Description
Book SynopsisThis book addresses the concept of knowledge, and its use in the contexts of work and organizations. It provides a critical understanding of current approaches to knowledge management, organization, and the ''knowledge economy''.The author describes a number of cases of ''knowledge intensive firms'', including IT firms, management consultancy firms, advertising agencies, and life science companies. He emphasizes the ambiguity of knowledge in the input, process, and output of professional work, and suggests that we should be careful in assuming too much about the nature, role, and effects of ''knowledge'' in business life. Instead we should understand the constructed nature of knowledge and scrutinize knowledge claims carefully.Alvesson looks at several aspects of management and working life, including human resource management issues, client control, and the regulation of identity. Rhetoric, symbolism, image, the politics of knowledge claims, and identity are all shown to be crucial fo
Trade ReviewThe real value of this book is that Alvesson's examination of knowledge management provides a much needed antithesis to the popular views on the subject. * Scandinavian Journal of Management *
Table of Contents1. Introduction ; 2. On Knowledge-Intensive Firms ; 3. Knowledge: Questioning the Functional View ; 4. Image, Rhetoric, and Symbolism ; 5. Socio-Politics of Knowledge Work: Social Connections and Interactions ; 6. Management and Organizational Control ; 7. Human Resource Management and Personnel Concepts ; 8. Knowledge Management ; 9. Identity: Uncertainties and Regulations ; 10. Conclusion
