KMCI News Release on The learning Organization Journal

KMCI Principal Edits A Special Issue of The Learning Organization Journal

KMCI CEO Joseph M. Firestone, Ph.D. and former CEO Mark W. McElroy have edited a special issue of The Learning Organization Journal. The issue (vol. 12, no. 2) entitled "Has Knowledge Management Been Done" appeared in April 2005. In addition to contributions from Firestone and McElroy the issue also contains contributions by:

Dale Neef
Carol Gorelick and Brigitte Tantawy-Monsou
Jeffrey S. Martin and Russell Marion
Deborah A. Blackman and Steven Henderson, and
William P. Hall

Structured Abstract

Doing Knowledge Management
Joseph M. Firestone and Mark W. McElroy
The Learning Organization
Vol. 12 No. 2, 2005

General review

Purpose
Knowledge Management (KM) as a field has been characterized by great confusion about its conceptual foundations and scope, much to the detriment of assessments of its impact and track record. The purpose of this paper is to contribute toward defining the scope of KM and ending the confusion, by presenting a conceptual framework and set of criteria for evaluating whether claimed KM interventions are bona fide instances of it or are interventions of another sort.

Design/methodology/approach
Methods used include conceptual evaluation and critique of a variety of types of "KM interventions" and presentation of a detailed analysis of an unambiguous case (The Partners HealthCare case) where KM has been successful.

Findings
The critical analysis indicates that (a) the use of tools and methods associated with KM does not imply that interventions using them are KM interventions, and (b) most "KM projects" are probably interventions of other types. The analysis also illustrates a pattern of intervention that can serve as the basis of a long-term systematic strategy for implementing KM.

Originality/value
This is the first detailed examination of whether KM is really being done by those who claim to be doing it. It should be of value to all of those who think about the scope of Organizational Learning and KM, and who care about unbiased assessments of its performance.