 Knowledge,
information and the business process: revolutionary
thinking or common sense? (2007) Chandos
Publishing
Reviews
- Legal Information Management, 8 (2008)
John Gibson
Research & Information Manager
Hill Dickinson LLP
Surprising
though it may be to a number of legal librarians, working
in a law firm is working for a business. A good
law firm is a
profitable one that follows sound business processes. This
book provides a good starting point for many business
ventures considering knowledge management (KM)
as a tool - whether or not the business is in
the legal field. Although it has application to academic,
public sector
and not-for-profit organisations, its main thrust
is aimed at business and this is where its application is
most salient.
The book is designed as a practical guide on
the implementation
of key KM concepts and principles, and in
particular the integration of intellectual
capital with business
processes. It provides practical guidance on
analysing business processes (including
products and customers)
from a human and systems capital perspective.
In addition, it has practical frameworks
that enable
readers to implement
the suggested strategies regarding the development
of intellectual capital around business
processes.
The book is a manageable 134 pages, with a
succinct and useful index and bibliography.
Its contents are
structured
in a clear and concise, way, beginning
with the
definitions
of intellectual, human and systems capital,
before moving
on to their application to the business process,
and concluding with the management of expectations.
The
figures and tables which “pepper” the
book throughout provide
useful illustrations to accompany the points that
the author makes, and the logical progression
of looking at
the theoretical aspects of KM, and applying it to business practice, is clear and obvious.
Throughout the book, the author is keen to
illustrate that intellectual capital and
human capital are key
elements, amongst other factors, in KM.
Intellectual capital is defined in practical
terms as
being the facts, data,
information and wisdom of a business; human
capital is the personnel running and working
within the business.
No chapter stands on its own, since the
subject relies on the inter-relation of
human, systems
and intellectual capital to form the basis
of KM.
At the outset, the book appears to be like
many other KM books on the market. However,
it stands apart
from other books when the author begins
to provide many practical “action points” that
generically apply to businesses
starting out and implementing KM programmes. Key,
practical and apposite directions (should I
say suggestions?) are made and allow theory to
be put into practice
by the reader. For instance, the author suggests
that a KM manager should find out “to
what extent learning
takes place throughout the process?” A
deceptively simple question, but one that is
essential to implementing
KM in a law firm, for instance. When
theory can became a little involved and difficult to
understand, the illustrations in the book are
invaluable. For instance, I was floundering a little in understanding
the
application of knowledge and the information
hierarchy.
Instead of going into great detail in
prose,
the author
provided
a clear, simple and useful diagram that
instantly
made it clear. I was also impressed by
the pedagogic devices
the author uses. For instance, she seemed
to
anticipate many of the questions that
came to mind during my
reading by actually asking them within
the text and then answering
the questions herself.
Practical books appeal to me more than
theoretical ones. Inevitably one cannot
dispense with
theory, but
a book
that integrates theory with practice
is most
welcome. I therefore
have no hesitation in recommending
this book to
anyone who is starting to explore the
implementation of KM techniques
in their own firms. As part of a library
of KM books, I have no doubt that this
publication deserves a place.
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