The supervision offered at universities today is to some degree being questioned, while the situation of doctoral students is undergoing changes. The supervision students get nowadays is very different from what was available when today’s supervisors were doctoral students. The present study relies on thirty-one in-depth interviews with experienced research supervisors from all faculties at the one university. The Swedish governing documents regarding supervision have mostly been phrased in very general terms on the assumption that certain disciplines have several traits in common. Other documents describe the requirements for supervisors more sweepingly; everybody is expected to work according to the same lines. There is no question that supervision could be anything but good and no attempt at defining the task is made. Previous studies show that supervisors are unaware of what is really expected of them. The aim of this thesis is partly to investigate whether there are any communal traits in the accounts, at individual or group level, and partly to demonstrate how research supervisors’ views on research supervision can vary. The objective is also to highlight qualitative differences in the descriptions by the supervisors as to how and why they supervise. Results show that it is not easy to articulate knowledge about ones own actions. The supervisors under study have not previously reflected too much on the question of supervising. They have neither received nor requested feedback and do not expect to get honest verdicts from their students. They profess themselves to have developed a mode of supervision on their own, without assistance or any form of training. The thesis is based on a theory of variation, tacit knowledge and reflection and that supervisors will be shaped by connections to certain Communities of practice. It draws on the silent or unarticulated knowledge of what supervision is about, how and why supervision is carried out in a specific way, at group level or individually. At group level some similarities to other investigations can be found. Traditions regarding the form of the thesis are usually compliant with faculty norms. At the individual level, however, the study presents new findings in pointing out the existence of three different styles of supervision: researcher, leader and official. These can not be traced back to any specific disciplines. The three styles differ from each other mainly in their attitude to the doctoral students and in their outlook on the question of power and responsibility. The most important conclusion is to draw attention to the significance of having an individual perspective. In order to be able to improve the art of supervision, getting interaction and feedback from doctoral students and the organisation is not sufficient. A prerequisite for development is to gain an awareness of ones own actions. In order to become conscious about ones doings it is necessary to give and take feedback about oneself, achieved through self-reflection. / <p>AKADEMISK AVHANDLING som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig granskning fredagen den 20 april 2007, klockan 13.00 i sal M202 Sandgärdet, Högskolan i Borås. Fakultetsopponent: Professor Leif Lindberg, Växjö universitet</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to highlight how tacit and silenced knowledge appear in various contexts in the nuclear power industry.  Attention is paid primarily to the dilemma that the instructor is faced in the teaching of courses and programs of theoretical and practical nature. Organization and leadership are considered to be important parameters in the education context as well.   The method used is called “the dialogue seminar method”. The empirical material has its foundation in the examples that originates from the dialogue seminar sessions in the masters programme, as well as from previous dialogue seminar series at KSU. From a linguistic perspective, some parts of the text have gone the whole hog out in order to create a greater depth in what is written. Some call it poetry.   The thesis considers that tacit knowledge takes a long time to achieve, but it can be lost quickly.  It also describes various dilemmas associated with knowledge and learning, from both the instructor and the student's perspective. The thesis demonstrates the importance of the three knowledges, namely propositional, procedural and personal knowledge. These three types of knowledges can not be separated. For example, if procedural knowledge is reduced to a minimum, it will affect the other two as well.   Since the aim is to highlight training in the nuclear power industry, the primary goal has not been to achieve any specific results. But what emerges is the importance of an organization or leadership which does not restrict the individual, but affirms thirst for knowledge and desire to do good work. Furthermore, it is needed to create opportunities for “on the job training” and in the continuation of self-development. The thesis also shows the importance of welcoming new employees in a good way as well as how knowledge from a colleague who will retire or quit is conveyed to another employee.   In the nuclear power industry, "operational excellence" refers as something to strive for. But what it means or how it affects instructor’s practice is not defined yet. Excellence can be seen as something that comes from within oneself and cannot come from outside and in. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att lyfta upp tyst och tystad kunskap och hur den ter sig i olika sammanhang i kärnkraftsbranschen. I första hand ägnas uppsatsen åt de dilemman som instruktören står inför vid genomförande av kurser och utbildningar av teoretisk och praktisk karaktär. Även organisation och ledarskap beaktas som viktiga parametrar i sammanhanget utbildning. Uppsatsen syftar inte till att ge några entydiga svar och gör inte heller anspråk på att komma med lösningar. I de resonemang som förs kommer emellertid svar och lösningar att beröras. Den metod som använts kallas för dialogseminariemetoden och den har tillämpats fullt ut genom de exempel som används. Det empiriska materialet bottnar i de exemplen som har sitt ursprung från de dialogseminarietillfällen som föregått uppsatsskrivandet i masterutbildningen samt från tidigare dialogseminarieserier. Sett ur ett språkligt perspektiv har svängarna tagits ut en del med syfte att skapa ett större djup i det som skrivs. En del kallar det för poesi. Då uppsatsen i första hand betraktar tyst kunskap kommer det fram att den tar lång tid att erövra, men kan förloras snabbt. Uppsatsen beskriver olika dilemman som hänger ihop med kunskap och kunskapsinhämtning både ur instruktörens samt kursdeltagarens perspektiv. Uppsatsen visar vikten av att de trekunskapstyperna påstående-, färdighets- och förtrogenhetskunskap inte glider ifrån varandra. Om till exempel förtrogenhetskunskapen reduceras till ett minimum kommer det att påverka de andra två kunskapstyperna också.  Då syftet är ett belysa utbildning i kärnkraftsbranschen har målet inte varit primärt att nå några resultat. Men det som framkommer är vikten av att en organisation eller ledarskap inte begränsar individen utan bejakar kunskapstörst och viljan att göra ett bra arbete. Därtill kommer att skapa förutsättningar för verkspraktik och fortsatt egen utveckling. Uppsatsen visar också på vikten av att ta emot nyanställda på ett bra sätt såväl som hur kunskap förmedlas från en kollega som kommer att gå i pension. I branschen nämns "Operational excellence" som något att sträva efter. Men vad det innebär eller hur det påverkar instruktörernas praxis går inte att läsa ut än. Excellence kan ses som något som kommer inifrån en själv och kan inte komma utifrån och in.

With the change in the economic structures of Western industrialised countries and the shift of traditional industries towards knowledge and services in recent decades the challenge to stay competitive in increasingly globalised culturally diverse markets continues to be a priority for organisations. Of central importance is the need to acknowledge, utilise and share the diversity of employees' knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge that is ethnically influenced, a resource that is enormously rich yet overlooked, undervalued and under-utilised in the employment market. This PhD dissertation focuses on the implications of the knowledge era for how organisations manage their culturally diverse workforce. The purpose of the research is to explore the organisational strategies required for Australian businesses to support and encourage the development and sharing of knowledge between employees of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Arising from an extensive review of the literature on both Diversity and Knowledge Management, a framework for a holistic Diversity Knowledge Management/Sharing (D-KM/S) Strategy was developed. This framework identified the need for organisations to develop a productive diversity management model that consists of a number of elements including a two-way communication strategy, training in cultural intelligence (CQ) and the development of opportunities for social networking through Communities of Practice. A four-phased process for the organisational journey towards a holistic D-KM/S Strategy was proposed. An initial audit of several Australian organisations recognised for their award-winning diversity management strategies confirmed the validity of this framework. The framework was then used to underpin the qualitative interpretive case study of three of the organisations that had been part of the initial audit to determine to what extent these organisations had succeeded in progressing through these phases towards the final holistic D-KM/S Strategy. In so doing, the candidate also focused on the role of the Human Resources Department (traditionally responsible for implementing diversity policy within organisations) in implementing a more holistic approach. From a comparison of the findings from the primary research the candidate concluded that while each organisation had progressed through several of the phases towards a holistic D-KM/S Strategy, they differed in their progress and none had as yet achieved the final phase. The study did identify two additional elements that require further research which relate to the potential of Information Technology to provide opportunities for social networking, and the potential of 'narrative' to be used to share culturally influenced stories. The research concludes that the organisational strategies required for Australian businesses to support and encourage the development and sharing of knowledge between employees of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds includes: first, a productive diversity strategy that acknowledges both the explicit and tacit knowledge that a multicultural workforce brings to an organisation; and, second, processes that embed two-way communication opportunities for employees and managers, training in CQ for an increased number of managers and employees, greater support for social networking opportunities through Communities of Practice (supported by Information Technology tools), and encouragement of opportunities for employees to share cultural narratives. In addition, the thesis proposed an increased role for the Human Resources Department (working closely with line managers) in the achievement of a holistic D-KM/S Strategy.

In order to achieve competitive advantage, organisations have to be strategic in their knowledge management. This specifically concerns the management of tacit knowledge, which is known as the intangible type of knowledge. Without an effective strategy for this, organisations stand the risk of losing valuable knowledge and expertise when employees leave the organisation. Research on how to manage tacit knowledge is limited. Therefore, this thesis has investigated the possibility of using organisational storytelling as a tool to manage tacit knowledge. Hence, the purpose with this thesis is to investigate whether organisational storytelling can be used as a strategy to manage tacit knowledge. This has been examined through a case study at SCA Packaging Sweden, which is a rare example of an organisation, which uses storytelling to share knowledge. Qualitative interviews and organisational stories have been analysed in order to investigate how storytelling can be used to create, retain and transfer tacit knowledge. The data collected has also been used to determine if organisational storytelling is effective when managing tacit knowledge.   From our analysis we could conclude that SCA Packaging Sweden’s usage of organisational storytelling creates, retains, and transfers knowledge within the organisation. In addition, our analysis has shown that the stories are rich in tacit knowledge. We can therefore argue that organisational storytelling can be an effective strategy to manage tacit knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to determine how nonroutine acts performed by iii trained emergency workers developed into routine emergency acts and skills. I will be specifically looking for concepts that are common throughout the different types of emergency workers that will be interviewed. The data is gathered from focus groups that were recruited from classes on campus. In particular the results depict some very common techniques used in training that allowed the workers to feel confident about their role in emergencies. These tended to include repetition of "classroom training, "but more importantly from the viewpoint of the workers, repetition of simulated emergencies. The development of autonomy in decision making was an important facet for workers whose work "territory" was varied; however, autonomy was rarely stressed for those in relatively constant surroundings such as pools. Several commonalities were found throughout each field. These included interruptions, self-efficacy, the use of judgment and tacit knowledge. Many of the participants also expressed the same sentiment towards their feelings of the training and its efficiency. Some research will also show attempts to change policy and training within emergency workers in order to improve job performance and enhance the safety of the public as well. I will include a small statistical appendix that looks at the satisfaction level of evacuees who fled to Houston, Texas when Hurricane Katrina hit. Five specific factors were examined and regressed to determine satisfaction levels. Only two factors showed any type of significance. As the discussion will indicate, certain previous factors, before the hurricane hit, are believed to be the cause of these particular results.

Background: Organizational spending on marketing needs to be justified and therefore measured. New technology has enabled new ways of conducting market research. Research question: How can knowledge be transferred from a crowd of consumers to a company operating in the retail industry? Purpose: To explore the process of knowledge transfer in a new type of market research company by creating an understanding of (1) how to gather knowledge through engaging and motivating a crowd to share information, (2) how to analyze and transfer it to the clients, and in the end (3) how the clients receive the information and are able to create knowledge internally. Methodology: Qualitative single case study through semi-structured interviews with the case company and two of their clients. This was combined with secondary data and observations. Conclusions: Motivated users are important when gathering knowledge through crowdsourcing. Focusing on gathering and transferring explicit knowledge makes it more actionable and therefore more valuable when it comes to market insights. Externalization was found to only be partly possible in the case company, which strengthens established theories published after Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Absorptive capacity and relationships had influence on the knowledge transfer and how the results were acted upon in the client organizations.

Background: How to facilitate the knowledge transfer between projects is a field that has obtained a lot of attention in research. Despite this wide attention, many organizations still experience difficulties to efficiently transfer knowledge between their projects and thus the problems still remain, which appears contradictory. Previous research has had a tendency to assume that all knowledge can be articulated and codified, which has resulted in that solutions to these problems often have been directed towards the side in the transfer that creates the supply of knowledge. However, limited research has taken the receiver of the knowledge into consideration when analyzing these difficulties, who is considered to be equally influential to motivate a transfer. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the challenges concerning the knowledge transfer from past to future projects, by exploring the importance of incorporating the receiver’s perspective in the analysis of knowledge transfer practices. Methodology: This study has applied a qualitative research methodology where the empirical data has been obtained through an interview-study with nine onsite interviews in two different firms, ABB and SIEMENS. Furthermore, documents were studied in order to compliment and increase the understanding of the information provided in the interviews. Conclusions: By incorporating the receiver in the analysis we can conclude that the practices applied are not efficient in actually transferring the complete knowledge. Herewith, socialization becomes vital as a complement to these practices in order to also transfer the ‘hidden’ explicit knowledge as well as tacit knowledge that the receiver is in need of. The findings thus demonstrate the importance of taking the nature of knowledge into account when investigating the challenges with current knowledge transfer practices.

This practicum examines how planners can exchange tacit knowledge about climate change adaptation, in order to create better communities and to further the profession. Two regions of British Columbia - the Lower Mainland and the Kootenay’s - provided case studies to determine if and how tacit knowledge was exchanged. These two regions are provincial leaders in climate change adaptation, yet their constituent communities are at different stages of adaptation. Through a literature review and case study analysis - featuring key informant interviews, the practicum demonstrates that tacit knowledge is indeed being exchanged within the regions, yet not as strongly between them. Recommendations are offered aiming to improve tacit knowledge exchange within the profession of planning – among planners and through their professional planning Institutes, and for such exchange to be better supported by planning education.

Record numbers of employees are retiring in Canada (Conference Board of Canada, 2009), and with their exit, copious amounts of organizational knowledge could be exiting too (Collins, 2007). In this thesis, I propose and test a model of attitudes and intentions towards knowledge sharing with 252 retiring and recently retired employees. The results suggested that the partially mediated alternative model fit the data the best, where affective commitment, job satisfaction, and perceived organizational support predicted attitudes towards knowledge sharing, which in turn positively predicted tacit and explicit knowledge sharing intentions, as well as negatively predicted intentions to hoard knowledge. There were also significant positive direct paths between job satisfaction and intentions to share tacit and explicit knowledge, as well as a significant negative direct path between job satisfaction and intentions to hoard knowledge. Lastly, organizational policies and practices (tacit and explicit), personal perceived knowledge value (tacit and explicit), and financial stake (explicit) were significant moderators. Study findings and limitations, as well as future research directions are discussed.

Healthcare is a knowledge-intensive field. A significant quantum of extremely vital and viable healthcare knowledge exists in a tacit form, yet due to various operational and technical reasons such healthcare knowledge is not entirely utilized and put into professional practice. The strong increase in expert work and knowledge-intensive fields make examining the topic timely and hypothetically interesting.The most significant contribution of this study is the increase in understanding, as well as, tacit healthcare knowledge sharing amongst physicians and clinicians with the type of collaborative tools and technologies they have at their disposal. Collaborative tools and technologies help employees of an organization work closely with their colleagues, partner organization and other volunteers as tacit healthcare knowledge sharing among clinicians such as sharing of best practices, tips and tricks, inter professional collaborative networking, clinical experiences and skills are known to have a significant impact on the quality of medical diagnosis and decisions.This paper posits that collaboration tools and technologies can provide new opportunities for tacit healthcare knowledge sharing amongst health-experts, and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a review of relevant literature and a survey conducted with Medical Doctors who have moderate to high interaction with collaborative tools and technologies in the healthcare industry. Semi-structure interviews were conducted with health-experts (Medical Doctors and clinicians) of Akademiska Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. Final thematic analysis unveiled six themes as potential contributors of collaborative tools and technologies in facilitating tacit healthcare knowledge sharing among clinicians. The newly developed themes are described and interpreted briefly; extensive literature review has been carried out to relate the emerged themes with the literatures and part of interview participant responses are supported as well. Finally this research suggests further empirical studies shall be conducted to acknowledge this study.