Technology, knowing and learning

Abstract

Fluidity in the transfer of knowledge is rightly touted, because the pace of work rewards businesses that know what they know – and know it right away. Companies are, therefore, understandably eager to exploit technology in new knowledge management systems. Business leaders should recognize, however, that new technology never grants its bounty freely: it exacts a cost when it amplifies our abilities. Increasingly, the tools of the Information Age are encouraging us to learn just enough, just in time. Such shallow learning may have unfortunate consequences for business.

Keywords:

• knowledge sharing
• behavior
• technology

Additional information

Notes on contributors

G Anthony Gorry

About the author

G. Anthony Gorry is the Friedkin Professor of Management and Professor of Computer Science at Rice University, where he is also the director of the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning. He is an adjunct professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and a director of the W.M. Keck Center for Interdisciplinary Bioscience Training, a collaborative program of six institutions in the Greater Houston area. He has consulted extensively with corporations and institutions and has been involved in the development of several businesses. He lectures widely on the effects of information technology on Society. Dr. Gorry is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics. He can be reached at [email protected].