Gustavo Abel Carrillo Guzman

The “soft” dimension of organizational knowledge transfer

Purpose – This paper aims to advance a theoretical framework that integrates knowledge management, change management and “soft” issues, focussing on uncovering the nature of “soft” issues embedded in knowledge management and change management processes.Design/methodology/approach – Both empirical work (case study at an electronics contract manufacturing plant) and literature review were used in order to build the proposed theoretical framework.Findings – It argues that the “soft” dimension assists in better understanding the process of organizational knowledge transfer. In this context, “soft” issues refers to the mutual understanding – of both sender and receiver units – of underlying assumptions, the role of macro‐institutional factors affecting firm level actions (the macro‐micro link) and interpretative aspects that permeate the process of organizational knowledge transfer, including knowledge management and change management issues.Practical implications – Guidelines for managerial action were formul...

Inside modular production networks: “soft operational issues” in building factory competitiveness

This paper examines a new model of production in a developing nation, the Electronics Contract Manufacturing Industry. It explores issues related to manufacturing management, competence building, organisation and implementation of manufacturing best practice. It argues that the understanding of both contextual institutional factors and soft operational issues is crucial for implementing manufacturing practices that support competitiveness building.

Sharing practical knowledge in hostile environments: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical contribution towards the understanding of the process of sharing practical knowledge (PK) in a hostile work environment. The particular focus is an instance of the process of sharing PK between experienced and non‐experienced workers in a bio‐pharmaceutical industry.Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive perspective was applied in the inductive and qualitative empirical study. Case study methodology was applied in order to analyse the sharing of practical knowledge.Findings – Research findings from this study have unravelled characteristics of this process that to date have not been discussed in the literature. First, Learning‐by‐observing has limitations in promoting PK sharing in hostile environments. Second, because there is a wide range of alternative solutions for performing a specific task, sharing PK lends itself to political uses. Third, socialisation is important in order to facilitate the sharing of PK, but it is not enough. P...

The grey textures of practice and knowledge: review and framework

Purpose – The aim of this paper was to review the knowledge and practice‐related literature, as well as to develop a theoretical framework that functions like a sorting device, in order to improve our understanding about how theories are turned into practice.Design/methodology/approach – This is a theoretical paper that discusses the relationships between practice and knowledge using practice‐based lenses.Findings – This paper discusses the relationships between diverse forms of knowledge and practice, and it elaborates the cognitive mechanisms used to know how to shift from the inside to the outside view, and vice versa.Research limitations/implications – By organising a wide range of knowledge‐ and practice‐related concepts into meaningful categories, this paper contributes to overcoming the use of the concepts of knowledge and practice as universal.Practical implications – By recognising the implicit epistemological stance associated with the diverse theories and concepts, the framework may be useful i...

How best practices are copied, transferred, or translated between health care facilities: a conceptual framework

Introduction: In spite of significant investment in quality programs and activities, there is a persistent struggle to achieve quality outcomes and performance improvements within the constraints and support of sociopolitical parsimonies. Equally, such constraints have intensified the need to better understand the best practice methods for achieving quality improvements in health care organizations over time. This study proposes a conceptual framework to assist with strategies for the copying, transferring, and/or translation of best practice between different health care facilities. Purpose: Applying a deductive logic, the conceptual framework was developed by blending selected theoretical lenses drawn from the knowledge management and organizational learning literatures. Findings: The proposed framework highlighted that (a) major constraints need to be addressed to turn best practices into everyday practices and (b) double-loop learning is an adequate learning mode to copy and to transfer best practices and deuteron learning mode is a more suitable learning mode for translating best practice. We also found that, in complex organizations, copying, transferring, and translating new knowledge is more difficult than in smaller, less complex organizations. We also posit that knowledge translation cannot happen without transfer and copy, and transfer cannot happen without copy of best practices. Hence, an integration of all three learning processes is required for knowledge translation (copy best practice–transfer knowledge about best practice–translation of best practice into new context). In addition, the higher the level of complexity of the organization, the more best practice is tacit oriented and, in this case, the higher the level of K&L capabilities are required to successfully copy, transfer, and/or translate best practices between organizations. Practice Implications: The approach provides a framework for assessing organizational context and capabilities to guide copy/transfer/translation of best practices. A roadmap is provided to assist managers and practitioners to select appropriate learning modes for building success and positive systemic change.

Transferring codified knowledge: socio-technical versus top-down approaches

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse and evaluate the transfer process of codified knowledge (CK) performed under two different approaches: the “socio‐technical” and the “top‐down”. It is argued that the socio‐technical approach supports the transfer of CK better than the top‐down approach.Design/methodology/approach – Case study methodology was used, in the explanatory and qualitative study. The empirical evidence focused on the development of work standards following ISO 9000 norms at a Steelworks plant. This process was examined as a process of CK transfer.Findings – First, the socio‐technical approach supports the process of CK transfer better than the top‐down view. Second, CK is a dynamic concept that may need different varying amounts of tacit knowledge in order to enable knowledge codification and assimilation. Three, the examination of the degree of context and task similarity between sender and receiving units needs to be detailed, since small variations in organizational processes might imply s...

Artificial intelligence and knowledge management: questioning the tacit dimension

Abstract Knowledge management (KM) has matured to the point that many organisations either believe they have such practices in place or at least understand they are relevant to the knowledge work commonly undertaken in many industries. What is lacking from the literature, however, is a solid foundation for the philosophies underpinning KM and particularly for how tacit knowledge informs the KM space. Research over decades shows tacit knowledge underpins all other forms of knowledge, enabling the interpretation and judicious application of knowledge, leading (at its highest levels) to the concept of wisdom. As an academic discipline, artificial intelligence (AI) was established before KM, has been grounded in the computing discipline for many decades, and is applied broadly in many domains. This paper explores how AI can inform the KM debate. Rather than simply provide examples of AI success stories as applied to KM in practice, it explores the theoretical and practical limitations of AI and KM in unison, providing at the same time a strong epistemological understanding of both disciplines as a means of furthering the knowledge debate, with particular emphasis on the role of tacit knowledge within this jurisdiction.

A INFLUÊNCIA DA ESTRUTURA ORGANIZACIONAL NA EXECUÇÃO DOS PROCESSOS DE MANUTENÇÃO

No contexto atual de competitividade, uma eficiencia maior dos processos executados pelo departamento de manutencao e um dos fatores que contribui paRI o aumento de produtividade das empresas. Diferentes autores tem reconhecido a importância da estrutura organizacional do departamento de manutencao no seu desempenho. Entretanto, esses autores nao detalham a influencia da estrutura organizacional para a adequada execucao dos processos de manutencao. Este artigo descreve um trabalho cujo objetivo foi procurar entender como a estrutura organizacional influencia os processos do departamento de manutencao de urna empresa. Para isso foram realizados uma vasta pesquisa bibliografica relativa ao gerenciamento de manutencao e a teoria sobre analise organizacional, alem de um estudo de caso numa empresa de grande porte. O trabalho apresentado neste artigo serve como piloto e base para estudos futuros. As conclusoes, se confirmadas em pesquisas posteriores, poderao subsidiar acomplementacao da teoria existente.

New Developments in Technology-Organisation (Re)Design: The Brazilian Experience

Abstract This paper discusses new developments in redesigning technology and organisation at a service government organisation. Cognitive ergonomics and advanced sociotechnical conceptual tools were applied simultaneously. Advantages, limitations and potential new developments of using participative approaches in developing nations are discussed.