Creating The Discipline Of Knowledge Management

In this book Dr. Michael Stankosky, founder of the first doctoral program in knowledge management, sets out to provide a rationale and solid research basis for establishing Knowledge Management (KM) as an academic discipline. While it is widely known that Knowledge is the driver of our knowledge economy, Knowledge Management does not yet have the legitimacy that only rigorous academic research can provide. This book lays out the argument for KM as a separate academic discipline, with its own body of knowledge (theoretical constructs), guiding principles, and professional society. In creating an academic discipline, there has to be a widely accepted theoretical construct, arrived at by undergoing scholarly scientific investigation and accompanying rigor. This construct becomes the basis for an academic curriculum, and proven methodologies for practice. Thus, the chapters in this book bridge theory and practice, providing guiding principles to those embarking on or evaluating the merits of a KM program. As a methodology itself for undertaking the development of a body of knowledge, a KM Research Map was developed to guide scholars, researchers, and practitioners. This book presents this map, and showcases cutting-edge scholarship already performed in this nascent field by including the dissertation results of eleven KM scholar/practitioners.

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 analyzes dynamic relationships among the disciplines that have contributed to the development of knowledge management. It focuses on establishing relationships between knowledge management and other disciplines such as information management, organizational learning, innovation management, and strategic management. It debates the origin and development of knowledge management, thus providing a clear and conceptual understanding of the field. This, in turn, will help readers adopt better approaches to solve knowledge management problems.

Offers research and practice insights into the emerging discipline and field of knowledge management and aims to accelerate a global adoption of knowledge management (KM) as a distinct and critical field of study for today's professionals. It is suitable for universities, research centres and organizations working on KM.

Knowledge Management has evolved into one of the most important streams of management research, affecting organizations of all types at many different levels. The Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management, Second Edition provides a compendium of terms, definitions and explanations of concepts, processes and acronyms addressing the challenges of knowledge management. This two-volume collection covers all aspects of this critical discipline, which range from knowledge identification and representation, to the impact of Knowledge Management Systems on organizational culture, to the significant integration and cost issues being faced by Human Resources, MIS/IT, and production departments.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO license. This book comprehensively covers topics in knowledge management and competence in strategy development, management techniques, collaboration mechanisms, knowledge sharing and learning, as well as knowledge capture and storage. Presented in accessible “chunks,” it includes more than 120 topics that are essential to high-performance organizations. The extensive use of quotes by respected experts juxtaposed with relevant research to counterpoint or lend weight to key concepts; “cheat sheets” that simplify access and reference to individual articles; as well as the grouping of many of these topics under recurrent themes make this book unique. In addition, it provides scalable tried-and-tested tools, method and approaches for improved organizational effectiveness. The research included is particularly useful to knowledge workers engaged in executive leadership; research, analysis and advice; and corporate management and administration. It is a valuable resource for those working in the public, private and third sectors, both in industrialized and developing countries.