This book assembles into one volume a comprehensive collection of the key current thinking regarding the use of C. West Churchman's Design of Inquiring Systems as a basis for computer-based inquiring systems design and implementation. Inquiring systems are systems that go beyond knowledge management to actively inquire about their environment.

In The Inquiring Organization, Chun Wei Choo examines how an organization's knowledge-acquisition and information-seeking leads to the construction of beliefs and the formations of epistemic practices. Featuring case studies and examples from a variety of policy-making, public health, and high-tech ventures, Choo thoroughly explores the epistemology of organizational learning and information-seeking with fascinating results in this book.

This book provides the context and tools to create knowledge via a proven process of inquiry, questions, and conversation. It introduces the theoretical background to explain why, as well as the practical hands-on skills and processes to demonstrate how, to surface tacit knowledge—that which we know but which we have not yet made explicit in conversation, e.g., background, education, and experience—and create new knowledge in collaboration with colleagues. In the information economy, knowledge is an asset and a currency. The creation of new knowledge, therefore, enhances an organization's position in the marketplace. How do we create new knowledge? We don't do it by learning what is already known. The learning organization is already passé. Instead, we do it by inquirinq, which is a method of bringing tacit knowledge to the forefront of awareneness. The inquiring organization surfaces tacit knowledge, which is what its employees bring to the table—their background, education, experience, character, and judgment—and transforms that knowledge into new, explicit knowledge that can be transferred from one employee to another through conversation. That is true knowledge creation, and this book provides the tools, skills, techniques, and processes for executives and professionals in any field to accomplish this task in today's fluid environment.

Knowledge Management has evolved into one of the most important streams of management research, affecting organizations of all types at many different levels. The Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management, Second Edition provides a compendium of terms, definitions and explanations of concepts, processes and acronyms addressing the challenges of knowledge management. This two-volume collection covers all aspects of this critical discipline, which range from knowledge identification and representation, to the impact of Knowledge Management Systems on organizational culture, to the significant integration and cost issues being faced by Human Resources, MIS/IT, and production departments.

Table of Contents

As organizations continue to develop and adapt in today’s modern society, various approaches have begun to emerge as managers look for the best techniques to improve company performance. Appreciative inquiry is the practice of maintaining a positive and optimistic environment within the workplace, and it’s a concept that has transformed many corporations as it spread across the globe. Understanding this powerful shift in employee perception requires considerable research on how appreciative inquiry is affecting various companies worldwide. Appreciative Inquiry Approaches to Organizational Transformation provides emerging research that serves to increase the productivity of individuals and organizations exponentially by sharing case studies from organizations where appreciative inquiry has been implemented successfully as well as best practices that can benefit organizations and common pitfalls that can be avoided by becoming more vigilant. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as individual execution, productivity, and occupational solutions, this book is ideally designed for managers, practitioners, corporate professionals, executives, researchers, educators, and students.

"This book is the premier comprehensive reference source for the latest terms, acronyms and definitions related to all aspects of information science and technology. It provides the most current information to researchers on every level"--Provided by publisher.

Human Choice and Computers: Issues of Choice and Quality of Life in the Information Society presents different views about how terrorist actions are influencing political and social discussions and decisions, and it covers questions related to legitimacy and power in the Information Society. Ethical principles are important guidelines for responsible behavior of IT professionals. But even under strong external pressure, long ranging aspects such as education and the roles of developing countries in the Information Society are important to discuss, especially to enable all to actively participate in information processes.

As the most comprehensive reference work dealing with decision support systems (DSS), this book is essential for the library of every DSS practitioner, researcher, and educator. Written by an international array of DSS luminaries, it contains more than 70 chapters that approach decision support systems from a wide variety of perspectives. These range from classic foundations to cutting-edge thought, informative to provocative, theoretical to practical, historical to futuristic, human to technological, and operational to strategic. The chapters are conveniently organized into ten major sections that novices and experts alike will refer to for years to come.