Write an essay or short paper in which you should research the theory of tacit knowledge, critically discuss this theory, and apply what you learn a) to your own life b) to a case in one organisation.

ASSESSMENT CONTENT:

An essay or short paper in which you should research the theory of tacit
knowledge, critically discuss this theory, and apply what you learn
a) to your own life
b) to a case in one organisation.

The essay should be PRINTED DOUBLE-SIDED. The contents of the essay should
be a discussion of the following (the phrases may be used as headings):

§1. Theory About Tacit Knowledge.
Here read what others have written about tacit knowledge in books and
journal papers, summarise it in your own words.
Conditions: You may use material from the module as a starting point
if you wish, but you should search for and add other material from
other authors. Wikipedia may be used to help you begin finding
authors if you wish, but you should not use text or content from
Wikipedia, and you should find authors not mentioned on Wikipedia
pages. You must give references to all that you write.
§2. Critical Analysis of Theory

Here you should discuss the theory you have written in §1, making
critique of it. Being Critical means not taking what is said by the
authors for granted, but questioning it. You can question: how well the
topic is understood, whether there are any contradictions in it, how well
it works in practice, whether it is valid only for limited contexts or
people, how well it agrees with other material, whether it does justice to
the topic, what assumptions it makes. You might find some of Dooyeweerd’s
aspects useful to refer to in your critical evaluation, for example to find
different things about which to critique the theory (e.g. whether it is
socially appropriate, whether it is economic, whether it is just, etc.).
§3. Examples of tacit knowledge in everyday life.
Reflect on your own life, at work or elsewhere, to find knowledge that
you personally hold tacitly. Referring to your critique in §2, discuss to
what extent these examples fit the theory that you discussed in §1.
I expect two parts to this section:
» Describe and explain the tacit knowledge you hold.
» Discuss how, and to what extent, that tacit knowledge fits, or does
not fit, some of the theory you discussed in §1. Use your tacit
knowledge to illustrate some of your points of critique

§4. Tacit knowledge in the organisation.
Here choose one specific organisation and discuss what tacit knowledge
the organisation holds. With reference to your critique in §2, discuss to
what extent the theory in §1 holds.
The organisation you choose could be a business, public or voluntary
organisation, some part of the University of Salford, even a family (your
own?). Obtain your information from literature or by talking with people
(e.g. university staff or family members) to find their tacit knowledge.
I expect three parts to this section:
» Describe the organisation
» Describe and explain the tacit knowledge and in what way it is tacit
» Discuss how, and to what extent, organisational tacit knowledge fits,
or does not fit, some of the theory you discussed in §1. Use your
tacit knowledge to illustrate some of your points of critique

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

Your work will be assessed using the following criteria, but in addition,
extra marks will be given for PRINTING DOUBLE-SIDED. Specifically, the
following criteria will be applied to the items above, The proportion of
marks per section is given, but might vary if, for example, a student makes
an exceptionally good entry in one item.

§1. Theory about tacit knowledge.
» Understanding of tacit knowledge
» Understanding of what others have theorized about tacit knowledge
» Quality of summary (understandable, succinct, but deep)

§2. Critique of Theory.
» Critical attitude (questioning whether each theory or belief is valid
and giving good reasons why questioning it).

§3. Examples of tacit knowledge in everyday life.
» Showing practical understanding of what tacit knowledge is
» Showing ability to apply this understanding
» Quality of examples (appropriateness, imaginativeness)
» Quantity of examples (about 3-6 examples would be ideal, depending on
how much you say about each)
» Showing ability at self-critique

§4. Tacit knowledge in the organisation.
» Practical understanding of what tacit knowledge is in organisations
» Showing ability to apply this understanding to an organisation
» Quality of examples (appropriateness, understanding)
» Showing ability to research an organisation

§5. Conclusion and References.
» Ability to understand and express how all the above links together
» Understanding of how this is important in the wider world.
» Quality of references (especially ones not used by other students)
For Printing Double-Sided: 1 extra mark.
For other things unspecified above