Tacit v Explicit Knowledge, what is the difference?

Tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge are two fundamental types of knowledge present within individuals and organisations.

They diverge significantly in terms of accessibility, articulation, and transferability:

Tacit Knowledge:

Tacit knowledge encompasses the deeply ingrained understanding embedded within an individual’s consciousness, often challenging to articulate or convey to others.It is profoundly personal, shaped by an individual’s experiences, insights, intuitions, and honed skills. Tacit knowledge typically operates on a subconscious level, with individuals often unaware of its existence.

Examples include the intuitive mastery of activities like riding a bicycle, playing a musical instrument, or navigating the intricacies of social dynamics within specific cultural contexts. Within organisational settings, roles demanding leadership or sales expertise necessitate the application of tacit knowledge and intricate social skills, challenging to teach or transfer explicitly.

Explicit Knowledge:

In contrast, explicit knowledge refers to information that can be readily articulated, documented, and shared in a structured and formal manner. It assumes tangible forms such as written documents, databases, diagrams, manuals, or other codified formats. Unlike tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge is objective and standardised, facilitating communication, learning, and transferability across individuals or organisations.

Examples encompass textbooks, scientific formulas, company policies, and instructional videos, representing tangible repositories of explicit knowledge.

The primary disparities between tacit and explicit knowledge revolve around their forms, transfer mechanisms, and tangibility. Tacit knowledge resides deeply within an individual’s psyche, shaped by personal experiences, while explicit knowledge assumes tangible and readily shareable formats. Effective knowledge management strategies often involve efforts to externalise tacit knowledge, thereby making it more explicit, while simultaneously disseminating explicit knowledge within organisational frameworks. Although individuals may possess tacit knowledge without recognising its significance to others, robust knowledge management solutions facilitate the capture, transfer, and utilisation of both forms of knowledge through structured templates and standardised processes.

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