In 1995 Japanese professors Nonaka and Takeuchi delivered a paper that looked at some of the problems with acting on explicit knowledge and transmitting tacit knowledge.
The problem with explicit knowledge, encoded in manuals and help files, is that there are often gaps between what the technical writers included and the processes that actual users must follow. Moreover, processes will often change at a rate that makes it difficult to keep explicit knowledge sources up to date.
As a result employees develop their own systems which they alone know…increasing the store of tacit knowledge in the company.
The knowledge spiral follows this general pattern:
- Socialization – knowledge is initially transmitted interpersonally where it is captured
- Externalization – this knowledge is encoded as explicit knowledge in writing or other media
- Combination – as explicit knowledge is acted upon it is combined with real-world experiences
- Internalization – the synthesis of explicit knowledge and real world experience becomes tacit knowledge
An earlier version of the spiral from Personal Knowledge Management : Who, What, Why, When, Where, How?:
There are some difficulties converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.
On the other hand, tacit knowledge is highly personal as it is learnt through experience only (Nonaka, 2007). This makes tacit knowledge difficult to formalise as one often cannot find the words to express the technical principles behind what they know (Nonaka, 2007). Thus, tacit knowledge can only be communicated to others indirectly, such as through metaphors and analogy (Nonaka, 2007).
This is where the knowledge spiral comes into play. Socialization can be one of the best ways to transmit tacit knowledge, in the form of seminars and group discussions. The next step would be to capture this knowledge, re-encode it and so forth.
SOURCE The Nonaka and Takeuchi Knowledge Spiral Model
The knowledge spiral describes a process to convert TK tacit knowledge vs explicit knowledge § 201909190618]]
One way that organizations can make tacit knowledge explicit is by using internal blogs: TK k-logs make knowledge easier to find § 201909101244
To understand tacit knowledge, you can TK – Learn a technique by observing an expert § 202101042057
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