During recent years, the number of books, articles, seminars and conferences on knowledge management has increased dramatically - leaving it even more difficult to understand what knowledge management is, and how to actually practice it.
Furthermore, knowledge management combines the fluffiness of knowledge with the rationality of management creating an oxymoron that is quite difficult to understand, practice and evaluate.
Knowledge management - perspectives and pitfalls provides a reflexive analysis of the concept of knowledge management: Knowledge management is not solely seen as solving problems, but also as a source of problems.
The book both poses and answers questions such as:
- What is knowledge?
- How can you define and identify knowledge?
- What processes and actors define knowledge?
- How do companies apply knowledge?
- How is management supposed to manage knowledge?
Besides the introductory and concluding chapters, the book consists of three chapters:
- Chapter 2 analyses the becoming, the forms and the whereabouts of knowledge.
- Chapter 3 discusses how knowledge is being exploited, mobilized and created.
- Chapter 4 analyses the pitfalls and possibilities for managing knowledge.
Knowledge management - perspectives and pitfalls will be valuable for both academics and practitioners seeking to structure and understand the many perspectives and problems embedded in managing knowledge.
