Book Reviews
My Personal Reading List and Comments<< Newer Reviews || Older Reviews >>
|
80. (26-Nov-2007). Learning to Fly. Collison C. and Parcell G.
Synopsis Practical Knowledge Management from Leading and Learning Organizations. This excellent book written by Collison and Parcell really does show you 'how to do it.' Comments Excellent. This book is presented in three clear sections. 1. Overview, 2. Tools and Techniques and 3. Today and Tomorrow. These three sections give an excellent overview of what a knowledge management initiative is, what kind of tools and techniques can be used to implement it and sound strategic planning advice on how to actually go about it. With BP, and some lessons that were adopted from the military, as the main company that the book covers in its many case studies it is easy to see that you are really learning from the leaders by reading this book and digesting what it can do for your company's knowledge management initiative. This might be one that everyone who is serious about this topic will need on their bookshelf as a guide and reference for when they need it. Rating. 5 Stars |
|
79. (26-Nov-2007). The Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management. Rumizen M. C.
Synopsis The Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management is not for idiots at all. It is for smart people who want to know as much as possible about knowledge management in the least amount of time. Comments This is the first ever 'Idiot's Guide' that I have read. To be honest, I was put off the by this series of books because I had previously never seen them as being serious enough. Melissie Rumizen on the other hand, is seriously knowledgeable enough (Buckman Labs!) to write a concise guide to this subject. So it is seriously worth a read. Comments An excellent read for those who have been appointed with a new job title of 'Knowledge Manager' or likewise and need to get up to date with all the common implementations of knowledge management tools. After reading the whole 25 chapters of this book one can be very accustomed to the types of tools and paradigms that are available. The only bad side to this book and probably other idiots guides is that it might be quite difficult to get your 'teeth into' reading it so to speak as the pages are separated up into various 'snippit' sections; making it a great book to browse through quickly and pick up a general overview of almost anything that you need to know. Kudos to the author for making it all so concise. Rating. 4 Stars |
|
78. (26-Nov-2007). Common Knowledge. Dixon N. M.
Synopsis Since everyone is able to get information about their customers and market conditions, Nancy Dixon posits that the way towards competitive advantage is to set up systems that allow a company to know their own capabilities better and tap into those as required. Common Knowledge is the internal know-how of that is the stuff which sustained competitive advantage is made. Comments A wonderful book which gives a good clear set of paradigms and is full of real life case studies from industry leaders who are using such knowledge transfer methods. Combined with the guidelines on how to practically implement these paradigms, this book makes for excellent reading for anyone serious about knowledge management as a way to develop a competitive advantage from within. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter sets the tone for the book, which is all about leading companies and how they are leaders because they are sharing their knowledge. As in most modern schools of thought on KM, the precedence of knowledge driving the technology rather than vice versa is highlighted. Chapter 2: Creating and Leveraging Common Knowledge In this chapter the knowledge creation process is discussed as well as a framework to maximise the use of and leverage on knowledge is given. As for knowledge transfer, it is here where Nancy Dixon first introduces her Serial, Near, Far, Strategic and Expert Transfer paradigms. These are discussed in more detail during the next five chapters in the book. Chapter 3: Serial Transfer Dixon's serial transfer would be the transfer of knowledge from a team that has experienced and completed a task to another team that are about to embark on the same task but in a different setting. Excellent examples of this are given in the form of the US Military's after action review (AAR) and, naturally, its usage in British Petroleum. Chapter 4: Near Transfer Near transfer could be described as the transfer of explicit knowledge codified from one team during a certain type of task to another team who are doing similar but not the same type of work. Examples of this are given in the form of Ford's best practices, TI's alert notification system and Ernst and Young's powerpacks. Chapter 5: Far Transfer Far Transfer is given as the transfer of tacit knowledge learned during a non-routine task between one team to the rest of the company who might be able to utilise that knowledge in a different context. Case studies given are BP's peer assist, Chevron's capital project management and Lockheed Martin's LM21's best practices. Chapter 6: Strategic Transfer Strategic Transfer would refer to the transfer of collective knowledge from the entire organization that was acquired during a certain task to another team in the organization when doing another organization critical task that may be in a different context. The detailed case studies given in this chapter are BP's Knowledge Assets and The US Military's Center for Lessons Learned Chapter 7: Expert Transfer Expert Transfer is required when one team may be doing a task that requires knowledge which is out of that particular team's grasp. In this case they would need to look outside their own team for an 'expert' opinion on the matter. Buckman Lab's Techforums, Tandem's Second Class Mail and Chevron's Best Practices Resource Map are given as case studies for this chapter. Chapter 8: Looking Accross the Five Types of Knowledge Transfer This chapter serves as a short review of the five types of knowledge transfer and explains how they can be implemented practically. What is good about this chapter is that an explanation is given as to how multiple types of knowledge transfer can be implemented in an organization. Chapter 9: Building an Integrated System for Knowledge Transfer This final chapter takes all the theory from the systems as described in the book and explains how they can be implemented in an organization. A detailed guide is given that explains everything from getting started to actually developing the knowledge transfer systems. Rating. 5 Stars |
|
77. (26-Nov-2007). In Good Company. Cohen D. and Prusak L.
Synopsis In Good Company is an insightful reading and probably one of the first ever texts to cover 'social capital' and the importance of relationships within organizations in respect to making the workplace overall a better place to work. Comments Chapter 1: Social capital is introduced as being the social glue that binds an organization together and enables it to define shared objectives and reach common goals. In essence, good social capital enables better knowledge sharing, (due to trust perhaps?), a high level of trust within the organisation and its customers and partners, lower staff turnover and greater understanding withing the organization. The challenges to social capital are discussed, which are the challenge of volatility, i.e. a workforce that is forever being lured by competitors and the challenge of virtuality which is caused by projects becoming more global as well as the workforce spanning several countries too. Social capital is by no means a new concept as it has been in academia since 1916. Onward we read. Chapter 2: Chapter 2 deals with the issue of trust, which is the key to social capital. In order to give and to gain trust, we must first understand what trust actually is. In this chapter we learn about trusting individuals based on their reputation. As reputation is highlighted as being on of the key indicators of one's trustworthiness. Trust can also be extremely fragile and organizations should be extremely mindful about investing a lot of effort in generating trust for themselves. Chapter 3: What I love about this book is the short quotes at the beginning of each chapter. This chapter starts with a quote from Babe Ruth which, to paraphrase, quotes that you can have the best bunch of players in the world but if they don't play together as a team, the club ain't worth a dime. This chapter deals with the importance of networks and communities. Human beings are indeed social animals and the belong and acceptance of a community is often what is craved for by most. Community gives us trust, connection and understanding which are all enabling factors for organisational success. Chapter 4: Chapter four brings up the usual suspects of knowledge management topics which are space and time. Space is needed in the sense of Nonaka's 'ba' and time is obviously needed to be spent in this space. For socialisation to thrive, both space and time cannot be neglected (which they often are when companies quarterly reports are not showing favourable figures.) Chapter 5: Chapter five covers social talk and storytelling. While we all may know that storytelling is a wonderful tool to use when getting our message across to others, this book also brings up the matter of social talk. Social talk, of course, being gossip. Traditionally, gossip has often been seen as a negative thing in an organization. Cohen and Prusak give the opposite argument and point out that gossip is also something that sets the standards for the norms and behaviours in the company. For example, people may gossip about an employee that has stolen ideas from another and tried to pass them off as their own. With this kind of behaviour gossiped about, other staff will be reluctant to partake in such behaviour in fear of gossip being spread behind their back. Cohen and Prusak give 'Two Cheers for Gossip.' Chapter 6: In chapter size, the issue of volatility is discussed in detail. The software industry, which is a really good example industry to use here, is given as an industry which has high volatility. Software developers are lured from company to company with promises of higher salaries and better stock options all the time. How does an industry compete with this challenge? Commitment must be built and companies must strive to employ people based on whether they fit into the company culture rather than their current skill set. If all else fails, organisations must be prepared to manage the change involved when dealing with high staff turnover. Chapter 7: This book is polished off in chapter seven with a look at another challenge to social capital which is the challenge of virtuality. While a globalised workforce is a great thing, the challenge of virtuality is a huge threat to creating teams which enjoy good social capital and no current technology in this world can replace the bandwidth that is enjoyed by face to face meetings.However there have indeed been some successful cases of virtual teams in regards to social capital within them. Naturally, these problems are addressed by getting the teams to meet and socialise in a non-work environment to foster the relationships that are needed for trust and understanding to exist. In a Nutshell In a nutshell, 'In Good Company' is a great introduction to some of the issues regarding social capital in organisations. It is jam packed with examples and situations where social capital is at its highest. It is up to the reader on whether these good practices can be adapted and adopted within the reader's organisation. Great book. Rating. 5 Stars |
|
76. (09-Dec-2007). Confessions of a Yakuza. Bester J and Saga J.
Synopsis This is the true story of perhaps one of the very last traditional Yakuza, as told to his doctor during his final days. Comments Light and interesting reading and very obviously written somewhat towards the Japanese style. I liked this because it is a refreshing account of an ex-gangster's life which is not all about glamour and danger as what is usually portrayed. Worth a read for anyone who wants a real glimpse into Yakuza life, right from the horses mouth. Rating. 4 Stars |
|
75. (26-Nov-2007). Working Knowledge. Davenport T. and Prusak L.
Synopsis With all the recent interest in Knowledge Management it is difficult to find a good set of books which provide a solid introduction to the subject. In Working Knowledge, Davenport and Prusak introduce the fundamentals of the field of Knowledge Management. Comments Chapter 1: What do we talk about when we talk about knowledge? This is a great introduction to the fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves when we are talking about knowledge. What exactly is knowledge? While there are many different schools of thought that could have been covered, Davenport and Prusak chose to cover the easier to digest trio of Data->Information->Knowledge. Data is nothing more than a collection of facts, information is data that has been transformed into something with more value by means of contextualization, categorization, calculation, correcting/cleansing and/or condensing. Knowledge on the other hand, is a sticky subject. Knowledge resides in the mind of the beholder. D&P give knowledge to be described as information that has been transformed into knowledge by humans. Thus knowledge comes as information that can be compared to information in other situations, analysed for any consequences and decision making implications, comparison of how the information is connected to other information and lastly finding out what others also think about the information. Chapter 2: The promise and challenge of knowledge markets Chapter 2 is a meaty chapter which uses economic principles to conceptualize and introduce the concept of a knowledge market. The key players being the buyers, the sellers, the brokers and the entrepreneurs. The price system of this market is explored as well as market inefficiencies and pathologies. Chapter 3: Knowledge Generation In this chapter D&P look at how knowledge can actually be created. It needn't be created in-house as it can be acquired, rented or 'adapted' from other parties. Regardless of whether it is generated in-house or rented in, time is the crucial element in knowledge generation. Chapter 4: Knowledge Codification and Coordination Davenport and Prusak give the principles and dimensions of codifying knowledge. The paradigm of tacit and explicit knowledge is discussed as well as the mapping of knowledge. Mapping of knowledge is introduced as being possible through 'yallow pages' types of systems and cleverly designed database repositories. The knowledge map should be seen as, and designed as, a kind of inventory of what the company has, in terms of expertise. Meaningful tacit knowledge is described as easiest to codify by means of stories. Chapter 5: Knowledge Transfer This is a great chapter for learning about what really does work in an organisation in terms of knowledge transfer. The first example of which is tacit to tacit knowledge exchange in a company. Water coolers and talk rooms are given as being places (Nonaka's ba) where the 'real-work' happens in a company; the conversation between employees. Of course, culture is mentioned in here as being one of the definitive factors that can make or break a company's knowledge management strategy. The main focus of which is trust and Davenport and Prusak do their best to emphasise that lack of trust and many other 'frictions' are the factors of a company's culture that define their knowledge transfer ability. Solutions are given to these 'frictions.' The human aspects of knowledge transfer are emphasised as being neglected, perhaps due to far too much reliance and belief that technology alone can be deployed as a whole solution. Chapter 6: Knowledge Roles and Skills This chapter covers knowledge workers, who are described as having both know-how as well as intuition. In essence, the chapter introduces four different types of workers who use knowledge in their jobs. The employee who must manage knowledge in their own job, the knowledge worker, the knowledge project manager and the chief knowledge officer. Chapter 7: Technologies for Knowledge Management Hewlett Packard and their various technologies for knowledge management are introduced in the opening paragraphs of this chapter. The chapter then continues to discuss knowledge management technologies in the sense of 'expert systems' and knowledge repositories for explicit knowledge. Implementation of technology alone cannot be deemed as a knowledge management strategy and is really not as helpful as it should be, when it comes to new knowledge creation. Chapter 8: Knowledge Management Projects in Practice This is a great chapter as it is where the book moves further away from theory and covers the common success factors that were found in a study of over thirty knowledge management projects. Nine crucial factors are given as what lead to knowledge management project success. These include culture, support, clarity, structure and being able to link the project to economic value. Chapter 9: The Pragmatics of Knowledge Management In the concluding chapter to the book, the reality of knowledge management projects is discussed. Here it is discussed how to actually get started on a knowledge management project and leverage on what your company already has in place before the knowledge management initiative is started. Factors which lead to perils and catastrophes are described as well as ways to avoid them. Rating. 5 Stars |
|
74. (25-Nov-2007). Cultivating Communities of Practice. Wenger E., McDermott R. and Snyder M.
Synopsis Communities of Practice (CoP) are often seen as a knowledge management strategy in themselves. In this book Wenger et al give a clear guide for incubating, developing and steering communities of practice. Comments Chapter 1: Communities of Practice and Their Value to Organizations. In chapter 1, we see that communities of practice are useful tools for encouraging tacit knowledge exchange. This tacit knowledge exchange is key to organizational learning as most of the organization's knowledge exists inside humans. This combined with the explicit knowledge which is generated as a by-product of a community of practice and most importantly subject to review and consensus by the community, makes communities of practice a massively valuable tool for knowledge sharing. What I like about this introductory chapter is that the authors do not waste too much time on explaining the concepts of knowledge, which can be discussed in far too many other texts in much greater detail. Chapter 2: Communities of Practice and their Structural Elements This chapter covers the forms in which communities of practice take and also introduces the trio of elements which make a community of practice live up to its name. These are the Domain, which is the subject matter on which the community is to discuss about. Without a domain, the community might as well be an informal online chat group. The second is the Community which might be self explanatory but is nonetheless identified as being important to identify as it is in turn the community which serves the purpose of forming relationships, trust and most of all a collective effort to distill the important factors from all the information that might be discussed. The Practice is the third in the trio, which refers to the actual encapsulation of the knowledge which has been discovered as an outcome from the CoP. This book illustrates with lots of good examples how the domain, community and practice can be nurtured to ensure that the CoP is a success. Chapter 3: Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. This is the 'killer-chapter' of the book. By using the seven principles as outlined, one can expect to grasp the fundamentals which will enable a CoP to develop. Four of the principles can be handled by IT and a bit of clever setup and configuration. The remaining three principles are heavily influenced by the human factors of the CoP strategy. So we see that IT alone is not a ends in itself, but a heavy amount of strategy must be invested to truly cultivate communities of practice. Chapter 4: The Early Stages of Development. In chapter 4 the book gets down to the nitty gritties of how to start up a CoP and get it launched off the ground. Lined with successful industry examples, we are introduced to the stages of community development, ranging from realising the potential that the CoP may have, to stewardship and future transformation of the CoP. This chapter helps the reader plan out their intent for the community, define roles for members and initiate and launch the CoP. The starting of a CoP can be a fragile affair and is best left to be organic in nature. Chapter 5: The Mature Stages of Development. Using the 'Turbodudes' CoP at Shell, as outlined in chapter 4, this chapter deals with the more difficult aspects of running a CoP, which is sustaining the CoP once it has reached maturity. This is the post-honeymoon stage where community members, and especially stewards, need to take on the responsibility of making the community more valuable as well as making sure the explicit knowledge captured in knowledge repositories is kept clean and up to date. The most important factor is given as identification of any gaps in the knowledge of the community. Roles such as librarians and stewards are covered in this chapter. Chapter 6: The Challenge of Distributed Communities. As the title suggests, this chapter deals with the challenges involved when a CoP is shaped in the form of having many different contributors from different global locations. Issues such connectivity between distant members, caused by not only time-zones but also the lacking of human presence as well as cultural issues with communication. Not to mention language barriers. We also see the usual knowledge management issues of trust, hierarchies and face-to-face communication. Wenger et al argue that true globalization requires such a CoP to be in place. Chapter 7: The Downside of Communities of Practice. Like everything, there must be a downside right? Wenger et al, discuss the types of issues and what can go wrong with CoPs. Ownership is an issue, with major contributors wanting to fully own the CoP for themselves. Other important disorders can be cliques, over-documentation, dogmatism and of course infighting (in-flaming?) and full-out 'religious' wars. This book offers treatment and prevention for such pathologies. Chapter 8: Measuring and Managing Value Creation. Since CoPs are mostly classified as cost-centres, some sort of measurement is deemed to be needed. This chapter covers the variables which may be measured in order to determine the 'success' of the CoP. These include the number of users connected to the CoP and the frequency of their updates, the number of solutions submitted to problems and where those solutions came from, the time factor of how long solutions took to be solved as well as measures which indirectly serve the company as a whole which might be: reductions in hours spent solving problems and the bottom line of how much money was saved by reducing the amount of service hours spent. All the processes that are applied to the CoP are suggested to be linked to the value generated. All of course are wonderful theories, but it has to be pointed out that knowledge management cannot be measured in beans. Chapter 9: Community-Based Knowledge Initiatives. This chapter explains some excellent knowledge initiatives such as knowledge fairs and community knowledge websites. It is stressed here that these types of communities should not be created 'for the sake of it' but should have some sort of purpose or goal(s). The idea with community based knowledge initiatives is to create knowledge from within the community. In essence these initiatives can be viewed as 'social movements.' Support, awareness and stakeholder buy-in are the keys to making these initiatives work. Chapter 10: Reweaving the World. If you were the CKO of the world, how would you design your knowledge initiative? In the final chapter of this wonderful book, it attempts to take the concepts of the CoP further by taking it away from the organizational and industry levels and applying them to what the authors call the 'Extended Knowledge System.' This chapter is peppered with examples of business to business communites, communities in the consumer markets and even social and civil communities. As more of an annex to the entire book, this chapter gives great examples and outlines what has worked in real world designs for CoPs. Most of which, are very worth reading. All in all it was a great learning experience reading this book and applying some of the techniques, that I learned, to my own projects. This is a definitive guide to developing communities of practice. Any KM strategist should not leave home without it! Rating. 5 Stars |
|
73. (25-Nov-2007). Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Technology. Cade M. and Roberts S.
Synopsis Yet another study guide for the exam portion of the J2EE Architect exam that I have been meaning to add here for such a long time. As usual, there are also some examples of projects for parts II and III of the certification requirements. Comments This is the one that can really really teach you the basics of drawing the various diagrams needed for the project part of the J2EE architect certification requirements. A must read for anyone who is working towards the certification. Rating. 5 Stars |
|
72. (25-Nov-2007). Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE. Allen P. and Bambara J.
Synopsis A study guide for the exam portion of the J2EE Architect exam, as well as some examples of projects for parts II and III of the certification requirements. Comments I have been meaning to add this to my reviews for such a long time. So long even, that all I can recall is that this was a great book for studying for the exam and completing the project. Very much recommended. Rating. 4 Stars |
|
71. (08-Oct-2007). Crime and Punishment. Fydor Dostoyevsky.
Synopsis Crime and Punishment follows the journey through the mind of one protagonist by the name of Rodion Raskolnikov. Comments This is a masterpiece in all senses of the word masterpiece. Dostoyevsky's gripping and compelling style grasps the reader by the ankles and drops them right onto the grim streets of St. Petersburg and into the mind of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. Throughout the novel, the reader IS Raskolnikov, the reader tears down onto the miserly pawnbrokers head, the reader crushes her skull with the axe. Then after this, the reader is treated to pages and pages of illustrious emotional and psychologically thrilling narrative which explores the protagonists mental state combined with his ongoing battles with pride, morality, fever and guilt. The only negative thing I have to say about this novel is that I read it in a translated English version. Although it was quite a brilliant translation I feel that perhaps some of the brilliant use of language by Dostyevsky might have been lost. However, this is notably one of the best novels I have read so far. Rating. 6 Stars. Even though my rating only goes up to 5. |
<< Newer Reviews || Older Reviews >>