Synopses & Reviews
Knowledge Unplugged announces the results of a major survey of knowledge management practice within the most influential companies in the world, by the most influential management consultancy group in the world. The McKinsey Knowledge Management team interviewed top executives and also investigated how far their plans were implemented in practice, in 40 companies in the US, Europe and Japan. In many companies they discovered a significant gap between the vision at the top and the reality on the shop floor.
Knowledge Unplugged draws together their findings and presents a practical guide to improving knowledge building and sharing at all levels within an organization, vividly illustrated with case studies of best practice and common pitfalls. They argue that knowledge management is much more than simply installing a new database and can only be successful when it is at the heart of everyday personal exchanges, personal incentives and personal responsibilities at every level of the firm.
Synopsis
Why Knowledge is Important Knowledge Pull Required Buckman Labs John Deere Knowledge Character Building Subjectivity: Reading from the Same Page Oticon Transferability: Knowledge on the Move Aisin Aw Embeddedness: Mining a Rich Vein Outokumpu Self-reinforcement: Starting the Chain Reaction Skandia Perishability: Riding the Roller Coaster Intel Spontaneity: Sparking Profits Fuji Xerox Kicking off a Knowledge Management Program Coming to terms with the Knowledge Economy
About the Author
Jurgen Kluge is Director of the Düsseldorf office of McKinsey & Company. Wolfram Stein is a Principal in McKinsey & Company's Global Business Technology Office.
Thomas Licht is Associate Principal, McKinsey & Co., Munich.
Table of Contents
Preface * Why Knowledge is Important * Creating Knowledge Pull * Knowledge Management and the Knowledge Characteristics * Subjectivity * Transferability * Embeddedness * Self-reinforcement * Perishability * Spontaneity * Diagnosis and Recommendations Coming to Terms with the Knowledge Economy