Knowledge Management--a global perspective.

Kumar, Vivek

Knowledge Management--a global perspective, Tapan K Panda, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2008, Pages 221, Price Rs. 350.

This book is a collection of sixteen well researched papers and case studies that have thoughtfully compiled by Tapan K Panda covering all the facets of Knowledge Management. These papers and cases represent the cumulative wisdom and thoughts of subject experts from India, Europe, Brazil and the USA. Tapan Panda has carefully selected the papers and the case studies and has presented them in a logical sequence from better understanding and appreciation by the reader.

Knowledge management may not be something new but in the increasingly competitive scenario the time taken in transforming the tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge in a structured and time bound manner would decide the gap between success and failure. Traditionally, we in India have emphasized more on tacit knowledge and are reluctant to practice or share the knowledge accumulated over time, as a result, knowledge remains confined to a few (an individual or a family or a community) and in the name of purity, experimentation is not encouraged resulting in knowledge stagnation and eventual demise.

The accompanying references and the data provided in some of the papers makes the book all the more informative. Excel Books have printed the book in a reader friendly font and the figures as well as tables have come out well.

Despite the fact that all the papers have been written by different teams of researchers, the book has come out as a useful textbook for both the student and the researcher interested in the emerging subject of knowledge management. The case studies provide an applied perspective of the various concepts explained in the text.

Prof. Vivek Kumar

Senior Professor

FORE School of Management