Managing Knowledge Networks

The information context of the modern organization is rapidly evolving in the face of intense global competition. Information technologies, including databases, new telecommunications systems, and software for synthesizing information, make a vast array of information available to an ever expanding number of organizational members. Management's exclusive control over knowledge is steadily declining, in part because of the downsizing of organizations and the decline of the number of layers in an organizational hierarchy. These trends, as well as issues surrounding the Web 2.0 and social networking, mean that it is increasingly important that we understand how informal knowledge networks impact the generation, capturing, storing, dissemination, and application of knowledge. This innovative book provides a thorough analysis of knowledge networks, focusing on how relationships contribute to the creation of knowledge, its distribution within organizations, how it is diffused and transferred, and how people find it and share it collaboratively.

Table of Contents:
List of figures; List of tables; List of sidebars; Preface; 1. Introduction and overview; Part I. Fundamentals: 2. Forms of knowledge; 3. Network analysis; Part II. Contexts: 4. Context; 5. Managing knowledge networks; 6. Technology; 7. The spatial distribution of knowledge; 8. Bringing in the world outside; Part III. Pragmatics: 9. Creativity and innovation; 10. Productivity: efficiency and effectiveness; 11. The human side; 12. Finding knowledge; 13. Decision making; 14. Summary and commentary; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
J. David Johnson has been Dean of the College of Communications and Information Studies at the University of Kentucky since 1998. He has also held academic positions at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Arizona State University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Michigan State University, and was a media research analyst for the US Information Agency. He has been recognized as among the one hundred most prolific publishers of refereed journal articles in the history of the communication discipline.

Review :
'This book is about making the jump from IT to KM; from engineering potential information flow, to managing effective information flow. No one can know all the information relevant to our work and interests. We rely on friends, colleagues, and productive accidents for cutting-edge information and for blinders to information it is socially acceptable to ignore. Our points of access are connected in a network around us, and Managing Knowledge Networks provides frameworks for surviving and thriving in that network. Johnson draws on his years of research on human communication to speak simply with clarity, coverage, and examples. Addressed to academic and practical audiences, this book would be equally useful for an upper-division college course, a graduate seminar, or a manager responsible for information access and flow in the organization.' Ronald Burt, University of Chicago 'What makes this a great book is its comprehensive treatment of an interdisciplinary topic - knowledge management - through a laser-like focus on one fascinating issue - knowledge networks. Nurturing them, monitoring them, diversifying them, and using them will be the knowledge professional's toolkit in the coming decades. More and more innovation is not the answer to our organizational challenges. Value-added processes must come into play. David Johnson provides a terrific perspective for business leaders and organizational researchers - knowledge networks - and clarifies how they work in relation to innovation, organizational learning, and work performance.' James W. Dearing, Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, Cancer Communication Research Center, and Center for Health Dissemination and Implementation Research 'By marrying knowledge management to networks, Johnson derives important insights about the social and relational nature of knowledge. His dynamic view of knowledge and its management in knowledge networks is both innovative and insightful. This book will hold great interest for scholars and practitioners alike.' Marshall Scott Poole, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 'David Johnson's book presents a comprehensive examination of how information and communication networks have evolved overtime in personal, work, and broader environmental settings. What is unique about this book is that it taps into and synthesizes years of important research in communication network analysis and applies it to current day thinking and problems. This book is a must-read for any one interested in studying networks.' Alex M. Susskind, Cornell University