eknowledge transformation phần 2 docx

• Implicit or tacit knowledge is subjective ,

experience-based knowledge. Ty p i c a l l y,

it is not easily expressed in words, sen￾tences, and formulae. It is highly

context specific. It includes, but is not

limited, to beliefs, values, tradecraft,

mental models, and technical skills.

Tacit knowledge resides in formal and

informal networks of experts and com￾munities of re f l e c t i ve practice. Some of

this knowledge can be codified, made

explicit, and migrated into content

repositories and marketplaces. Most is

accessed through person-to-person

k n owledge sharing or social interac￾tions. New opportunities for sharing are

made possible through perva s i ve, secure ,

online interactivity through communi￾ties of practice. Practitioners are deve l￾oping heightened appreciation for the

i m p o rtance of such vibrant sources of

tacit know l e d g e .

Tacit knowledge includes the infor￾mal k n ow l e d g e that exists thro u g h

common practice and is shared via e￾mails, communities of practice, expert

n e t w o rks, and other permutations of

online interaction. As organizations

d e velop their e-knowledge competen￾cies, they enhance their capacity to

n u rt u re, harvest, and use informal,

tacit know l e d g e .

The policies, practices, competencies,

n e t w o rks, communities, and mark e t￾places for exchanging explicit and tacit

e - k n owledge are developing today. T h e i r

refinement to handle continuously

revised knowledge will catalyze and drive

the re volution in learning and know l e d g e

management tomorrow.

The nature of knowledge is that it

makes itself obsolete.

Peter Drucker, 1999

Interactions Between Ta c i t

and Explicit Knowledge

By definition, knowledge is dynamic, not

static. Knowledge continuously changes

meaning and form. Whether know l e d g e

is held by individuals, organizations,

c o m m u n i t i e s of practice or networks of

organizations, the content, context, and

community in which it is used are

always changing.

It is especially critical to understand how

elements of explicit and tacit know l e d g e

can transcend their current states thro u g h

p ro g re s s i ve cycles of conversion. Ik u j i ro

Nonaka (1999) has captured the essence

of the relationships and interactions of

tacit and explicit knowledge in four

modes: socialization, externalization, com￾bination, and internalization. T h e s e

k n owledge conversions are port r a yed in

the figure to the right.

Depicting the Interactions

Between Tacit and Explicit

Knowledge

In their work on the integration of e￾learning and knowledge management,

Woelk and Agarwal (2002) have schemat￾ically re p resented the transitions of know l￾edge between No n a k a’s four phases. T h e y

h a ve added a fifth phase, cognition, in

which the knowledge seeker makes sense

of tacit knowledge in context thro u g h

applying it to a business pro b l e m .

Understanding e-Knowledge

as a “Thing” and a “Flow”

In recent years, practitioners have

begun to understand the complexities

of modeling knowledge in all its forms.

In consequence, the assumption of a clean

delineation between tacit and explicit

k n owledge and the migration of know l￾edge between different states is question￾able. The emerging ecology of know l e d g e

re p resentation suggests that know l e d g e

exists as both a t h i n g and a f l ow at the

same time. The “t h i n g” is knowledge that

is “know n” (the “know - w h a t”) and can be

formally shared and used. The “f l ow” is

the changing contexts or passage of

k n owledge through the informal stru c￾t u res of organizations where communities

of practice and others make sense of it and

c o n ve rt it from “know a b l e” to “know n . ”

To accept this paradox, practitioners must

accept that in the uncertain conditions

that characterize most real-life settings,

k n owledge is continuously changing,

What is e-Knowledge?

6 Tr a n s f o rming e-Knowledge

Knowledge Management Phases