Knowledge Management: Systems and Processes

Becerra-Fernandez (management information systems, Florida International U.) and Sabherwal (information systems, U. of Missouri) introduce the field of knowledge management, which they define as "doing what is needed to get the most out of knowledge resources" or as the promotion of "the discovery, capture, sharing, and application of the firm's knowledge." The first section discusses the principles of knowledge management, covering the infrastructure, process, systems, tools, and technologies of knowledge management, as well as the four types of knowledge management processes: knowledge application, knowledge capture, knowledge sharing, and knowledge discovery systems. The next section focuses on technologies and systems for each of those four systems and includes case studies of technology implementation. The final section turns to management practices, discussing how they can be improved with emergent practices and technologies such as social networks, communities of practice, wikis, and blogs; the various factors that affect knowledge management; and topics such as crowd sourcing, collective intelligence, privacy, and confidentiality that are likely to be important in the future of knowledge management. A companion web site includes solution to chapter problems, power point slides on key concepts, a sample syllabus and sample student projects, lists of relevant accompanying case studies, and references to software providers. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)