What Are Different Categories Of Knowledge

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Knowledge is that which we have come to believe and value as a result of a meaningful organised accumulated information through experience, communication or inference. An organisation needs to manage knowledge both as an object and a process.(Michael H Zack)

Knowledge is also considered as true and justified personal belief that increases an individual’s capacity to take action. Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995).

What are different categories of knowledge?

There are different categories of knowledge but the most common ones are Tacit and Explicit Knowledge.

Tacit Knowledge is that knowledge which is not transferable. It is gained or acquired through internalised information, association with other people and through intuition, experience and insight. Tacit knowledge is embedded in products, culture, routines, artefact, or structures (Horvath 2000, Gamble & Blackwell 2001). Tacit knowledge is inexpressive in codification and its difficult to share. It is also regarded as being the most valuable source of knowledge, and the most likely to lead to breakthroughs in the organization (Wellman 2009). Gamble & Blackwell (2001) link the lack of focus on tacit knowledge directly to the reduced capability for innovation and sustained competitiveness.

Explicit knowledge is a formal knowledge that is transferable and can be viewed by everyone. it can be in the form of database, notes documents and manual. (Botha et al., 2008). Therefore fairly easy to identify, store, retrieve and handle (Wellman, 2009). Explicit knowledge make use of objects, its codifiable, easy to share and impersonal. From an organizational perspective, the explicit knowledge can be disseminated within an organization through documents, drawings, standard operating procedures, manuals of best practice, and the like. From a managerial perspective, the greatest challenge with explicit knowledge is similar to information. It involves ensuring that people have access to what they need; that important knowledge is stored; and that the knowledge is reviewed, updated, or discarded. (http://www.innovators.edu.pk/node/143)

How is knowledge generated, conceptualised and understood?

In this age and time, knowledge is the key to success of the organisation, individual and the nation at large. (Nonaka 1994).

The conceptualisation of knowledge can be liked to OODA loop created by Military Strategist and the US Airforce Colonel John Boyd in the 60's,The SECI model (Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation) created in 1991 by Professor Ikujiro Nonaka of The Japan Institute if Science and The Organisational Knowledge Creation and Management Framework proposed in 2004 by Harris Oinas-Kukkonen of the University of Oulu, Finland and Stanford University USA.

OODA LOOP MOEL:

According to John Boyd, learning is a decision making process n which an individual makes a choice of what to and not to take in as knowledge. The very first process is to Observe things happening around the individual and then noting down what is useful to him which will take him to the next process of Orientation. In this next phase of learning, the learner takes into consideration his own previous knowledge, culture and tradition and consider if it should be taken in and this leads him to the next level of learning which is Decide. At the level of decision making, the learner checks if he is ready to accept the new information as a new knowledge or not, then finally if he accepts this information, he then Acts by putting his decision into action. (Cebrian, M. 2009)

SECI Model:

Knowledge creation in this concept is a strengthening process between Explicit and Tacit knowledge which leads to the creation of new knowledge.

Socialisation involves capturing knowledge through physical proximity that is direct interaction with people. One important thing to note here is that an individual can acquire tacit knowledge not only through language but through observations, imitation and practise.

Externalisation: This involves conversion of Tacit knowledge into Explicit knowledge by use of images, concepts etc as well as translating tacit knowledge of people into readily understandable form for example creating inference i. e abduction.

Combination: This is the conversion of explicit knowledge into more complex explicit knowledge that is collation of data, dissemination and transferring the information generated from the data to others through meetings, etc and finally documenting the data for record purposes and future use.

Internalisation: This is the conversion of the explicit knowledge into organisation's tacit knowledge. Here , the individuals makes themselves familiar with the knowledge that is relevant to them within the organisation and these knowledge are acquired through constant improvement e.g in-house trainers that trains other members of staffs acquires in-depth knowledge of the organisation more.

Oinas ' Organisational knowledge Creation and Management Framework model says there are four phases of knowledge creation, they are Comprehension, Communication, Conceptualisation, and Collaboration. (Cebrian, M. 2009)

Comprehension is a process of surveying and interacting with ones environment in order to identify problems, needs and opportunities.

Communication enable the person to now share the experience among others and by so doing gaining tacit knowledge from information gathered from the group which in turn is in form of technical skills and mental model.

Conceptualisation which is the collective reflection of tacit knowledge to form explicit knowledge is now put together as proposal, specification, work breakdown structures, milestones, budgets, etc. Collaboration: With the new explicit knowledge gained, the group is now ready to work as a team by demonstrating their new knowledge they have successfully created. In a nutshell, the group can now put their tacit knowledge which has been converted into explicit knowledge into a paper or documented.

Job mastery skill is an important skill an employee require in order to work efficiently and effectively at a work place. Professionally skills are those that goes beyond the employee scope of job descriptions, though helps to indirectly improve job performance. Line managers are expected to re-view and re-assess employees goals and activities, he should also help develop their skills through constant training and career development so that they are improve more in their role. Employee should be encouraged and motivated by providing valuable feedbacks and learning activities and resources. (UCSF Human Resources, 3333 California Street, Suite 305, San Francisco, CA 94143, (415) 476-1645.)

People can learn through the following ways:

Visual Learners: Learning by seeing

This form of learning is by visual, learners learn best by looking at graphics, watching a demonstration, or reading. For them, it’s easy to look at charts and graphs, but they may have difficulty focusing while listening to an explanation.

Kinesthetic Learners: Learning by touching

Kinesthetic learners process information best through a "hands-on" experience. Getting involved or doing an activity can be the easiest way for them to learn. Sitting still while studying may be difficult, but writing things down makes it easier to understand.

Characteristics and differences of single and double loop learning and examples of each.

This concepts help you realize and appreciate the kinds of learning that you and your client can glean during a project. The concepts are largely from the works of Argyris and Schon (1974).

Single-Loop Learning (Following the Rules)

This type of learning establish rigid strategic kind of policies and procedures that helps solve problems within the organisation without altering the structure( of the organisation) already on ground. Example is when line manages are not meeting deadlines, the management decides to send them on ''Time Management'' course without investigating the cause of the problem in the first place just because the company policy says so.

Double-Loop Learning (Changing the Rules)

This kind of learning involves more "thinking outside the box," creativity and critical

thinking. This learning often helps participants understand why a particular solution works better than others to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Experts assert that double-loop learning is critical to the success of an organization, especially during times of rapid change

Referring to the above example, after sending managers on ''Time Management'' course, a-although there is slight improvement but there are still issues, after investigating, it was realised that organisation's policies and cultures are contributing factors to managers not meeting deadlines.

The most effective ways and mechanism knowledge can be shared in an organisation.

OJE: On the Job Experience learning is one of the ways knowledge can be shared at a work place. People tends to learn faster by practising on the job.

Monitoring and Coaching: This form of learning at work help to impact knowledge through teaching others what you have learned from experience.

Action Learning Set: This type of learning at work occur when people are faced with real problems at a work place. It helps to draw on the experience of members to help solve issues and encourage new ways of working. it’s a method of collaborative learning where a small group of learners meet regularly to talk about real work issues. Revans, 1954`

Communities of Practice: This type of learning enable groups of professionals to get together and share experiences and problems. It's either through face-to-face or IT Systems such as Skype. This is a great way of tapping explicit and tacit knowledge. Wenger and Lave (2002)

Communication System: The availability of Information technology has made learning a lot easier. Group of people can connect and share knowledge through the internet even when they are miles apart. Knoweldge can be shared through e-mails, video, teleconferencing, etc.

Conclusion

Knowledge sharing involves connecting people to people, information and to tools through technology and processes. It is about getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Knowledge are been carried around daily and from time to time and the ability to share it before its been lost makes it useful. (http://www.tfpl.com/kim/?gclid=COy9kZD2y7UCFUwc4Qod1hMAFw)