and prescribed solutions warrant close study and contemplation by anyone involved in developing, fielding or using advanced analytical methods whether they are in government or private industry.

This book is not a "coffee table" book or a Clancy page turner, but could easily serve as a graduate level text book for developing, fielding and using advanced analytical methods against a wide range of challenging problems. His writing style is very methodical and concise.He is rigorous in citing authoritative sources and his writings are extensively footnoted. (The extensive footnotes and associated hyperlinks may well be worth the price of the book alone.)

Mr. Waltz is currently the Technical Director of Intelligence Systems at Veridian. ... Read more

Product Description
'Learning through Knowledge Management' provides an insightful overview of the main issues integrating learning and Knowledge Management.It offers a rich resource of case examples that highlight Knowledge Management in practice.



The text explores and defines learning and Knowledge Management concepts, and deals with the elements that play an important part in determining implementation success in the organization. The chapters present a managerially oriented discussion of the following key areas:

* The role of processes in managing knowledge
* The behavioural side of Knowledge Management
* Leadership reflexes for knowledge management success
* The key features of Information Technology required for Knowledge Management
* The future of Knowledge Management as part of organization management.

There are many case studies which include:
British Airways
BP Amoco
Ford
Hewlett Packard
Xerox
Swedish Police
IBM

The case studies encompass a diverse and broad range of sectors, maturity of practice, problems and approaches to Knowledge Management.


Unique in explicitly drawing together the related thinking in the popular areas of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, and using this as the focal point
Includes original case studies to back up theory
Gives a single author overview of what can be a specialist field, making it a good introduction to the behavioural side of the subject ... Read more

Product Description
Integrative Document and Content Management: Strategies for Exploiting Enterprise Knowledge blends theory and practice to provide practical knowledge and guidelines to enterprises wishing to understand the importance of managing documents to their operations along with presentation of document content to facilitate business planning and operations support. This book gives extensive pointers to those who propose to embark upon the implementation of integrated document management systems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Integrative Document & Content Management book review
Covers all the relevant aspects of DMS and more.Very comprehensive. ... Read more

Product Description
For graduate-level courses in Knowledge Management and Decision Support Systems.This 17 chapter, brand new text presents a multiperspective approach to KM (Knowledge Management): it spans electrical engineering, artificial intelligence, information systems, and business. Comprehensive yet clearly and concisely written, Knowledge Management is simultaneously strong in managerial, technical, and systemic aspects of KM, providing students with the right combination of theory, technology, and solutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Book received in good shape in timely manner
Satisfied with the book purchase, and would use Amazon for more book purchases in future

Great book
I've got it for a class, and both the class and the book are exceeding expectations.

Knowledge Management and KM Software Package
Excellent book! A must have for your library on the topic of KM. Gives you a good overview of the basics.

Good choice!
Good book, well organized and packed with useful information for inside and outside the classroom. ... Read more