zondag 2 februari 2014

Tacit knowledge

Tacit knowledge is the knowledge in our heads. It is much less concrete and more difficult to document and measure. However it is more valuable because it provides context.

Tacit knowledge is the unwritten, unspoken, and hidden vast storehouse of knowledge held by practically every normal human being, based on his or her emotions, experiences, insights, intuition, observations and internalized information. 

Tacit knowledge is integral to the entirety of a person's consciousness, is acquired largely through association with other people, and requires joint or shared activities to be imparted from on to another. 




Like the submerged part of an iceberg it constitutes the bulk of what one knows, and forms the underlying framework that makes explicit knowledge possible. Concept of tacit knowledge was introduced by Michael Polanyi in his 1966 book 'The Tacit Dimension'.

Tacit knowledge
Explicit knowledge
Personal and context-specific
Formal
Difficult to document and communicate. Unwritten and unspoken.
Easy to document, transfer and reproduce.
Drawn from experience and the most powerful form of knowledge.
Can become obsolete quickly.
Difficult to communicate and share.
Easy to communicate and share.
Shared only when individuals are willing to engage in social interaction.
Can be copied and imitated easily.
Lives in people and their practices.
Lives in books and heads.
Learning to be.
Learning about.
Examples:
-decision-making models
-body language
 Examples:
-routines
-procedures