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Exam scope
Organisational knowledge
3.4 types of organisational knowledge
KM refers to management of knowledge (though not all knowledge can be managed easily
e.g. tacit knowledge)
Many ways of categorising knowledge main two are
o Tacit knowledge
o Explicit knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
o Is personal and context independent
o Hard to formalise and difficult to communicate to others
o Difficult to articulate scientific principles underling this tacit knowledge
o Once contextualised difficult to codify or reduce it to a specific rule or prescription
o Polanyi = we know more than we can tell
o Deeply rooted in individuals behaviour and relationships to a specific context (e.g.
profession/specific market/group/team)
o Consists partly of technical skills (summed up as term know-how)
o Gladstone (2000: 62) definition
Tacit knowledge is what an individual knows
Its called tacit knowledge as it is personally held and it is sometimes not
recognised by the holder as knowledge
Includes subjective know-how, insights and intuitions
It is dynamic flow, ever-changing with experience of its processor
o Nonaka and Takeuchi define it
Is a personal and difficult to formalise, making it difficult to communicate
and share with others
It may be translated into explicit knowledge
This involves transferring an abstract concept into a thing thus need
metaphors to facilitate the translation
It is subdivided into 2 dimensions
A technical dimension
o encompasses informal skills related to know-how of people
Cognitive dimension
o Concerns implicit mental models, beliefs and perceptions
that determine how we perceive the world around us
o Tacit knowledge may be transferred or shared between colleagues in an
organisation.
o Tacit knowledge is rooted in individuals actions, experiences, values, norms and
emotions
Explicit Knowledge
o More formal knowledge, systematic and tangible
o Easer to communicated and hare by colleagues in an organisation
o May be subject-based or subject to specific rules as necessary e.g.
Products
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Patents
Computer databases, technical drawings
Appliances
Prototypes
Photographs
Formulae
Codes
o May be codified in the form of
Rules
Routines
Operational procedures
o May be referred to as intellectual assets of an organisation
o Intellectual assets any piece of knowledge described, formulated or keyed into a
computer
o Intellectual assets = source of innovation which can lead to use for financial
advantage
o Represented by an artefact e.g. Video/document
o Goal is to communicate it to another person
o Gladstone defines Explicit as
Formally held knowledge
in the form of reports, equations, formulae and specifications
It is easily transmitted between individuals and groups
Formal capture of explicit knowledge fixes it.
o Explicit knowledge (film/report) remains a snapshot of what tacit knowledge was a
the moment it was captured
o Elfving and Funk define explicit knowledge as
Easily transmitted, processed and shared
Can be exchanged during face-to-face communication in seminars and
gatherings
o Nickols (2000) states explicit knowledge
Is knowledge that has been articulated and captured in the form of texts,
tables, diagrams, computer programmes, product specifications
Examples include
Formulate for finding area of a rectangle being Length X width
Documented best practices
Poetry
Artefacts
Formalised standards by which insurance claims are adjusted.
3.5 components of knowledge management
KM is a conceptual framework which covers all activities and initiatives necessary to
organise the knowledge assets of an organisation
It adds value to knowledge assets so they can be used by the organisation to attain goals and
objectives
It is the practice by which information is identified, organised and processed so that
knowledge can be crated and disseminated and utilised more widely in and organisation
It enables more/new knowledge to be created.
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Components of Knowledge management consist of
o Content
Knowledge itself and processes that go into manipulating it
Flow of appropriate data and information
o Human Resources
Creating, use and adding of value to information and knowledge requires
humans
o Technology
Technological infrastructure makes is possible to take in and store
information and make it available again to all those who need it
Technology only equips organisations to reach goals
It is only an instrument in attainment of goals
3.6 drivers of knowledge management
Managing information and knowledge = important in information and knowledge society
Managing knowledge is vital to organisations survival
4 environmental forces that drive knowledge management
o Global trends
Creation and distribution of knowledge linked to
Advances in digital, wireless and optical technologies
New organisational forms
New knowledge-based economy in which to grow
Value and improving standard of living
o Shifting economy
Society evolved over time and we are currently in the information and
knowledge economy
Knowledge economy is different from predecessor
Reliance of scarce resources in the industrial economy
Knowledge itself is for sale
Ideas are the main output/product of major economic institutions
Knowledge economy stands on 3 pillars
Knowledge has become what we buy, sell and do
Knowledge assets have become more important to firms than
financial and physical assets
We need new management techniques and new strategies to
proper
o Changing organisational forms
Becoming knowledge intensive
o Knowledge work
Knowledge work = production and reproduction of knowledge that has
economic value for the organisation
Effective knowledge management is vital in improving knowledge work
Reasons for adopting Knowledge Management
o Limited access to outside knowledge
o Poor links with customers, vendors and strategic alliances
o Poor understanding of changing business and industry dynamics
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