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Title
Abstract
Introduction
Conclusion
Notes on the Question of Transmutating Signs
References

'Tacit knowledge'-a new hypothesis

Profile image of Stephen GourlayStephen Gourlay

2000

Abstract

Abstract 'Tacit knowledge'and 'explicit knowledge'are ambiguous terms and the relationship between them, critical to 'knowledge management', is unclear. If some 'tacit knowledge'is inherently non-verbalizable (Polanyi 1966a) models such that of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) may be invalid. Dewey and Bentley (1949) presented a framework of 'knowing'as sign-process which links both forms of 'knowledge'. Evidence for their model is reviewed and its validity tentatively established.

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Do we really understand tacit knowledge
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This paper advances the claim that tacit knowledge has been greatly misunderstood in management studies. Nonaka and Takeuchi"s widely adopted interpretation of tacit knowledge as knowledge awaiting "translation" or "conversion" into explicit knowledge is erroneous: contrary to Polanyi"s argument, it ignores the essential ineffability of tacit knowledge. In the paper I show why the idea of focussing on a set of tacitly known particulars and "converting" them into explicit knowledge is unsustainable. However, the ineffability of tacit knowledge does not mean that we cannot discuss the skilled performances in which we are involved. We can discuss them provided we stop insisting on "converting" tacit knowledge and, instead, start recursively drawing our attention to how we draw each other"s attention to things. Instructive forms of talk help us re-orientate ourselves to how we relate to others and the world around us, thus enabling us to talk and act differently. Following Wittgenstein and Shotter, I argue that we can command a clearer view of our skilled performances if we "re-mind" ourselves of how we do things, so that distinctions, which we had previously not noticed, and features, which had previously escaped our attention, may be brought forward. We cannot operationalise tacit knowledge but we can find new ways of talking, fresh forms of interacting and novel ways of distinguishing and connecting. Tacit knowledge cannot be "captured", "translated", or "converted" but only displayed and manifested, in what we do. New knowledge comes about not when the tacit becomes explicit, but when our skilled performance is punctuated in new ways through social interaction.

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The role of tacit and explicit knowledge in the workplace
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Knowledge plays a key role in the information revolution. Major challenges are to select the``right'' information from numerous sources and transform it into useful knowledge. Tacit knowledge based on common sense, and explicit knowledge based on academic accomplishment are both underutilized. Ways knowledgeenabled organizations acquire, measure, teach, share and apply knowledge are discussed and illustrated. Methods to balance the use tacit and explicit knowledge at work and practical, proven ways to improve the understanding and use of knowledge are presented. Organizations must begin to create worker-centered environments to encourage the open sharing and use of all forms of knowledge.

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Analysing Tacit Knowledge
Harry Collins

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I respond to the reviews by Henry and Lowney of my book Tacit and Explicit Knowledge. I stress the need to understand explicit knowledge if tacit knowledge is to be understood. Tacit knowledge must be divided into three kinds: relational, somatic and collective. The idea of relational tacit knowledge is keyto pulling the three kinds apart.

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The meaning of tacit knowledge
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Tacit knowledge definitions tend to be extremely varied. Some argue that tacit knowledge is precisely that. Others feel that only time and effort prevent all tacit knowledge from eventually becoming articulated. For the purposes of our research "tacit knowledge", in practice at least, encompasses a medium ground, being comprised of articulable and inarticulable subsets. Along the lines of Weber (1997), we have formalised a meaning for this "tacit knowledge" and for comparison have completed a content analysis of the literature to determine what other researchers understand "tacit knowledge" to mean.

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This paper is a description and analysis of found conceptualizations of tacit knowledge in the knowledge management (KM) literature. The essay’s argument is that there are several different ways of framing or understanding the nature, conceptualizations, of tacit knowledge. Because tacit knowledge is the most foundational idea and experience, in knowledge management literature, the purpose of this essay is to clarify the several perspectives discovered to be in use in the literature.

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Representation of Tacit Knowledge In Organizations
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Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management

The aim of this article is to increase understanding of tacit knowledge as a phenomenon and also, to specify and understand tacit knowledge of an expert in a given context. In the discourse of organizational behavior, the use of the concept of tacit knowledge and empirical scientific research on it has become more popular only in the 1990s. The strong increase in expert work and knowledge-intensive fields make examining the topic timely and both theoretically and practically interesting. The most significant theoretical contribution of the study is the increase in understanding, as well as, the creation of new knowledge of the contents and the nature of tacit knowledge. Based on our study, it seems that the current division of knowledge to explicit and tacit is not sufficient to describe the phenomenon. It has been proposed that explicit knowledge is visible and "articulated" knowledge that can easily be transferred and codified, e.g., through speech, documents and various information management systems. Implicit knowledge, on the other hand, is "silent", hidden and non-verbal knowledge that is difficult or even impossible to transfer and express verbally. We propose that tacit knowledge comprises different components, some of which can be articulated and made explicit. Examples of such are individual"s or organizations accustomed lines of action that are based on explicit instructions. On the other hand, individual-specific tacit knowledge that includes feelings, emotions and intuition, individual"s intuitive behaviour or personal relationships, can be considered as "the genuine tacit knowledge" in the sense that it cannot be made visible or transferred. These findings suggest that the interconnectedness of explicit and tacit knowledge ought to be examined further.

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