Knowledge
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Contents
Definition
Knowledge is A mix of experiences, values, contextual information and expert insight for acquiring, understanding and interpreting information. Together with attitudes and skills, it forms a capacity for effective actions.
Summary
Knowledge is a mix of experiences, values, contextual information and expert insight for acquiring, understanding and interpreting information. Together with attitudes and skills, it forms a capacity for effective action. It is part of the data-information-knowledge-wisdom value-added chain. Knowledge has several dimensions: types (explicit, implicit, tacit), holders (individual, group, organizational, sector), levels (know-why, know-what, know-how). Knowledge is an asset, it is not static and continually progresses through a lifecycle.
Description
Since the time of the earliest philosophers men and women have attempted to both understand and define the concept of knowledge. Knowledge is often used to refer to a body of facts and principles accumulated by humankind over the course of time. However, no single definition of knowledge exists that has been generally agreed upon. Table 1 shows some of the definitions:
For our purpose, the following definition will be used:
Knowledge is a mix of experiences, values, contextual information and expert insight for acquiring, understanding and interpreting information. Together with attitudes and skills, it forms a capacity for effective action.
It is important to recognize the distinction between knowledge, information and data. Raw data become information in the context of creation, information becomes knowledge in the context of use, meaning that a human agent (the recipient) with the appropriate background is required (who might act based on this knowledge). Knowledge may eventually lead to wisdom. Fig. 1 shows these relationships.
Knowledge is considered an asset to be managed, it could be an input, it may be embedded in work methods (i.e. part of a process) or it can be a product (i.e. an output). Knowledge may often be time dependent or contextual, and must be maintained and renewed.
Knowledge is not static, it goes through different stages of a lifecycle (i.e. creating, using, sharing, preserving)
In the concept of knowledge, different dimensions are usually considered, e.g. types of knowledge, knowledge holders, knowledge levels (know-why, know-what, know-how etc.)
Types of knowledge
There are three types of knowledge that are widely recognized — explicit, implicit and tacit — as depicted in the diamond model in Fig. 2,. The top half of the diamond represents explicit knowledge — or conscious level knowledge — which has either already been codified or could be codified. The bottom half of the diamond represents unconscious knowledge — both implicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. The former can be codified if brought to the conscious level. However, the latter cannot be codified directly because it is at the deep-unconscious level. Fig. 3, the Iceberg model of knowledge, is a popular representation of the relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge (the implict knowledge is subsumed under tacit knowledge, a simplification often found in the literature).
As seen in Fig.2. only some part of the explicit knowledge is codified, i.e. documented. All other types of knowledges are undocumented. Therefore undocumented knowledge can be of any type: explicit, implicit or tacit
Knowledge holders
Knowledge exists in different forms and at different levels: individual (link), group, organization, sector (e.g. Nuclear knowledge). Although it originates in the minds of individuals, in organizations it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms.
Knowledge levels
In practice, a categorization of knowledge by levels is insightful. Those levels are often referred to as know-how, know-why, know-what, know-who, know-when, know-where, the most important ones being know-what (knowledge of facts), know-how (skills), and know-why (theoretical understanding). Know-what is the factual knowledge of all relevant information needed to understand increasingly complex concepts and patterns, and to take appropriate, normed action. Know-how relates to skills allowing to carry out specific tasks. It permits people to determine which treatment is best in given situations, and deciding on different courses of actions. It may be codified in procedures. Know-why as the hightest knowledge level gives the individual a deep understanding of causal relationships, interactive effects and uncertainty levels associated with a given situations, leading to new solutions or non-norm actions.
A learning organization should provide educational and training means for its staff to obtain the necessary knowledge levels in order to accomplish the tasks and activities as stated in the job description.
References
[1] KURONEN, BIT Research Center, Helsinki University of Technology, “What is tacit knowledge in NPP maintenance and what are the prerequisites for sharing it?”, CSNI International Workshop, Ottawa, Canada, 3-5 October 2005.
[2] DAVENPORT, T.H., PRUSAK, L., Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA (2000).
[3] INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ARCHIVES, Radioactive Waste Information: Meeting Our Obligations to Future Generations with Regard to Safety of Waste Disposal Facilities, ICA Study 18, ICA, Paris (2006).
[4] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Planning and Execution of Knowledge Management Assist missions for Nuclear Organizations, IAEA-TECDOC-1586, IAEA, Vienna (2008).
[5] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Knowledge Management for Nuclear Industry Operating Organizations, IAEA-TECDOC-1510, IAEA, Vienna (2006).
