Clark, Eugene --- "Book Review - Advancing the Theory and Practice of Knowledge Management in an Information Age" [2004] JlLawInfoSci 5; (2004) 15 Journal of Law, Information and Science 78

• Advancing the Theory and Practice of Knowledge Management in an Information Age

Advancing the Theory and Practice of Knowledge Management in an Information Age

Knowledge Orientation in Organizations, Ashgate

Truch, Edward (2003) ISBN 07546 3812 X

266 pages Hardback, £50.00 / US$89.95

Knowledge Management Tool Kit, Hampshire, UK, Gower

Giannetto, Karen and Wheeler, Anne (2000) ISBN 0566 08293 4

113 pages, £250.00 / US$425.00

Data Protection for the HR Manager, Hampshire, UK, Gower

Webster, Mandy (2003), ISBN: 0 566 08596 8

154 pages, £49.95 / US$89.95

Use and Monitoring of E-mail, Intranet and Internet Facilities at Work The Hague: Kluwer Law International

Blanpain, Roger and VanGestel, Marc (2004) ISBN 90 411 22664.

298 pages including index, EUR 125, USD 147.50, GBP 87.50

Intellectual Property: in principle, Sydney, Thomson/ LawBook Co

Fitzgerald, A and Fitzgerald, B (2004) ISBN: 0455 21894 3

477 pages including index, $A59.95

In an information age, knowledge is rapidly becoming the most valuable asset of most organisations, both in the public and private sectors. This reality is reflected also in the fact that intangible assets, especially intellectual property and capital, account for an increasing proportion of the market valuation of knowledge-based firms. Governments, too, seek to gain competitive advantage over their overseas international counterparts by leveraging off their knowledge to provide government services in new ways and gain further efficiencies.

Edward Truch is Director of the KM Research Institute at Henley Management College, Oxfordshire. Truch’s Knowledge Orientation in Organizations provides a very useful quantitative approach that analyses and tests various insights into knowledge management (KM) models and strategies. Such an approach is important given the reality that no single approach to KM fits all organisations and it is important to have a sound basis for investing in a particular approach. Truch’s study (in chapter 2) also proffers a thorough review of the KM literature. This literature demonstrates that increasingly knowledge strategy is business strategy. The goal is to focus on the creation, capture, organization, renewal, sharing and use of knowledge in all aspects of the organisation’s activities so that the best knowledge is provided at each point of activity (p. 33). This in turn requires a close ‘fit’ as well between the organisation and its external environment as companies must constantly adjust their strategies to maintain an alignment with and responsiveness to external conditions (p. 63). Truch’s book reports on his study of KM within organisations. His conclusions provide quantitative evidence supporting the importance of KM and its alignment with organisational strategy. It contributes as well to the taxonomy of KM. Finally, it also provides some practical guidance to business decision-makers concerned with the planning and IT investment required in implementing effective KM systems.

Complementing Truch’s book is the very practical Knowledge Management Toolkit put together by Giannetto and Wheeler. This loose-leaf manual provides a valuable resource for ‘creating policy and strategy, with practical guidance for managing knowledge at all levels within the organization’.

The KM manual is divided into three parts. Part I introduces KM and covers such topics as: what is KM? Where do we find knowledge in organisations? Why manage knowledge? How do we manage knowledge. Part II examines the KM process and deals with: planning and preparation, implementation, and various steps in KM. Finally, Part III brings together various tools and techniques involved in the KM process. These include: analysis of current practices and whether they support KM, gaining agreement within the organisation to proceed with KM, planning and conducting a knowledge audit, planning the KM project, implementing the KM process, communication and training, and reviewing the KM action plan.

One of the key areas in which knowledge must be managed is that of human resources (HR). One of the most significant issues arising in a digital environment is that of privacy protection or data protection as it is termed in the EU. In most countries that have adopted specific legislation to protect data or privacy of personal information, the approach taken is the adoption of general principles that must be fleshed out by regulatory guidelines and the interpretations of key officials responsible for administering the relevant data protection/privacy law. Webster’s Data Protection for the HR Manager provides a comprehensive and practical guide for data protection within human resources. Viewing the issue from the perspective of the HR department, the book examines data collection, use, management, access, sharing, and so on. This is done through the entire employment lifecycle. This includes rights related to recruitment, monitoring, outsourcing, employee benefits, employee administration, marketing, administration and more.

Although there are now many different privacy and data protection laws, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about just what such legislative schemes are designed to protect and how best to balance the respective interests of individuals, organisations and society. While written ostensibly for the UK market and in response to the Data Protection Act 1998 (which in turn was driven by the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC), the practical guidelines and principles discussed will be of interest to all countries seeking to obtain a similar level of data protection.

The book is organised around three sets of issues. The first concerns the nature of the interests and values, which data protection laws promote and are capable of promoting. The second set of issues examines the extent to which privacy or data protection laws should protect 'private collective entities' as opposed to only individual persons. Such groups range from business corporations to various citizen groups. The third set of issues concerns the extent of legal protection in relation to profiling – making inferences from a set of characteristics about an individual person or collective entity.

Through its detailed exploration of such issues, this book fills an important role in probing deeply into why we have data protection or privacy laws, the nature of the regulatory mechanisms designed to protect data and how such legal regimes can be most effectively implemented in the workplace.

Use and Monitoring of E-mail, Intranet and Internet Facilities at Work drills down one step further to examine a KM issue—how to manage the appropriate and best use of e-mail, intranets and internet facilities. In today’s work environment, information systems can be both a potential asset and a liability in cases where the technology is misused. To ensure that ICT is used effectively and efficiently, employers increasingly monitor the use of such infrastructure as computers, e-mail, intranets, extranets and internet usage by employees. Yet, such monitoring must also balance the legitimate privacy and other interests of employees.

Blanpain and Van Gestel examine thirty actual company policies regarding on-line communications. These policies are selected from a wide variety of business sectors. Also provided are the texts of four company codes of practices and the views of unions, employers’ organisations and other stakeholders. Largely from a EU perspective, the authors also analyse the existing laws on access, monitoring, liability, sanctions and rights of employee representatives. Finally, the authors examine two proposed model codes of practice, one for the individual user and the other for rights of employee representatives.

Technology use policies are a vital part of the infrastructure for effective KM. The successful development, implementation and evaluation of such policies will help to ensure that KM remains strategically aligned with both the internal business goals and the external environment.

Last but not least, is Anne and Brian Fitzgerald’s Intellectual Property text. Ann and Brian have been at the forefront of Australian and international developments in IP for many years. If knowledge is to be effectively managed and organisations are to become creative communities, IP literacy and effective management and commercialisation of IP is an imperative. This book will provide managers with a useful guide that will help them undertake this task.

Collectively, the Fitzgeralds have made contributions to this important field at many institutions and levels for over a decade. This book provides a succinct, highly readable and thought provoking account of the essential principles of intellectual property law in Australia. One feature which is particularly relevant to readers of this journal is the emphasis in the book given to IP protection in such areas as information technology, biotechnology, indigenous cultural property and digital entertainment products. A second feature is that the book is written primarily for undergraduate law courses. Even for the non-student reader, however, the existence of review questions, summary of key principles, guides to problem solving and easy to follow style and format make this a valuable resource for the lawyer and non-lawyer alike.

Reviewed by Prof Eugene Clark, Dean, Faculty of Law, Business & Arts, Charles Darwin University