The Inquiring Organization

In The Inquiring Organization, Chun Wei Choo examines how an organization's knowledge-acquisition and information-seeking leads to the construction of beliefs and the formations of epistemic practices

This book provides the context and tools to create knowledge via a proven process of inquiry, questions, and conversation. It introduces the theoretical background to explain why, as well as the practical hands-on skills and processes to demonstrate how, to surface tacit knowledge—that which we know but which we have not yet made explicit in conversation, e.g., background, education, and experience—and create new knowledge in collaboration with colleagues. In the information economy, knowledge is an asset and a currency. The creation of new knowledge, therefore, enhances an organization's position in the marketplace. How do we create new knowledge? We don't do it by learning what is already known. The learning organization is already passé. Instead, we do it by inquirinq, which is a method of bringing tacit knowledge to the forefront of awareneness. The inquiring organization surfaces tacit knowledge, which is what its employees bring to the table—their background, education, experience, character, and judgment—and transforms that knowledge into new, explicit knowledge that can be transferred from one employee to another through conversation. That is true knowledge creation, and this book provides the tools, skills, techniques, and processes for executives and professionals in any field to accomplish this task in today's fluid environment.

Inquiring Organizations: Moving from Knowledge Management to Wisdom assembles into one volume a comprehensive collection of the key current thinking regarding the use of C. West Churchman's Design of Inquiring Systems as a basis for computer-based inquiring systems design and implementation. Inquiring systems are systems that go beyond knowledge management to actively inquire about their environment. While self-adaptive is an appropriate adjective for inquiring systems, they are critically different from self-adapting systems as they have evolved in the fields of computer science or artificial intelligence. Inquiring systems draw on epistemology to guide knowledge creation and organizational learning. As such, we can for the first time ever, begin to entertain the notion of support for "wise" decision-making. Readers of Inquiring Organizations: Moving from Knowledge Management to Wisdom will gain an appreciation for the role that epistemology can play in the design of the next generation of knowledge management systems: systems that focus on supporting wise decision-making processes.

"This encyclopedia is a research reference work documenting the past, present, and possible future directions of knowledge management"--Provided by publisher.

Communication is essential in a healthy organization. But all too often when we interact with people—especially those who report to us—we simply tell them what we think they need to know. This shuts them down. To generate bold new ideas, to avoid disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we need to practice Humble Inquiry. Ed Schein defines Humble Inquiry as “the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” In this seminal work, Schein contrasts Humble Inquiry with other kinds of inquiry, shows the benefits Humble Inquiry provides in many different settings, and offers advice on overcoming the cultural, organizational, and psychological barriers that keep us from practicing it.

This book provides the context and tools to create knowledge via a proven process of inquiry, questions, and conversation. It introduces the theoretical background to explain why, as well as the practical hands-on skills and processes to demonstrate how, to surface tacit knowledge—that which we know but which we have not yet made explicit in conversation, e.g., background, education, and experience—and create new knowledge in collaboration with colleagues. In the information economy, knowledge is an asset and a currency. The creation of new knowledge, therefore, enhances an organization's position in the marketplace. How do we create new knowledge? We don't do it by learning what is already known. The learning organization is already passé. Instead, we do it by inquirinq, which is a method of bringing tacit knowledge to the forefront of awareneness. The inquiring organization surfaces tacit knowledge, which is what its employees bring to the table—their background, education, experience, character, and judgment—and transforms that knowledge into new, explicit knowledge that can be transferred from one employee to another through conversation. That is true knowledge creation, and this book provides the tools, skills, techniques, and processes for executives and professionals in any field to accomplish this task in today's fluid environment.