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This study guide was prepared to help you understand and apply the concepts of managing and measuring intangible assets inside your organization. It was prepared by Ned Roberts of Green, Roberts and Associates (www.hrned.com).

Part One: The Era of the Knowledge Organization

Chapter 1 - The New Wealth: Intangible Assets

1. How do intangible assets relate to the balance sheet?
2. What are three types of intangible assets? How do they relate to the stock price premium? What is the value of intangible assets in your organization?

Chapter 2 - Tapping into the Limitless Resources of the Knowledge Era

3. What are the differences between knowledge and information? (Note: see pp. 37 - 39 and 43 in addition to the earlier discussion on p. 24).
4. Using the table on page 27, assess how your organization sees or presents itself.

Chapter 3 - What is Knowledge? What is Competence?

5. What is "tacit knowledge", why is it important and how can you identify tacit knowledge in your firm?
6. How is knowledge related to rules?

Chapter 4 - The Key Activity in Knowledge Organizations: Transferring Knowledge

7. What is Sveiby's "radical notion of information"? If you subscribe to this view, would it have any implications for your business?
8. What are some of the traditional ways knowledge is transferred in your company? How could you use your understanding about the importance of tradition to improve knowledge transfer in your organization?

Part Two: Managing Intangible Assets

Chapter 5 - The Four Power Players in the Knowledge Organization

9. Describe the four main categories of personnel in a knowledge organization (including at least two characteristics of each).
10. What is the primary task of management vis-à-vis professionals in a knowledge organization?

Chapter 6 - Keys to Developing and Using Professional Competence

11. In a knowledge organization, what is management's most important investment decision? Why?
12. How should management deal with a professional whose career has reached a plateau?

Chapter 7 - Building Internal Structure to Support Knowledge Transfer

13. Why is personal chemistry an essential "internal structure"?
14. Name several internal structures that could be used to transfer knowledge that are not dependent upon IT.

Chapter 8 - Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness through Internal Structure

15. What are three ways that organizations can deal with the subcultures that arise among groups of professionals?
16. Explain the relationship between productivity and size in knowledge organizations.

Chapter 9 - Managing External Structure to Maximize Knowledge Assets

17. Think about the "Lessons to be Learned" on page 113. How do these lessons relate to your business or business function?
18. In what ways, can the customer increase value in a knowledge-based organization?

Chapter 10 - Comparing Knowledge-Focused and Information-Focused Strategies

19. How does a knowledge-focused strategy differ from an information-focused one?
20. What replies can you give to management concerns about knowledge-based strategy (see pp. 138 - 139)? How could you apply a knowledge-based strategy to your organization or department?

Part Three: Measuring Intangible Assets

Chapter 11 - The State of the Art of Measuring Intangible Assets

21. What are some of the non-financial measures of intangible assets used at WM-data?
22. What is "value added" and how can it be used to measure effectiveness?

Chapter 12 - Measuring Competence, Internal Structure and External Structure

23. Create a matrix with nine cells, following Exhibit 9 (page 165). List one or two indicators for your company in each cell.
24. Which aspects of the Intangible Assets Monitor are most relevant to your business?

Chapter 13 - Implementing Systems for Measuring Intangible Assets

25. Review Exhibit 11 on pages 198 - 199. How many of these management "actions to take" can you initiate in your company? Would it improve your business' performance?
26. What do you need to do to transform the information from this book into knowledge?