The study reported in this thesis aimed to provide an ontology of professional activities in the software industry that require and enable the acquisition of experience and that, in turn, is the basis for tacit knowledge creation. The rationale behind the creation of such an ontology was based on the need to externalise this tacit knowledge and then record such externalisations so that these can be shared and disseminated across organisations through electronic records management. The research problem here is to conciliate highly theoretical principles associated with tacit knowledge and the ill-defined and quasi-colloquial concept of experience into a tool that can be used by more technical and explicit knowledge minded practitioners of electronic records management. The ontology produced and proposed here provides exactly such a bridge, by identifying what aspects of professional and personal experience should be captured and organising these aspects into an explicit classification that can be used to capture the tacit knowledge and codify it into explicit knowledge. Since such ontologies are always closely related to actual contexts of practice, the researcher decided to choose her own national context of China, where she had worked before and had good guarantees of industrial access. This study used a multiple case-study Straussian Grounded Theory inductive approach. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews in order to get direct interaction with practitioners in the field and capture individuals opinions and perceptions, as well as interpret individuals understandings associated with these processes. The interviews were conducted in three different and representative types of company (SMEs, State Owned and Large Private) in an attempt to capture a rich variety of possible contexts in the SW sector in a Chinese context. Data analysis was conducted according to coding the procedures advocated by Grounded Theory, namely: open, axial and selective coding. Data collection and analysis was conducted until the emergent theory reached theoretical saturation. The theory generated identified 218 different codes out of 797 representative quotations. These codes were grouped and organised into a category hierarchy that includes 6 main categories and 31 sub-categories, which are, in turn, represented in the ontology proposed. This emergent theory indicates in a very concise manner that experienced SW development practitioners in China should be able to understand the nature and value of experience in the SW industry, effectively communicate with other stake holders in the SW development process, be able and motivated to actively engage with continuous professional development, be able to share knowledge with peers and the profession at large, effectively work on projects and exhibit a sound professional attitude both internally to their own company and externally to customers, partners and even competitors. This basic theory was then further analysed by applying selective coding. This resulted in a main theory centred on Working in Projects, which was clearly identified as the core activity in the SW Industry reflecting its design and development nature. Directly related with the core category, three other significant categories were identified as enablers: Communication, Knowledge Sharing and Individual Development. Additionally, Understanding the Nature of Experience in the SW Industry and Professional Attitude were identified as drivers for the entire process of reflection, experience acquisition and tacit knowledge construction by the individual practitioners. Finally, as an integral part of any inductive process of research, the final stage in this study was to position the emerged theory in the body of knowledge. This resulted in the understanding that the theory presented in this study bridges two extremely large bodies of literature: employability skills and competencies. Both of these bodies of literature put their emphasis in explicit knowledge concerning skills and competencies that are defined so that they can be measured and assessed. The focus of the theory proposed in this thesis on experience and resulting acquisition of tacit knowledge allows a natural link between the employability skills and competencies in the SW industry that was hitherto lacking in the body of knowledge. The ontology proposed is of interest to academics in the areas of knowledge management, electronic records management and information systems. The same ontology may be of interest to human resources practitioners to select and develop experienced personnel as well as knowledge and information professionals in organisations.

The Duke of Uncertainty - Aspects of Professional Skillis a dissertation whose title is a literary metaphor designedto draw attention to encounters with unforeseen problems anddilemmas at work. The first part of the dissertation presents the skill andtechnology tradition that has developed over the last twentyyears through explorative case studies. These have covered theskills of various occupational groups, such as processoperators in the paper-and-pulp and chemicals industries,managers and systems engineers working on real timeapplications in specialized knowledge intensive firms as wellas doctors and nurses. The theoretical perspective is the epistemology of skillfocusing on the phenomenon of tacit knowledge. This has itsroots in Wittgenstein's philosophy of language as developed bythe philosophers Allan Janik and Kjell S. Johannessen. The methodological framework develops indirect analogicalthinking which is a prerequisite for knowledge based onexperience, through exemplification. The empirical part of the work shows knowledge offamiliarity among members of an occupational group with lowformal training but extensive practical experience, namelyassistant nurses. A comparative analysis is undertaken inrelation to previous case studies in the field of skill andtechnology aimed at occupational groups with high formaleducational qualifications. A particular aspect to which attention is drawn is therhythm in work that unites occupational groups regardless ofeducational background. Occupational skill is treated as acapacity developed to find rhythm in action when confrontedwith situations that are hard to handle. The dissertationconsiders aspects that can be tried out in other occupationalarenas and paves the way for identifying phenomena in workinglife that hinder the development of rhythm in work. The dissertation contributes to the setting-up ofundergraduate-level training for groups of people who have notpreviously had access to higher education, and aims tointroduce new aspects into the development of analoguethinking. Key words: practical versus theoretical knowledge, skillof epistemology, tacit knowledge, comparative case study,literary metaphor, analogical thinking, indirect method,occupational training. / <p>NR 20140805</p>

Communities of Practice have been utilized with great success by organisations in the business and manufacturing sectors to help in the management of their knowledge. Not much research have been done on their application in learning organisations such as academic libraries, however. The aim of this study was therefore to determine how knowledge can be managed through Communities of Practice in a learning organisation such as an academic library. The investigation was build around the concepts knowledge management, learning organisations and Communities of Practice and the interrelationship between these concepts. The role Communities of Practice play in the management of knowledge in a learning organisation is investigated as well as the development stages in the implementation of Communities of Practice to support knowledge management. This is followed by an investigation of the factors critical to the success of Communities of Practice in a learning organisation. The investigation consisted of a literature study to help define the key concepts and to lay a framework for the research design, and is followed by an empirical study where interviews were held with some of the staff members of the Academic Information Service (AIS) of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In conclusion it was found that the AIS was considered a learning organisation and that the AIS was in the beginning stages of knowledge management. A number of Communities of Practice in the AIS were identified that existed internally and externally, and the small number of internal Communities of Practice in the AIS were linked to specific inhibiting factors. The study also showed that Communities of Practice can be found in learning organisations, and that learning organisations are characterised by knowledge management. Knowledge managed through Communities of Practice was also shown to help in the development of learning organisations. Communities of Practice in the AIS were shown to be in the beginning stages of development. The role of management, incentives and rewards for participation, information technology/tools, attention to newcomers, knowledge capturing/sharing techniques, trust and a proper knowledge management framework were shown to be essential for the success of Communities of Practice in the AIS. / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Information Science / unrestricted

Under året som gått har den digitala kommunikationen ökat drastiskt. En hel värld har blivit påverkad. Digitala verktyg och plattformar har varit en förutsättning för ett fungerande samhälle och för att hålla kontakten med andra människor. I det här examensarbetet ville vi genom grafisk design utforska och lyfta analog kommunikation och vilken rollden spelar idag. Det finns något väldigt fint i mötet mellan papper och penna. Något personligt som går förlorat när budskap digitaliseras. På papper kan vi skri- va ner våra innersta tankar, till oss själva eller till någon annan. Vi kan också använda pappret för att klottra ner små krumelurer, skissa, måla eller på annat sätt sätta vår personliga prägel. Vi ser det här som ett sätt att hant- verka och det är just hantverk som är vår röda tråd. Med vårt projekt vill vi belysa traditionellt hantverk i vår samtid och uppmuntra till personlig kommunikation. / Digital communication has increased drastically during the past year. An entire world has been affected. Digital tools and platforms have been crucial for a functioning society and for us to be able to keep in touch with other people. In this thesis, we wanted to explore analog commu- nication through graphic design and highlight what role it plays today. There is something beautiful inthe meeting between paper and pencil. Something personal that might be lost when messages are digi- tized. On paper, we can write down our innermost thoughts, to ourselves or to someone close to us. The paper can also be used when we doodle, sketch, paint or when we in other ways add a personal touch. We see this as a way of crafting and craftsmanship is our common thread. With our project, we want to shed light on traditional crafts and encourage personal communication.

<p>Generally, the trade supervisors are seen swapping stories about how they have done things differently in their previous projects that had resulted in saving man-hours and resources. Since most of them are doing repetitive tasks for years, they rely mainly on their judgments and intuition while making decisions and have developed a plethora of knowledge throughout their experience. They often find it difficult to articulate the knowledge they have acquired most of which is tacit. There is a need to identify this tacit dimension of knowledge to harness it effectively as tacit knowledge is one of the factors determining the competitiveness of a construction firm. The skills shortage in the industry is further aggravated by the growing workforce. Employee retirements and knowledge loss are compelling the specialty contracting firms to capture this tacit knowledge to prepare the future workforce. This study posits an instrument to gauge the reliance of the field supervisors on tacit knowledge and identifies barriers to knowledge sharing through case studies involving electrical contracting firms. The findings of this research clearly show that the experience level of an individual is related to the reliance on tacit knowledge. Most of the experienced field supervisors rely on the tacit dimension of knowledge to perform the major day-to-day routine tasks at the construction site. The education level of an individual seems to have no significant relation with the acquisition and usage of tacit knowledge. Findings also suggest that the viewpoint of the management and the field team are disparate regarding the barriers to knowledge sharing. Management feels that lack of formal processes prevents the trade professionals from sharing their knowledge among themselves whereas according to the field team lack of socialization is identified as the key barrier. Similarly, managers' resistance to change is identified by management as the key barrier that prevents supervisors or managers from sharing their knowledge with the subordinates whereas, for the field team it is the lack of encouragement from the management. Moreover, according to management, lack of formal processes is the key barrier at the organizational level but for the field team, it’s the silo mentality of the managers. The organizations must incorporate the feedback from the field team into the decision making related to knowledge management (KM). The developed framework will benefit the trade contractors to identify on what type of knowledge the field supervisors are relying to perform a particular task and eventually categorizing knowledge into explicit and tacit.</p>

Sammanfattning Datum:                               2022-05-30 Nivå:                                   Magisteruppsats Företagsekonomi, 15 hp Akademi:                            Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalen University Författare:                           Sara Andersson                  Anna Tjärnström                                             (95/03/22)                           (96/03/05) Titel:                                   Kunskap som resurs- En fallstudie på Volvo CE om utmaningar och möjligheter inom knowledge management utifrån ledares och medarbetares upplevelser  Handledare:                        Magnus Linderström Nyckelord:                          kunskap, knowledge management, kunskapsspridning, explicit och tyst kunskap, organisation Forskningsfråga:                    Hur hanterar fallföretaget explicit och tyst kunskap utifrån ledare och medarbetares upplevelser?  Syfte:                                         Syftet med studien var att utifrån fallföretagets utmaningar och möjligheter inom knowledge management få en djupare förståelse för hur dem hanterar kunskap som resurs utifrån ledare och medarbetares upplevelser.  Metod:                                I studien användes fallstudiemetodik med en blandad metod. Fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med ledare från fallföretaget samt en enkät som skickades ut till dess medarbetare utgör empiriska data. Slutsats:                              I studiens analys urskildes tre teman som har betydelse för hur kunskap som resurs hanteras i fallföretaget. Analysen framförde att kunskap som resurs är en ständig process samtidigt som särskilda processer eller strategier för kunskapshantering inte identifierades. Det visade sig ske ett större och mer medvetet hanterande gällande explicit- än tyst kunskap / Abstract Date:                                   2022-05-30 Level:                                 Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:                          School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                              Sara Andersson                  Anna Tjärnström                                             (95/03/22)                           (96/03/05) Title:                                   Knowledge as a resource- A case study at Volvo CE on challenges and opportunities in knowledge management based on managers 'and employees' experiences Supervisor:                         Magnus Linderström Keywords:                          knowledge, knowledge management, knowledge dissemination, explicit and tacit knowledge, organization  Research question:             How does the case company handle explicit and tacit knowledge based on leaders 'and employees' experiences? Purpose:                              The purpose of the study was to, based on the fall company's challenges and opportunities in knowledge management, gain a deeper understanding of how they handle knowledge as a resource based on leaders 'and employees' experiences. Method:                              The study used the case study methodology with a mixed method. Five semi-structured interviews with leaders from the case company and a questionnaire sent out to its employees constitute empirical data. Conclusion:                        In the study's analysis, three themes were identified that are important for how knowledge as a resource is handled in the case company. The analysis stated that knowledge as a resource is a constant process at the same time as specific processes or strategies for knowledge management were not identified. It turned out that there was a greater and more conscious handling of explicit than tacit knowledge

A systematic method can extrapolate tacit knowledge (hidden or subjective knowledge) so that it can become objective and discernable. This process focused on discovering causes of failures by extricating data from medical equipment service software cases closed by telephone by field service personnel. Their responses to observed failures were compared to troubleshooting guides in use by telephone support personnel to find new processes that would increase effectiveness of telephone support staff. We asked “What are indicators of device failure reported in technical support calls?” and then “What factors contribute to user reported device failures identified by callers to technical support?” A series of interviews with veteran personnel were used to validate responses from the “phone closed” cases along with ideas pulled from a review of documentation. Analysis of one hundred seventy three cases yielded over five hundred recommendations to make the telephone support personnel’s responses more accurate, consistent and reliable.

Bakgrund: Vid generell anestesi uppnås medvetandeförlust vilket leder till att andningscentrum slås ut. En av anestesisjuksköterskans kärnkompetenser är säker vård, vilket innebär att kunna identifiera, bedöma och förebygga risker som kan förekomma vid anestesi. I en preoperativ luftvägsbedömning kan förväntad svår luftväg identifieras men det råder ingen samstämmighet över vilka undersökningar som är säkrast att använda. Genom att sätta ord på anestesisjuksköterskors erfarenheter kan den tysta kunskapen om fenomenet “preoperativ luftvägsbedömning” bli synliggjord och möjlig att dela med andra. Syfte: Att beskriva anestesisjuksköterskors erfarenheter av preoperativ luftvägsbedömning. Metod: En kvalitativ metod med fenomenologisk ansats användes. Nio anestesisjuksköterskor intervjuades med öppna frågor. Data analyserades med beskrivande innebördsanalys. Resultat: Tre innebördsteman framkom: Helhetsbedömning - från delar till helhet, Känsla av säkerhet skapar trygghet samt Lärande genom erfarenheter. Konklusion: Helhetsbedömningen bygger på bakgrund, klinisk blick och klinisk undersökning. Bedömningen leder till förberedelse och ökad säkerhet. Varje patientfall bidrar till ett lärande. Tyst kunskap finns i preoperativ luftvägsbedömning och att behärska konsten handlar om att lära sig se och utveckla den kliniska blicken genom reflektion av erfarenheter. / Background: General anesthesia leads to loss of consciousness and respiratory function. One of the anesthesia nurse's core competencies is safe care, which means being able to identify, assess and prevent risks that may occur during anesthesia. In a preoperative airway assessment, the expected difficult airway can be identified, but there is no agreement on which examinations are safest to use. By verbalizing the experiences of anesthesia nurses, the tacit knowledge about the phenomenon “preoperative airway assessment” can be made visible and possible to share with others. The Aim: To describe anesthesia nurses' experiences of preoperative airway assessment. Methods:A qualitative method with phenomenological approach was used. Nine anesthesia nurses were interviewed with open-ended questions. Data were analyzed with descriptive analysis. Results: Three themes of meaning emerged: Overall assessment - from parts to the whole, Sense of security creates safety and Learning through experiences.Conclusion: The overall assessment is based on background, clinical gaze and clinical examination. It leads to preparation and increased security. Each patient contributes to learning. Tacit knowledge is found in preoperative airway assessment, mastering the art is about learning to see and develop the clinical gaze through reflection of experiences.

Förskollärares upplevelser av sitt bästa professionsjag bottnar i en förståelse för förskollärareuppdraget. Detta uppdrag omformas ständigt utifrån olika samhälleliga diskurser och styrdokument. Syftet med studien är att skaffa kunskap om på vilka sätt förskollärares professionella kompetens uttrycks i förskolan, samt vilka kunskaper förskollärare använder och relaterar till i möten med barn i förskolan. Genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade samtalsintervjuer undersöks på vilket sätt sex förskollärare formulerar kunskap som framstår som central i upplevda lyckade möten med barn i förskolan. Empirin består av fyra timmar och fem minuters inspelade och transkriberade intervjuer. Analysen är i det första skedet induktiv men övergår till att bli abduktiv. Det teoretiska ramverket består av Grimens (2008) professionsteorier, Aspelin och Perssons (2011) begreppspar sam-varo och sam-verkan samt Illeris (2015) komplexa lärmodell. Studien visar att det är i sam-varon och sam-verkan som förskolläraren upplever sitt bästa professionsjag. / Preschool teachers' experiences of their best professional self are based on an understanding of the preschool teacher assignment. This assignment is constantly being reformed based on different social discourses and control curriculum. The purpose of the study is to acquire knowledge of how pre-school teachers' professional competence is expressed in a preschool context. Which knowledge preschool teachers use and relate to in meetings with children at preschools. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, the study examines how six preschool teachers formulate knowledge that appears to be central in successful interactions with children at preschools. The material consists of four hours and five minutes’ recorded and transcribed interviews. The analysis is, in the first stage, inductive but turns into being abductive. The theoretical framework consists of Grimens (2008) professional theories, Aspelin and Persson's (2011) conceptual pairs of co-being and co-operation and Illeris (2015) complex learning model. The study shows that it is in co-being and co-operation that the preschool teacher experiences his best professional self.

My thesis is focused on knowledge management and its quality in Czech companies. The issue is one of the most current and very important topic since the interest in knowledge and namely in its management and utilisation by as large as possible number of employees has been rapidly growing worldwide. The main objective of my thesis is to evaluate the level of knowledge management in Czech companies and suggest procedures leading to elimination of most frequent errors therein. The introduction of my thesis provides basic definitions from the field of knowledge management, namely data, information and knowledge, and gives definitions of most important factors that influence knowledge management. Chapter two surveys the current state of knowledge management, namely modern approaches towards knowledge management, classification of knowledge suggested by various authors and different styles of knowledge management. Chapter three is focused on modern trends in human resources and influence of the company’s structure upon knowledge management. Chapter four contains description of ways of origin of knowledge followed by activities necessary to know prior to introduction of knowledge management. Chapter five gives a survey of current development in information systems and products supporting knowledge management. The final part of my thesis presents an assessed questionnaire survey and gives recommendations to the discussed issue. Included are suggested procedures how to proceed and act in human resources management and IT investments in companies intending to introduce knowledge management. In addition, this chapter gives examples of contributions from science, practice and pedagogic procedures.