Knowledge Management: The Essentials.

TITLE: Knowledge Management: The Essentials

EDITOR: Priscilla Emery

PUBLISHER: Association for Information and Image Management International (AIIM International)

ISBN: 089258-364-9

PUBLICATION DATE: 1999

LENGTH: 47 pages

PRICE: $47 (AIIM member), $77 (non-member)

AVAILABLE: AIIM International: www.aiim.org or 888-839-3165

According to Karl-Erik Sveiby, a prominent practitioner of knowledge management (KM), "knowledge is a human faculty, ... so a computer can never store knowledge, it can only store information." This quotation is but one among many offered in the opening chapter of AIIM's white paper on the essentials of KM, which is described by editor Priscilla Emery as a "compendium of succinct and non-biased information about the subject" and "a handy reference guide when starting on the road toward understanding KM."

The paper's first chapter sets the context by expounding several prevailing philosophies and definitions of KM as well as theories on the nature of knowledge itself. Not surprisingly, there is disagreement among authorities cited. To its credit, the paper includes not only differing opinions but also many ideas that appear to be in direct opposition to the very basis of KM -- that knowledge can be managed.

While acknowledging the confusion -- and hype -- which surround KM, the paper explains that KM is an emerging, evolving discipline -- experiencing all the normal growing pains of new ideas -- and devotes the remaining six chapters to the less controversial, more practical, aspects of KM.

Chapter two, "What Does KM Do -- Views from Different Angles," contains very short descriptions -- five from vendors, one by the editor -- of the benefits of KM to an organization.

Chapter three, on KM technologies, contains only one page of text, one half-page graphic (the only pictorial material in the entire paper), and almost four pages of vendor listings. Given the publication's brevity (47 pages), this imbalance in coverage and its focus on vendors exemplify one of several editorial problems that plague the publication.

Three case studies are presented in the fourth chapter. The first, written by a consulting firm about its internal KM initiatives, describes how the use of KM has made its consultants better and, by extension, better able to serve its clients. This study is allotted five pages -- the longest essay in the entire paper. This allocation of limited space for coverage which does not appear to promote the reader's understanding of KM "essentials" is regrettable.

Comprised of two excerpted articles from AIIM's Inform magazine, chapter five covers management issues. A thought-provoking article, "Strategies for Sharing Knowledge," highlights some of the unique challenges posed when implementing a KM program. The author, Bob Puccinelli, observes that "unwillingness to share is a trait we developed at a very early age." Puccinelli succinctly presents "several strategies which can be used to encourage sharing in the organization ... to create a new organization."

Chapter six, "Future Developments -- Defining a Standard for KM," occupies less than two full pages. Stating that "KM is still not defined either as a concept or a technology," the emphasis here is on describing AIIM's own efforts to put "some definition and context around the words Knowledge Management."

The final chapter, "Sources of Information," functions more as an appendix than as a separate chapter. While the resources are helpfully classified by type (consultants, industry experts and education providers; publications; Web sites; education; books and articles), a more rigorous classification effort by topic would have been appropriate. For example, there are more than eight pages of "Books and Articles" citations, arranged in alphabetical order by author's last name -- quite a bit to wade through if there's an interest in a specific topic. Fortunately, each citation contains an abstract that helps readers assess the document's relevance to them. An optimal solution would have been the inclusion of a list of relevant resources at the end of each chapter.

Whether the publication meets its intended goal as a "provider of succinct and non-biased information" is debatable. The editorial shortcomings give the impression of a hastily assembled work and undermine the credibility of the white paper as "an authoritative report issued by any organization" (as defined by Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd ed. [Unabridged], s.v. "white paper").

Whether it is "a handy reference guide" is a more relative issue -- one based on readers' current understanding of KM, their information needs, their awareness of and access to other information sources, and their willingness to spend the money to purchase this publication.

Cynthia J. Nunes, is a principal of Ictus Consulting Group, LLC. She may be contacted at [e-mail].