Management of Tacit Knowledge and the Issue of Empowerment of Patients and Stakeholders in the Health Care Sector

There is a growing literature on health and health care dedicated to empowerment of patients; but there is still a gap in the literature to conceptualize knowledge, to extend the discussion of the empowerment of the patients to the stakeholders. The discussion is at the level of managerial processes of empowerment and knowledge management related to health care. The present chapter starts with a review on empowerment, especially focused on the health sector. The following sections will develop a critical analysis of empowerment, mainly around the concept of tacit knowledge (Polanyi) and knowledge management. One key variable is the proximity of the actors involved in the empowerment process. This key variable is very much related to the tacitness issue of knowledge production and flows. The chapter extends the discussion of the empowerment of the patients to that of the stakeholders and the general debate about health literacy. A model is briefly described for the purpose of illustrating the learning process in a knowledge management implemented in health care.

The Role of Human Resources (HR) in Tacit Knowledge Sharing

In Knowledge Continuity Management (KCM), knowledge from highly experienced employees leaving the organization is particularly challenging to document, classify and organize so that it can be accessed, understood and used by the successor to that employee. Horizontal knowledge sharing (in the context of peer-to-peer networks) and vertical knowledge transfer (in the context of KCM) are distinguished in order to address some of the conceptual confusion in this field. Both Human Resources (HR) and Knowledge Management (KM) units contribute to KCM but they need to do so in a more integrated fashion. The complementary roles played by the KM and HR teams are analyzed in a case study to show how they can work in tandem to ensure knowledge continuity in an organization. Key recommendations are made on how to implement a comprehensive KCM strategy for tacit knowledge, including the role that can be played by information and communication technologies.

TQM and Knowledge Management

During the last decades, both quality management and Knowledge Management (KM) have undergone a progressive evolution and have been associated with keywords such as competition, creativity, or innovativeness. Moreover, literature points to several commonalities between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Knowledge Management. The main aim of this chapter is to highlight the main commonalities, and to analyze how organizations may benefit from a dual strategic approach based on TQM and KM principles, and how integrated knowledge-based quality management system may benefit the “conversion” process of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, as well as the knowledge transfer/sharing process.

Organizational Social Context

Understanding the social context of an organization is a precursor to managing tacit knowledge. This chapter describes a three-dimensional social-context framework comprising factors, trust, and manageability. Factors are underlying characteristics - situation, interaction, and scale - that affect all aspects of the social structure. Trust classifies criteria that affect trust at individual, group, and organizational levels. Manageability lists methods of enhancing indicators for each social context criteria. The framework is based on patterns and clusters of 1200 terms found in a survey of the social-science literature related to social structures. The framework is presented in a format that facilitates prioritizing the most important criteria for an organization to focus on. Understanding how social context affects organizations will greatly facilitate tacit knowledge management.

Expliciting Tacit Knowledge

Organizations are still confused about tacit knowledge principles, conceptualization and applications. In this chapter, authors approach how tacit knowledge can be valuable for practical decisions and implementations, from theoretical and practical points of view. Approaching from the theoretical view, tacit knowledge definition was discussed, as it results from a conceptual development already adopted for several decades. From practical analysis, actual and future trends arise, as its applications and influences were consolidated, in the perspective on associating tacit knowledge with explicit, for planning, designing and implementing real businesses solutions. Modern competitive features and propositions, such as big data, information technology insertion and startups entrepreneurships are also discussed, serving as an orientation for new studies, as tacit knowledge plays a differential role for new ages of value-aggregation arrays.

Understanding Tacit Knowledge in Decision Making

The “semi-professional” sector of the economy continues to grow and represents one of the largest areas in the economy and within higher education programs. Of these programs, the health professions are showing the largest growth. Decision-making, reflective thinking, critical thinking, and reflective practice have all been described as contributing to professional knowledge development in these professions (; ; ; ). Professional knowledge is a collective term encompassing the explicit and tacit knowledge needed for effective practice. The explicit knowledge in these fields has received extensive study, but implicit knowledge remains largely unexamined. In this chapter, the authors examine the nature of tacit knowledge for semi-professionals in the health field and how it shapes their work environment. Specifically, this chapter presents the results of a study of medical laboratory scientists, and provides Implications for professional development, theory, and further research.

Can Tacit Knowledge be Shared on Cloud?

Knowledge manipulation is key for organizational innovation, to gain competitive advantage, enhancing the search for a caring and sharing environment between co-workers. How to foster such attitude? Many researchers have argued about the importance of tacit knowledge, highlighting how difficult - if not impossible - is to share that kind of knowledge. Giving a new definition of knowledge, the Author here presents a model of knowledge manipulation that highlights the fundamental role of education, both as knowledge enabler and recipient for a long-term change into the organization. Using education as common ground to instill a (tacit) knowledge sharing attitude, the Author argues on the importance of problem-based (PBL) training, to prepare lifelong learners to become better workers and to manipulate (tacit) knowledge.

The Marketing of Information and Knowledge Management

This chapter discusses the issues of customers´ satisfaction and needs, in terms of information, as a basis for the practice of marketing in information management. It underlines the arguments of the relationship between Marketing and information science. The main idea is that Marketing practice cannot occur without information about customers and to customers. This way, the relationship of marketing to information management, in information science, is emphasized. Likewise, the importance of the studies and research on Marketing of information, as philosophical approach of the information management process, is highlighted. The structure of the chapter synthesizes the existing academic work while seeking to generate new knowledge. Moreover, it presents the promotion and communication of information in organizations from the evolution of the concept of Marketing, in an integrated manner. Finally, the implications for future research are advanced.

Relationship Between the Motivational Language of School Administrators and Tacit Knowledge Sharing of Teachers

This chapter investigates motivational language of school administrators and its effect on tacit knowledge sharing - which may hold vital and critical importance – by teachers at schools. While doing this, the contextual factors regarding organisational culture, such as the employee voice and perceived psychological safety are also taken into consideration. It is expected that the use of a motivational language by administrators that reduces uncertainty and helps create understanding and empathy, and which thus forms a positive environment that increase employee voice, will also have an effect on tacit knowledge sharing. Additionally, the effect of motivational language can be enhanced through psychological safety perceived by the employees, which in turn is dependent on the work environment. As such, a higher perception of psychological safety will tend to increase employee voice and the level tacit knowledge sharing. Finally, implications for knowledge literature and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

Tacit Knowledge in Maker Spaces and Fab Labs

A collaborative space for stimulating creativity is a place of learning through the exchange and sharing of knowledge and experience among its members. It allows to leverage innovation through the use of technological resources available in the space, stimulating the creativity of its participants, enabling the development of products and solutions based on personal projects – Do It Yourself (DIY) – from ideation, or the construction supported on knowledge developed by other elements together, collaboratively, enhancing the final result – Do It With Others (DIWO). A research project is being held to create a new Lab, or transform and adapt one of the existing Lab's, in a Fab Lab or a Maker Space to let students, teachers and staff give wings to their imagination and develop innovative solutions to solve real problems, while they interact and exchange tacit knowledge, making it explicit after concluding their projects when they share their research reports.