Knowledge management: French cooking
| Pages | 301-311 |
| Published date | 17 August 2010 |
| Date | 17 August 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055721011071421 |
| Author | Eunika Mercier‐Laurent |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Knowledge management:
French cooking
Eunika Mercier-Laurent
Universite
´Jean Moulin, Lyon, France
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share experience on what has happened in knowledge
management in France since the 1980s, for better understanding of cultural influence in holistic KM.
Design/methodology/approach – The main method is applying the KM principles, such as
continuous feedback from experience, to understand better all facets of the whole process and improve
the theories by from field experiments.
Findings – It was found that culture has influence on the way of applying the KM theories in various
countries. Taking into consideration the past experience accelerates the progress and experience helps
to improve theories.
Research limitations/implications – All facets of knowledge management should be included in
an effective/useful research.
Practical implications – A better understanding of the French way of applying the KM principles
is produced.
Social implications – This paper makes a contribution to a global KM approach. An impact could
be made on education by a new KM culture for knowledge society, capable of successful management
in the knowledge economy.
Originality/value – The value is represented by the holistic and system view presented.
Keywords Knowledge management, Innovation,National cultures, France
Paper type General review
1. Intelligent cooking
French cooking (fine cuisine or cuisine gourmet) is a knowledge-intensive activity, and
KM cooking here in France is a French way of managing knowledge. Cooking activity
involves imagination, creativity and innovation in transforming knowledge about raw
materials and clients into attractive, tasting and healthy high value products, through
various processes. These products and their environments (restaurants) have also a
social role – to procure a “bien-e
ˆtre” (wellbeing) to the clients to make them enjoy all
senses. In some cases this environment can enable a networking, collective innovation
and partnership.
First time I heard about knowledge management was in 1991. I worked with Bull
CEDIAG (Centre d’Etudes et De
´veloppement en Intelligence Artificielle Groupe Bull ), on
artificial intelligence tools, methods and applications. At the end of the 1980s we had a
very powerful AI toolbox including KOOL4WD, EDEN, Charme and Open KADS, to
solve quite all complex problems (Mercier-Laurent, 1996). KOOL 4WD means
knowledge-representation object oriented language. It encapsulates a powerful and
reflexive object model including a metaclass and rules; rules are also objects. Built
using a graphic editors, KOOL 4WD applications run and can be shared on
heterogeneous machines. EDEN – Expert Diagnosis Environnement is simply an
evolution of KOOL allowing an expert to enter his/her knowledge in form of cause and
effect graph. Charme – a constraint propagation engine and programming language
helps to solve combinatory problems with constraints such as optimization, scheduling
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
French cooking
301
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 40 No. 3/4, 2010
pp. 301-311
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055721011071421
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