Knowledge Management

The importance and value of tracking and sharing the dispersed knowledge resources of contemporary organizations have received widespread rec- nition in recent years. It is widely believed that with the transition from the industrial to information-based economies, organizational knowledge has emerged as the single most critical resource at both macro- and mic- levels. A major challenge for most organizations during this transition and beyond is to learn to deal with the intricacies of discovering knowledge from the vast amounts of data being generated, identifying pockets of - portant knowledge in various forms, to devise strategies and techniques to formalize parts that lend themselves to codification, and to nurture tech- cal and other solutions with which useful knowledge can be shared among relevant participants. This has the potential to produce greater knowledge utilization leading to multiplier effects in organizational performance. This calls for an approach in which both the organizational and technological dimensions of the challenge are better understood and effectively integ- ted. The papers included in this volume were selected from a collection of papers presented at an invitation-only workshop entitled 'Knowledge - nagement (KM) and the Global Firm: Organizational and Technological Dimensions' held at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia in February 2003. The workshop was made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Bosch Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pit- burgh, USA.

This book presents a unique blend of articles which combines both conceptual and practical concerns related to devising and implementing sustainable Knowledge Management systems and solutions in contemporary global organizations. The book's contributors are among the leading thinkers and practitioners in this growing field. The seamless synthesis of the human, organizational, and technological dimensions of Knowledge Management makes this book a definitive guide for academics and practising managers alike.

Prof. Joseph Davis is the Director of the Language Technologies and Knowledge Management Research Laboratory and of the Information Systems Program at the School of Information Technologies, the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia.

Dr. E. Subrahmanian is a Research Professor at the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems and the Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.

Prof. Art Westerberg is Emeritus University Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.