|
 Knowledge Management > Explicit & Tacit
Explicit & Tacit Knowledge
The distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge provides a basis for understanding the different roles that computer-systems and human-systems will play in support of the Knowledge Management process.
Explicit
Knowledge |
Knowledge that is codified and conveyed to others through dialog, demonstration, or media such as books, drawings, and documents. |
Tacit
Knowledge |
Deeply personal experience, aptitudes, perceptions, insights, and know-how that are implied or indicated but not actually expressed — it resides in individuals & teams. |
Knowledge
Artifacts |
An artifact is something created for a practical purpose. In a work environment, a knowledge artifact might be a document, a process, audio-video, a body of source code for software program, an engineering schematic, or a template for a proposal, among other things. Document mgt. systems, content mgt. systems and knowledge-bases are typical structures for managing knowledge artifacts. |
Intellectual
Capital |
Intangibles such as information, knowledge, and skills that can be leveraged by an organization to produce an asset of equal or greater importance than land, labor and capital. |
Concepts of "explicit" and "tacit" knowledge are meant to get at the fact that knowledge is a deeply rooted human process that lives within the private world of the individual and cannot simply be reduced to information processing and software automation. At the same time, the human process lives in the public domain of communication and langugage, culture and representation that generates knowledge artifacts. These artifacts can be powerfully enhanced through software automation.
Explicit knowledge can be recorded digitally in documents, records, patents and other intellectual property artifacts. Explicit knowledge is representational and can live and be manipulated within the digital domain. Converting data-to-information, and information-to-knowledge describes a value continuum of explicit knowledge. The tools and business processes of KM are intended to enhance this continuum of value.
Tacit knowledge is made up of best practices, experience, wisdom and unrecordable intellectual property that lives within individuals and teams. Since tacit knowledge exists within minds, it cannot be reduced to the digital domain as a material asset, or be manipulated directly. However, it expresses in the social realm as the response ability of individuals (productivity, innovation and initiative), and teamwork (communication, coordination and collaboration).
In 1995, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, in their book The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, presented the following model of how tacit and explicit knowledge interact in the knowledge creation process.
|
Socialization:
From
tacit knowledge
to tacit knowledge
|
The direct conveyance of tacit knowledge through shared experience |
Socialization involves social conversion to share experience from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge. This process attempts to share experience and thereby to create and exchange tacit knowledge. Thus, socialization is used in sharing learners’ experience and know-how with other learners. |
|
Externalization:
From
tacit knowledge
to explicit knowledge
|
The process of articulating tacit knowledge into explicit concepts |
Externalization involves the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. This process attempts to rationalize tacit knowledge and articulate it into explicit concepts and formal models (e.g., to write instruction manuals). |
|
Combination:
From
explicit knowledge
to explicit knowledge
|
The process of systematizing concepts into a knowledge system |
Combination converts explicit knowledge into more complex and systematic sets of explicit knowledge. This process involves individuals combining and exchanging different explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge with others. Existing learning information in the databases might be integrated to create new knowledge. |
|
Internalization:
From
explicit knowledge
to tacit knowledge
|
Embodying explicit knowledge into tacit operational knowledge |
Internalization is a process of embodying explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge and internalizing the individual experiences gained through the other models of knowledge creation in the form of shared mental models. Through internalization, explicit knowledge created is shared through an online learning community and converted into tacit knowledge by individuals. |
Both explicit and tacit knowledge are extremely valuable to any enterprise. Therefore, KM focuses on business processes related to both. Since explicit knowledge can be rendered into digital artifacts that can be communicated, stored and retrieved, a superficial view is that KM is only concerned about software automation which facilitate explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge can, however, be addressed by software in the following ways:
- Pointing to the people who hold knowledge
- Supporting and catalyzing collaborative processes of exchanging knowledge
- Helping convert a portion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.
Tacit knowledge represents an immense asset of value within an enterprise. There are times that the loss of only a few key people "walking out the door" with their essential knowledge and skills can put at risk the net worth of an entire organization. In the early stage development of an enterprise, key individuals' tacit knowledge embody the vision and mission, as well as the core competencies. Their loss can put at risk the viability or survivability of the corporation. One of the thrusts of KM is to protect and enhance these valuable assets by creating infrastructure and a culture of knowledge sharing.
|
