Explicit knowledge: Knowledge that is easy to express, write down, and share. Implicit knowledge: the application of explicit knowledge. A skill that can be transferred from one job to another is an example of tacit knowledge.
What are the 2 types of knowledge?
As mentioned earlier, knowledge management focuses on two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Of course, every company in the world has both explicit and implicit knowledge specific to that particular organization.
Explicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge is knowledge gained through encrypted documents. This kind of knowledge can be easily stored and transferred from place to place and from person to person. This knowledge is available in the mass media and encyclopedias provide interesting examples of this kind of knowledge. The problem with explicit knowledge is storing and updating it so that people can use it when they need it. This article explains the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge.
Implicit knowledge
Tacit knowledge is the opposite of formal or systematic knowledge. This is hard to convey in sentences and words. The ability to use complex computer languages or use complex equipment is the knowledge that is not recorded or encoded. Through contact and interaction, tacit knowledge is passed on to others. If you know how to ride a bike or swim, you can’t tell others how to do it with words. Only through exercise can you teach others to ride a bike or swim.
Major Differences
- Implicit knowledge is stored in memory and is difficult to convey to others through oral words or writing.
- Explicit knowledge is the knowledge that is formal, codified, or recorded so that it can be easily stored and passed on to others.
- Explicit knowledge has a transmission mechanism, while implicit knowledge does not.
- Swimming or cycling is an example of tacit knowledge that cannot be taught or communicated through written words or conversations.
- Documents, logs, procedures, etc. are examples of explicit knowledge.
- Explicit knowledge can be codified (for example, ‘can you write it down or ‘put it into words or ‘draw a picture), and easily transferred without the knowing subject. In contrast, tacit knowledge is intuitive and unarticulated knowledge that cannot be communicated, understood, or used without the ‘knowing subject‘. Unlike the transfer of explicit knowledge, the transfer of tacit knowledge requires close interaction and the buildup of shared understanding and trust among them.
- Explicit knowledge can be generated through logical deduction and acquired through practical experience in the relevant context. In contrast, tacit knowledge can only be acquired through practical experience in the relevant context. Difference between implicit and explicit knowledge
- Explicit knowledge can be aggregated at a single location, stored in objective forms, and appropriated without the participation of the knowing subject. Tacit knowledge, in contrast, is personal and contextual; it is distributed across knowing subjects, and cannot easily be aggregated. The realization of its full potential requires the close involvement and cooperation of the knowing subject.