Denise Bedford

Networks are essential to mobility - mobility of people, goods, services, communications, and knowledge. The 21st century knowledge economy is dependent upon knowledge mobility and flows. Knowledge networks build upon, but are more complex than, traditional networks. While the network science literature is a starting point, it is not sufficient for modelling or managing knowledge networks. Knowledge networks pay greater attention to nodes as knowledge sources, links as relationships, and the knowledge content of messages. Knowledge Networks describes the role of networks in the knowledge economy, explains network structures and behaviors, walks the reader through the design and setup of knowledge network analyses, and offers a step by step methodology for conducting a knowledge network analysis. Bedford and Sanchez bridge the academic and business perspective of networks. This book illustrates the role of human and non-human actors in these evolving networks, and describes the emerging nature of networks of machines and things. Knowledge Networks is essential reading for business managers, knowledge managers, network analysts, consultants, and researchers in knowledge transfer and translation.

This book considers the effects of place and space on a variety of environments and work. In the 21st century, where an organization or a function is positioned, how easy it is to access, whether it has a visible presence at the community level is now a critical design issue. In the 21st century, technological advances are redefining what businesses and organizations do and how they do it. Customers expect increasingly customized products and services. Customers expect more significant direct interaction with product and service providers. These changes translate to increased integration of functions for the workforce, increased fragmentation of responsibilities, and an expansion and blending of roles. The authors suggest that organizations constrained to traditional place and space designs may encounter challenges adapting to these shifts. The series covers a wide range of knowledge management concepts methods and strategies that enable decision makers to understand engage in and drive organization-wide efforts to build those capabilities required to remain competitive in the knowledge economy. From designing to implementing different types of knowledge-based strategies and measuring their success the series becomes a valuable resource for decision makers contributing to the sustainable transformation of business and society. By encouraging critical review and discussion among practitioners the series also generates important feedback for knowledge management academics and researchers. Experience applying core concepts and theories in a range of real-world scenarios creates opportunities to critically evaluate research topics and agendas methods and results.

An extensive legal, moral, and ethical infrastructure supports business transactions and economic values in the industrial economy. This infrastructure is grounded in the concept of tangible property, its production and consumption. Today we have a deeper understanding of the nature of knowledge and its unique economic properties and behaviours. We now understand that a reinterpretation is needed to ensure that healthy and trusted economic knowledge markets exist. Knowledge Ethics for the Knowledge Economy explores whether an extension or a redefinition of the legal, moral, and ethical infrastructure is needed. The authors review the fundamental assumptions of tangible property markets and transactions and test their applicability to intangible assets. Given the new properties and principles of the knowledge economy, there is a need to re-examine these properties and principles. This guide provides a proactive and forward-looking perspective for managers to adapt and shape to suit their work environments.

In 2025 the shift from an industrial to a knowledge economy is underway. The shift has introduced changes in our essential economic assumptions and models in how markets behave and the nature and sources of capital. The shift is affecting the way we do business and the ways we manage our organizations and operations. Over the past two hundred years, we have developed and perfected methods and tactics to help us analyze and cope with the economic environment. These established methods and tactics are no longer sufficient. The knowledge economy requires a new foundation of knowledge capital. To be strategic and intelligent the old analytical methods just adapt, and new methods are needed. The latest volume of Working Methods for Knowledge Management speaks to doing intelligence in the dynamic, chaotic and continuously changing environment of the 21 st century. It is predicated on the understanding that every intelligence situation or dilemma is unique. It is predicated on the rapidly evolving shift in management and the changing nature and structures of organizations. The authors consider the changing nature of markets, economic transactions, and competition in the knowledge economy. What can we learn from exploring the new economic environment to design a new approach to competitive intelligence? The authors make a case for strategic competitive intelligence grounded in knowledge capital assets and present a conceptual model and framework for managers and practitioners to consider in designing a new approach. The conceptual model considers eight critical factors when designing a new approach with the text providing in-depth explanation of these factors. By adapting the existing tools and developing new tools to transform this critical practice for the knowledge economy, Competitive Intelligence offers an indispensable guide for anyone working in the knowledge and business management spaces.

The knowledge sciences field has long recognized the importance of communities of practice to the flow of knowledge and situational learning. However, the literature and research has focused mainly on communities in formal organizational contexts. This constraint has limited research and exploration and exposed only a small portion of the knowledge of communities of practice. Focusing only on organizational communities of practice further restricts what we have learned about the full range of knowledge capabilities. ?The Knowledge of Communities provides an inclusive and comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding the spectrum of communities of practice and their relationship to the development of knowledge capital. Presenting a core standpoint that incorporates the variant perspectives of community processes from social sciences, psychology, behavioral sciences, communication and economics, the authors review existing research, identifying areas where additional work is needed, and present the results as a practical field guide for managers that can be utilized for analyzing any community of practice.

The Mask Methodology and Knowledge Books enables an organization to develop knowledge books, which have proven to be easy to use, easy to store, find and manage, and easy to update as organizational knowledge changes. They have also proven to be highly effective self-study and training resources. Until now, application of the methodology has been limited to Europe – specifically French speaking countries, because the source documentation and in person training materials have not yet been translated to languages other than French. This compelling new contribution to the field comprises of: A review the types of knowledge capital, and highlight the critical role of tacit knowledge in business operations; an introduction to the economic context for identifying and valuing critical business knowledge; and explanation of the relationship of knowledge engineering to MASK (Method for Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge); a outline of the six models that comprise the MASK model; an explanation of the importance of focusing on expertise that is well recognized by and essential to an organization; instruction on how to design a Knowledge Book for self-study and training; and a guide to building a governance and maintenance process for knowledge books.

Knowledge translation is a topic that originated in the field of health sciences where the need to move research to practice is of critical importance. In parallel, the field of knowledge sciences has developed a research base around knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, knowledge exchange, knowledge articulation and knowledge absorption. This book brings these two important tracks together and synthesizes the fragmented literatures. It also draws from essential work on human communication and considers how these concepts are affected by the knowledge economy. The book raises awareness of the critical role that knowledge translation plays in every academic field of study, and in everyday life. To demonstrate this role, the book presents a grounding model that readers can use to better ‘see’ their knowledge translation challenges and opportunities. Drawing on the author team’s experience in a range of domains and sectors, the book explores knowledge translation in the fields of manufacturing, infectious diseases, automated call centers, regulatory development and compliance, financial lending, transportation safety, and doctor-patient discourse.

In order to achieve its full value, knowledge must flow and be continuously used. Knowledge use, reuse, and repurposing has been a challenge discussed in knowledge sciences literature for over three decades. Based on a review of research and conversations with business stakeholders, the authors investigate and offer solutions to two key challenges - preserving and curating knowledge. Knowledge Preservation and Curation focusses on business value and processes rather than traditional legal and financial requirements, and further, explores preservation and curation in known and unknown business futures. Real-world examples from cutting-edge private and public sector organizations are included, and give unique insight into the world of knowledge management.

Organizations are increasingly aware of the role that culture plays in implementing strategies. The adage ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast everyday’ shows how important it is to understand, monitor, and calibrate company culture. This means shaping the behaviour of leaders, managers, teams, and individuals. It means integrating assessment and behaviours into performance and communication strategies. Cultures – at all levels – are shifting in today’s society. It is important to understand which factors are having which effects. The Cultures of Knowledge Organizations presents a new perspective that treats organizational culture not as a static conceptual model but as a dynamic, complex and adaptive system. The authors consider how de facto organizational business cultures must function in a hyperdynamic knowledge economy. Today’s managers need real practical guidance on how to see ‘culture’, how to assess it, how to design a culture that supports business goals, and how to help the workforce understand their own role in shaping culture. This research acts as a map for 21st Century.

The communication of knowledge is a core concept in the field of knowledge management and an essential new role and responsibility of business managers. Knowledge capital is the primary source of wealth and the key source of productivity in the knowledge economy. Stockpiling and storing knowledge diminishes its value. It is only through circulation that our knowledge capital realizes its business value. Communicating Knowledge addresses essential management practices in the 21st-century knowledge economy. It speaks to the change that every organization is experiencing as they transition from an industrial to a knowledge organization. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened an awareness of communications practices in the past year, with communication norms and behaviors being challenged at every level. How we communicate, when we communicate, with whom we communicate, and what we communicate is currently undergoing a global reform. Communication competencies are no longer desirable qualities in managers - they are essential. This book is intended for business managers working at all levels, knowledge management practitioners and scholars, communications professionals, practitioners, and consultants.

Over the past century, intelligence has evolved as a practice in several distinct domains. In each domain, it is a unique set of tactics grown out of day to day practices. Its practice has been limited to functional units in large, well-funded enterprises. However, in the knowledge economy, every organization must behave intelligently. The relationship between knowledge and intelligence is a logical one, but it is not one that has been highlighted in either knowledge management or intelligence analysis. Organizational Intelligence and Knowledge Analytics expands the traditional intelligence life cycle to a new framework - Design-Analyze-Automate-Accelerate - and clearly lays out the alignments between knowledge capital and intelligence strategies. Explaining what it means to build intelligence capacity across the organization, this book also includes a toolkit of references to analytical methods. This book is intended for business managers, intelligence professionals, data scientists, competitive and strategic intelligence professionals, and researchers in change management.

The 21st century economy is fuelled by knowledge. Today, knowledge is more than an idea - it is an economic commodity. An organization's knowledge capital is a competitive and comparative advantage. Every organization must now invest in the knowledge assets of all its employees. Learning is the engine that creates and renews knowledge capital. Learning Organizations delves into why learning is an essential business operation; how modern learning is different from industrial-era training; how to discover learning sources and opportunities; how to design a learning environment and learning strategies that optimize the potential of every employee. This is essential reading for business managers, human resource professionals, and academic researchers studying knowledge economies, knowledge, and intellectual capital.

Knowledge Architectures reviews traditional approaches to managing information and explains why they need to adapt to support 21st-century information management and discovery.Exploring the rapidly changing environment in which information is being managed and accessed, the book considers how to use knowledge architectures, the basic structures and designs that underlie all of the parts of an effective information system, to best advantage. Drawing on 40 years of work with a variety of organizations, Bedford explains that failure to understand the structure behind any given system can be the difference between an effective solution and a significant and costly failure. Demonstrating that the information user environment has shifted significantly in the past 20 years, the book explains that end users now expect designs and behaviors that are much closer to the way they think, work, and act. Acknowledging how important it is that those responsible for developing an information or knowledge management system understand knowledge structures, the book goes beyond a traditional library science perspective and uses case studies to help translate the abstract and theoretical to the practical and concrete.Explaining the structures in a simple and intuitive way and providing examples that clearly illustrate the challenges faced by a range of different organizations, Knowledge Architectures is essential reading for those studying and working in library and information science, data science, systems development, database design, and search system architecture and engineering.

Knowledge Architectures reviews traditional approaches to managing information and explains why they need to adapt to support 21st-century information management and discovery.Exploring the rapidly changing environment in which information is being managed and accessed, the book considers how to use knowledge architectures, the basic structures and designs that underlie all of the parts of an effective information system, to best advantage. Drawing on 40 years of work with a variety of organizations, Bedford explains that failure to understand the structure behind any given system can be the difference between an effective solution and a significant and costly failure. Demonstrating that the information user environment has shifted significantly in the past 20 years, the book explains that end users now expect designs and behaviors that are much closer to the way they think, work, and act. Acknowledging how important it is that those responsible for developing an information or knowledge management system understand knowledge structures, the book goes beyond a traditional library science perspective and uses case studies to help translate the abstract and theoretical to the practical and concrete.Explaining the structures in a simple and intuitive way and providing examples that clearly illustrate the challenges faced by a range of different organizations, Knowledge Architectures is essential reading for those studying and working in library and information science, data science, systems development, database design, and search system architecture and engineering.

Assessment models and methods are taught in business schools, routinely published, conducted at all organizational levels and widely understood. Yet as organizations transform from an industrial to knowledge-based economy, assessments are rarely adapted to the new environment. Simply applying existing assessment models and methods to knowledge does not address the challenge. Knowledge assets, knowledge transactions and knowledge capabilities have unique properties and behaviors that may render traditional methods as unreliable or invalid. Expert authors Dean Testa, Johel Brown-Grant and Denise Bedford draw from their practical and theoretical experience in designing assessments for knowledge organizations, from observing successes and failures in a variety of organizations. Synthesizing their experience, their discussions here help knowledge management professionals gain a deeper understanding of maturity models and determine how best to create an assessment strategy for their organization. Offering an enhanced understanding of how to engage organisations in assessments, describing maturity factors and offering tools to communicate the results of these maturity assessments, this is an unmissable book for knowledge management professionals and researchers.

There is a critical point of failure for every knowledge management effort: when the strategy is isolated from the organization, and when there is no vision anchoring the strategy. Strategy is not a starting point, but a step in the process of creating a sustainable foundation for knowledge management efforts. Given that most knowledge management professionals do not have a grounding in vision development, this backwards approach puts any knowledge management effort at a disadvantage from the very beginning. In the four sections of this book, expert authors Monique Ceruti, Angel Williams and Denise Bedford guide readers through the building blocks of turning knowledge management visions into strategies. They enable professionals to demonstrate their value to the organization's strategic future, as well as empowering readers to take a lead in developing a future vision, and to help establish a foundation for a 21st century knowledge organization. Providing knowledge management professionals with a roadmap for success within their organizations, this is an unmissable book for any professional or researcher tasked with creating new strategies for knowledge management organizations.

Knowledge management metrics are one of the weakest areas of practice in the field. Overwhelmingly, the literature that exists focuses on case studies and incidents of metrics, rather than approaching the concept holistically. Addressing this lack, expert authors Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Farah Gheriss and Denise Bedford come together to supply a fundamental discussion of measurement cultures and philosophy, types of metrics, and how to use metrics to grow an organization. They offer a guide for knowledge management professionals to report on progress against goals and targets in terms that are understandable and comparable to their organizational peers, enabling professionals from across businesses to communicate with metrics and engage in wider discussion about the process of achieving organizational visions. Providing practical guidance for identifying different types of measurements and metrics, as well as methods for defining and collection information about metrics, this is an essential book for knowledge management professionals and researchers on the path to improving metric literacy across their organizations.

Failed knowledge management projects have one element in common: they fail to focus on the organization's core business functions and instead choose functions that are easy or might produce 'low-hanging fruit'. As a result, often even successful knowledge management projects add little value to the organization as they fail to address the pain points of the heart of the business. So how can knowledge management professionals position themselves for greatest success? In this practical guide, expert authors Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Denise Bedford, Margo Thomas, and Susan Wakabayashi demonstrate how professionals can map knowledge resources to support business critical capabilities, and increase the impact of knowledge management projects. They also explain how to avoid investing in resources with low value, and how to develop strategies and action plans for different types of resources. Providing practical guidance for professionals, and including mini-case studies of successes and failures, this is an essential book for any knowledge management professional, researcher or student.

With the rising importance of knowledge as a primary factor in global industries, it is increasingly necessary for knowledge management professionals to understand, engage with, and speak the language of assets, investments and auditing. However, all too often, professionals don’t have these skills, and have no way to learn them. This exciting guide helps knowledge management professionals gain a basic understanding of assets, investments and audits, so they can command respect from those who are in control of financial investments. It also ensures that organizations have a roadmap for developing short- and long-term investment strategies. Providing guidance for identifying assets - and liabilities - as well as describing the types of investment available to align with knowledge assets, expert authors Pawan Handa, Jean Pagani, and Denise Bedford walk readers through standard audit practices, and help you through the process of designing, conducting, and reporting on the results of a knowledge audit. For knowledge management professionals, corporate and business leaders and managers, workforce professionals, and educators, this is an unmissable guide that unites the new face of the global economy with accepted auditing practices.

Our global economy is going through a major transformation, from an industrial economy, to a knowledge economy, rendering knowledge a primary factor in production. In this practical, real-world focused book, expert authors Bill LaFayette, Wayne Curtis, Denise Bedford and Seema Iyer come together to define and discuss knowledge work. A common misconception claims that knowledge work is limited to high-skill and technology occupations. The truth is that this growing field applies across all aspects of the economy, which has critical implications on not only macro-, but also micro-levels. As the nature of work is changing, the functions of managing work must also change, as well as our approaches to education and educational organizations. Through a thorough exploration of the functions and structures required to adapt to this change, as well as a close examination of the geography of knowledge, this first book in the Working Methods for Knowledge Management series helps leaders leverage knowledge to better serve their communities, workplaces, and organizations. This practical book serves as a guide for corporate leaders and managers, knowledge managers, workforce professionals, policy makers, labor economists, human capital researchers, and educators. It helps diverse audiences understand the implications of this transformation and helps them navigate this new economy.