Ebook: Becoming Virtual: Knowledge Management and Transformation of the Distributed Organization

This book examines the capabilities needed to transform a globally distributed organization into a virtual organization (an organization that exists and operates across time and distance with the support of global communications technologies such as the Internet). It introduces techniques for definition of goals for virtualization, for monitoring progress toward virtualization and for studying the impact of virtualization on social uncertainty, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, organizational memory, transactive memory, communities of practice and organizational commitment, power and control. These techniques are applied in an extended case study of a development aid organization's attempts to use knowledge management for virtualization over a two year period. The multidisciplinary team of authors examines virtualization from points of view ranging from the organizational to the technological to the sociological and psychological.

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This book examines the capabilities needed to transform a globally distributed organization into a virtual organization (an organization that exists and operates across time and distance with the support of global communications technologies such as the Internet). It introduces techniques for definition of goals for virtualization, for monitoring progress toward virtualization and for studying the impact of virtualization on social uncertainty, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, organizational memory, transactive memory, communities of practice and organizational commitment, power and control. These techniques are applied in an extended case study of a development aid organization's attempts to use knowledge management for virtualization over a two year period. The multidisciplinary team of authors examines virtualization from points of view ranging from the organizational to the technological to the sociological and psychological.

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This book examines the capabilities needed to transform a globally distributed organization into a virtual organization (an organization that exists and operates across time and distance with the support of global communications technologies such as the Internet). It introduces techniques for definition of goals for virtualization, for monitoring progress toward virtualization and for studying the impact of virtualization on social uncertainty, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, organizational memory, transactive memory, communities of practice and organizational commitment, power and control. These techniques are applied in an extended case study of a development aid organization's attempts to use knowledge management for virtualization over a two year period. The multidisciplinary team of authors examines virtualization from points of view ranging from the organizational to the technological to the sociological and psychological.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Introduction....Pages 1-8
Front Matter....Pages 9-9
Aligning Goals, Virtuality and Capability: A Virtual Alignment Model....Pages 11-21
Envisioning and Monitoring the Process of Becoming Virtual....Pages 23-34
The Challenge of Becoming Virtual....Pages 35-52
Front Matter....Pages 53-53
Social Uncertainty in Virtual Organizations: A Preliminary Ontology of the Constituent Elements....Pages 55-71
When Communities of Practice Fail: Community Ties and Organizational Commitment....Pages 73-87
An Exploratory Survey of the Structure and Components of Organizational Memory....Pages 89-110
The Organization as a Transactive Memory System....Pages 111-133
Adoption of Technologies for Virtual Work....Pages 135-149
Monitoring, Control and the Performance of Virtual Work....Pages 151-167
Front Matter....Pages 169-169
The Challenge of Becoming Virtual, Part 2....Pages 171-179
Reflections from the Frontline: The Journey of a Knowledge Manager....Pages 181-196
The Forensics of a Challenged Initiative....Pages 197-213
Tools and Capabilities for Becoming Virtual....Pages 215-225
Back Matter....Pages 227-267

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This book examines the capabilities needed to transform a globally distributed organization into a virtual organization (an organization that exists and operates across time and distance with the support of global communications technologies such as the Internet). It introduces techniques for definition of goals for virtualization, for monitoring progress toward virtualization and for studying the impact of virtualization on social uncertainty, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, organizational memory, transactive memory, communities of practice and organizational commitment, power and control. These techniques are applied in an extended case study of a development aid organization's attempts to use knowledge management for virtualization over a two year period. The multidisciplinary team of authors examines virtualization from points of view ranging from the organizational to the technological to the sociological and psychological.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Introduction....Pages 1-8
Front Matter....Pages 9-9
Aligning Goals, Virtuality and Capability: A Virtual Alignment Model....Pages 11-21
Envisioning and Monitoring the Process of Becoming Virtual....Pages 23-34
The Challenge of Becoming Virtual....Pages 35-52
Front Matter....Pages 53-53
Social Uncertainty in Virtual Organizations: A Preliminary Ontology of the Constituent Elements....Pages 55-71
When Communities of Practice Fail: Community Ties and Organizational Commitment....Pages 73-87
An Exploratory Survey of the Structure and Components of Organizational Memory....Pages 89-110
The Organization as a Transactive Memory System....Pages 111-133
Adoption of Technologies for Virtual Work....Pages 135-149
Monitoring, Control and the Performance of Virtual Work....Pages 151-167
Front Matter....Pages 169-169
The Challenge of Becoming Virtual, Part 2....Pages 171-179
Reflections from the Frontline: The Journey of a Knowledge Manager....Pages 181-196
The Forensics of a Challenged Initiative....Pages 197-213
Tools and Capabilities for Becoming Virtual....Pages 215-225
Back Matter....Pages 227-267
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