This book is intended as a general introduction to knowledge management, which may be easily read by businessmen, generalists, undergraduates, and MBA students alike.  It aims to be “deceptively informative”, and will contain a useful mix of theory, practice, and anecdote, so that the reader is beguiled into obtaining an understanding of the subject material that simply would not have occurred had they been faced with reading a standard academic text.  Indeed, many readers would not have picked up such a text in the first instance.

Knowledge management has been the hyped phrase of the last few years of the twentieth century, and it has been mooted as the way forward for organisations to be dynamic, flexible, competitive, and successful.  Despite the hype, and despite some individual successes, western economies and organisations may not have been greatly affected by this all singing, all dancing, solution to organisations’ problems. 

Has the impact of knowledge management really been less than expected?  If so why?  In order to address these questions, there are a number of others that must also be considered, such as “What is knowledge management?”, “Why did it arise in the first place?”,  “Can it be simplified or categorised?”, “Is it a fad?”, “Is it theoretical?”, “Is it practical?”, “Why should I care about it?”.

     In order to help address these questions, and many others, this book examines knowledge management in concept and in practice.  Knowledge management is considered in conjunction with other major approaches to organisational activities and analyses:  change management, systems thinking, strategy, and operations research.  These areas have been chosen because they play major roles in the planning, running, and development, of organisations.  This choice may be evidenced by a wealth of professional and learned publications, and also through organisations’ own strategic plans, mission statements, and publicly available documents.  Thus, if knowledge management is to succeed, it must either work with these other important areas, or it must supersede them entirely.

     The introductory chapter outlines the nature of knowledge management, how and why it has arisen in recent years, some ways in which it may be classified, its potential benefits, and its potential pitfalls.  In particular the shift from manufacturing to services is discussed and the rise in knowledge management related to this.  The decline of manufacturing in western economies in the last quarter of the twentieth century is well documented, as is the concomitant rise in services.  With this switch in the economic base came an important change in what was being bought by consumers, and by businesses from other businesses.  Whilst a range of tangible products (goods) were still being purchased, such as cars, household goods, and foodstuffs, many consumers and businesses began to purchase substantially more intangible products (services).  These included areas such as tourism, finance, and consultancy.  The common element amongst these services is that there is not always a tangible product, or, where there is one, it is only a part of the purchase.  The intangible purchase is knowledge.