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Tacit Knowledge in Organizations

Tacit Knowledge in Organizations. Anne Heinrichs, Saskia Bercht & Silvia Grimmsmann. Agenda. I. What is Tacit Knowledge? II. Types of Knowledge III. History of Tacit Knowledge A) Francis Bacon – Novum Organum B) Michael Polanyi – The Tacit Dimension IV. Making Tacit Knowledge Explicit

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Tacit Knowledge in Organizations

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  1. Tacit Knowledge in Organizations Anne Heinrichs, Saskia Bercht & Silvia Grimmsmann Communication in Organizations

  2. Agenda I. What is Tacit Knowledge? II. Types of Knowledge III. History of Tacit Knowledge A) Francis Bacon – Novum Organum B) Michael Polanyi – The Tacit Dimension IV. Making Tacit Knowledge Explicit A) Knowledge Management B) Nonaka; Takeuchi – The Knowledge Creating Company A. Tacit Knowledge: An Introduction Communication in Organizations

  3. I. What is Tacit Knowledge? Communication in Organizations

  4. I. What is Tacit Knowledge? • Have you ever noticed how easily you speak your mother tongue? • Have you ever noticed how easily you recognize faces? • Why is that so?  Because of your tacit knowledge! Communication in Organizations

  5. What does "tacit" mean? I. What is Tacit Knowledge? • According to the Oxford Advanced Learner`s Dictionary:tacit – understood without words; implied Communication in Organizations

  6. What is knowledge? I. What is Tacit Knowledge? • According to Webster`s Dictionary: The fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association. […] K. may be recorded in an individual brain or stored in organizational processes, products, facilities, systems and documents. • But there is more to it… Communication in Organizations

  7. II. Types of Knowledge Communication in Organizations

  8. II. Types of Knowledge Tacit Knowledge • "Automatic" knowledge • "Subconscious knowledge" of an individual • e.g. intuitions, unarticulated mental models, embodied technical skills Communication in Organizations

  9. II. Types of Knowledge • K. that is encoded or even recorded in documents or information systems or embodied in values, methods and procedures • Meaningful set of information articulated in clear language Explicit Knowledge Communication in Organizations

  10. III. History of Tacit Knowledge Communication in Organizations

  11. III. History of Tacit KnowledgeA) Francis Bacon : Novum Organum • English lawyer, statesman, essayist, historian, intellectual reformer, philosopher and champion of modern science • 1620 Novum Organum • new method to replace that of Aristotle • 1623 De Augmentis Scientiarum • "For why should a few received authors stand up like Hercules columns, beyond which there should be no sailing or discovering…" Francis Bacon (1561-1626) Communication in Organizations

  12. Francis Bacon (1561-1626): "Knowledge is Power" III. History of Tacit KnowledgeA) Francis Bacon : Novum Organum • "a light that would eventually disclose and bring into sight all that is most hidden and secret in the universe" • method involved the collection of data, their judicious interpretation, the carrying out of experiments  laid ground for modern science and the triumph of technology Communication in Organizations

  13. Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) III. History of Tacit Knowledge B) Michael Polanyi • Hungarian scientist turned philosopher • Father of Tacit Knowledge • 1966 The Tacit Dimension • Account of what tacit knowledge actually means • Main thesis: "we can know more than we can tell" Communication in Organizations

  14. III. History of Tacit KnowledgeB) Michael Polanyi1) Characteristics of Tacit Knowledge • There are actions and judgments, which we spontaneously know how to carry out without having to think prior to or during their performance. • We often find ourselves doing these things without being aware of having learned them. • The knowledge revealed by our actions can usually not be described, and we may never have been really aware of it. Communication in Organizations

  15. III. History of Tacit KnowledgeB) Michael Polanyi2) Properties of Tacit Knowledge • The proximal term - part that is closer to us • The distal term - part that is further away Tacit knowledge is the understanding of the unity of this proximal/distal pair. • (Polanyi 1966: 10) Communication in Organizations

  16. III. History of Tacit KnowledgeB) Michael Polanyi3) Tacit Knowledge in Action • In an act of tacit knowing we attend from the proximal term to the distal term. (Polanyi 1966: 11) Communication in Organizations

  17. III. History of Tacit KnowledgeB) Michael Polanyi3) Tacit Knowledge in Action • Playing a complicated musical piece by heart, a musician concentrates on the melody without concentrating on where to put his hands.  He attends from the melody in his head to where to put his hands. • Stock market  A stock broker attends from?to when to buy or sell shares. Communication in Organizations

  18. IV. Making Tacit Knowledge Explicit Communication in Organizations

  19. IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitA) Knowledge Management or • Creating • Securing • Capturing • Coordinating • Combining • Retrieving • Distributing "If we only knew what we know" Knowledge Idea: "Sharing knowledge is power" vs. "Knowledge is power" (Liebowitz 2000: 1) Communication in Organizations

  20. IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitB) Nonaka; Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 62) Communication in Organizations

  21. Socialization IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitB) Nonaka; Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company • Process of transforming individual tacit knowledge into group tacit knowledge through shared experiences Communication in Organizations

  22. Externalization/Articulation IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitB) Nonaka; Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company Process of articulating tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge through the use metaphors, analogies, concepts, hypotheses or models Communication in Organizations

  23. IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitB) Nonaka; Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company • Process of assembling new and existing explicit knowledge into systemic explicit knowledge in order to create a new archetype • e.g. A new business procedure is introduced along with the prototype for a new product and justification has to be promoted throughout the company. Combination Communication in Organizations

  24. IV. Making Tacit Knowledge ExplicitB) Nonaka; Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company • Process of converting explicit knowledge into tacit operational knowledge such as know-how • e.g. Engineering case studies help novice engineers to internalize the explicit knowledge that has been externalized from veteran- based tacit knowledge. Internalization Communication in Organizations

  25. Summary • Bacon: new learning method, that lay ground for modern science • Polanyi: father of tacit knowledge • Nonaka: The Knowledge Creating Company • How can tacit knowledge be made explicit? • Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization Communication in Organizations

  26. Agenda • Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.: home bakery • Contrasting Eastern and Western cultures • The Q of sapphire • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon B. Tacit Knowledge in Different Cultures Communication in Organizations

  27. Agenda • Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Communication in Organizations

  28. I. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Home Bakery • Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.: bread-baking machine for home use • Possible with help of the tacit knowledge of a master baker • Great international success http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004S56Y/102-4111837-3408169 Communication in Organizations

  29. Conclusion I. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. • Socialization: learn tacit knowledge from baker • Articulation: tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge • Combination: Tanaka and team • Internalization: team knowledge bases enriched Communication in Organizations

  30. Agenda • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures Communication in Organizations

  31. Key points about Japanese management • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Mentorship and network creation • Life-time employment • Seniority-based promotion • Consensus decision-making (collectivism) • Asiatic, but westernised (in a Japanese way!) • Education: patriotic duty and learning by repetition Communication in Organizations

  32. Ba • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Ba: roughly means "place" or "interaction field" • Industrial history of Japan • Concept of ba Communication in Organizations

  33. West • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Explicit knowledge • Measuring & managing existing knowledge • Few people carry out knowledge management initiatives • Organization: machine for information processing Communication in Organizations

  34. Japan • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Tacit knowledge • Knowledge involves emotions, values, and hunches • Companies "manage" & "create" knowledge • Everyone involved in creating organizational knowledge (middle managers = key knowledge engineers) Communication in Organizations

  35. West Cartesian Split: separation of the body and mind (Descartes) Japan "iemoto": school run by masters of a craft Zen Buddhism: "the oneness of body and mind" History • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures Communication in Organizations

  36. USA • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Future-oriented • Adventure • Unlimited progress • Pragmatism • Individualism • Short-term planning • Community not so important Communication in Organizations

  37. Europe • Contrasting Eastern and Western Cultures • Individualism, priority on the human being • Intern negotiations • International diversity • Management between extremes • Strong product-orientation Communication in Organizations

  38. Zen and the Art of Innovation • Contrasting Eastern and Western cultures • Innovation management techniques • Are there any lessons the West can learn from Japan? Communication in Organizations

  39. Agenda • The Q of sapphire Communication in Organizations

  40. IV. The Q of sapphire • Sapphire used for laser-building • Russian measurements better than Scottish ones • Problems: lack of tacit knowledge and trust Communication in Organizations

  41. Agenda • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Communication in Organizations

  42. V. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon • USA / China: different responses to the film • Tacit expectation shapes the audiences‘ attitudes http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~kileen/chin311/CrouchingSummEng.html Communication in Organizations

  43. V. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon • TK as an important element in Taoism • Influence of Taoist TK on Chinese culture, mentality Taoism www.dance-centre.com/ workshops.htm Communication in Organizations

  44. Rational Practical Holistic Humanistic The Culture Compass Summary Kalthoff, Otto; Nonaka, Ikujiro; Nueno, Pedro (1999) Communication in Organizations

  45. Agenda C. Making it Happen: Tacit Knowledge in Organizations • Why is Tacit Knowledge Important Today? • Mobilizing Knowledge in Organizations • a) General Concepts • b) Enabling Knowledge Communication in Organizations

  46. Agenda I. Why is Tacit Knowledge Important Today? Communication in Organizations

  47. Company Department B Department C Department A • Why is Tacit Knowledge Important Today? • A) General Concepts Fragmentation Adapted from Kalthoff and Nonaka (1999) Communication in Organizations

  48. Why is Tacit Knowledge Important Today? • A) General Concepts Information Technology versus a New Sense of Emotional Knowledge Emphasis on: -How people treat each other -Facilitate relationships Emphasis taken away from: "Cutthroat attitude" Von Krogh, Ichijo, Nonaka (2000) Communication in Organizations

  49. The Western philosophy Plato Knowledge is unchanging Knowledge is context specific It is dynamically created It has a subjective nature • Why is Tacit Knowledge Important Today? • a) General Concepts Different Concepts of Knowledge: West and East Von Krogh, Ichijo, Nonaka 2000 Communication in Organizations

  50. Agenda II. Mobilizing Knowledge in Organizations A) General Concepts B) Enabling Knowledge Communication in Organizations

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