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Title:
"Knowledge, Information and the Business Process: Revolutionary Thinking or Common Sense?"
Review:
People are often apprehensive about new concepts that are introduced to an organisation, especially when the concepts might change that organisation. Liz Taylor has written an atypical book that discusses how knowledge, both individual and collective, can be managed to affect change within business processes, and how proactive management can achieve realised benefits.
Taylor has worked in the knowledge/information management field for more than eight years, and her expertise is evident. Many organisations, according to Taylor, are still grappling with the knowledge and information concepts. These organisations do not have a comprehensive mechanism to determine the value of these essential components within the business process, or any means of holistic development.
Knowledge, Information and the Business Process"Knowledge, Information and the Business Process: Revolutionary Thinking or Common Sense?" provides an evaluative measure for the business process, which Taylor believes will allow more informed creations and enhance the development of business processes from a knowledge/information perspective. For Taylor, knowledge and information are the keys to delivering products derived from business processes. All through her book, she provides practical examples and guidance to evaluate the business processes using the framework she developed. In addition, she describes and synthesises the business process for those who are not familiar with it.
Taylor has designed her book to be a practical guide on the implementation of some key concepts and principles. Prior to unveiling the tools and framework, Taylor briefly discusses the current view of knowledge/information management and introduces some related concepts, such as intellectual capital. After taking a more detailed look at key definitions, Taylor describes a protocol for deconstructing the components and activities of the business process from a knowledge/information perspective.
More importantly, she develops a framework to identify 'potential wastage'. Taylor believes her framework will lead to more proactive management, which will be able to address these inefficiencies. She continually underscores, however, that most business processes are dynamic and will change with time, and that the framework developed throughout her book can be used for continual evaluation of any type of process.
According to Taylor, the traditional development approach to the business process is to separate the various components and take different projects forward in isolation. Now the reader has a practical framework, which she has developed and others will hopefully implement. Her suggested strategies for the development of intellectual capital and of business processes are primarily geared toward individuals responsible for change and/or effective business processes.
Not being familiar with business processes, I found some of the concepts difficult to grasp. It took me a few re-reads, highlighting markers, pencilled notes and some frustration to get through this book. Overall, it is a slightly difficult book to read, but describing a new process never is easy.
Regardless of my struggles, I believe "Knowledge, Information and the Business Process" provides a framework for work environments to employ to deal with increasing pressures to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Being able to accurately identify the valuable contributions of knowledge and information is vital to the business process. I am certain that, upon the completion of this book, readers will be able to identify the potential assets within an organisation that have not been realised.
FreePint Reviewer:
Michael Gutierrez is a reference librarian at the University of
Delaware Library http://www.lib.udel.edu/ and is currently obtaining
his doctorate in Education Technology.
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