N.A.D. Connell

It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge

A central issue in the knowledge management literature is the definition of the nature of knowledge, and particularly the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. This paper reviews some of the common standpoints on this issue, but argues that, within an organisational context, a useful alternative view is one in which knowledge is viewed as a systemic property of the organisational system to which it belongs. Thus, attempts to codify knowledge, and position it on a tacit-explicit continuum, are sometimes misplaced. Instead, this paper advocates approaches that view knowledge as a holistic system property. The paper considers the practical implication of this stance, from the perspective of knowledge transfer between individuals and between organisations, and investigates the potential that this stance offers OR practitioners.

Evaluating soft OR: some reflections on an apparently ‘unsuccessful’ implementation using a Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) based approach

This paper reflects on a case study in which a soft OR problem structuring approach, based on Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), was used to help in the design of an information system for health service users providing care in the community in a part of the South and West Health Region in the UK. The paper reflects on why an apparently ‘successful’ structuring led to an apparently ‘unsuccessful’ implementation. As part of this reflective process, the paper makes a contribution to the soft OR literature by reviewing some of the approaches taken in the literature to the evaluation of success of problem structuring using soft OR. This review reveals a lack of evaluative criteria, a lack of clarity over the identification of users, and a failure to differentiate criteria associated with ‘structuring’ and ‘implementation’ issues. An evaluative framework is proposed, which is applied retrospectively to the case study.

Co-creating stories: collaborative experiments in storytelling

This article reports on an experiment in collaborative storytelling inspired by the Japanese art of ‘renga’. A renga consists of several stanzas, each composed by a different poet, each seeking to find his/her own voice within a text that is jointly created and jointly owned. The chemist Djerassi has argued that by co-creating a prose version of the renga, a community of practitioners can explore dilemmas and views that would be unacceptable otherwise. He refers to this genre as ‘science-in-fiction’—one in which fiction offers licence to address potentially embarrassing, dangerous or taboo topics. Following Djerassi’s approach, the authors coordinated two rengas composed by groups of scholars interested in using stories to research social reality. The article analyses these two rengas, linking them to the genre of fictionalized ethnography pioneered in organizational studies by Watson and Czarniawska. It also discusses the pedagogic potential of such stories as vehicles of management learning.

Knowledge transfer frameworks: an extension incorporating knowledge repositories and knowledge administration

While theories abound concerning knowledge transfer in organisations, little empirical work has been undertaken to assess any possible relationship between repositories of knowledge and those responsible for the use of knowledge. This paper develops a knowledge transfer framework based on an empirical analysis of part of the UK operation of a Fortune 100 corporation, which extends existing knowledge transfer theory. The proposed framework integrates knowledge storage and knowledge administration within a model of effective knowledge transfer. This integrated framework encompasses five components: the actors engaged in the transfer of knowledge, the typology of organisational knowledge that is transferred between the actors, the mechanisms by which the knowledge transfer is carried out, the repositories where explicit knowledge is retained and the knowledge administrator equivalent whose function is to manage and maintain knowledge. The paper concludes that a ‘hybridisation’ of knowledge transfer approach, revealed by the framework, offers some promise in organisational applications.

Narrative approaches to the transfer of organisational knowledge

Narratives, or stories, have been identified as one of the ways in which knowledge might be transferred, shared or exchanged in organisational settings. Beyond their identification, little consideration has been given to the ways in which narrative approaches can increase our understanding of the creation and dissemination of knowledge in organisations. This paper reflects upon some of the ways in which narrative approaches might contribute towards a better understanding of organisational knowledge management. It contributes to the debate on the nature and significance of the contextual features of organisational knowledge, particularly the role of tacit knowledge, and identifies some of the distinctions between formal and informal knowledge transfer mechanisms, which operate (with or without effective management) within organisations.

Knowledge characteristics of communities of practice

This paper proposes a typology of communities of practice based on their knowledge characteristics. The structure of a community of practice, in terms of knowledge, may tend to the stratified or to the egalitarian. The predominant knowledge activity of the community may be sharing or nurturing. This produces four classes of community of practice. The paper identifies and discusses examples of these classes. It is argued that the class to which a community belongs tends to determine the rapidity with which knowledge within the community evolves and the degree of pluralism, as opposed to homogeneity, that the knowledge exhibits. The paper concludes by discussing some of the implications of the typology for knowledge management practice.

Conceptualisations of trust in the organisational literature: Some indicators from a complementary perspective

PURPOSE This paper evaluates the non-healthcare organisational literature on conceptualisations of trust. The aim of the paper is to review this diverse literature, and to reflect on the potential insights it might offer healthcare researchers, policy makers and managers. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A number of the key concepts that contribute to contrasting definitions of trust in the organisational literature are identified. FINDINGS The paper highlights the heterogeneity of trust as an organisational concept. Aspects of trust that relate more specifically to non-healthcare settings are shown to have some potential relevance for healthcare. Five aspects of trust, considered to have particular significance to the changing face of the NHS, appear to offer scope for further exploration in healthcare settings. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The NHS continues to face changes to its organisational structures, both planned and unplanned. Healthcare providers will need to be alert to intra- and inter-organisational relationships, of which trust issues will form an inevitable part. Whilst it might be argued that the lessons offered by conceptualisations of trust within wider organisational settings have limitations, the paper demonstrates sufficient areas of overlap to encourage cross-fertilisation of ideas. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The paper draws together previous research on a topic of increasing relevance to healthcare researchers, which has exercised management researchers for at least three decades. The paper acts as a guide to future research and practice.

Overcoming the barriers: a qualitative study of simulation adoption in the NHS

This paper addresses a key issue in the health OR literature, namely the apparent failure of OR modelling to become embedded and widely implemented within healthcare organisations. The research presented here is a case study to evaluate the adoption of one particular simulation modelling tool, Scenario Generator (S:G), which was developed by the SIMUL8 Corporation in a PPI partnership with the UKs National Health Service (NHS) Institute for Innovation and Improvement. The study involved semi-structured interviews with employees of 28 Primary Care Trusts who had all been engaged in some way with the initiative, with participants classified as ‘Not Started’, ‘Given Up’ and ‘Actively Using’. This paper presents a brief summary of barriers and facilitators to the successful use of the S:G software, but its main purpose is to focus more broadly on factors influencing the successful adoption of simulation tools in general within healthcare organisations. The insights gained in this study are relevant to improving the uptake of OR modelling in general within the NHS.

What Motivates Organisational Knowledge Transfer? Some Lessons from a UK-Based Multinational

The transfer of knowledge is an important task of contemporary organisations. In the knowledge-based economy, more and more organisations have increasingly recognised and encouraged the value of knowledge transfer. However, there is sometimes a tendency to horde knowledge, perhaps through fear of losing power or through uncertainty over job security. In this paper, we consider the motivators of knowledge transfer based on an empirical study carried out in part of a UK multinational, IBM Laboratories, in which the atmosphere appeared conducive to knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer appeared voluntary and spontaneous. The paper questions why members of an organisation like IBM might be enthusiastic about the transfer of knowledge among themselves. The paper investigates the motivating factors that encourage the transfer of knowledge. A number of motivators underlying knowledge transfer are identified.

Knowledge transfer frameworks

While theories abound concerning knowledge transfer in organisations, little empirical work has been undertaken to assess any possible relationship between repositories of knowledge and those responsible for the use of knowledge. This paper develops a knowledge transfer framework based on an empirical analysis of part of the UK operation of a Fortune 100 corporation, which extends existing knowledge transfer theory. The proposed framework integrates knowledge storage and knowledge administration within a model of effective knowledge transfer. This integrated framework encompasses five components: the actors engaged in the transfer of knowledge, the typology of organisational knowledge that is transferred between the actors, the mechanisms by which the knowledge transfer is carried out, the repositories where explicit knowledge is retained and the knowledge administrator equivalent whose function is to manage and maintain knowledge. The paper concludes that a ‘hybridisation’ of knowledge transfer approach, revealed by the framework, offers some promise in organisational applications.