The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation (KMCI Press) [Paperback]

Mark W. McElroy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0750676086 | ISBN-13: 978-0750676083 | Publication Date: October 24, 2002 | Edition: 1

'The New Knowledge Management' is the story of the birth of "second-generation knowledge management," told from the perspective of one its chief architects, Mark W. McElroy. Unlike its first-generation cousin, second-generation Knowledge Management seeks to enhance knowledge production, not just knowledge sharing. As a result, 'The New Knowledge Management' expands the overall reach of knowledge management to include "innovation management" for the very first time.

'The New Knowledge Management' introduces the concept of "second-generation knowledge management" to the business community. Mark W. McElroy has assembled a collection of his own essays, written over the past four years, chronicling the development of related thinking in the field.

Unlike first-generation KM, mainly focusing on value derived from knowledge sharing, second-generation thinking formally adds knowledge making to the scope of KM. In this way second-generation KM expands the overall reach of KM to include "innovation management" for the very first time. 'The New Knowledge Management' finally begins to bridge the gap between KM and the field of organizational learning, which up until now have been viewed as miles apart.

* Charts the next generation of knowledge management thinking by the President of KMCI: the leading KM organization
* Expands the overall reach of knowledge management to include "innovation management" for the very first time
* Mark W. McElroy, chief architect of second-generation Knowledge Management, shares his vast experience in a collection of his own essays

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mark McElroy is the new guru of Knowledge Management. His articulation of "second generation" concepts in knowledge management provides the most coherent framework I know of for understanding how information becomes knowledge in organizations. And his application of complexity theory to business organizations ranks with the most rigorous work available. Give this book the time and attention it deserves and it will change how you see your organization." - Thomas Petzinger Jr., CEO of LaunchCyte LLC; former "Front Lines" columnist, The Wall Street Journal; author of "The New Pioneers"


"A most insightful reading on the evolution of KM. "The New Knowledge Management" is about sustainable innovation, or life as a social process of continuous renewal. This very rich book also highlights the importance of organisational knowledge, as an important part of organisational sustainability. It is also leading up to social innovation capital as a longitude dimension for extended society innovation." - Leif Edvinsson, Global Knowledge Nomad, The world´s first Director of Intellectual Capital, Brain of the Year 1998, Creator of Universal Networking Intellectual Capital, The world´s first holder of Professorship of Intellectual Capital, University of Lund Sweden


""The New Knowledge Management" is a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the many aspects of knowledge in organizations. McElroy challenges some of the popular myths of knowledge management and weaves together a solid and comprehensive framework for knowledge management professionals." - Verna Allee, author of "The Knowledge Evolution"


"Even though the field of Knowledge Management is as old as the human intellect, there continue to be marvelous opportunities to define new and important innovations. The distinctions that Mark McElroy offers are just that. What he gives us here are valuable and enduring ideas that help to focus our thinking on what really matters, which is namely the creation of new knowledge of value to the future designs and decisions of the organization. This book is a fine compilation of clear and insightful writings that frame the evolution of contemporary knowledge management, and point us towards the future." - Langdon Morris, Partner of Innovation Labs and Co-author, "Fourth Generation R&D: Managing Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation"

From the Publisher

‘The New Knowledge Management’ introduces the concept of "second-generation knowledge management" to the business community. Mark W. McElroy has assembled a collection of his own essays, written over the past four years, chronicling the development of related thinking in the field.

Unlike first-generation KM, mainly focusing on value derived from knowledge sharing, second-generation thinking formally adds knowledge making to the scope of KM. In this way second-generation KM expands the overall reach of KM to include "innovation management" for the very first time. ‘The New Knowledge Management’ finally begins to bridge the gap between KM and the field of organizational learning, which up until now have been viewed as miles apart.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann; 1 edition (October 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750676086
• ISBN-13: 978-0750676083
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a non-book, May 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation (KMCI Press) (Paperback)

As the reviewer from mexico notes, most of the chapters of this book are reprints of previously published articles. This make the presentation disappointingly repetitive.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK but still not practical enough, December 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation (KMCI Press) (Paperback)

The author makes a great contribution creating the awareness that KM is much more that IT, and that it is about creating new knowledge and organizational learning. Although the idea is not new, he presents it through an interesting framework called the Knowledge Life Cycle. Thats great.

On the other hand, since the book is a compilation of previous papers from the author, I feel that he repeats the same ideas over and over again. I couldn't find explicit evidence of the aplication of these ideas on the day to day work. I also see a contradiction in the sense that he says that the new KM is more about creating new knowledge, but it seems to me that he is trying to create new knowledge through the re-frasing and re-naming of other author's ideas. Please...don't throw more "fancy words" to the KM arena, it is already full !

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "next generation" of Knowledge Management is here!, February 12, 2003

By 

Benyamin Lichtenstein "Praxyma" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation (KMCI Press) (Paperback)

In this wonderful little book, Mark McElroy begins to do for Knowledge Management what Peter Senge did for Organizational Learning: He connects deep theory with cogent practice, bringing the entire discipline to a new level. The book is a carefully designed compendium of Mark's leading-edge thinking over the past several years. In it he lays out the foundations for the next generation - "demand-side" - Knowledge Management, which enhances individuals capacity to produce knowledge, rather than simply use what's already there. By integrating a unique approach to complexity science with insights from organizational learning, he develops a model of "sustainable innovation" which is based on a broader theoretical framework of Social Innovation Capital (SIC). His SIC framework generates a core insight - the Policy Synchronization Method - a theory-based yet practical method for creating the conditions that support innovation in the long term. His writing is as useful as his modeling, for he constantly grounds his thinking into concrete and highly applicable suggestions that can be utilized in a wide range of contexts. Near the end of the book he shows the economic returns on investment from his second-generation KM, and concludes with a "presentation" that can be used to help make the case for these ideas in formal and informal settings. As a professor of entrepreneurship and management at a business school, and a 20-year student of complexity science, I am a true fan of Mark McElroy, and I am excited by this book and the ones soon to follow.