Building on Knowledge

Developing Expertise, Creativity and Intellectual Capital in the Construction Professions

Häftad, Engelska, 2008

AvDavid Bartholomew,David (De Montfort University) Bartholomew

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This guide shows design practices and other construction professionals how to manage knowledge successfully. It explains how to develop and implement a knowledge management strategy, and how to avoid the pitfalls, focusing on the techniques of learning and knowledge sharing that are most relevant in professional practice. Expensive IT-based ‘solutions’ bought off-the-shelf rarely succeed in a practice context, so the emphasis here is on people-centred techniques, which recognise and meet real business knowledge needs and fit in with the organisational culture. Knowledge is supplanting physical assets as the dominant basis of capital value and an understanding of how knowledge is acquired, shared and used is increasingly crucial in organisational success. Most business leaders recognise this, but few have yet succeeded in making it the pervasive influence on management practice that it needs to become; that has turned out to be harder than it looks. Construction professionals are among those who have furthest to go, and most to gain. Design is a knowledge-based activity, and project managers, contractors and clients, as well as architects and engineers, have always learned from experience and shared their knowledge with immediate colleagues. But the intuitive processes they have traditionally used break down alarmingly quickly as organisations grow; even simply dividing the office over two floors can noticeably reduce communication. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated construction technology and more demanding markets are making effective management of knowledge ever more important. Other knowledge-intensive industries (such as management consultancy, pharmaceuticals, and IT), are well ahead in adopting a more systematic approach to learning and sharing knowledge, and seeing the benefits in improved technical capacity, efficiency, customer satisfaction and reduced risk.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2008-09-19
Mått173 x 244 x 18 mm
Vikt699 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor320
FörlagJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd
ISBN9781405147095

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Preface viiAcknowledgements xiPart One Foundations 11 Introduction 3Paradoxical professionals 5New context, new issues 9What is in this book 122 Knowledge at Work 15How we learn 15What makes an expert 19Varieties of knowledge 22Putting the pieces together 273 Strategic Frameworks 34Starting points 34Frameworks for thinking 35Finding conviction 414 The Challenges of Change 44Why initiatives fail 44Difficulty is normal 595 Leadership and Other Roles 61Action starts where the buck stops 61Practical leadership 63Other roles 70Knowledge-conscious management 786 Knowledge Audit and Beyond 79Finding square one 79Audit techniques 83From audit to action plan 89Putting plans into practice 92Part Two Tools and Techniques 957 The Knowledge-Friendly Office 97Environments matter 97Designing the knowledge-friendly office 99Workplaces for teams 1028 Expanding Networks 106It's not what you know . . . 106Help from IT 108Designing networking tools 1119 Learning from Peers 119See one, do one, teach one 119Mentoring in different contexts 12210 Learning from Practice 128Practice: the invisible lab and unsung teacher 129Windows of opportunity 130Foresight: learning from invention 131Hindsight: learning from mistakes – and success 135Choosing cases 14411 Communities of Practice 146Encouraging enthusiasts 146Creating communities 14812 Organisational Memory 151The indispensability of the written word 151Deciding what to record, and how 154Capturing knowledge 156Documenting knowledge 159Software frameworks 16513 Personal Knowledge Management 176Equipment for the mind gym 176Developing personal expertise 177Building a bionic memory 17914 Synergies 181IT-enabled synergies: networking directories, knowledge bases and business systems 181Creating and sharing knowledge: foresight, hindsight and knowledge bases 184Multiple synergies: communities of practice, knowledge bases and mentoring 185Part Three Knowledge Management in Practice 18715 Introduction to the Case Studies 189The case studies 189Recurring patterns 19016 Aedas 193Starting points 194MIS 194Aedas Studio 197Knowledge audit 199Emerging knowledge systems 202Commentary 20417 Arup 206Starting points 206Projects 207Future 210Commentary 21118 Broadway Malyan 213Starting points 213Business Process 215Who's Who 218Contact database 219Induction process 221Commentary 22219 Buro Happold 223Starting points 224The prototype 224The fi nal design 225Assessing the results 228Commentary 22920 Edward Cullinan Architects 231Starting points 233Knowledge strategy 235Commentary 24121 Feilden Clegg Bradley 244Starting points 245Hindsight reviews 246Yellow Pages 248Knowledge base 249Commentary 25122 Penoyre & Prasad 254Starting points 255The R&D database 256The knowledge bank 257Lessons learned 260Commentary 26123 Whitbybird 2631: Identifying knowledge systems and assets 2642: Selecting a subset for audit 2653: Choosing audit methods 2654: Designing the questionnaire 2665: Testing and refi ning the questionnaire 2666: Conducting the survey 2667: Analysing the results 267Commentary 26824 WSP 269Starting points 269Technical coordinator workshops 271Commentary 27225 Case Studies on Foresight and Hindsight 273Amicus Group 275BAA 277BP/Bovis Global Alliance 279Buro Happold 282Lattice Property 284Epilogue 28926 Where Next for Knowledge Management? 291Web 2.0 292The Semantic Web 293Developments in psychology and the science of human relations 294Insights from neuroscience 294Further Reading 296Index 301