Leveraging Corporate Knowledge

Citation

Cronau, D.A. (2006), "Leveraging Corporate Knowledge", Library Review, Vol. 55 No. 3, pp. 230-230. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530610656064

The Henley Knowledge Management Forum was founded in 2000 by Dr Edward Truch, Chairman of Knowledge Partners, and Professor David Birchall of Henley Management College. The Forum brings together specialists from commerce, industry and government, and its work enjoys an international reputation. This book presents the findings of a wide range of research projects. It provides insight and guidance across a spectrum of topics, from broad issues like organisational design and culture change, to eminently practical questions concerning the use of modern information technology to support knowledge management.

The contributors include not only leading British and European academics, but senior managers from such companies as Lloyds TSB, Microsoft, Unisys and Vodafone. The book commences with short biographies of all contributors and then moves on to the 15 chapters covering a broad range of topics. Each chapter represents a different project with different co‐authors and with different elements of the knowledge management mosaic. The chapters vary considerably in nature and depth, though all provide practical guidelines in one form or another. The topics of the chapters naturally overlap somewhat, so in order to help the reader navigate through the book each project has been placed into one of four areas: “Strategy and organisation”, “Management of change”, “Below the surface”, and “Technology‐based enablement”.

Supporting the strong content are good bibliographies and an index, an excellent afterword by Tony Buzan, and worthwhile – if slightly small and cramped – inclusion of figures and diagrams. The book is designed for a broad audience including students, teachers, researchers and practitioners – in fact anyone interested in the practice of knowledge management.