Individual assessment
A review and critique of “The Knowledge-Creating Company” Nonaka (1991)
Understanding and Leading Organisations
DT34
C09085556
Paul O’Shea
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this report is entirely my own written work, except where otherwise accredited, and that it has not been submitted for a degree or other award to any other university or institution.
Signed: _____________________________
Date: ________________
Introduction
In “The Knowledge Creating Company (1991) Nonaka proposes a new way in which organisations can think about knowledge and its role in business organisations based on a study of some highly successful Japanese companies. This paper will set out to explain the argument which Nonaka is putting forward along with an evaluation of the supporting evidence. The paper will focus on some weaknesses and strengths within the argument and highlight some of the managerial implications of the proposed theory.
Critique of Nonaka’s argument and supporting evidence
Nonaka suggests that the majority of western companies misunderstand what knowledge actually is and what companies must do in order to exploit it. He defines knowledge as ‘justified true belief’ suggesting that knowledge is justified by organisational managers based on what they believe is valuable to the organisation. This notion adopts an epistemological perspective although rather than focusing on the ‘truthfulness’ of knowledge, Nonaka considers knowledge as a personal ‘belief’ and puts emphasis on the importance of the justification of knowledge. Organisational knowledge creation is defined in this paper as “the capability of a company as a whole to create new knowledge, disseminate it throughout the organization, and embody it in products, services and systems”. Nonaka argues that everyone in the company is a knowledge worker (entrepreneur) and that knowledge is primarily created by the individual after which it can then become organisational knowledge through the
Understanding and Leading Organisations
DT34
C09085556
Paul O’Shea
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this report is entirely my own written work, except where otherwise accredited, and that it has not been submitted for a degree or other award to any other university or institution.
Signed: _____________________________
Date: ________________
Introduction
In “The Knowledge Creating Company (1991) Nonaka proposes a new way in which organisations can think about knowledge and its role in business organisations based on a study of some highly successful Japanese companies. This paper will set out to explain the argument which Nonaka is putting forward along with an evaluation of the supporting evidence. The paper will focus on some weaknesses and strengths within the argument and highlight some of the managerial implications of the proposed theory.
Critique of Nonaka’s argument and supporting evidence
Nonaka suggests that the majority of western companies misunderstand what knowledge actually is and what companies must do in order to exploit it. He defines knowledge as ‘justified true belief’ suggesting that knowledge is justified by organisational managers based on what they believe is valuable to the organisation. This notion adopts an epistemological perspective although rather than focusing on the ‘truthfulness’ of knowledge, Nonaka considers knowledge as a personal ‘belief’ and puts emphasis on the importance of the justification of knowledge. Organisational knowledge creation is defined in this paper as “the capability of a company as a whole to create new knowledge, disseminate it throughout the organization, and embody it in products, services and systems”. Nonaka argues that everyone in the company is a knowledge worker (entrepreneur) and that knowledge is primarily created by the individual after which it can then become organisational knowledge through the
Bibliography: Nonaka,I and Takeuchi,H (1995). The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. p57,67) Nonaka, I. (1994). A Dynamic Theory of Organisational Knowledge Creation. Harvard Business Review. 5 (1), 15,32.