Connecting the dots: making knowledge available to decision makers.

• Author: Choksy, Carol E.B.
• Position: KM-WM: A New Vision Based on Conceptual Theories of Knowledge and Wisdom - Book review

KM-WM: A New Vision Based on Conceptual Theories of Knowledge and Wisdom

Author: M.K. Mansour, Ph.D.

Publisher: CreateSpace

Publication Date: 2010

Length: 406 pages

Price: $49.99

ISBN: 978-1451540352

Source: www.createspace.com/3438940

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KM-WM: A New Vision Based on Conceptual Theories of Knowledge and Wisdom is a workman-like review of knowledge management (KM) from the perspectives of information science and business management. Author M.K. Mansour, Ph.D., answers several important questions about how and where KM should be implemented in an organization.

The author delves into the data, information, knowledge management, wisdom management (WM) pyramid, carefully defining each layer and determining that the information management professional captures, codifies, and organizes knowledge, but the management professional uses knowledge, via wisdom, to inform decision making. Even for the mature KM researcher, this book is a welcome addition to a confusing field, as it demonstrates how KM and WM fit into management science.

The purpose of the book is to connect the dots among KM, decision making, and wisdom. As Mansour points out, KM does not address decision making well and does not integrate discussion of wisdom into the literature well. Declarations that the book is a "holistic" study of KM are well-founded, as the author utilizes works from throughout the academy, including philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, management science, and information science, to create a firm foundation for his observations.

"Organizations may utilize knowledge for their decision-making process that may produce wisdom if decisions contain balanced mental attributes," says Mansour. "Thus, after it is created, knowledge may be utilized in solving problems and making balanced decisions to achieve wisdom."

The introduction is a literature review of KM that teases out the underlying, unresolved conflicts within the literature. Chapter 2 is a review of knowledge from the perspectives of definitions, philosophy, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, and information science, then examines several controversial issues to demonstrate how KM researchers are most influenced by their own fields.

In Chapter 3, Mansour develops his own theory of knowledge in which knowledge developed by two individuals is different and cannot be transmitted identically from one individual to another.

Chapters 4 and 5 address one of the challenges...