Ton's Interdependent Thoughts: Monstrous KM
Now let's look at KM, not a technology in the sense of artefacts, but certainly a change challenging existing belief systems and cultural patterns. A lot of the discussion I've seen on the usefulness of KM is precisely of the type between the embracers and the killers. To me at the heart of KM is the paradigm shift from the industrial command and control style to a human and knowledge focussed perception of organisations. Paradigmshifts imply the, sometimes radical, change of cultural patterns and boundaries. This is where the monstrousity of KM lies: it implies bigger succes and better control of where your organisation is going, by removing a lot of the controls that were already there to do just that.
Ton discovered an interesting article that new technologies can be looked at as monsters. Society either kills, adapts to, assimilates or embraces the monster. He talks about each option with regard to KM.
An organization's approach to the "KM monster" is going to depend on the culture within the organization.