The Knowledge Evolution : Expanding Organizational Intelligence
by Verna Allee
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Introduction: The Knowledge Era
- 2. Knowledge Competencies for Adaptive Enterprises
- 3. The Knowledge Navigators
- 4. Seeing Patterns of Knowledge, Learning, and Performance
- 5. Knowledge Archetypes in Action
- 6. Knowledge, Learning, and Organizations
- 7. Doing the Data Two-Step
- 8. Gigamonsters and Other Dragons: Procedural Knowledge
- 9. Building Functional Knowledge
- 10. The Making of Meaning
- 11. Integrating: The Quest for Elegant Solutions
- 12. Renewing: Reconnecting with Purpose
- 13. Expanded Vision for Union Performance
- 14. Strategies: Creating Practice Fields for Knowledge
- 15. Culture, Mapping, Technology, and Measures
- 16. The Seeds of Knowledge
- App. 1. The Knowledge Archetype in Theoretical Constructs
- App. 2. Sample Question Set for Knowledge Building in Information Management
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
Reviews
Midwest Book Review
The Knowledge Evolution offers a unique and powerful road map for understanding
knowledge creation, learning, and performance in everyday work. Packed with the best
practices from leading edge companies, essential guidelines, design principles, analogies,
and conceptual frameworks, The Knowledge Evolution serves as a practical guidebook for
mastering "the knowledge era". Highly recommended reading for anyone charged
with managerial responsibilities and successfully competing in the business climates of
the 21st century.
The publisher , June 15, 1998
"In a clear voice, with an exceptional ability to synthesize, Verna Allee shows
how your organization can use knowledge to reach a whole new level of performance."
-Hubert Saint-Onge, V.P., People, Knowledge, and Strategies, The Mutual Group
The publisher , June 15, 1998
"A must read for all organizational leaders who want to bring order to the
chaos." -Jay C. Wilber, Executive Director, Quality Network, General Motors
Corporation
A
reader from Pepperdine University, CA , May 8, 1999
A good book for leaders of knowledge-rich organizations.
It should come as no surprise that without knowledge, systems fail. In The Knowledge
Evolution, Verna Allee focuses on an analysis of the role knowledge plays in contributing
to the success of an organization. According to Allee, knowledge becomes of greater and
greater importance as the validity and strength of an organization is called into
question. Without a doubt, the availability of a strong knowledge base has, in many
corporations, played a fundamental role in the company's survival.
Presently, workers at numerous companies are struggling with the concept of how
knowledge becomes a driving influence within their organization. Because it is intangible
and hard to grasp a common understanding of what organizational knowledge is, leaders are
finding it hard to capture, organize, and use knowledge as a tool. Verna attempts to
establish a frame-work which lends itself to this understanding and provides today's
corporate leaders with the tools to better make decisions regarding organizational
knowledge.
Allee provides a general understanding of how advancements in technology define
corporate culture and how learning is effected by the widespread use of available
technologies. Community relationships are also influenced by technology and leaders are
being forced to rethink how organizations are structured and how knowledge is used to
influence decision-making processes.
Current conditions indicate that the future of companies -- how well prepared they will
be to compete in the global economy -- will be determined by how well they understand and
use knowledge. Allee provides a management road-map to get companies where they want to be
regarding knowledge.
Like it or not, the Knowledge Evolution is upon us. Allee identified some effective
ways organizations should create, adapt and apply knowledge. This book is essential
reading for leaders who want to win!
Another
reader from Pepperdine University, EdTech , May 2, 1999
Comprehensive, introductory text.
At times, The Knowledge Evolution delved too much into semantics and ontology, in an
attempt to develop a "common language". At the time of publication (1997) this
may have been relevant but the prevalence of "knowledge management glossaries"
reveals that indeed a common language has emerged, making this specific content a bit of
an arduous read. Perhaps a second edition is needed, especially since the proprietary
value of this book is still not being addressed in current knowledge management (KM)
literature. Current KM books almost exclusively focus on data, information and knowledge
(DIK). The Knowledge Evolution visions past DIK and adds complex dimensions of meaning,
wisdom and philosophy to the knowledge framework.
If you do purchase this selection, I recommend writing unabashedly in the margins, or
keeping a notebook on hand, connecting the theoretical constructs of knowledge and it's
management discussed in the book to a personal context. By and large the scope of the book
is very broad, looking inclusively at the field of KM. Since the writing of this book,
specific sub-fields within KM have emerged i.e. data mining, group memory technologies,
knowledge mapping etc. A reorganization of the content in this book along those lines
(i.e. "procedural knowledge" with data mining, "functional knowledge"
with knowledge mapping) was a worthwhile endeavor of this reader and would be a tremendous
value-add to a second edition.
By and large The Knowledge Evolution is a readable and comprehensive introductory text
to the field of KM. The book is broad and encompasses so much of the theory and principles
behind KM that the actual industry has yet achieve or implement everything discussed. With
the enormous influx and popularity of KM books in the past two years I hadn't heard
anything about The Knowledge Evolution and now having read it, I realize the book that all
these current authors must have also read.
A
reader from U.S.A. , April 2, 1999
Excellent Framework for building and creating knowledge.
An excellent treatment of the subject matter. Provided insights on knowledge learning and
performance. Prepares us for the knowledge era, where knowledge is king. I wish she had
included some material on creativity, having knowledge is nice but being creative is
better.
Editor,
Stern's Management Review, February 13, 1999
A penetrating look at the knowledge-organization connection.
Taking an organic systems view, the author explores how organizations acquire, manage, and
transfer knowledge. Covers: the nature, role and order of knowledge; best practices; types
of organizational structures that support knowledge sharing; technologies for knowledge
building; developing knowledge strategies; and efforts to measure results. An very
impressive gathering and integration of ideas about organization in the Knowledge Era. A
first-rate book on a cutting-edge subject.
A
reader from San Francisco, CA , January 22, 1999
Impressive integration of theory, innovation & practicality!
Verna quickly brings us all up to speed on the field of knowledge. As she reviews it, she
compares and contrasts the current working theories and then integrates them into a
working template that links knowledge, learning and performance. This template/model
allows us to quickly apply the information to the organizations in which we live or to
which we consult. She presents a developmental process for the different levels of
knowledge that compares in scholarship and in practical use with Piaget's developmental
intelligence, and Kolbergs developmental morality. She then follows up with 6 practical
chapters where she more fully explores each level, helping us all to identify where our
organization is, where it should be, and some methods to use to get us where we need to
be. She writes in an exciting, clear and creative style giving us the basis for
understanding more thoroughly what has gone before (giving consistent credit to the many
minds that have worked in this field), what links knowledge management does and should
have with other crucial systemic concepts such as systems thinking, organization learning,
and organizational sustainability, and including us in the innovative ideas that occurred
to her as she was doing such scholarly research. The bibliography and references are worth
the price of admission themselves.
A
reader from Herzliya, Israel , April 25, 1998
This is a wise book.
If you are a manager, consultant, student, teacher and you want a good picture of the
state of the art of the most strategic issue in organizations today - read this book.
Verna Allee's book presents a broad picture of knowledge in organizations including both
theoretical and practical perspectives. Based on a very wide literature and experience she
walks the reader through many issues of this new organizational field.
A
reader from Minneapolis, MN , April 23, 1998
Confused about Knowledge Management? Read this book!
Knowledge management is a fuzzy and unclear topic for a great many people – it was
for me. Prior to Allee’s book, most of what I could find on the topic was an attempt
to sell me on a particular approach or framework. Knowledge Evolution is not an
attempt to sell a particular conceptual model, but covers the issues related to knowledge
management in a fair, easy to understand and refreshing original way. If you want in
introduction to this fascinating topic, including the social and technical implications of
the knowledge economy, Allee's book is a perfect place to start. Highly recommended!
A
reader from Austin, Texas, USA , April 23, 1998
Provides much greater depth about knowledge management
This book delivers much-needed depth of insight for its stated target audience: leadership
teams who have the responsibility for developing, implementing, and supporting strategies
for enhancing organizational knowledge. Verna's distinctions and models allow leaders to
fine-tune their efforts to manage knowledge organically, as an ecosystem, rather than
through old command-and-control methods. Her attention to higher values -- her life
question is "What is wisdom and how do we find it?" -- gives a strong voice to
an often-missing element in knowledge management books. The evolution of knowledge must
serve a higher purpose, and Verna prompts each of us to define that for ourselves. This
book makes a true contribution to an important, emerging field.
A
reader from Portland, OR , April 14, 1998
Appropriate for the casual reader; light on concept content
Knowledge management and intellectual capital are among the newest developments in
business press, and the avalanche of titles about them threatens to bury the earnest
student of management science. "The Knowledge Evolution" defies easy labeling:
while generally a shallow discussion of the issues, it does skim the surface of deeper
topics--then shies back to shallow. The difference between "shallow" and
"skimming" is this: a shallow discussion is presented as complete, while a
"skimmer" discussion is clearly a survey of selected issues in the interests of
time and space. When compared to discussions of the social and technical implications of
the knowledge economy, knowledge management, and global information exchange, Allee's work
leaves quite a bit out. In particular, the lack of thorough and critical discussion of the
conflicts and paradoxes of organizational dynamics and reward systems makes the notion of
"expanding organizational intelligence" a little too slick to be implemented as
described. It's better read as a tickle to learning more, than as a scratch to satisfy
your itch.
