If companies want to create competition advantage, they must operate with knowledge. Knowledge can be divided to tacit and explicit dimension. Tacit knowledge is not easy to express, it is in heads of workers. It is hard to transfer tacit knowledge to others and organizations have limited possibilities to operate with it. But 90% of all knowledge is tacit. Knowledge can grow, keeps its degree or decrease during the life cycle. Tacit knowledge can be built by learning or by creative thinking. Knowledge can be acquired by combinations from current knowledge, information and other ingredients. Knowledge is conserved in organization through telling stories, sharing in communities or by apprenticeship. Mentoring and coaching are very important for handling knowledge over persons in organization. Knowledge is liable to influences which decrease their value. These influences are biological (person leaves the organization) or comparative. Although the value of knowledge in organization is still on the same level, when competition build their knowledge, the level of organization relatively decrease. There are several instruments to scale up knowledge, care for it or not to lose its value for each phase of knowledge life cycle. The empiric research was focused on working with tacit knowledge in organizations in the Czech Republic. According to analysis of current theory and outputs from the research there is proposed the model how to work with tacit knowledge from its dynamic perspective.

This research thesis presents the development of a novel Lean Knowledge Life Cycle (LeanKLC) framework to support the transformation into a Lean Product Development (LeanPD) knowledge environment. The LeanKLC framework introduces a baseline model to understand the three dimensions of knowledge management in product development as well as its contextualisation with acclaimed LeanPD process models. The LeanKLC framework comprises 23 tasks, each accomplished in one of the seven key stages, these being: knowledge identification, previous knowledge capture, knowledge representation, knowledge sharing, knowledge integration, knowledge use and provision and dynamic knowledge capture. The rigorous research methodology employed to develop the LeanKLC framework entailed extensive data collection starting with a literature review to highlight the gap in the current body of knowledge. Additionally, industrial field research provides empirical evidence on the current industrial perspectives and challenges in managing product development knowledge. This research was part of a European FP7 project entitled Lean Product and Process Development (LeanPPD), which provided the opportunity to involve industrial collaborators in action research to support practical aspects during the LeanKLC framework development. The synthesis with the current LeanPD paradigm is accomplished by demonstrating the LeanKLC stages in two distinct streams related to the development of A3 thinking for problem solving and the development of trade-off curves to facilitate set based design at the conceptual stage. The novel LeanKLC is validated in two case studies providing the industry with detailed insights on real product development applications. In particular this research highlights that the LeanPD knowledge environment is a wide subject area that has not yet been thoroughly understood and that industry engagement in empirical research is vital in order to realise any form of LeanPD transformation.

21st century work environments are becoming more dynamic; they are fast-paced and require critical incidents to be dealt with in a shorter time frame. At the same time, in order for organizations to survive knowledge management (KM) systems need to be in place that allow organizations to learn from these incidents and use the knowledge gained to solve new problems. The knowledge life cycle consists of three phases: create, preserve, and disseminate. The knowledge life cycle also involves the transformation of knowledge from tacit to explicit, which is important to shift knowledge from the individual level to the organizational level; this represents a very important objective of KM. KM is not a domain on its own but intersects with other areas such as organizational learning, performance support, and communities of practice. Learning and performance support are among the concerns of practitioners in the sister fields of instructional design and technology (IDT) and human performance technology (HPT). Yet still, there are not many studies that examine KM through the lens of these professions. There is a need for knowledge to be accessible and for structures to be put in place to facilitate the knowledge life cycle. The purpose of this study was to explore how workers in a fast-paced environment go through the knowledge life cycle when dealing with critical incidents, and the factors that acted as driving and restraining forces. A single instrumental case study research design was used to study employees of a walk-in computer software help desk. The HPT model along with principles and procedures of critical incident technique were used to create a framework for data collection, which included interviews, a focus group session, and examination of extant data. Findings revealed that workers went through the knowledge life cycle by making internal and external connections and both organizational and individual factors impacted the flow of knowledge. A disconnection between available tools and work processes posed the greatest barrier to going through all the knowledge life cycle process. / Ph. D.