Synopses & Reviews
Knowledge management (KM) - or the practice of using information and collaboration technologies and processes to capture organizational learning and thereby improve business performance - is becoming one of the key disciplines in management, especially in large companies. Many books, magazines, conferences, vendors, consultancies, Web sites, online communities and email lists have been formed around this concept.
This practical book focuses on the vast offerings of KM solutions'"technology, content, and services. The focus is not on technology details, but on how KM and IT practitioners actually use KM tools and techniques. Over twenty case studies describe the real story of choosing and implementing various KM tools and techniques, and experts analyse the trends in the evolution of these technologies and tools, along with opportunities and challenges facing companies harnessing them. Lessons from successes and failures are drawn, along with roadmaps for companies beginning or expanding their KM practice.
The introductory chapter presents a taxonomy of KM tools, identifies IT implications of KM practices, highlights lessons learned, and provides tips and recommendations for companies using these tools. Relevant literature on KM practices and key findings of market research groups and industry consortia such as IDC, Gartner and APQC, are presented.
The majority of the book is devoted to case studies, featuring clients and vendors along the entire spectrum of solutions: hardware (e.g. handheld/wearable devices), software (e.g. analytics, collaboration, document management) and content (e.g. newsfeeds, market research).
Each chapter is structured along the "8Cs" framework developed by the Author - connectivity, content, community, commerce, community, capacity, culture, cooperation and capital. In other words, each chapter addresses how appropriate KM tools and technologies help a company on specific fronts such as fostering adequate employee access to knowledge bodies, user-friendly work-oriented content, communities of practice, a culture of knowledge, learning capacity, a spirit of cooperation, commercial and other incentives, and carefully measured capital investments and returns. Vendor history, product/service offerings, implementation details, client testimonials, ROI reports, and future trends are highlighted.
Experts in the field then provide third-party analysis on trends in KM tools and technique areas, and recommendations for KM practitioners.
* The only book in which practitioners evaluate various KM solutions
* Case studies describe how real companies use KM tools and technologies
* Provides clear lessons from real successes and failures
Review
n the knowledge economy. There is something here for KM practitioners at every level: Madan Rao's bird's eye overview of the KM landscape; detailed company case studies direct from practitioners; and concise explorations of specific tools, methods and issues by leading innovators and technology vendors. A great resource!"
-- Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
Review
, methods and issues by leading innovators and technology vendors. A great resource!"
-- Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
Review
om experts in the field, and descriptions of technologies that populate the KM landscape. Rao has done an outstanding job of bringing together in one
place state-of-the-art practices and tools in knowledge management."
-- both of the abovr from Mark L. Lengnick-Hall, author of Human Resource Management in the Knowledge
Economy (Berrett-Koehler)
"KM Tools and Techniques offers a rich array of stories and vignettes of how companies are deploying new technologies, supporting social innovation and devising new measurement systems as a foundation for business success in the knowledge economy. There is something here for KM practitioners at every level: Madan Rao's bird's eye overview of the KM landscape; detailed company case studies direct from practitioners; and concise explorations of specific tools, methods and issues by leading innovators and technology vendors. A great resource!"
-- Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
Review
dscape; detailed company case studies direct from practitioners; and concise explorations of specific tools, methods and issues by leading innovators and technology vendors. A great resource!"
-- Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
Review
"Compelling reading for implementers of knowledge management projects: a clear guide to what works and what doesn't."
"An up-to-date global review of tools, strategies, and ideas that reveal how KM tools really work. A big step past the promises of past, this book shows the way towards repeatable successes."
"The opening overview provides helpful frameworks that are effectively illustrated in the 37 cases studies and 5 vendor experiences. A rich resource for inspiration."
Insights on how to get started, how to scale up, and how to keep improving. Authoritative, detailed, invaluable, descriptions for practitioners."
-- 4 above from Ben Shneiderman, University of Maryland
"Dr Rao has brought together a practical, contemporary, and comprehensive view of the realities of applying knowledge management tools. The rich array of leading-edge practice he exposes will prove valuable to all knowledge practitioners."
-- Ross Dawson, CEO, Advanced Human Technologies, and author, Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships
"Sooner or later, everyone who is involved in a knowledge initiative has to come to grips with the kind of technologies and infrastructure needed to support the nurturing, capturing, leveraging and flow of knowledge and know-how throughout the enterprise network. This experience-based book lets practitioners get ready access not only to a wide range of approaches and “tools of the trade”, but also to the thinking behind the selections and what the real differences were in actual outcomes. Nice work!!"
-- Jay Chatzkel, Principal, Progressive Practices;
Author of Knowledge Capital: How Knowledge-Based Enterprises Really Get Built and Intellectual Capital
"One of the great things about this book is that it demonstrates that knowledge management is more than information technology. It is about people sharing what they know; modern technology simply provides exciting new opportunities for making that happen. Using case studies of leading edge companies that have implemented KM, vendors that sell KM products, and experts that provide KM advice, Rao has covered the bases for anyone interested in this important topic."
"This book is a smorgasbord of perspectives on knowledge management. You are bound to find many good things to take in: numerous case studies of KM
practices in both private and public sector organizations, commentaries from experts in the field, and descriptions of technologies that populate the KM landscape. Rao has done an outstanding job of bringing together in one
place state-of-the-art practices and tools in knowledge management."
-- both of the abovr from Mark L. Lengnick-Hall, author of Human Resource Management in the Knowledge
Economy (Berrett-Koehler)
"KM Tools and Techniques offers a rich array of stories and vignettes of how companies are deploying new technologies, supporting social innovation and devising new measurement systems as a foundation for business success in the knowledge economy. There is something here for KM practitioners at every level: Madan Rao's bird's eye overview of the KM landscape; detailed company case studies direct from practitioners; and concise explorations of specific tools, methods and issues by leading innovators and technology vendors. A great resource!"
-- Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
Synopsis
Business/ Information Management
Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques:
Practitioners and Experts Evaluate KM Solutions
Madanmohan Rao
"Dr. Rao has brought together a practical, contemporary, and comprehensive view of the realities of applying knowledge management tools. The rich array of leading-edge practice he exposes will prove valuable to all knowledge practitioners."
— Ross Dawson, CEO, Advanced Human Technologies, and author, Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships
"An up-to-date global review of tools, strategies, and ideas that reveal how KM tools really work. A big step past the promises of past, this book shows the way towards repeatable successes."
— Ben Shneiderman, Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland
"This book offers a rich array of stories and vignettes of how companies are deploying new technologies, supporting social innovation and devising new measurement systems as a foundation for business success in the knowledge economy. There is something here for KM practitioners at every level…A great resource!"
— Verna Allee, author The Knowledge Evolution and The Future of Knowledge
"This experience-based book lets practitioners get ready access not only to a wide range of approaches and “tools of the trade,” but also to the thinking behind the selections and what the real differences were in actual outcomes."
— Jay Chatzkel, Principal, Progressive Practices; Author of Knowledge Capital: How Knowledge-Based Enterprises Really Get Built and Intellectual Capital
This practical book enables the reader to understand and evaluate the vast offerings of KM solutions in the three areas of technology, content, and services. The focus is not on technology details, but on how KM and IT practitioners actually use these tools and techniques. Over twenty case studies relate the real story of choosing and implementing various KM tools and techniques. Lessons from successes and failures are drawn, along with roadmaps for companies beginning or expanding their KM practice.
Each chapter is structured along the "8Cs" framework developed by the Author - connectivity, content, community, commerce, community, capacity, culture, cooperation and capital.
Dr. Madanmohan Rao is a Knowledge Management consultant in Bangalore, India, and author of Leading With Knowledge, and Editor of DestinationKM.com.
Synopsis
Knowledge management (KM) - or the practice of using information and collaboration technologies and processes to capture organizational learning and thereby improve business performance - is becoming one of the key disciplines in management, especially in large companies. Many books, magazines, conferences, vendors, consultancies, Web sites, online communities and email lists have been formed around this concept.
This practical book focuses on the vast offerings of KM solutions—technology, content, and services. The focus is not on technology details, but on how KM and IT practitioners actually use KM tools and techniques. Over twenty case studies describe the real story of choosing and implementing various KM tools and techniques, and experts analyse the trends in the evolution of these technologies and tools, along with opportunities and challenges facing companies harnessing them. Lessons from successes and failures are drawn, along with roadmaps for companies beginning or expanding their KM practice.
The introductory chapter presents a taxonomy of KM tools, identifies IT implications of KM practices, highlights lessons learned, and provides tips and recommendations for companies using these tools. Relevant literature on KM practices and key findings of market research groups and industry consortia such as IDC, Gartner and APQC, are presented.
The majority of the book is devoted to case studies, featuring clients and vendors along the entire spectrum of solutions: hardware (e.g. handheld/wearable devices), software (e.g. analytics, collaboration, document management) and content (e.g. newsfeeds, market research).
Each chapter is structured along the "8Cs" framework developed by the Author - connectivity, content, community, commerce, community, capacity, culture, cooperation and capital. In other words, each chapter addresses how appropriate KM tools and technologies help a company on specific fronts such as fostering adequate employee access to knowledge bodies, user-friendly work-oriented content, communities of practice, a culture of knowledge, learning capacity, a spirit of cooperation, commercial and other incentives, and carefully measured capital investments and returns. Vendor history, product/service offerings, implementation details, client testimonials, ROI reports, and future trends are highlighted.
Experts in the field then provide third-party analysis on trends in KM tools and technique areas, and recommendations for KM practitioners.
* The only book in which practitioners evaluate various KM solutions
* Case studies describe how real companies use KM tools and technologies
* Provides clear lessons from real successes and failures
Synopsis
ong with roadmaps for companies beginning or expanding their KM practice.
Each chapter is structured along the "8Cs" framework developed by the
Synopsis
apital
This practical book enables the reader to understand and evaluate the vast offerings of KM solutions in the three areas of technology, content, and services. The focus is not on technology details, but on how KM and IT practitioners actually use these tools and techniques. Over twenty case studies relate the real story of choosing and implementing various KM tools and techniques. Lessons from successes and failures are drawn, along with roadmaps for companies beginning or expanding their KM practice.
Each chapter is structured along the "8Cs" framework developed by the
About the Author
Dr. Madanmohan Rao is an infotech consultant and writer based in Bangalore, India. He is the editor of two book series: âThe Asia-Pacific Internet Handbookâ and âThe Knowledge Management Chronicles.â He is also editor-at-large of DestinationKM.com and contributor to the Poynter Institute blog on new media trends. Madan was on the international editorial board of the recently published book, âTransforming e-Knowledge.â He currently serves on the international board of directors of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (www.cpsr.org).
Madan was formerly the communications director at the United Nations Inter Press Service bureau in New York, and vice president at IndiaWorld Communications in Bombay. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology at Bombay and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with an M.S. in computer science and a Ph.D. in communications. He is currently the director of the InfoComm Observatory at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore.
Madan is a frequent speaker on the international conference circuit, and has given talks and lectures on Internet-related issues in about 50 countries including the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Finland, Tunisia, Oman, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Australia.
Madan has spoken at the Internet World series of conferences (hosted by Penton Media) in over a dozen countries, the Asian Business Forum (Content Summit, Singapore; March 2001), PDVSA 4th Annual KM Summit (Caracas, 2002), Asian Media and Information Communication Centre's annual summits (Chennai, 1999; Singapore, 2000; Manila 2001), INET (annual summits of the global Internet Society: San Jose, 1999; Yokohama: 2000; Stockholm: 2001), Interactive Newspapers (San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, San Jose), Global Community Networks summit (Barcelona, 2001), World Conference on Computer Aided Language Learning (Melbourne, 1997), E-Government Summit (Seoul, 2001), and South Asia Internet Summit (Dhaka, 1999).
He has worked with online services in the U.S., Brazil, and India. Madan is also the editor of INOMY.com (a leading Webzine and research firm focusing on the Internet economy in India), and is on the board of editors of the magazines Electronic Markets (www.electronicmarkets.org - published from Switzerland), Convergence (published by the University of Luton press) and On The Internet (published by the Internet Society in the U.S.). His articles have appeared in KM Magazineâs DestinationKM.com site, New Asia Review, Asia Internet Business, Economic Times, Business Standard, Economic and Political Weekly, IndiaInfoline, ValueNotes, FreeOS.com, LAN Magazine, Express Computer, Thailandâs Bangkok Post, NewYork-based Editor&Publisher magazine's MediaInfo site, and Malaysia-based Skali (the Altavista mirror site in Asia); some of his writing has also been translated into Spanish and German.
Madan is on the board of directors/advisors of Web solutions company 4Cplus, yellow pages firm IndiaCom Directories, Web services firm NetGalactic, business content distributor ValueNotes, e-learning services firm 24X7Learning.com and the Quality Assurance Institute (QAI). He also participates in consultations at UNESCO, IDRC, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) foundation in South Asia.
He is the conference chair for India Internet World, India's largest annual Internet business conference, and serves on the conference committees of trade show group Messe Frankfurt in Germany, Singapore-based Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, and the global Internet Society.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Overview
Case Studies:
Chapter 2: Accenture
Chapter 3: APQC
Chapter 4: Asea Brown Boveri
Chapter 5: Cable&Wireless
Chapter 6: Computer Services Corporation
Chapter 7: Daimler-Chrysler
Chapter 8: easyJet
Chapter 9: Ericsson
Chapter 10: Ernst&Young
Chapter 11: Ford
Chapter 12: Fuji Xerox
Chapter 13: HP
Chapter 14: Innovators Online Network, New Zealand
Chapter 15: Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing
Chapter 16: KPMG
Chapter 17: National Office of the Information Economy, Australia
Chapter 18: Office of Small Business, Australia
Chapter 19: Rolls-Royce
Chapter 20: Unilever
Chapter 21: World Bank
Consultant/Guru perspectives:
Chapter 22: Ritendra Banerjee (overview)
Chapter 23: Eric Woods (collaboration)
Chapter 24: Arik Johnson (CI, KM and blogging)
Chapter 25: Heidi Collins (knowledge portals)
Chapter 26: Jon Mason (e-learning, KM)
Chapter 27: Patti Anklam, Hutchison Associates (social network analysis)
Chapter 28: Steve Barth (personal KM)
Vendor experiences
Chapter 29: AskMe
Chapter 30: Entopia
Chapter 31: iManage
Chapter 32: Inxight
Chapter 33: ServiceWare
Chapter 34: Author biographies