Knowledge Management within a Unibersity

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Drawing on your understanding and experiences of universities and the way they operate, to what extent might a university be viewed as a “knowledge factory”?  Justify your answer using examples and relevant literature.

Considering the university as a ‘knowledge factory’ is based on the assumption that students are the product or output of this ‘factory’.  A factory is defined as ‘a building or group of buildings with facilities for the manufacture of goods’.  Using this definition as a metaphor for a university would suggest that students enter the university as products; the university then has the facilities to provide students with knowledge relevant to their degree so that they leave the factory increased in value and knowledge in their field. The extent to which a university might be viewed as a knowledge factory will depend upon the value of the knowledge disseminated, and how much of the knowledge taught is absorbed by students therefore adding value to the student.

Knowledge is defined as ‘information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection.  It is a high-value form of information that is ready to apply to decisions and actions’(Davenport et al…, 1998).  Relating the type of knowledge provided by a university through the medium of lecture’s and resources (e.g. books, journals, e-resources) it is clear that universities provide students with information through the theoretical knowledge that is taught, however the extent to which it provides a student with experience and context where this information can be applied is debatable.

By assuming that degree courses do not offer placement schemes where hands on experience can be gained the argument of theory vs. practice is one debate on the extent to which a university can be seen as a knowledge factory.  Argyris and Schon consider this difference in their concepts of espoused theory and theory in use.  A university could be seen as providing espoused theory as many lectures are based on theories, concepts and models, however in reality the way people act in a practical environment ‘theory in use’ can be completely different.

 The knowledge provided by Universities could be applied to the SECI model (Nonaka and Takeuchi-see below). The model displays the concepts of knowledge creation and the stages an individual can be involved in when increasing their knowledge.

The model demonstrates the processes of:

  • Converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge
  • Moving knowledge from the individual to the group, organisation or inter-organistaion. (Connel, Lecture 2)

Nonaka and Takeuchi also created the concept of ba theory; it portrays the different environments where knowledge creation is created and segmented.  It compliments and corresponds to the four movements of the SECI model as it shows the context in which each of the four knowledge creating processes can happen.  

Socialisation shown in the SECI model is the idea of sharing tacit to tacit knowledge, ‘Any communication between individuals is a social process for sharing knowledge and learning from each other’(Daneshgar, Parirokh, 2007).  The ‘originating ba’ is the environment where this knowledge can be created, and as stated by Daneshgar and Parirokh, it is a social process thus it comes about through informally sharing their feelings and experiences on a subject.  The aims of tutorials and seminars are methods of allowing students to interact with each other about course material, providing an opportunity for students to share experiences and opinions allowing for innovative ideas to be brought up.  However tutorials are usually directed by the lecturer and held within a formal environment, therefore do not fully allow for socilisation to take place as it restricted through written or verbal instructions (Nonaka and Konno, 1998). It could be argued that the social scene at university allows for this process to take place; the atmosphere of students in halls provides a more informal setting where students are more willing to bond with each other.  Although the university is not directly affiliated with this form of knowledge creation it does provide the setting for it to originate and flourish.

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Universities allow for externalisation and the creation of tacit to explicit knowledge to happen. The interacting ba, otherwise known as dialoguing ba allows for this conversion to take place through the use of conversation, thus tutorials are this time ideal environments for the creation of this knowledge as they again allow for students to exchanges ideas and reflect even with input from lecturers so the ideas can be codified. Lecturers are also able to give examples of their own experiences and relate them to theories, for example in a marketing lecture the lecturer may be able to use an ...

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