This book addresses the concept of knowledge, and its use in the contexts of work and organisations. It provides a critical understanding of current approaches to knowledge management, organisation, and the 'knowledge economy'.The author describes a number of cases of 'knowledge intensive firms', including IT firms, management consultancy firms, advertising agencies, and life science companies. He emphasises the ambiguity of knowledge in the input, process, and output of professional work, and suggests that we should be careful in assuming too much about the nature, role, and effects of 'knowledge' in business life. Instead we should understand the constructed nature of knowledge and scrutinise knowledge claims carefully.Alvesson looks at several aspects of management and working life, including human resource management issues, client control, and the regulation of identity. Rhetoric, symbolism, image, the politics of knowledge claims, and identity are all shown to be crucial for understanding the management of 'knowledge intensive firms'. By challenging key assumptions in current thinking about knowledge and organisation, a novel theoretical approach is suggested.The book will be of interest to business and management academics concerned with issues of knowledge and organisation, and will serve as supplementary reading for graduate and final year undergraduate business and management students.
