Mapping tacit knowledge flows within organisation X

To manage intangible assets such as knowledge is perceived as an important capability for competition. One of the major issues for managing knowledge resources is diffusion of knowledge within organizations. Knowledge management needs different forms according to the possibility to code knowledge. Internal individual processes like experience and talent obtain tacit knowledge that is difficult to code. Therefore it cannot be managed and shared as explicit knowledge. To rely on personal tacit knowledge is risky. Conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit or at least ability to share it offers greater value to an organization. But what are the difficulties related to sharing tacit knowledge? Different difficulties are to be found related to perception, language, time, value and distance. Keywords: Knowledge management, Tacit knowledge, Organizational learning, Knowledge sharing

2003

Given that tacit knowledge is necessary to firstly understand the codified knowledge, and secondly that the tacit element often comprises the majority of our knowledge assets, it is time to turn attention toward this phenomenon. Our approach makes use of expert versus novice comparisons as a means of interpreting the likelihood of an individual possessing tacit knowledge. In addition to descriptive statistics as a means of interpreting results, we choose to incorporate formal concept analysis to provide an alternative visualisation of questionnaire responses. Our incorporation of social network analysis maps the flows or likely non-flows between individuals within the IS domain. We present here the initial results from two small organizations, which we refer to as organization Y and Z.

Journal of Accounting Research Utility Finance and Digital Assets, 2023

Knowledge is generally divided into two: Explicit (articulate) and Tacit. This article thus explores the concept of tacit knowledge and the role that it plays in learning institutions and business organizations. Evidently, tacit knowledge is linked to knowledge management and as such, the world should utilize it for resilience-building and sustainable development. Notably, due to its complex nature, acquiring and extracting tacit knowledge is not easy as it is an unspoken, unwritten and hidden in people and ultimately leads to the well-being and success of individuals in society. Accordingly, tacit knowledge is very personalised, contextual and hard to communicate or transfer from one person to another by the process of verbal expression or writing and is generally made up of values, perceptions and beliefs. It is obtainable and transferrable through direct interaction amongst individuals and their environments. This paper, thus, explores tacit knowledge and assesses its role and significance in the advancement, enhancement and sustenance of learning and performances in business organisations and learning institutions. Accordingly, approximately 90% of the total knowledge in an organization is held in tacit form, ultimately, impacting the overall output and effectiveness of institutions and organizations.

Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 2011

Tacit organizational knowledge is intangible, implicit, and profoundly attached to people (Spender, 2003). While highly complex, it is also a driving force of organizational performance, and its transfer crucial in capitalizing on existing resources (Cross & Baird, 2000). Spender (1998) suggested that tacit knowledge may represent an alternative system of organizational knowledge, and this author investigated this notion. This research is built upon empirical evidence from six knowledge transfer case studies so as to examine tacit knowledge and provide insight into what makes it tacit. Nine distinct, however not mutually exclusive types of tacit knowledge were identified through this research: Skill, Cause-effect, Cognitive, Composite, Cultural, Unlearning, Taboo, Human, and Emotional. Each type can be discerned with its unique set of elements that is essentially responsible for it being tacit, or subjective. In addition, the relationship between the problematic nature of knowledge and its transferability is explored. Various knowledge transfer channels are examined for their richness. Results indicated that no transfer channel was rich independently of the knowledge it transfers, and that all effective channels involved an active 'pull' of the knowledge by its recipient.

Recent Advances in Knowledge Management, 2022

This chapter incorporates the relevance of tacit knowledge and highlights some major barriers to knowledge sharing. Knowledge transfer is action through which; information, skills, expertise and experience is exchanged among people in an organization and it is a valuable and tangible asset for creating sustainability, performance and competitive advantage. From what is currently known, knowledge sharing activities occur generally with the support of knowledge systems designed by the board and knowledge managers. It is suggested that technology is one of the tools that support knowledge sharing, though other factors exist, such as organizational culture, trust, leadership and management philosophy, incentives and internal control systems. In this study, the researchers explore possible knowledge sharing opportunities and associated barriers, starting from top management to employees. The main purpose of this chapter is to look at how tacit knowledge affects organizational success. Th...

American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 2010

Problem statement: Knowledge Management (KM) is often equated with content management. Indeed, robust knowledge management processes include a database; but, information becomes knowledge when it is understood, manipulated and can become tied to a purpose or idea. By equating KM with content management and by equating the purpose of KM with predictability and control, companies may inadvertently de-emphasize knowledge creation and transfer. To keep pace with global market dynamics, an explicit focus on the creation and transference of new knowledge and transferring has to be encouraged. Companies that are able to foster new knowledge creation and transference alongside the more traditional view of KM are able to strike a balance between effectiveness and efficiency and between innovation and productivity. But, how do companies foster knowledge creation and, further, how do they transfer such knowledge? Approach: The purpose of this study was to explore the various connections between knowledge transfer focusing on explicit and tacit knowledge. Results: The research argued and resulted impacting the discipline of Knowledge Transfer (KT). The discipline's main ideas and their directions and limitations were examined. Conclusion: Additionally, the researchers proposed a knowledge transfer model which diagrams the transfer flow between explicit and tacit knowledge. The authors put forth a new direction of exploration in the transference of explicit and tacit knowledge-the knowledge transfer flow model.

Knowledge manipulation is key for organizational innovation, to gain competitive advantage, enhancing the search for a caring and sharing environment between co-workers. How to foster such attitude? Many researchers have argued about the importance of tacit knowledge, highlighting how difficult - if not impossible - is to share that kind of knowledge. Giving a new definition of knowledge, the Author here presents a model of knowledge manipulation that highlights the fundamental role of education, both as knowledge enabler and recipient for a long-term change into the organization. Using education as common ground to instil a (tacit) knowledge sharing attitude, the Author argues on the importance of problem-based (PBL) training, to prepare lifelong learners to become better workers and to manipulate (tacit) knowledge.

2013

Group or year of entry 2009 Title of report Sharing Tacit Knowledge in an Organization Number of pages and appendices 34 + 10 Teacher Mark Badham Living in the information society, where information is constantly created, transferred, managed and used, leads to the phenomenon of a knowledge economy. In an economy as such, capital is defined by intellectual capabilities; therefore, knowledge is the most valuable asset of an organization. For this reason, communicating and organizing knowledge is essential. Two types of knowledge can be distinguished; explicit and tacit knowledge. The first one is based on academic information, which can be learned formally, such as the information in encyclopedias. As for the tacit knowledge, it can be gained mostly from experiences, from other people, as for instance, riding a bike or speaking a language. Tacit knowledge is currently in the spotlight of knowledge communication development. It is not easy to convey this kind of knowledge. The only way this can happen if people work together in a harmonized environment, being ready to share their knowledge. In order to help facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge, a lot of research is being conducted on how such tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge. This study researches the sharing of tacit knowledge in the target organization, which employees numerous short-term interns. Considering that this organization's services depend on knowledge-intensive activities, knowledge is the organization's most valuable asset. Therefore, knowledge transfer is one of their core issues. Furthermore, the general sharing of knowledge and the current stage of knowledge management have both been analyzed, in order to support the questions of this study. The study's main research question is as follows: How is tacit knowledge shared in project-based working processes within the organization? The research method is both qualitative and qualitative. Interviews and questionnaires support the assessment of the current stage of sharing tacit knowledge, knowledge in general and knowledge management within the target organization.

How can we identify and estimate workers’ tacit knowledge? How can we design a personnel mix aimed at improving and speeding up its transfer and development? How is it possible to implement tacit knowledge sustainable projects in remote areas? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to distinguish between types of tacit knowledge, to establish what they allow for and to consider their sources. It is also essential to find a way of managing the tacit knowledge ‘stock’ and distribution within the workforce. In short, a conceptual framework is needed to manage tacit knowledge. Based on previous works and 2 years of action research, this paper introduces such a framework and describes its partial application to support the pre-operational training and hiring in a large industrial plant in Brazil. Two contributions emerge from the research. First, the concept of ‘levels of similarity’ is introduced as a means to qualify the experience of workers and estimate the associated tacit knowledge. Second, the capability of carrying out three types of judgement properly and speedily is put forward as being a core ability of those who possess what has been called ‘collective tacit knowledge’ (Collins in Organ Stud 28(2):257–262, 2007). In practical terms, the results indicate the opportunity for companies to capitalize on the experience and tacit knowledge of their workers in a systematic way and with due recognition. Ultimately, positive impacts are expected in their absorptive capacity as well as in their management and human resources systems, accident prevention, productivity and the development of sustainable projects in remote areas.

2008 Third International Conference on Digital Information Management, 2008

In this article we analyse how tacit and explicit knowledge are managed in teams. Tacit knowledge is located in human persons and it can not be described formally as data or any other form while explicit knowledge is public and formal. Our approach is qualitative and we aim to describe the appearance and behaviour of knowledge. We also aim to analyse the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge that is realised for example when transferring knowledge between actors in organisations and teams.