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It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge

It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge
It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge
A central issue in the knowledge management literature is the definition of the nature of knowledge, and particularly the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. This paper reviews some of the common standpoints on this issue, but argues that, within an organisational context, a useful alternative view is one in which knowledge is viewed as a systemic property of the organisational system to which it belongs. Thus, attempts to codify knowledge, and position it on a tacit-explicit continuum, are sometimes misplaced. Instead, this paper advocates approaches that view knowledge as a holistic system property. The paper considers the practical implication of this stance, from the perspective of knowledge transfer between individuals and between organisations, and investigates the potential that this stance offers OR practitioners.
knowledge management, explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, systemic modelling, cybernetic modelling, soft OR
0160-5682
140-152
Connell, N.A.D.
20c3599b-f2e6-49fb-9b95-870b421fc27e
Klein, J.H.
639e04f0-059a-4566-9361-a4edda0dba7d
Powell, P.L.
bf5aad22-2cd7-40bf-9b1b-13cfde1992d6
Connell, N.A.D.
20c3599b-f2e6-49fb-9b95-870b421fc27e
Klein, J.H.
639e04f0-059a-4566-9361-a4edda0dba7d
Powell, P.L.
bf5aad22-2cd7-40bf-9b1b-13cfde1992d6

Connell, N.A.D., Klein, J.H. and Powell, P.L. (2003) It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 54 (2), 140-152. (doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601444).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A central issue in the knowledge management literature is the definition of the nature of knowledge, and particularly the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. This paper reviews some of the common standpoints on this issue, but argues that, within an organisational context, a useful alternative view is one in which knowledge is viewed as a systemic property of the organisational system to which it belongs. Thus, attempts to codify knowledge, and position it on a tacit-explicit continuum, are sometimes misplaced. Instead, this paper advocates approaches that view knowledge as a holistic system property. The paper considers the practical implication of this stance, from the perspective of knowledge transfer between individuals and between organisations, and investigates the potential that this stance offers OR practitioners.

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More information

Published date: 2003
Additional Information: Connell, N.A.D., Klein, J.H. and P.L. Powell- Editor -->
Keywords: knowledge management, explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, systemic modelling, cybernetic modelling, soft OR

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 35782
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35782
ISSN: 0160-5682
PURE UUID: 2b2ee217-4206-4131-9cd9-28cdb1711253
ORCID for J.H. Klein: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5495-8738

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 May 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:34

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Contributors

Author: N.A.D. Connell
Author: J.H. Klein ORCID iD
Author: P.L. Powell

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