As stated by Kurtz & Snowden, (2003) the Cynefin framework “originated in the practice of knowledge management as a means of distinguishing between formal and informal communities, and as a means of talking about the interaction of both with structured processes and uncertain conditions”. The framework provides a comprehensive overview of organizational knowledge exchange. Furthermore, it also identifies four main knowledge flows namely complex to knowable; knowable to chaotic; knowable to known; and chaotic to complex for more information see here. This post briefly elaborates these knowledge flows. In addition to this, the post also reflects on their applicability within the context of managing knowledge for new rolling stock introduction projects in the Netherlands Railways. Next section is distributed such that the first paragraph provides the elaboration and second the reflection on the applicability of each knowledge flow within the stated context.
Reflection on the key developments on the organizational knowledge creation theory
Theoretical Background
The organization knowledge creation theory was first developed by Nonaka, (1994) that explained the conversion of tacit and explicit knowledge into organizational knowledge and presented four modes of knowledge conversion that are as follows:
- Tacit to tacit
- Explicit to explicit
- Tacit to explicit
- Explicit to tacit
Nonaka, (1994) advocated that “the key to acquiring tacit knowledge is experience” and called the process of creating tacit knowledge through shared experience socialization. In addition to this, he stated that “socialization is connected with theories of organizational culture”.
A reflection on the paper about “Tacit knowledge management” by Ribeiro, R., (2013)
The concept of tacit knowledge which can be simply put as the knowledge that cannot easily be articulated into words was first presented by Polanyi when he stated, “we know more than we can tell” (Polanyi, 2001). If a metaphor of an iceberg is used for a knowledge possessed by an individual, then the tip of the iceberg can be represented as the individual explicit knowledge and the remaining invisible part can be represented as the individual’s tacit knowledge. In recent years organizations have started to realize the significance of this type of knowledge and consider its management of strategic importance.
Role of the organizational context in tacit knowledge management
Proper management of Tacit Knowledge (TK) requires a clear understanding of the organizational context. This was demonstrated by Evangelista and Hau, (2009) where they investigated the role of different organizational factors such as management commitment, teamwork, relationship strength and cultural distance on the acquisition of explicit and tacit know-how. Their results indicate that different factors have different effects on explicit and tacit learning and acquisition of each requires different strategies.
“Systems integration, testing and pilot operations”, An event hosted by Railforum-Review
An interesting event on the topic of “systems integration, testing and pilot operations” was hosted by Railforum on 20th of November 2018. Program description of this event can be accessed here. Railforum is a Dutch organization that provides a platform to stakeholders from public transport and railways sector for sharing knowledge, experiences and ideas with each other. This post is divided into three sections, first section provides a brief summary of main points covered by different speakers during the event and a reflection on their talk. Second section digs deeper into identifying key differences in approaches followed for systems integration and last section mentions some of the best practices of knowledge sharing that were observed during the event. Continue reading ““Systems integration, testing and pilot operations”, An event hosted by Railforum-Review”