Knowledge sharing
Encyclopedia
Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge
(i.e. information
, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, friends, or members of a family
, a community
(e.g. Wikipedia
) or an organization
.
Organizations have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages. Knowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems. However, technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge in organizations, such as organizational culture
, trust, and incentives. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a major challenge in the field of knowledge management
because some employees tend to resist sharing their knowledge with the rest of the organization.
One prominent obstacle is the notion that knowledge is property and ownership thus very important. In order to counteract this, individuals must be reassured that they will receive some type of incentive for what they create. However, Dalkir (2005) identified the risk in knowledge sharing is that individuals are most commonly rewarded for what they know, not what they share. If knowledge is not shared, negative consequences such as isolation and resistance to ideas occur. Shared knowledge offers different viewpoints and possible solutions to problems. To promote knowledge sharing and remove knowledge sharing obstacles, the organizational culture should encourage discovery and innovation. This will result in the creation of organizational culture.
which was later further explicated by Nonaka . While the difficulty of sharing knowledge resides in the transference of knowledge from one entity to another, it may prove profitable for organisations to acknowledge the difficulties of knowledge transfer
and paradoxality of knowledge as such, and adopt new knowledge management strategies accordingly.
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
(i.e. information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, friends, or members of a family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, a community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
(e.g. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
) or an organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
.
Organizations have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages. Knowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems. However, technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge in organizations, such as organizational culture
Organizational culture
Organizational culture is defined as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration" that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to...
, trust, and incentives. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a major challenge in the field of knowledge management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
because some employees tend to resist sharing their knowledge with the rest of the organization.
One prominent obstacle is the notion that knowledge is property and ownership thus very important. In order to counteract this, individuals must be reassured that they will receive some type of incentive for what they create. However, Dalkir (2005) identified the risk in knowledge sharing is that individuals are most commonly rewarded for what they know, not what they share. If knowledge is not shared, negative consequences such as isolation and resistance to ideas occur. Shared knowledge offers different viewpoints and possible solutions to problems. To promote knowledge sharing and remove knowledge sharing obstacles, the organizational culture should encourage discovery and innovation. This will result in the creation of organizational culture.
Knowledge flow
While knowledge is commonly treated as an object, at times it is more appropriate to treat it as a flow. Knowledge as a flow can be related to the concept of tacit knowledge, discovered by PolanyiPolanyi
----Polányi, PolanyI is a surname. There have been a number of prominent individuals in the Polanyi family:* Adolf Pollacsek ∞ Zsófia Schlesinger...
which was later further explicated by Nonaka . While the difficulty of sharing knowledge resides in the transference of knowledge from one entity to another, it may prove profitable for organisations to acknowledge the difficulties of knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another part of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or...
and paradoxality of knowledge as such, and adopt new knowledge management strategies accordingly.
See also
- Knowledge transferKnowledge transferKnowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another part of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or...
- Knowledge marketKnowledge marketA knowledge market is a mechanism for distributing knowledge resources. There are two views on knowledge and how knowledge markets can function. One view uses a legal construct of intellectual property to make knowledge a typical scarce resource, so the traditional commodity market mechanism can be...
- Knowledge managementKnowledge managementKnowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
- Knowledge networking
- Community of practiceCommunity of practiceA community of practice is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created...
- knowledge of science
- knowledge of ethical hacking
- Tacit knowledgeTacit knowledgeTacit knowledge is knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising it. For example, stating to someone that London is in the United Kingdom is a piece of explicit knowledge that can be written down, transmitted, and understood by a recipient...
External links
- Open Mind Map Library - Point to share knowledge: free library of mind maps.
- National Library for Health Knowledge Management Specialist Library - collection of resources about sharing knowledge.