A DYAMIC THEORY OF
A DYNAMIC THEORY OF
ORGANIZATIONAL KNOLEDGE CREATION
Author: Ikujiro Nanoka
Introduction
This paper by Nonaka provides an aerial view of the
organizational knowledge creating processes through and within the
perimeters of tacit and explicit knowledge with an applied
framework on facilitating its dynamic creation. He explains about
knowledge processing and creation in an organization and brings us
to a different paradigm, comparing what was, which relates to
information processing and problem solving and what is more
important, in building an active and dynamic understanding of the
organization.
With innovation being a key guidance, Nonaka stresses that
organizations should be looked at by the way how it creates
information and knowledge not by the way it processes them. With
organization knowledge creation in mind, the dynamics of the
organization knowledge creation process are examined and with
practical models to manage the process more effectively.
Basic Concepts and Models of Organizational Knowledge
Creation
Nonaka discuss Michael Polanyis basic concepts and models of
organizational knowledge creation, discussing on the nature of
information and knowledge, then drawing a distinction between tacit
knowledge of a personal quality which is hard to formalize and
communicate (defined as analogue) and explicit knowledge, which is
transmittable in formal, systematic language (defined as digital).
Tacit knowledge is that which is intuitively understood, is fully
actionable, but is not yet formalized or codified. Explicit
knowledge is that which has been reflected and articulated. It
begins with the most basic (the individual) and moves through
stages (group, organization, inter-organization) toward the most
comprehensive.
Knowledge and Information
The paper adopts a definition of knowledge as justified true
belief, considering knowledge as a personal belief with an emphasis
on the importance of justification of knowledge. In a nutshell,
knowledge is created and organized by the very flow of information,
anchored on the commitment and beliefs of its holder. That has
direct relation to human action and deeply rooted in the value
systems of individuals.
The author also emphasizes that information is essential for
initiating and formalizing knowledge and can be viewed from two (2)
perspectives i.e. 1. Syntactic, which focuses on the volume of
information regardless of its meaning or value. 2. Semantic, which
centre on the meaning of information. From the above, the semantic
aspect of information is more relevant as it focuses on conveyed
meaning and key in creating knowledge.
Two Dimensions of Knowledge Creation
Nonaka discuss in details on the description of the differences
between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is
very individually, based on a persons view, and therefore hard to
codify and both of it can be cognitive and technical which thought
of patterns and structures and finally it is related with skills.
It is the sharing of tacit knowledge that, more than anything else
becomes the catalyst for the generation of new knowledge.
Commitment on the Part of the Knowledge Subject: Intention,
Autonomy, and Fluctuation
Nonaka identify three basic factors that induce commitment in
organizational setting as intention, autonomy and a certain level
of environmental fluctuation. These three basic factors identified
after Polanyis contention that commitment underlies human knowledge
creating activities and is important in promoting of new knowledge
within the organization and this is the ultimate purpose of the
thought/value system. Intention is how individual form their way to
the world and try to make sense of their environment. It is not
just about the state of mind, but rather an action oriented
concept. Autonomy is the capability of individual, group and
organization. Where it is absent, knowledge creation does not occur
or never linked with intentionality. Fluctuations is internal to
individual and has close link with external world. Chaos or
discontinuity can create new patterns of interaction between
individuals and their environments. When breakdowns occur,
individuals has doubt on the value of habits and regular tools,
which might strengthening of commitments.
Knowledge Conversion and The Spiral of Knowledge
Nonaka quotes Andersons ACT model of knowledge conversion and
the model is a continual process of conversion of what Anderson
describes as declarative knowledge (explicit knowledge: codified,
articulated, and propositional) into procedural knowledge (tacit
knowledge: technical, methodological, intuitive). Anderson describe
this process is unidirectional (declarative to procedural).
However, Nonaka modifies the Andersons model by including a
recursive process from tacit to explicit and back to tacit
knowledge.
Nonaka presenting the four modes of knowledge conversion that
can create new knowledge independently. The four patterns are: (1)
Socialization - from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge, (2)
Externalization - from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge (3)
Combination - from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge, (4)
Internalization - from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge. All
four can be used in the organizational setting in order to maximize
knowledge creation.
From Metaphor to Model: Methodology of Knowledge Creation
Metaphor is one of the effective methods to convert tacit
knowledge into explicit knowledge. The essence of metaphor is
understanding and experiencing, enabling us to experience a new
behavior by making references from the model of another behavior.
Metaphor it focuses on macro continuity and overlap and does not
seek a point by point correspondence between two thought systems.
It is often more symbolic than descriptive and intentionally.
The Process of Organizational Knowledge Creation
Nonaka approach this topic by assessing the following processes;
(1) Enable individual knowledge to be enlarged, amplified, and
justified within an organization. According to Nonaka, there are
two important factors in knowledge enlargement. i) is the variety
of experience. The greater the variety of experience across the
system, the greater the potential for knowledge enlargement. ii) is
the knowledge of experience, which boils down to hands on
experience.
(2) Sharing tacit knowledge and conceptualization, i.e. drawing
an organizations mental outlook. After knowledge expansion is
taking place, the organization must make an effort to share the
knowledge broadly within the organization. This requires three
steps. First, build an organizing team which consists of core
members (those senior in organizational experience) and secondary
members. In addition, the team should consist of other parties,
internally (e.g. different department, levels) and externally (e.g.
clients, consumers, suppliers). The team creates knowledge in two
ways: by creating mutual trust and by the creation of a shared
implicit perspective between the members of the team. The second
step, will be sharing the knowledge among the members. The process
is intentional and members of the team can share the tacit
knowledge in which will turn to explicit knowledge through constant
discussion between the members. The third step is
conceptualization, whereby the members of the team, through
dialectic (the intentional setting of personal systems in
apposition and sometimes in opposition to each other), forge a
common perspective.
(3) Crystallization into some concrete form such as product or a
system. This process moves the shared perspective into some new
intentionality and therefore some new action. It will often result
in a new product or a new strategy. The most important for the
knowledge to be retained it must crystallize.
(4) The justification to determine the quality of the created
knowledge and standards for judging truthfulness. In business,
standards include cost, profit margin and the products contribution
to firms development.
(5) Integration into organization knowledge-base which comprises
a whole network of organizational knowledge must be quick and
widespread. Lastly, new knowledge need to be disseminated in all
level of the organization and set as a culture of the
organization.
Managing the Process of Organizational Knowledge Creation:
Creative Chaos, Redundancy, and Requisite Variety
The main objective is to complement the aspects of individual
commitment to the knowledge creating process with organization-wide
enabling conditions for effective knowledge creation. Two
management models are proposed namely, (1)middle-up-down management
which relates to management style is suitable for promoting the
efficient creation of knowledge in business organizations, and (2)
a hypertext organization which centers on organizational design
with a strategic ability to acquire, create, exploit, and
accumulate new knowledge continuously and repeatedly.
Conclusion
Based on the above article, we are taken to a different paradigm
of an organization knowledge creation which could be applied in
most organizations. The theoretical framework developed provides us
with a few dimensions of knowledge creation, supported by two
operational models for the facilitation of the dynamic creation of
appropriate organizational knowledge. The author has provided a
simple and practical approach to organizational knowledge
creation.
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