Tacit Knowledge in Organizations [Hardcover]

Philippe Baumard (Author), Samantha Wauchope (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761953361 | ISBN-13: 978-0761953364 | Publication Date: July 28, 1999 | Edition: 1

`Philippe Baumard has observed that strategic success seems to lie more in top managers' ability to use tacit knowledge than in their gaining or updating explicit knowledge' - William H Starbuck, New York University

`This important new book effectively illustrates how, in conditions of ambiguity, managers `over-manage', i.e. rely too much on explicit plans and interpretations. Here, Philippe Baumard develops an alternative analysis and with it a new approach to management' - Frank Blackler, Lancaster University

This landmark book delves below the surface of organizations in order to understand the complex processes of top managers' decision making.

Philippe

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd; 1 edition (July 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761953361
• ISBN-13: 978-0761953364
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,448,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most complete study of tacit knowledge I read so far, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tacit Knowledge in Organization (Paperback)

I loved the book because I am currently struggling with a corporate program of "tacit knowledge management" and I have been looking for something precise for more than three years. Our corporation has more than 72.000 employees, and we needed very precise categories of what kind of tacit knowledge can be preserved in our organization. The book provides an amazingly precise framework, that we currently use in our company.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A significant contribution to strategic management, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tacit Knowledge in Organization (Paperback)

Philippe Baumard is seeking to stake out a distinctive domain - the use of tacit knowledge by top managers. Knowledge, especially tacit knowledge, provides sense-making frameworks within which top managers process information and make decisions. When sense-making frameworks prove ineffective - as they inevitably do in some situations - top managers misinterpret problems and they find themselves unable to generate successful actions.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sydney, Australia, February 15, 2001

By 

Roberto Rossi (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tacit Knowledge in Organization (Paperback)

I refer to this book on almost a daily basis. While it can be obscure, it the most thought-provoking and well-researched book I have found in the field of organizational psychology to date. The sections on the use of tacit knowledge to usurp existing knowledge or information systems bring theory headlong against existing practices and peer practics.