Define both faith and reason Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define both faith and reason - Essay Example Reasoning is the name of explanation with justification. Justification in turn is drawn from universally acknowledged facts and beliefs. Almost always, there is no ultimate reason that can be raised in support of a particular faith. Many reasons can be offered to justify a faith, and there acknowledgement varies from individual to individual depending upon the individual’s way of thinking and perception of the world. Relationship between faith and reason: There is a very strong relationship between reason and faith. Reason is the fundamental element that supports faith but it can never take its place. It is not possible for faith to exist without any reason, though faith can and does exist quite frequently without the existence of a profound knowledge or reasoning in its support. It is important to note that reason and faith are never antithetical. Reason and faith are never opposite. They are also never mutually exclusive and are hence, inseparable from each other (Albl 1). T herefore, it is quite normal and rational to find reason for having faith. Description of faith: â€Å"Biblical faith is having the belief and assurance from God in something that is unseen and/or not yet realized which has some probability of being correct, where the probability is determined using the brain and the intellect as guided by God† (angelfire.com).

Data observation Essay Example for Free

Data observation Essay Complete a data table that includes a prediction of reaction type (single replacement, double replacement, synthesis, decomposition, or combustion), observations, and identification of reaction type for each reaction in the lab. (10 points) Reactants Prediction of Reaction Type Observations Reaction Type Iron (III) and copper (II) sulfate solution single replacement Solids stay concentrated at the bottom Single replacement Lead (II) nitrate and potassium iodide solutions Double replacement Yellow colored powder collected at the bottom Double replacement Magnesium metal and hydrochloric acid solution Single replacement The solution began to fizz. Proves to be flammable. single replacement Electrolysis of water decomposition The water bubbles In the tubes filled with H2 and O2 decomposition Burning magnesium combustion As the magnesium comes in contact with the CO2 it creates a bright burning light synthesis Conclusion: Write a balanced equation for each reaction observed in this lab. (10 points) 2Fe + 3CuSO4 = 3Cu + Fe2(SO4)3 Pb(NO3)2 + 2KI = PbI2 + 2K(NO3) Mg + 2HCl = MgCl2 + H2 2H2O = 2H2 + O2 2Mg + O2 = 2MgO If you were to measure the mass of magnesium and hydrochloric acid before combining them in the test tube, how would that mass compare to the mass of reactants left in the test tube after the reaction? Explain your answer and how it corresponds to the law of conservation of mass. (5 points) -The mass would be the same as it started. This is because the law of conservation of mass states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed only changed. One of the reactions you conducted can actually be categorized as TWO different types of reactions. Which reaction is this, and what are the two types of reactions? (5 points) It would be the Magnesium metal and hydrochloric acid solution because it bubbled but it still stayed in its form and didn’t change. It is single replacement or combustion.

Arguments for Short and Longer Term Capitalism

Arguments for Short and Longer Term Capitalism Introduction Reason Dominic Barton’s article on the â€Å"Capitalism for the Long Term† and in particular his â€Å"Fight the Tyranny of Short-Termism† essentially asserts ‘there is a myopia plagues all Western institutions in every sector’ and in his article, he suggests solutions to potentially treat thus problem He believes that this short-sighted perspective leads to the crippling of corporations, and the economy and creates social problems. Research that supports Barton’s claim of this pervasive myopia was presented during a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley in June 2011, where it was shown that the majority of chief investment officers from top asset management firms focused on short-term horizons that are disconnected from the organic process that typically value in businesses (Generation Investment Management LLP, 2012). In addition, former United States of America (USA) Vice-President, Al Gore said that ‘capitalism is coming under increased scrutiny and needs to change as short-term thinking has driven a wedge between investing and the creation of value for corporations’ and capitalism needs to change (Johan Carlstrom, 2013). This problem of short-term capitalism has attracted many institutional bodies such as International Monetary Fund and Harvard Business Review to conduct studies looking at its negative impact. The short-fall of short-term capitalism can be seen and felt most recently by th e financial crisis in 2008 that saw the collapse of major firms such as Lehman Brothers and the lives of many employees and their families destroyed along with the economy (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 2011). In summary, his argument calls for the review of a shift from short-term capitalism towards long-term capitalism in order for capitalism to continue to thrive in this modern age. Assumptions Potential Problems Barton’s main argument of transferring from short-term capitalism to long-term capitalism is problematic for a few reasons. Firstly, he assumes that short-term capitalism always leads to short-term management. Next, he assumes that short-term management is the root problem of short-term capitalism. Conversely, he assumes that long-term capitalism is better than short-term capitalism. However it is not possible to determine the true lasting advantages and disadvantages of long-term capitalism as it may not has not run its full course yet. Disadvantages may not be readily apparent initially and may end up being more potent as they have had more time to fester and snowball. Barton makes a further assumption that all investors are short-term and thus value-orientated which is false because that is a sweeping judgement on a diverse group of investors, of which a notable example to the contrary is Warren Buffet. He also believes that because investors are value-oriented, they are the ones at the root of problem as they pressure the board and management to practise short-term capitalism too. There may be some truth in that value-orientated investors will lead to short-term management this creates a vicious cycle. In theory, the management should be autonomous but in reality their investors usually influence them. A case in point would be that Chief Executives Officers (CEOS) are pressured by their investors to meet quarterly targets for the company’s share price may depreciate if they fail to meet them. CEOs then go to great lengths to achieving them, even if it could damage longer-term health of the business (Tim Koller, Rishi Raj Abhishek Saxena, 2013). As such, in order to avoid a conflict of interest, any board of directors should be fully independent (Lawrence Weber, 2011). This is important as the board would then be able to choose what is best for the corporation and should they choose to practise long-term capitalism, they would need to filter out the growth-orientated investors from the value-orientated investors (Bill George, 2013). Hence, the board decides the type of capitalism they want to undertake and the type of investors they wish to attract. Thus, it is not the investors who determine the corporation’s take on capitalism and should not be where we start from to solve this problem of short-term capitalism as mentioned by Barton. Another assumption that he makes is that ‘short-term capitalism is a tyrant that needs to be rid of for before the social contract between capitalist system and citizenry ruptures.’ The reality is that capitalism is by its very nature is governed by an inanimate non-living economic model and therefore cannot be corrupt. The misuse and abuse of the model by its users is to blame. Clayton Christensen provides an alternative explanation Businesses are created to meet demands and in exchange seek revenue. There are mainly two ways businesses can do that, they can either create empowering innovation which creates value or reinvest capital with capital but does not create any value. Reinvestment is obviously much faster than the creation of empowering innovations and as a result this is the choice of many firms (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), 2013). It is because of this choice, that the flow of value creation is broken (Refer to Appendix A) as reinvestment only serves to stagnate the economy (Clayton Christensen Derek Van Bever, 2014). This flow broke when the professionals in finance started to advise companies on the fastest way possible to maximise profit margins. Hence, it is clear then that short-term capitalism, which was more beneficial than detrimental in the past, was ruined not because of what it is but r ather the people who abused it. Barton’s suggestion for the transformation to long-term capitalism by focusing on long-term results and removing short-term targets makes a grave assumption that is meritocracy can still function in this era of career-minded people. Using his example that financial firms ought to adopt an approach that encourages fund managers using favourable methods in achieving their benchmark targets, meritocracy may be an obstacle because by adopting favourable methods and merely achieving their targets, it will be hard for these career-minded managers to distinguish themselves from the pack (Emilio J. Castilla Stephen Benard, 2010) and thus his suggestion will crumble over time. He also assumed that the reason why CEOs may take up actions that would damage the company’s long-term health in exchange for meeting quarterly targets is because of value-orientated investors. When in fact, the reason may simply be these CEOs are using the company as a stepping-stone to further their car eer advancement. This may then be the better explanation as to why the avenge tenure of CEOs has decreased from 1992 till now (Steven N. Kaplan Bernadette A. Minton, 2008). So then we realise that even by changing from short-term to long-term targets, it may not solve the issue at hand because meritocracy needs to be improved upon. On top of the need to evaluate the relevancy of our current version of meritocracy, another underlying assumption that he made when he said that we should look towards long-term capitalism and to move away from short-term capitalism is actually the relevancy of capitalism in today’s world. Taking into account of all available psychological research Daniel Kahneman, 2011) and living in our technology dependent world, many economic models that are proving to be outdated (Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner, 2005). By this reasoning, capitalism, which is actually governed by the many economic models, may no longer be relevant today and should not be the default model used even though it is widely accepted because it generates capital. However, there are no other appropriate models available, then perhaps modification and adaption of capitalism to keep it relevant in today’s context is the way forward. Further Potential Problems Barton proposed on first focusing on the people who provide capital first as they account for 35% of the world’s financial assets. Aside from the above-mentioned points, he is actually suggesting that these investors should take up a growth-orientated mentality. Realistically speaking, only major investors have the ability to influence the management team’s view on capitalism. It is difficult to convince them as these investors are unlikely to forsake guaranteed instant returns in exchange for less guaranteed future returns even if it may be higher. Investors being rationale beings would seek what is best for them and they may weigh that uncertainty too risky for that slight increase in return. He also suggests that firms should not encourage employees (fund managers) to meet the high benchmark indexes if the employees use favourable methods in achieving those targets. This is a noble proposal but unfortunately would collapse in the working world. The reason would be because firms use benchmarks to evaluate one employee against the other. In addition, favourable methods can easily be facades of unscrupulous methods as employees pit against each other to meet or beat the benchmark indexes. These methods, whether favourable or not, can only be evaluated at a later date. By then, the damage may already be irreversible. The definition of favourable is open to multiple subjective interpretations. This may result in employees may result in employees being unsure of what is allowed and as a result standards may be sub-par or may even result in a uniform standard of work produced, which would result in the failure of the incentivized promotion system. All of this is under the assum ption that everyone has high moral standards. In this era of career-minded people, it is also high unlikely that they will settle to be an average Joe for the sake of long-term capitalism as they will strive to be different by achieving higher benchmark indexes. Conclusion His assumption that there is something wrong with the current system (short-term capitalism) in place now is founded but the methods in which he employs to tackle the problem, in my opinion, are only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Actions need to be taken, but to create a noticeable difference, the actions cannot target certain groups or firms with wrongdoing policies but must target the fundamentals such as the validity of meritocracy and capitalism. We should focus on fixing the fundamentals of meritocracy and adjusting capitalism to make it relevant to today’s context by reviewing the economic models, which they are based upon. Thereafter, then we should heed the Barton’s suggestions on transferring from short-term to long-term capitalism, if capitalism is still deemed to be a relevant economic model for our modern world. Reference: Anne T. Lawrence and James Weber. (2011). Stockholder Rights and Corporate Governnance: Chapter 14 from Business and society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy, 13th Edition Bill George. (2013, December) Bill George on rethinking Capitalism/ Interviewer: Willian George and Rik Kirkland [6:50]. McKinsey Company. Retrieved from  http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/bill_george_on_rethinking_capitalism Castilla, Emilio J., and Stephen Benard. â€Å"The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations.† Administrative Science Quarterly 55 (2010): 543-576.  © 2010 by Johnson Graduate School, Cornell University. Clayton Christensen. (2013, September) The Capitalist’s Dilemma/ Interviewer: Rohan Silva [24:47]. Royal Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.thersa.org/events/video/vision-videos/the-capitalists-dilemma Derek Van Bever and Clayton Christensen. (2014, June). The Capitalist’s Dilemma. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2014/06/the-capitalists-dilemma/ar/1 Generation Investment Management LLP. (2012). Sustainable Capitalism. Johan Carlstrom. (2013, June). Gore Says Capitalism’s Short-Term focus is Hurting Companies. Bloomberg. Retrieved from  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-17/gore-says-capitalism-s-short-term-focus-is-hurting-companies.html Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. (2005). Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. United States of America: HarperCollins. Steven N. Kaplan Bernadette A. Minton. (2008, August). How has CEO Turnover changed. Tim Koller, Rishi Raj and Abhishek Saxena. (2013, January). Avoiding the consensus-earning trap. McKinsey Company. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/corporate_finance/avoiding_the_consensus-earnings_trap United States of America. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. (2011). Final report of the National Comission on the causes and economic crisis in the United States. Daniel Kahneman. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. United States of America: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Appendix A The Economic Engine (Clayton Christensen, 2013)

Communistic Society Essay -- essays research papers

Communistic Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, is credited with establishing and developing the idea of a communist society in response to modern capitalism in the early 1800’s. Communism is the theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all its members. Marx described human history as the attempt to control nature in order to improve the human condition. The party was formed to support and promote the common interests of the proletariat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Communists believed that private property was the root of class struggle. Communists felt that ownership of property and the means of production allowed owners to be oppressive and to control employee wages, product pricing, and lives of the workers. To eliminate this problem, means of production should be government owned. Communists, Marx stated, were to lead society into its new era. Marx stated that following a revolution the proletariat would seize control of both the social and economic world. The distinction between classes would be lessened, and class struggle would cease to exist. Government, social structure, and economic development were three important aspects of Communistic society. Communists believed that the present should dominate the past, contrary to previous modes of thinking under which the past dominated the present. A person’s social standing woul...

Exam Study Guide

Egypt- Ancient Egypt was sustained by a river as well. The Nile river valley was named Kempt â€Å"the black land† because of the rich black soil that was deposited yearly by the Nile floodwater's. The Egyptians were skilled in geometry which was important in measuring out the dimensions of property after the floods had destroyed old reporter lines. Religion was a major role in Egyptian society, so people made sacrifices to the gods in order to protect their families from the river. This Egyptian society is a great example of how the geography of the land can help shape almost every aspect of a society. . How can the Epic of Galoshes help historians better understand Sumerian Sumerian city-state of Rusk in the third millennium BCC and who was probably responsible for constructing the city walls, which archaeologists later determined had a perimeter of almost six miles. We can also look at how the society is described n the epic, and what kind of place, for example, women had i n that society. Pig 17 3. How did Sumerian advances in technology help shape society in the Fertile Crescent? Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent, the arable plain of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.The rivers deposited fertile soil in a rainfall-scant region. Irrigation and technological advances produced food surpluses for population growth. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B. C. E. , mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamia civilization. Pig 9 4. What is the concept of matt and how did it influence Egyptian culture and society? Matt concept- truth, balance, order, law morality and Justice; Mat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with different interests.The significance of Mat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly m ovements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty and truthfulness in social interactions. 5. Compare writing systems of Mesopotamia and the Phoenicians. What are the advantages of each? Why are the systems so different? Mesopotamia Writing Systems- the Sumerians used a cuneiform; these tablets provided a valuable source of information of modern scholars.Phoenicians Writing Systems- it contained thousands of characters each, meaning that it was much easier to learn a very much smaller writing system that encoded the limited number of distinct sounds (phonemes) in a language instead of trying to encode separately all the ideas that the language could express. 6. Describe and explain the differences in the Egyptian and Mesopotamia views of he afterlife. What primary sources can be used as evidence to help answer this question? Mesopotamia afterlife- There is no resurrection.Egyptian afterlife- Mummification, which, the dead need their bodies in the afterlife. Pictures. 7. Wh y do the Phoenicians develop a simple writing system (alphabet)? It is much easier to learn and understand. 8. How might a simple writing system like the alphabet developed by the Phoenicians affect a society? It affects the culture, religion, and writing. 9. How does the religion of the Hebrews differ from most other religions of the ancient world? Use the Book of Exodus excerpt we have in our book as evidence for religions, sharing a covenant with one merciful God.There is no direct punishment. There is a code of ethics which is the Ten Commandments. 10. What are the advantages of monotheism as illustrated through the experiments of Generation in Egypt and the Hebrew nation? What are the disadvantages? Advantages of monotheism of Generation- Sharing a covenant with only one God. Disadvantages of Monotheism of Generation- There are three, which are, impersonal, priests are now unemployed, and there is a new capital and monuments, which, drains resources. Exam Study Guide The body which provides research support and bill-drafting assistance to legislators is the Legislative Council. District lines for the Texas legislature are drawn by the Texas Legislature. The authority to investigate and punish violations of Texas ethics laws is granted to the Texas ethics commission To understand the operations the Texas legislature, one must understand the power of the Correct Answer: c. lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house. The Texas body that periodically evaluates state agencies and makes recommendations as to restructuring or abolishing such agencies is the Correct Answer: b.Sunset Advisory Commission. The Texas senate has how many members? Correct Answer: c. 31 A committee action that tables legislation, effectively killing it, is called Correct Answer: b. pigeonholing. A rule in the Texas senate which allows a senator to halt consideration of a bill for forty-eight hours is called Correct Answer: d. tagging. In the Texas senate, a bill placed on the calendar solely to assure a two-thirds vote on legislation is called a Correct Answer: a. blocking bill. The Texas legislature may override a governor’s veto by a Correct Answer: c. two-thirds vote of both houses.The political power of the Texas Lieutenant governor is largely based on Correct Answer: c. the rules of the Texas Senate. The Texas legislature has historically been organized on the basis of Correct Answer: b. conservative ideology. A procedure whereby a bill can be forced out of committee for consideration by the chamber as a whole is called Correct Answer: c. a discharge petition. The governor’s legislative power stems from all the following except his Correct Answer: a. authority to appoint committee chairs. When the senate forms itself into a committee of the whole, Correct Answer: d. simple majority is required to consider legislation. The Texas house committee which controls the budget requests of all other committees is the Correct Answer: c. App ropriations Committee. In Texas, the body responsible for reviewing the expenditures of state agencies is the Correct Answer: a. Legislative Audit Committee. A committee appointed to resolve differences between the house and senate versions of a bill is known as a Correct Answer: d. conference committee. In practice, bills are taken off the Texas senate’s calendar for immediate consideration through a Correct Answer: a. suspension of the rules.Being a member of a board by virtue of holding another office is called Correct Answer: b. ex officio. A formal question to the chair regarding parliamentary procedure is known as a Correct Answer: c. point of order. Formal qualifications for membership in the Texas senate would not include Correct Answer: d. being at least 18 years of age. The selection of committee chairs in the Texas legislature is made on the basis of a Correct Answer: d. presiding officer appointment. The office responsible for giving opinions of law to state agenc ies is that of the Correct Answer: b. attorney general.The governor’s budget proposals are not as influential as those of the Correct Answer: d. Legislative Budget Board. Which of the following is an example of an ex officio board? Correct Answer: d. Texas Bond Review Board A mainly symbolic role of the Texas governor is that of Correct Answer: d. chief of state. If the Texas National Guard is called to active duty, a back up organization is the Correct Answer: c. Texas State Guard. The governor’s important bargaining tools are mainly Correct Answer: d. legislative. A role of the Texas governor not based on the constitution is that of Correct Answer: c. hief of party. The official who certifies the amount of income available for Texas’s biennial budget is the Correct Answer: d. Comptroller of Public Accounts. The individual responsible for administering the state tax system is the Correct Answer: c. Comptroller of Public Accounts. The â€Å"Iron Texas Star† consists of all the following except Correct Answer: b. the Texas electorate (voters). A formal role of the Texas governor based on the constitution is that of Correct Answer: d. commander-in-chief. The lieutenant governor of Texas is an ex officio member of all except the Correct Answer: b.Board of Pardons and Paroles. If the governor of Texas is removed from office before the end of his or her term, Correct Answer: c. the lieutenant governor succeeds. The annual salary of the governor of Texas is approximately $150,000 The attorney general of Texas is not required to Correct Answer: b. follow directives of the governor. Texas riverbeds, tidelands, bays and inlets are overseen by the Correct Answer: b. Commissioner of the General Land Office. An official who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies is called Correct Answer: b. an ombudsperson.The governor of Texas can be removed from office before the end of his or her term on ly by Correct Answer: d. Impeachment. Which of the following officials is appointed by the Texas governor? Correct Answer: c. Adjutant general, Texas National Guard The governor’s tools to influence the legislature include all the following except the Correct Answer: b. appointment of committee chairs. Which is probably the least significant informal qualification for Texas governor? Correct Answer: a. Age Which of the following is an appointed Texas executive position? Correct Answer: a. Commissioner, Health and Human Services Exam Study Guide Egypt- Ancient Egypt was sustained by a river as well. The Nile river valley was named Kempt â€Å"the black land† because of the rich black soil that was deposited yearly by the Nile floodwater's. The Egyptians were skilled in geometry which was important in measuring out the dimensions of property after the floods had destroyed old reporter lines. Religion was a major role in Egyptian society, so people made sacrifices to the gods in order to protect their families from the river. This Egyptian society is a great example of how the geography of the land can help shape almost every aspect of a society. . How can the Epic of Galoshes help historians better understand Sumerian Sumerian city-state of Rusk in the third millennium BCC and who was probably responsible for constructing the city walls, which archaeologists later determined had a perimeter of almost six miles. We can also look at how the society is described n the epic, and what kind of place, for example, women had i n that society. Pig 17 3. How did Sumerian advances in technology help shape society in the Fertile Crescent? Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent, the arable plain of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.The rivers deposited fertile soil in a rainfall-scant region. Irrigation and technological advances produced food surpluses for population growth. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B. C. E. , mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamia civilization. Pig 9 4. What is the concept of matt and how did it influence Egyptian culture and society? Matt concept- truth, balance, order, law morality and Justice; Mat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with different interests.The significance of Mat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly m ovements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty and truthfulness in social interactions. 5. Compare writing systems of Mesopotamia and the Phoenicians. What are the advantages of each? Why are the systems so different? Mesopotamia Writing Systems- the Sumerians used a cuneiform; these tablets provided a valuable source of information of modern scholars.Phoenicians Writing Systems- it contained thousands of characters each, meaning that it was much easier to learn a very much smaller writing system that encoded the limited number of distinct sounds (phonemes) in a language instead of trying to encode separately all the ideas that the language could express. 6. Describe and explain the differences in the Egyptian and Mesopotamia views of he afterlife. What primary sources can be used as evidence to help answer this question? Mesopotamia afterlife- There is no resurrection.Egyptian afterlife- Mummification, which, the dead need their bodies in the afterlife. Pictures. 7. Wh y do the Phoenicians develop a simple writing system (alphabet)? It is much easier to learn and understand. 8. How might a simple writing system like the alphabet developed by the Phoenicians affect a society? It affects the culture, religion, and writing. 9. How does the religion of the Hebrews differ from most other religions of the ancient world? Use the Book of Exodus excerpt we have in our book as evidence for religions, sharing a covenant with one merciful God.There is no direct punishment. There is a code of ethics which is the Ten Commandments. 10. What are the advantages of monotheism as illustrated through the experiments of Generation in Egypt and the Hebrew nation? What are the disadvantages? Advantages of monotheism of Generation- Sharing a covenant with only one God. Disadvantages of Monotheism of Generation- There are three, which are, impersonal, priests are now unemployed, and there is a new capital and monuments, which, drains resources.

Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice

â€Å"Tacit Knowledge† versus â€Å"Explicit Knowledge† Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice by Ron Sanchez Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School and Linden Visiting Professor for Industrial Analysis, Lund University Contact information: Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy Solbjergvej 3 – 3rd floor DK 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark email: [email  protected] dk Abstract This paper explains two fundamental approaches to knowledge management.The tacit knowledge approach emphasizes understanding the kinds of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization, and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. By contrast, the explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminat e articulated knowledge within an organization.The relative advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to knowledge management are summarized. A synthesis of tacit and knowledge management approaches is recommended to create a hybrid design for the knowledge management practices in a given organization. JEL code: Moo 1 Introduction Managers concerned with implementing knowledge management in their organizations today face a number of challenges in developing sound methods for this still emerging area of management practice.Both the growing literature on knowledge management and the advice offered by various knowledge management consultants, however, seem to advocate forms of knowledge management practice that often appear incomplete, inconsistent, and even contradictory. This paper suggests that the current lack of coherence in the diverse recommendations for knowledge management practice results from the fact that the development of both theory and practice in this emerging fi eld is being driven by two fundamentally different approaches to identifying and managing knowledge in organizations.These two approaches are characterized here as the â€Å"tacit knowledge† approach and the â€Å"explicit knowledge† approach. This paper first clarifies how these two fundamental approaches differ in both their philosophical premises and derived recommendations for practice, and it summarizes the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the two approaches in practice. We then suggest that sound knowledge management practice requires a creative synthesis of the two approaches that enables the strengths of one approach to offset the inherent limitations of the other approach, and vice versa. . Tacit Knowledge versus Explicit Knowledge Approaches Even a casual review of the many articles and consulting recommendations on knowledge management practice today soon reveals a plethora of recommended processes and techniques. Unfortunately — especially fo r the many managers looking to researchers and consultants for insights to guide development of sound knowledge 2 management practices — many of these recommendations seem unconnected to each other, and in the worst cases many seem to be quite at odds with each other.Close analysis of these recommendations, however, usually reveals that the many ideas for practice being advanced today can be grouped into one of two fundamentally different views of knowledge itself and of the resulting possibilities for managing knowledge in organizations. These two views are characterized here as the â€Å"tacit knowledge† approach and the â€Å"explicit knowledge† approach. Let us consider the basic premises and the possibilities for knowledge management practice implied by each of these two views (see Table 1 for a summary of the differences in the two approaches).The Tacit Knowledge Approach The salient characteristic of the tacit knowledge approach is the basic belief that k nowledge is essentially personal in nature and is therefore difficult to extract from the heads of individuals. In effect, this approach to knowledge management assumes, often implicitly, that the knowledge in and available to an organization will largely consist of tacit knowledge that remains in the heads of individuals in the organization. 1Working from the premise that knowledge is inherently personal and will largely remain tacit, the tacit knowledge approach typically holds that the dissemination of knowledge in an organization can best be accomplished by the transfer of people as â€Å"knowledge carriers† from one part of an organization to another. Further, this view believes that learning in an organization occurs when individuals come together under circumstances that encourage them to share their ideas and (hopefully) to develop new insights together that will lead to the creation of new knowledge.Recommendations for knowledge management practice proffered by resea rchers and consultants working within the tacit knowledge approach naturally tend to focus 1 Some writers and consultants have even gone so far as to argue that all knowledge is tacit in nature. The irony in trying to communicate to others the â€Å"knowledge† that all knowledge is tacit, however, should be obvious. 3 on managing people as individual carriers of knowledge.To make wider use of the tacit knowledge of individuals, managers are urged to identify the knowledge possessed by various individuals in an organization and then to arrange the kinds of interactions between knowledgeable individuals that will help the organization perform its current tasks, transfer knowledge from one part of the organization to another, and/or create new knowledge that may be useful to the organization. Let us consider some examples of current practice in each of these activities that are typical of the tacit knowledge approach.Most managers of organizations today do not know what specific kinds of knowledge the individuals in their organization know. This common state of affairs is reflected in the lament usually attributed to executives of Hewlett-Packard in the 1980s: â€Å"If we only knew what we know, we could conquer the world. † As firms become larger, more knowledge intensive, and more globally dispersed, the need for their managers to â€Å"know what we know† is becoming acute.Thus, a common initiative within the tacit knowledge approach is usually some effort to improve understanding of who knows about what in an organization — an effort that is sometimes described as an effort to create â€Å"know who† forms of knowledge. 2 An example of such an effort is the creation within Philips, the global electronics company, of a â€Å"yellow pages† listing experts with different kinds of knowledge within Philips’ many business units.Today on the Philips intranet one can type in the key words for a specific knowledge domain — say, for example, knowledge about the design of optical pickup units for CD/DVD players and recorders — and the yellow pages will retrieve a listing of the people within Philips worldwide who have stated that they have such knowledge. Contact information is also provided for each person listed, so that anyone in Philips who wants to know more about that kind of knowledge can get in touch with listed individuals. 2Know-how, know-why, and know-what forms of knowledge can also be described (see Sanchez 1997). 4 An example of the tacit knowledge approach to transferring knowledge within a global organization is provided by Toyota. When Toyota wants to transfer knowledge of its production system to new employees in a new assembly factory, such as the factory recently opened in Valenciennes, France, Toyota typically selects a core group of two to three hundred new employees and sends them for several months training and work on the assembly line in one of Toyota’s e xisting factories.After several months of studying the production system and working alongside experienced Toyota assembly line workers, the new workers are sent back to the new factory site. These repatriated workers are accompanied by one or two hundred long-term, highly experienced Toyota workers, who will then work alongside all the new employees in the new factory to assure that knowledge of Toyota’s finely tuned production process is fully implanted in the new factory. Toyota’s use of Quality Circles also provides an example of the tacit knowledge approach to creating new knowledge.At the end of each work week, groups of Toyota production workers spend one to two hours analyzing the performance of their part of the production system to identify actual or potential problems in quality or productivity. Each group proposes â€Å"countermeasures† to correct identified problems, and discusses the results of countermeasures taken during the week to address probl ems identified the week before. Through personal interactions in such Quality Circle group settings, Toyota employees share their ideas for improvement, devise steps to test new ideas for improvement, and assess the results of their tests.This knowledge management practice, which is repeated weekly as an integral part of the Toyota production system, progressively identifies, eliminates, and even prevents errors. As improvements developed by Quality Circles are accumulated over many years, Toyota’s production system has become one of the highest quality production processes in the world (Spear and Bowen 1999). 5 The Explicit Knowledge Approach In contrast to the views held by the tacit knowledge approach, the explicit knowledge approach holds that knowledge is something that can be explained y individuals — even though some effort and even some forms of assistance may sometimes be required to help individuals articulate what they know. As a result, the explicit knowled ge approach assumes that the useful knowledge of individuals in an organization can be articulated and made explicit. Working from the premise that important forms of knowledge can be made explicit, the explicit knowledge approach also believes that formal organizational processes can be used to help individuals articulate the knowledge they have to create knowledge assets.The explicit knowledge approach also believes that explicit knowledge assets can then be disseminated within an organization through documents, drawings, standard operating procedures, manuals of best practice, and the like. Information systems are usually seen as playing a central role in facilitating the dissemination of explicit knowledge assets over company intranets or between organizations via the internet. Usually accompanying the views that knowledge can be made explicit and managed explicitly is the belief that new knowledge can be created through a structured, managed, scientific learning process.Experim ents and other forms of structured learning processes can be designed to remedy important knowledge deficiencies, or market transactions or strategic partnering may be used to obtain specific forms of needed knowledge or to improve an organization’s existing knowledge assets. The recommendations for knowledge management practice usually proposed by researchers and consultants working within the explicit knowledge approach focus on initiating and sustaining organizational processes for generating, articulating, categorizing, and systematically leveraging explicit knowledge assets. Some examples of knowledge management practice in this mode help to illustrate this approach. In the 1990s, Motorola was the global leader in the market for pagers. To maintain this leadership position, Motorola introduced new generations of pager designs every 12-15 months. Each new pager generation was designed to offer more advanced features and options for customization than the preceding generat ion. In addition, a new factory with higher-speed, more flexible assembly lines was designed and built to produce each new generation of pager. To sustain this high rate of product and process development, Motorola formed teams of product and factory designers to design each new generation of pager and factory. At the beginning of their project, each new team of designers received a manual of design methods and techniques from the team that had developed the previous generation of pager and factory.The new team would then have three deliverables at the end of their project: (i) an improved and more configurable next-generation pager design, (ii) the design of a more efficient and flexible assembly line for the factory that would produce the new pager, and (iii) an improved design manual that incorporated the design knowledge provided to the team in the manual it received — plus the new and improved design methods that the team had developed to meet the product and production goals for its project.This manual would then be passed on to the next design team given the task of developing the next generation of pager and its factory. In this way, Motorola sought to make explicit and capture the knowledge developed by its engineers during each project and to systematically leverage that knowledge in launching the work of the next project team. In addition to its tacit knowledge management practice of moving new employees around to transfer knowledge of its production system, Toyota also follows a highly Using modular product architectures to create increasingly configurable product designs, Motorola was able to increase the number of customizable product variations it could offer from a few thousand variations in the late 1980s to more than 120 million variations by the late 1990s. 7 disciplined explicit knowledge management practice of documenting the tasks that each team of workers and each individual worker is asked to perform on its assembly lines.These d ocuments provide a detailed description of how each task is to be performed, how long each task should take, the sequence of steps to be followed in performing each task, and the steps to be taken by each worker in checking his or her own work (Spear and Bowen 1999). When improvements are suggested by solving problems on the assembly line as they occur or in the weekly Quality Circle meetings of Toyota’s teams of assembly line workers, those suggestions are evaluated by Toyota’s production engineers and then formally incorporated in revised task description documents.In addition to developing well-defined and documented process descriptions for routine, repetitive production tasks, some organizations have also created explicit knowledge management approaches to supporting more creative tasks like developing new products. In the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, for example, several â€Å"platform teams† of 300-600 development engineers have responsib ility for creating the next generation platforms4 on which Chrysler’s future automobiles will be based.Each platform team is free to actively explore and evaluate alternative design solutions for the many different technical aspects of their vehicle platform. However, each platform team is also required to place the design solution it has selected for each aspect of their vehicle platform in a â€Å"Book of Knowledge† on Chrysler’s intranet. This catalog of developed design solutions is then made available to all platform teams to consult in their development processes, so that good design solutions developed by one platform team can also be located and used by other platform teams.Other firms have taken this explicit knowledge management approach to managing knowledge in product development processes even further. For example, GE 4 A platform includes a system of standard component types and standardized interfaces between component types that enable â€Å"plu gging and playing† different component variations in the platform design to configure different product variations (see Sanchez 2004). 8 Fanuc Automation, one of the world’s leading industrial automation firms, develops design methodologies that are applied in the design of new kinds of components for their factory automation systems.In effect, instead of leaving it up to each engineer in the firm to devise a design solution for each new component needed, GE Fanuc’s engineers work together to create detailed design methodologies for each type of component the firm uses. These design methodologies are then encoded in software and computerized so that the design of new component variations can be automated. Desired performance parameters for each new component variation are entered into the automated design program, and GE Fanuc’s computer system automatically generates a design solution for the component.In this way, GE Fanuc tries to make explicit and capt ure the design knowledge of its engineers and then to systematically re-use that knowledge by automating most new component design tasks. 9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Approaches Like most alternative approaches to managing, each of the two knowledge management approaches we have discussed has both advantages and disadvantages.We now briefly summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches (these are also summarized in Table 2). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Tacit Knowledge Approach One of the main advantages of the tacit knowledge approach is that it is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to begin managing knowledge. The essential first step is a relatively simple one — identify what each individual in the organization believes is the specific kinds of knowledge he or she possesses.Managers can then use this knowledge to assign individuals to key tasks or to compose teams with appropriate sets of knowledge to c arry out a project, to improve performance in current processes, or to try to create new knowledge in the organization. As Philips did with its intranetbased â€Å"yellow pages,† managers may also elect to create an open database listing the knowledge claimed by individuals in the organization to facilitate knowledge sharing between individuals.A tacit knowledge approach may also lead to improvements in employee satisfaction and motivation when an organization â€Å"officially† recognizes and makes visible in the organization the kinds of knowledge that individual workers claim to have. In addition, the tacit knowledge approach is likely to avoid some of the practical and motivational difficulties that may be encountered in trying to secure the cooperation of individuals in making their knowledge explicit (discussed under the explicit knowledge approach below). 10A further advantage often claimed for tacit knowledge management approaches derives from the view that maki ng knowledge explicit increases the risk that knowledge will be â€Å"leaked† from an organization, so that leaving knowledge in tacit form also helps to protect a firm’s proprietary knowledge from diffusing to competing organizations. (The potential disadvantages of leaving knowledge in tacit form are summarized below. ) Although relatively easy to begin, the tacit knowledge approach also has some important long-term limitations and disadvantages.One disadvantage in the tacit knowledge approach is that individuals in an organization may claim to have knowledge that they do not actually have or may claim to be more knowledgeable than they really are (Stein and Ridderstrale 2001). The knowledge that various individuals have is likely to evolve over time and may require frequent updating to correctly communicate the type of knowledge each individual in the organization claims to have now.In addition, if knowledge only remains tacit in the heads of individuals in an organ ization, then the only way to move knowledge within the organization is to move people. Moving people is often costly and time-consuming and may be resisted by individuals who fear disruptions of their careers or family life. Even when knowledgeable individuals are willing to be moved, an individual can only be in one place at a time and can only work so many hours per day and days per week, thereby limiting the reach and the speed of the organization in transferring an individual’s knowledge.Moreover, sometimes transferred individuals may not be accepted by other groups in the organization or may otherwise fail to establish good rapport with other individuals, and the desired knowledge transfer may not take place or may occur only partially. Most seriously, leaving knowledge tacit in the heads of key individuals creates a risk that the organization may lose that knowledge if any of those individuals becomes 11 incapacitated , leaves the organization, or — in the worst case — is recruited by competitors. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Explicit Knowledge Approach In general, the advantages and disadvantages of the explicit knowledge approach constitute an inverted â€Å"mirror image† of the advantages and disadvantages of the tacit knowledge approach. Whereas the tacit knowledge approach is relatively easy to start and use, but has important limitations in the benefits it can bring, the explicit knowledge approach is much more challenging to start, but offers greater potential benefits in the long term.Let us first consider the long-term advantages of the explicit knowledge management approach, and then the challenges that have to be overcome to start and sustain this approach in an organization. Perhaps the main advantage of the explicit knowledge approach is that once an individual articulates his or her knowledge in a document, drawing, process description, or other form of explicit knowledge asset, it should be possible thro ugh use of information systems to quickly disseminate that knowledge throughout an organization or indeed anywhere in the world.In effect, converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge creates an asset that is available 24/7 and is free from the limitations of time and space that constrain the dissemination of tacit knowledge by moving individuals. Moreover, knowledge that has been made explicit within an organization can often be more carefully codified and more effectively leveraged than tacit knowledge assets. To codify some forms of knowledge is to categorize and order the knowledge so that important interrelationships between different kinds of knowledge within the firm can 5Of course, under patent, copyright, or trade secrecy laws, an organization may have intellectual property rights in the tacit knowledge developed by individuals in the organization, and these rights may discourage — though not entirely prevent — individuals from sharing such knowledge wit h other organizations. 12 be identified. For example, forms of knowledge that are related by sharing a similar theoretical or practical knowledge base can be identified, as can forms of (complementary) knowledge that are interrelated by being used together in an organization’s processes.Once the various forms of explicit knowledge in an organization are codified in this way, knowledge created in one part of an organization can be proactively leveraged through information systems to people and groups elsewhere in the organization that can benefit from having that knowledge. Moreover, by disseminating some instance of explicit knowledge to other individuals who have expertise in that knowledge domain, the explicit knowledge can be discussed, debated, tested further, and improved, thereby stimulating important â€Å"incremental† forms of organizational learning processes.Such processes also help to identify which individuals in the organization are actually capable of mak ing significant contributions to the organization’s knowledge base, and which are not. An important further advantage of systematically articulating and codifying an organization’s knowledge is that this process makes an organization’s current knowledge base more visible and analyzable, and this helps an organization to discover deficiencies in its knowledge assets.In effect, by making an organization’s current knowledge base more visible, so that the organization can begin to see more clearly what knowledge it does have, it should be possible for an organization to begin to see more clearly what knowledge it does not have. Focused, structured, managed learning processes to remedy important knowledge deficiencies can then be launched and may lead to more â€Å"radical† forms of organizational learning.Once an organization establishes processes for articulating, codifying, and leveraging explicit knowledge assets, the systematic dissemination of exp licit knowledge within the organization should minimize the risk that it will lose vital knowledge if key individuals become unavailable or leave the organization. 13 To obtain the potentially significant benefits of an explicit knowledge management approach, however, a number of organizational challenges must be overcome. These challenges arise primarily in assuring adequate articulation, evaluation, application, and protection of knowledge assets.Individuals may not have sufficient skill or motivation to articulate their useful knowledge. Individuals vary greatly in the precision with which they can state their ideas, and some individuals — perhaps many — may need organizational support to adequately articulate their knowledge into useful knowledge assets. 6 Providing organizational support to individuals to articulate their knowledge may have a significant financial cost and inevitably takes time. An even more fundamental challenge arises when an individual is capab le of articulating his or her knowledge, but resists requests by the organization to do so.At the heart of such resistance is usually a belief that an individual’s job security or position of influence in an organization depends on the tacit knowledge that he or she has and that the organization needs. Such beliefs result in fear that full revelation of an individual’s important knowledge would be followed by dismissal or loss of influence in an organization, because — presumably — the individual would no longer be as necessary or important to the organization. Overcoming such fears is likely to require a profound rethinking of the employment relationship in many organizations, especially with regard to key knowledge workers.New employment norms may have to be defined and institutionalized that both seek and reward ongoing learning by individuals and their continuing contributions of explicit knowledge to the organization. 7 6 Of course, the more knowledg e-intensive an organization’s work is, and the more an organization is populated by â€Å"knowledge workers† with advanced education and training in formally communicating their ideas, the less difficult the articulation of explicit knowledge within the organization should be. Further, not all knowledge of individuals will necessarily be worth more to the organization than it may cost the organization to help or to reward individuals who try to articulate their knowledge. Essentially, managers must try to understand when the marginal cost of articulating knowledge is becoming greater than the marginal benefit of 14 Organizations must also meet the challenge of adequately evaluating knowledge that has been made explicit by individuals.Individuals with different backgrounds, education, and organizational roles may have varying sets of knowledge, with resulting differences in their deeply held ideas about the most effective way to get something done. Such differences will be revealed in the process of making their ideas and knowledge explicit, and managers implementing explicit knowledge approaches must establish a process for evaluating the individual knowledge that has been made explicit and for resolving conflicting knowledge beliefs of individuals.Organizations with experience in managing this process have found that the people involved in such evaluation processes must be respected within the organization for their expertise, objectivity, and impartiality. In most organizations, the time of such people is usually both very valuable and in short supply, and involving such people in evaluating explicit knowledge in many forms may impose a significant cost on the organization (although the resulting benefits may far outweigh the costs).Since knowledge is useful to an organization only when it is applied in action, a further challenge in implementing explicit knowledge management approaches is assuring that knowledge articulated in one part of the organization is not rejected or ignored by other parts of the organization simply because they prefer to stay close to their own familiar knowledge base — i. e. , because of an intra-organizational â€Å"not invented here† syndrome. One approach to managing this concern is the implementation of organizational â€Å"best knowledge† and â€Å"best practice† practices.In this practice, the committee of experts responsible for a knowledge evaluation process (discussed above) examines both the theoretical knowledge and practical applications of knowledge articulated within the organization, and defines the â€Å"best extracting the next bit of knowledge from an individual. Since no one currently knows exactly how to make such a cost-benefit analysis at the margin, as a practical matter organizations that implement the explicit knowledge approach do not strictly try to optimize this process and tend to prefer to â€Å"err† on the side of articulating mo re -rather than less — knowledge. 5 knowledge† and â€Å"best practice† in applying that knowledge currently available within the organization. The various groups within the organization to whom this knowledge or practice applies are then required either to adopt and use the currently defined â€Å"best knowledge† and â€Å"best practice,† or to demonstrate convincingly to the committee of experts that they have developed better knowledge or better practice in applying knowledge.If a group persuades the expert committee that their knowledge or practice is better than the currently defined â€Å"best knowledge† or â€Å"best practice† in the organization, the expert committee then modifies the current â€Å"best knowledge† or â€Å"best practice† for the organization in light of the new knowledge they have received from the group. Implementing such a rocess for assuring that an organization’s best knowledge and prac tice are actually used requires a high degree of organizational discipline in adhering to the organization’s current best knowledge and best practice, and such discipline will normally require building a high degree of organizational trust that the process of the expert committee for deciding best knowledge and best practice is objective, impartial, and transparent. Finally, an organization that creates explicit knowledge assets must take care that those assets remain within the boundaries of the organization and do not â€Å"leak† to other organizations, especially competitors.Security measures of the type most organizations now routinely use to protect their databases must be extended to provide security for the organization’s explicit knowledge base. 16 Conclusions As described above, the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches involve quite different emphases and practices, and one might naturally be led to ask, â€Å"Which approach is right? â⠂¬  As with most alternative approaches to management issues, however, the answer is â€Å"Both are right — but in the right combination. As the discussion in this chapter has suggested, there are important advantages to be obtained through both the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches, and in many respects, the advantages of each approach can be used to help offset the disadvantages of the other. In any organization, therefore, the goal is to create a hybrid design for its knowledge management practice that synthesizes the â€Å"right† combination and balance of the tacit and explicit knowledge management approaches.What the â€Å"right† combination and balance may consist of will vary with a number of factors — the technology the organization uses or could use, the market conditions it faces, the â€Å"knowledge intensity† of its strategies and operations, the current attitudes of its key knowledge workers toward the organization, the degree of geographical dispersion of its knowledge workers, the resources available to the organization to invest in developing infrastructure and processes for its knowledge management practice, and so on.However, some basic guidelines may be suggested. Organizations that have not implemented systematic knowledge management approaches should in most cases begin with tacit knowledge management practices of the type discussed in this chapter. Such practices are relatively inexpensive, fast to implement, and less challenging organizationally than full-blown explicit knowledge management practices, and they often create surprising organizational interest in and energy for developing more extensive knowledge management practices.In any event, implementation of tacit knowledge management practices should be seen and communicated within the organization as only the first step in an evolving management 17 process that will eventually include more formal and systematic explicit knowled ge management practices. Achieving some initial organizational successes through use of tacit knowledge practices also helps to build confidence that the much greater organizational demands involved in implementing explicit knowledge management practices will be worth the effort.We have discussed here a number of reasons why in the long run organizations that manage to implement effective explicit knowledge approaches not only will be more effective at leveraging their knowledge, but will also become better learning organizations. When the respective advantages of tacit and explicit knowledge management practices can be combined, an organization should be able to develop and apply new knowledge faster and more extensively than organizations that do not try to manage knowledge or that use only tacit or only explicit knowledge management practices.Thus, the eventual goal for most organizations will be to devise and implement hybrid knowledge management practices in which explicit know ledge management practices complement and significantly extend their initial tacit knowledge practices. 18 References Sanchez, Ron (2004). â€Å"Creating modular platforms for strategic flexibility,† Design Management Review, Winter 2004, 58-67. Sanchez, Ron (2001). â€Å"Managing knowledge into competences: The five learning cycles of the competent organization,† 3-37 in Knowledge Management and Organizational Competence, Ron Sanchez, editor, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Sanchez, Ron (1997). â€Å"Managing articulated knowledge in competence-based competition,† 163-187 in Strategic Learning and Knowledge Management, Ron Sanchez and Aime Heene, editors, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Spear, Steven, and H. Kent Bowen (1999). â€Å"Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System,† Harvard Business Review, September-October 1999, 97-106. Stein, Johan, and Jonas Ridderstrale (2001). â€Å"Managing the dissemination of competences,† 63-76 in Knowled ge Management and Organizational Competence, Ron Sanchez, editor, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 19 Table 1Basic Beliefs in Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Management Approaches Tacit Knowledge Approach Explicit Knowledge Approach Knowledge is personal in nature and very difficult to extract from people. Knowledge can be articulated and codified to create explicit knowledge assets. Knowledge must be transferred by moving people within or between organizations. Knowledge can be disseminated (using information technologies) in the form of documents, drawings, best practices, etc. Learning must be encouraged by bringing the right people together under the right circumstances.Learning can be designed to remedy knowledge deficiencies through structured, managed, scientific processes. 20 Table 2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Tacit versus Explicit Knowledge Management Approaches Tacit Knowledge Approach Explicit Knowledge Approach Advantages: Advantages: Relatively easy and inexpensive to begin. Articulated knowledge (explicit knowledge assets) may be moved instantaneously anytime anywhere by information technologies. Employees may respond well to recognition of the (claimed) knowledge. Likely to create interest in further knowledge anagement processes. Important knowledge kept in tacit form may be less likely to â€Å"leak† to competitors. Codified knowledge may be proactively disseminated to people who can use specific forms of knowledge. Knowledge that has been made explicit can be discussed, debated, and improved. Making knowledge explicit makes it possible to discover knowledge deficiencies in the organization. Disadvantages: Disadvantages: Individuals may not have the knowledge they claim to have. Considerable time and effort may be required to help people articulate their knowledge.Knowledge profiles of individuals need frequent updating. Ability to transfer knowledge constrained to moving people, which is costly and limits the reach and speed of kn owledge dissemination within the organization. Organization may lose key knowledge if key people leave the organization. Employment relationship with key knowledge workers may have to be redefined to motivate knowledge articulation. Expert committees must be formed to evaluate explicit knowledge assets. Application of explicit knowledge throughout organization must be assured by adoption of best practices. 21 22

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Philosophy of Science and Religion - Essay Example Hume has presented three characters that he has given different positions to represent on the issue. The three characters are in a conversational dialogue. Demea is given the responsibility to argue for religious Orthodoxy. He reasons that there is no way an individual can come to understand God’s nature through reason. He vehemently believes that no one can ever know God’s nature at all cost since God’s nature is characteristically beyond the comprehension of human beings. Philo, a philosophical skeptic concurs with Demea in his reasoning that God cannot be comprehended by human beings. However, he goes ahead to give convincing opinions for his position. Cleanthes on the other hand argue according to empirical theism- the notion that individuals can understand about God through reasoning from all the evidence that has been presented by nature (Hume 80). He argues against Demea and Philo. His empirical theism belief is based on the design argument which states th at the beauty and complexity of the universe can be explained only by speculating the existence of one intelligent designer, who in this case is God. In part XII of the dialogues, Philo and Cleanthes are alone. Philo makes use of this opportunity to make a revelation of what he truly thinks, regarding the entire discussion. Surprisingly, he confesses that he believes in the existence of the design argument. He argues that it is not possible to disregard the fact that all creatures in nature have a purpose they are to serve, nothing was created in vain and that everything is being done in the best and comprehensible manner possible (Hume 82). He implies that all the above tenets guide everyone’s scientific reasoning, and they point out to the conclusion that an author of the order exists. He also argues that theists believe that both God and human beings both have brains; however, God’s mind

Investment in Education in United Arab Emirates Research Paper

Investment in Education in United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example As for some more practical applications of investment in education, it would be profitable in terms of increase of professionals’ rates in UAE. The development of education multiplies professional opportunities for young people and helps them to become specialists in what they want to do. This means that when young people understand that all the spheres of studying are developed enough and could provide them with educational opportunities and career perspectives, they do not even consider other countries as their educational options. In addition, investment in education keeps labor rates in stable positions (Jorgenson &Fraumeni 1989). The phenomenon of brain drain often happens because young people do not see any educational perspectives for further staying in their own country, so they move to another country in order to get a better education in their chosen realm. Then they become professionals in what they do and get hired on some well-paid positions in foreign countries, so they decide not to come back. I believe this problem also exist in UAE because many talented young people move to other countries, which would not be happening if UAE education had a better financial support. If UAE education receives more funds and starts developing rapidly, the country will attract many young people from every part of the world who would be glad to obtain a high-quality education in UAE. This would be profitable for both the country’s international image and an increase of intellectual and professional cadres.

Spotify Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Spotify - Essay Example The strategic framework of SpotifyTM will help to implement technology to sustain competitive advantage in terms of cost and efficiency. Formulating other forms of strategies such as e-marketing, CRM, or SCM as part of organisation’s strategy helps a company to mange and utilise their resources optimally. Introduction SpotifyTM provides cloud based music streaming service delivered via internet mobile phones. Through cloud computing it offers subscribers access to its vast database of music. To maintain such large database the company would require effective managing of its information system. The information system is not isolated and constitutes interaction between hardware, software, data, people, and telecommunication. These components of an information system are built to create, assemble, and distribute important data and information to people across the globe (Lucey, 2004, p.31). From the information system hierarchy model it can be said that the strategic development i s a top down approach and it flows downwards from the top level management of organisation. The information system connects the top level management with people and process (Doyle, 2001, pp.2-14). ... he business strategy of SpotifyTM is to adapt to new technology of cloud computing and generate revenues through cloud based business model which will allow subscribers unlimited access to music database at least cost and shortest time. Using the five forces model, the relative attractiveness of cloud based technology industry can be analysed as follows: Threat of New Entrants - SpotifyTM offers its subscribers a vast database of music via cloud computing technology. As a result the subscribers will have faster access to music more conveniently and even from their mobile sets, at any place any time without having them to carry memory devices. At the same time multi-user interface will not slow down the server. The users will also get unlimited storage space and remote access even if their hard disk may have limited space. All these features and facilities provided by SpotifyTM are unlikely to face threat from the new entrants. Bargaining Power of Suppliers - The cost of cloud computi ng is economical since the database is centralised. It also requires less space, bandwidth and power. Thus, suppliers will have limited influence over SpotifyTM business model. Bargaining Power of Buyers - Cloud computing is very cost effective as it do not require subscribers to invest extra time and money to use standalone servers. Using cloud based computing the subscriber will get the opportunity to save money on data storage cost, management cost, and software updates. Threat of Substitutes – The only threat to cloud based technology is open source computing but it is much slower and requires the subscriber to have physical memory in order to store data which makes it more expensive compared to cloud based technology. Rivalry among Existing Competitors - SpotifyTM offers cloud based

Investment in Education in United Arab Emirates Research Paper

Investment in Education in United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example As for some more practical applications of investment in education, it would be profitable in terms of increase of professionals’ rates in UAE. The development of education multiplies professional opportunities for young people and helps them to become specialists in what they want to do. This means that when young people understand that all the spheres of studying are developed enough and could provide them with educational opportunities and career perspectives, they do not even consider other countries as their educational options. In addition, investment in education keeps labor rates in stable positions (Jorgenson &Fraumeni 1989). The phenomenon of brain drain often happens because young people do not see any educational perspectives for further staying in their own country, so they move to another country in order to get a better education in their chosen realm. Then they become professionals in what they do and get hired on some well-paid positions in foreign countries, so they decide not to come back. I believe this problem also exist in UAE because many talented young people move to other countries, which would not be happening if UAE education had a better financial support. If UAE education receives more funds and starts developing rapidly, the country will attract many young people from every part of the world who would be glad to obtain a high-quality education in UAE. This would be profitable for both the country’s international image and an increase of intellectual and professional cadres.

Financial Institutions & Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Institutions & Markets - Essay Example What happened was, banks are known to financed their mortgage lending using customer deposits which of course is a limit to the amount of mortgage lending they can do. But in recent years, banks in a bit to fund additional borrowing, moved to a new model where they sell mortgages on the bond markets which was widely seen as an easier means of funds. But this form of borrowing led to bank abusing that incentive to carefully check mortgages they issued.1 Banks saw the business to be extremely profitable since they could earn a fee for each mortgage they sold and went ahead to urge mortgage brokers to sell more and more of these mortgages. The market soon extended especially as the private sector dramatically expanded its role in the mortgage bond market that was previously dominated by government-sponsored agencies like Freddie Mac. Prices became so high to an extend that if the boom had to continue, many US populations would have been evicted from their homes since the US interest rates too were interestingly high. The fall in housing prices affected the wider economies. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller index in March 2008 showed that housing prices in the US had fell by 11,4% in January and 8,2% in February 2008.2 In a bit to cushion the US economy from the worst effects of the credit crunch and housing slump due to the sub prime loans, the Fed in January 2008 had to cut down interest rates from 3.5% to 3% for the fifth time since September 18 2007 and today at 2.25%. This was in a bit to encourage consumption among Americans. The economic growth rate had slowed to an annual rate of 0.6% between October and December, half the rate forecast and compared with a brisk 4.9% growth rate in the previous three months due to the credit slump and may further be cut to 1,5%.3 To ward off the pressure of slower economic growth, the Bush Administration and Congress moved ahead to agree on a temporary

Spotify Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Spotify - Essay Example The strategic framework of SpotifyTM will help to implement technology to sustain competitive advantage in terms of cost and efficiency. Formulating other forms of strategies such as e-marketing, CRM, or SCM as part of organisation’s strategy helps a company to mange and utilise their resources optimally. Introduction SpotifyTM provides cloud based music streaming service delivered via internet mobile phones. Through cloud computing it offers subscribers access to its vast database of music. To maintain such large database the company would require effective managing of its information system. The information system is not isolated and constitutes interaction between hardware, software, data, people, and telecommunication. These components of an information system are built to create, assemble, and distribute important data and information to people across the globe (Lucey, 2004, p.31). From the information system hierarchy model it can be said that the strategic development i s a top down approach and it flows downwards from the top level management of organisation. The information system connects the top level management with people and process (Doyle, 2001, pp.2-14). ... he business strategy of SpotifyTM is to adapt to new technology of cloud computing and generate revenues through cloud based business model which will allow subscribers unlimited access to music database at least cost and shortest time. Using the five forces model, the relative attractiveness of cloud based technology industry can be analysed as follows: Threat of New Entrants - SpotifyTM offers its subscribers a vast database of music via cloud computing technology. As a result the subscribers will have faster access to music more conveniently and even from their mobile sets, at any place any time without having them to carry memory devices. At the same time multi-user interface will not slow down the server. The users will also get unlimited storage space and remote access even if their hard disk may have limited space. All these features and facilities provided by SpotifyTM are unlikely to face threat from the new entrants. Bargaining Power of Suppliers - The cost of cloud computi ng is economical since the database is centralised. It also requires less space, bandwidth and power. Thus, suppliers will have limited influence over SpotifyTM business model. Bargaining Power of Buyers - Cloud computing is very cost effective as it do not require subscribers to invest extra time and money to use standalone servers. Using cloud based computing the subscriber will get the opportunity to save money on data storage cost, management cost, and software updates. Threat of Substitutes – The only threat to cloud based technology is open source computing but it is much slower and requires the subscriber to have physical memory in order to store data which makes it more expensive compared to cloud based technology. Rivalry among Existing Competitors - SpotifyTM offers cloud based

Financial Institutions & Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Institutions & Markets - Essay Example What happened was, banks are known to financed their mortgage lending using customer deposits which of course is a limit to the amount of mortgage lending they can do. But in recent years, banks in a bit to fund additional borrowing, moved to a new model where they sell mortgages on the bond markets which was widely seen as an easier means of funds. But this form of borrowing led to bank abusing that incentive to carefully check mortgages they issued.1 Banks saw the business to be extremely profitable since they could earn a fee for each mortgage they sold and went ahead to urge mortgage brokers to sell more and more of these mortgages. The market soon extended especially as the private sector dramatically expanded its role in the mortgage bond market that was previously dominated by government-sponsored agencies like Freddie Mac. Prices became so high to an extend that if the boom had to continue, many US populations would have been evicted from their homes since the US interest rates too were interestingly high. The fall in housing prices affected the wider economies. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller index in March 2008 showed that housing prices in the US had fell by 11,4% in January and 8,2% in February 2008.2 In a bit to cushion the US economy from the worst effects of the credit crunch and housing slump due to the sub prime loans, the Fed in January 2008 had to cut down interest rates from 3.5% to 3% for the fifth time since September 18 2007 and today at 2.25%. This was in a bit to encourage consumption among Americans. The economic growth rate had slowed to an annual rate of 0.6% between October and December, half the rate forecast and compared with a brisk 4.9% growth rate in the previous three months due to the credit slump and may further be cut to 1,5%.3 To ward off the pressure of slower economic growth, the Bush Administration and Congress moved ahead to agree on a temporary

Research Investigation Essay Example for Free

Research Investigation Essay A research investigation on what specific skills an actor would need learn in order to convincingly portray the role of Silvio in Carlo Goldoni’s, A Servant of Two Masters. Carlo Goldoni wrote the comedy â€Å"Arlecchino servitore di due padroni†, which translates into modern English as The Servant of Two Masters, a commedia dell’Arte-style play. The performers of Commedia were often illiterate, and as such there was no point to write down scripts and record the performance, it was improvised and modified, preserving the aspects the audience found amusing and excluding those that were less successful. In this way, Carlo Goldoni’s writing down of the play strictly goes against commedia traditions, as it is not the way things were done when it was originally staged. Despite performing all their plays in Italian for the first twenty or so years, Commedia troops had phenomenal success, perhaps because the slapstick nature of their comedy mingled with its vulgar humor was relatively easy to follow. The themes of the play, including love, romance, deception and the status between masters and servants, combine to create an enjoyable and greatly comical performance. The play also scrutinizes social boundaries that were once present. Such as, the idea of a woman being dressed as a man this was much more controversial in the 1700’s and especially a woman who defeats a man in combat, as Beatrice (comes to Venice dressed as a man in search of her beloved Florindo, She is also a part of the first lover couple along with Florindo) defeats Silvio. Smereldina (the maid of Clarice, she is an extremely feisty and slightly bitter character who wants more than anything to find a man and get married) also confronts Silvio and scorns him, which is something unparalleled in that time, a woman of the serving class reprimanding a man of status. The play also explores the lengths people will go to for the sake of love, the hopelessness of Florindo (a man banished from his home in Turin for his murder of Federigo Rasponi, and the lover of Beatrice who comes in search of him) and Beatrice’s relationship to find each other, as well as commenting on the importance of never giving up hope, because as they are about to kill themselves they find each other again. This is also reflected in the many difficult predicaments Truffaldino (the servant of both Florindo and Beatrice, he is a mischievous, hungry man who is seeking ways to better himself, he is comic relief and also the main protagonist) finds himself in, as no matter how hopeless his situation looks, he keeps on envisaging himself getting out of his tricky situations and eventually he does get out of trouble. The behavior by those of the dominant class of the servants is a very noticeable theme of the time period, and an important social observation. The serving class of Truffaldino, Smereldina and the Porter (she carries the bags places at different times during the play and has a fairly rough time of it, carrying very heavy loads only to be ridiculed and left unrewarded for her labor) are regarded with little respect and trust throughout the entirety of the play. As the early performers of this play were more than likely lower class individuals, this play is an insightful parody of their own difficulties. Commedia dell’Arte is an Italian theater style, characterized by masked performers and improvised scenes based on simplistic scenarios. Carlo Goldoni categorized four elemental types of stock characters in Italian comedy: Pantaloon, a miserly Venetian merchant, easy to anger, disrespected by everyone and a born loser; Dottore, a pedantic lawyer-type from Bologna; Brighella, a serenading servant who enjoys thieving, and bragging; and Arlecchino, a basically thoughtless servant permanently in despair over unreturned love. A Servant of Two Masters is set in Venice in the 1700’s, and would have been performed by a travelling troop of commedia actors. As such, they would have had very limited set facilities, and their performances staged outdoors, meaning they would have to allow for surrounding noises such as wind when performing. Throughout this research investigation it will be delving into what specific skills I must learn in order to convincingly portray the role of Silvio in Carlo Goldoni’s, A Servant of Two Masters. There is a catch when one decides to take on the task and portray the role of Silvio in The Servant of Two Masters and that is that the comic instincts of a skilled actor need to conquer a tendency to be a servant to the text. It has been said that commedia is the riskiest form of comedy. That being said, it is worth the risk. When the flash of inspired improvisation hits an actor it is like a whirlwind and time seems to be in a complete interruption while a phenomenon takes place. Fortunately Goldoni’s writing is so perfectly composed and clinging to fundamental Commedia dell’Arte form that it allows one to understand how to perform below, within and around the text itself. Focusing on the lovers, they are the sons and daughters of characters who are also high on the social ladder; this is where Silvio finds himself in The Servant of Two Masters. The lovers in this play (Silvio and Clarice) are not only infatuated with each other they are extraordinarily infatuated with themselves. More often than not, they are only with one another because the other person makes them look better. They argue often, making a big melodramatic show out of their blubbering and attempting to top the others grief; yet they immediately make amends when they receive a flattering remark about their appearance. They speak in a distinguished, pretentious and flowery language: â€Å"If I could think that you desired my blood to avenge my supposed cruelty, I give it you with all my heart. But, oh God! Instead of the blood of my veins, accept, I beg you, that which gushes from my eyes.†(Goldoni 53) Silvio is traditionally costumed in the latest Italian fashions (since Italy is where Commedia originated) The Lovers elegant costumes were usually of the same color, just in case another couple of lovers was in the play too. This only reaffirms how much they were made for each other. Just like couples who wear matching outfits today. Given that Silvio is wealthy, he wears expensive clothes and jewelry, made of luxurious fabrics. Both Silvio and Clarice usually hold some kind of prop in their hand, most likely a letter to swoon over, or a handkerchief but this is of course the director’s choice. There is always a mirror somewhere on their body, being in a purse or pocket, or even hanging as a necklace around the actor’s throat. This is useful for admiring oneself, or in Silvio’s case for seeking out Clarice and adorning her through it. Unlike what most know Commedia dell’Arte to be known for the lovers do not wear masks. Rather, they wear quite a bit of makeup which in turn subsidizes as their mask. The term dreamer is a key way to understanding the lovers movement. Their feet are firmly on the ground, in a somewhat Ballet style position, but they lack firm contact with the earth because they lead with their chest and are heart heavy. Their arms are held out to their sides and curved. Their whole manner is very elegant and balletic, as they do not walk so much as glide. They never touch; to do so would cause them both to faint and or run away. It is sexually arousing for them to get very close without touching. They aren’t the brightest individuals so walking is somewhat of a challenge causing them to wobble, due to the uncertainty of their lack of contact with the ground. The posture that Silvio undertakes is that of compelling pride. His chest is naturally expanded and thrust out so that his heart essentially leads him, sometimes seeming to literally pull him across the stage. He points his toes while standing (like that of a ballet dancer), and when moving, he takes light, quick steps, giving himself a floating appearance. Overall, they simply lack contact with the ground. Their hand movements and gestures are very grand, expansive and expressive. Actors use the same dancing trainers as the wealthy individuals whom they are imitating in order to put emphasis on the absurdity of melodramatic behavior. There can be two sets of lovers in a Commedia dellArte play. The First set of lovers, usually more intelligent and serious, and the Second Lovers which in A Servant of Two Masters is Silvio and Clarice, usually whimsical and slightly silly. The second lovers in Goldonis A Servant of Two Masters are Clarice and Silvio. In research of the lovers when things are not going their way, they throw tantrums, pout, hurl insults while crying and whining. Their manner of dress and movement is highly stylized (more so than the First Lovers), making Silvio quite a narcissus. Silvio exists very much in his own world- and in his own world within that world. Self-obsessed and very selfish, he is more interested in what he is saying himself and how it sounds than in what his beloved Clarice is saying. He is primarily in love with himself, secondarily in love with love, and only without any doubt in love with his beloved. What he learns, if anything, from the tribulations of A Servant of Two Masters is the need to reverse these sickening priorities. Even though most of Silvio’s declarations would melt a heart of stone, there always seems to be a comic side to everything he says. One wonders if the explanation does not lie in the fact that love often robs the lover of all sense of his own logic, even though he may be the most rational of living men under ordinary circumstances. He does, however, come off better than most other Commedia characters: there is no viciousness in him, and less to be accused of – except for his vanity and narcissism. He represents the human potential for happiness, which is something that everyone is striving for. â€Å"Sir, I beg you, let everyone do as they will; do not be so put out about it. Now that I am happy, I want all the world to b e happy too. Is anyone else going to be married? Let them all get married†! (Goldoni 54) I have become conscious of the fact that the character of Silvio must be played as one that is over confident. He is very certain of himself and of his actions. He believes he is entitled to Clarice and is willing to fight to protect his property. Silvio is also quite protective, or even overprotective of those things which are important to him, or that he sees as belonging to him. He wishes to keep Clarice all to his own and have her within an area he feels he can keep safe. While he is protective of others, he himself shows little regard when placing himself in jeopardy. This is shows how dim witted his character truly is. The idea of defeat does not enter his mind and he is always on the front foot, unwilling to let others determine his actions, he is a very rash character. Patience is a virtue, apparently. Silvio often lacks any sense of patience which makes him a very irritable, anxious, angry and difficult to be around type of character. His shortage of patience makes him a rat her ignorant character. Silvio is always quick to act and often makes mistakes because of his unwillingness to listen to the advice or opinions of others. He is a man of action, and he needs for things to be occurring or he quickly loses any potential interest. He is quick to do battle regardless of the consequences, which shows how stupidly in love he truly is. His unwillingness to listen to an entire situation and process his next appropriate action, often get him into irresponsible situations. â€Å"†¦That wretch shall die, and my ungrateful Clarice shall see her lover wallowing in his own gore†. (Goldoni 26) Despite his quick anger and his tendency to solve his problems with violence, he is inconspicuously charming. Even though his unwillingness to listen too much besides the sound of his own voice, he is really just eager to please his lover Clarice. He has swept Clarice off of her feet and is the heartthrob of Venetian women. Some people settle down, and some people are just settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than the feeling of butterflies, which is exactly how Silvio feels towards Clarice. He is never slow to put himself in harm’s way. He is quick to action and has little caution for his own well-being when engaging in any sort of fight, or in anything else he does. He is a man to be admired when he is at his finest, even though he is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. â€Å"I don’t care how old you are’ I have a mind to run you straight through the body†. (Goldoni 24) Through researching the character of Silvio it would be necessary to portray him as a man who struggles to hold himself in the position in which his status in society places him. He strives to be suave, cool and collected, but somewhat fights to maintain focus and is very quick to act, his actions usually end in anger and much turmoil. He is a powerful physical presence, and is one of formidable fighting skill, but is emotionally immature on many levels. His love for Clarice is one of his few genuinely mature emotions, and it is his motivation through the play. He is prone to rash, spontaneous actions, as well as to throwing tantrums such as a moody child would when things don’t go his way. This effectively suited the comedic aspect of the play while not deteriorating from the romantic story between Clarice and Silvio. â€Å"When we love we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too†. (Jeaulo Coelho)