A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

By Dale Neef

Brains, not brawn. The success of countries, companies and people in the next century will depend on what they know and how clever they are at using this knowledge. Dale Neef has given us the best outline yet of the forces behind this extraordinary change in the world economy, the threats and opportunities we all face, and the prizes that await the winners.-Hamish McRae, author, The World in 2020, Associate editor, The Independent, London. Dale Neef has produced a singular achievement: a book which lucidly explains the powerful driving role being played by knowledge in the emerging global economy. He provides a penetrating, all-too-rare transnational perspective which highlights in a highly readable manner the historical, social and technological context within which this revolution is taking place. In doing so, he has stripped away the hype and jargon with which many knowledge management experts have clouded this structural change in the global economy. Mr. Neef offers a fascinating array of facts to support his explanations and goes on to discuss the implications of these developments for managers, for companies and for national governments. This book is a must-read for anyone actively engaged in global business today. Jon Lowe, Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor. A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing provides a very comprehensive view of the impact that the knowledge revolution on our 21st Century society. The economic dislocations that Dale Neef describes are already taking place, creating the prospect that large segments of our population may not have the skills for sustainable employment in the future. The implications of these events on the social and political fabric of our country give one great pause for reflection and concern. William R. Brody, President, The Johns Hopkins University. Once again, Dale Neef combines just the right amounts of theory, academia and practical business experience to write a truly insightful book. In his consulting work, Mr. Neef's broad business, cultural and educational background has allowed him to analyze problems from a rich variety of perspectives. In this book, he artfully applies this skill to Knowledge Management. -James R. Breakey, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Green Tree Financial Corporation This book is full of facts... that we need to understand if we are to draw critical conclusions about how the knowledge economy is impacting our businesses and our lives. Neef provides us with a broad perspective, concentrating not just on the US, but including insightful comparisons with Canada and Europe as well as many developing countries. The numbers provide an eye opening look at what has changed and what is changing in the knowledge economy...It is a book that challenges our thinking and ...provides a much needed conceptual framework to guide the actions organizations will need to take in the knowledge economy. -Nancy M. Dixon, Associate Professor of Administrative Sciences, The George Washington University Leveraging employee knowledge has become a strategic necessity for all high road companies, and organizations must optimize knowledge management techniques in the new global economy. Ford understands the need to capitalize on the knowledge of our employees in order to improve our business and enhance shareholder value in what is now a knowledge-based, global economy. -Dar Wolford, Ford Manager, Best Practice Replication

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750670614
• ISBN13: 9780750670616
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

the high road and the low road

Provides a useful analysis of the place and significance of knowledge management in the development of business and society, though it is limited in the range of societal implications that it considers.The book is well organised, with sound definitions (in a muddy field), a formidable array of facts and good analysis. The explanation of the 'knowledge foundation' (Ch.7) is particularly valuable. Chapters 1 through 6 develop the argument that globalisation and the knowledge economy together amount to a major continuing revolution in the way the world works, and that this revolution is a continuing process, not an event. Chapters 1 through 5 work systematically through the major changes associated with the knowledge economy and globalisation, while Chapter 6 draws important conclusions for the organisation based round six major changes including the level of workforce education, changes in employment, the development of IT in general and groupware in particular, and culture shifts.At this point, Neef introduces the critically important concept of 'high road' and 'low road' organisations and a third group of independent knowledge workers. Essentially, the world is moving towards dominance by a limited number of knowledge based, global organisations, with much of the physical production carried out by relatively small, undercapitalised, low wage 'low road' companies engaged in a 'race to the bottom' and an intermediate group of independent knowledge workers. These corporate polarities are strongly reflected in society, with the trend toward increasing inequalities of income and wealth. Statistics of national wealth are becoming less and less meaningful as the world and nations (even the USA) divide into 'high road' wealthy 'hotspots' (Silicon Valley, the Bangalore region of India etc) and 'low road' areas of economic stagnation or decline.Chapter 7 contains a very useful overview of the place of knowledge management in the world of business. By way of introduction, he points to the confusion caused by the division of KM exponents into 'high-touch' and 'high-tech' groups, where the first are interested primarily in working relationships and culture and the second see KM as primarily a function of new communications technologies, with a third group who see KM 'simply as a way of capturing and distributing leading practices or lessons learned. He seeks to integrate these perspectives around seven broad practice areas.The rest of the book goes broad again, to look at impacts on the social fabric on global competition and implications for (US) national policy. It highlights the implications of 'high road' strategies relative to lack of an explicit strategy or 'low road' strategies and concludes that national government intervention is necessary to ensure that appropriate strategies are followed at a national level.