Exploring the relationship among knowing, learning and practice in the development of organizational knowledge, this book focuses on organizational learning as a collective, social and not entirely cognitive activity.

`Philippe Baumard has observed that strategic success seems to lie more in top managers′ ability to use tacit knowledge than in their gaining or updating explicit knowledge′ - William H Starbuck, New York University `This important new book effectively illustrates how, in conditions of ambiguity, managers `over-manage′, i.e. rely too much on explicit plans and interpretations. Here, Philippe Baumard develops an alternative analysis and with it a new approach to management′ - Frank Blackler, Lancaster University This landmark book delves below the surface of organizations in order to understand the complex processes of top managers′ decision making. Philippe Baumard argues that the conventional, rational model of decision making ignores the tacit and intuitive processes that are often crucial in successful business outcomes. He demonstrates through his four central business cases how it is in times of uncertainty, rapid change and turbulence that the fate of companies is often determined, and it is at these times that managers′ tacit knowledge and their ability to navigate ambiguous and complex situations is most critical.

Business education and business research has often been criticized by the business community, which claims that much of it is mainly directed at the establishment of teachers and researchers themselves, instead of distributing their knowledge to the business community. It may seem that many universities and other research institutions have turned into mere `knowledge manufacturers', where the emphasis is more on the output volume than on quality of relevance, with little or no consideration for the end users. As universities and corporations attempt to prepare management to be alert to future changes, improved and even brand new teaching methodologies are required. The main focus of the present volume is on the distribution and selection of new knowledge. How can business educators deliver new knowledge to students and the business community more rapidly than before? How should we define the core business curriculum when new knowledge becomes old knowledge?

Originally published in 2004. Local knowledge reflects many generations of experience and problem solving by people around the world, increasingly affected by globalizing forces. Such knowledge is far more sophisticated than development professionals previously assumed and, as such, represents an immensely valuable resource. A growing number of governments and international development agencies are recognizing that local-level knowledge and organizations offer the foundation for new participatory models of development that are both cost-effective and sustainable, and ecologically and socially sound. This book provides a timely overview of new directions and new approaches to investigating the role of rural communities in generating knowledge founded on their sophisticated understandings of their environments, devising mechanisms to conserve and sustain their natural resources, and establishing community-based organizations that serve as forums for identifying problems and dealing with them through local-level experimentation, innovation, and exchange of information with other societies. These studies show that development activities that work with and through local knowledge and organizations have several important advantages over projects that operate outside them. Local knowledge informs grassroots decision-making, much of which takes place through indigenous organizations and associations at the community level as people seek to identify and determine solutions to their problems.

Papers: the strategic approach to home defense; information warfare: chaos on the electronic superhighway; east versus west: military views of information warfare; dealing with Internet intruders in emergency mode: an IBM perspective; hackers: national resources or cyber-criminals?; creating smart nations through national information strategies: intelligence and security issues; convergence of military and commercial vulnerabilities; societal impact of information warfare; security management: safety in cyberspace; industrial espionage: an update, etc.

Knowledge Horizons charts the feasible future for knowledge management. This practical and provocative resource presents the work of many of the leading voices in knowledge management and related disciplines, who explore the current trends and offer pragmatic and authoritative thinking on applied knowledge management from a variety of positions. Knowledge management is the new frontier for businesses, organizations, and institutions of all kinds. For those that hope to conquer this new territory, establishing a better understanding of current and future knowledge management trends and adoption of the most effective practices is imperitive. There are numerous options for executives: intranets, extranets, groupware, and core competencies are continually being refined. New entitites and rules in terms of intellectual capital and the "Chief Knowledge Officer" are emerging. Knowledge Horizons addresses these issues by exploring current and future knowledge management trends, gauging the future value of knowledge management investments, and how they will drive new business initiatives, and integrates the experience and insights of managers and cutting-edge research from experts in the field.