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How Organizations Retain Knowledge

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How Organizations Remember

Part of the book series: Organizational Change and Innovation ((OCI,volume 2))

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Abstract

Knowledge retention structures in organizations are the result of a range of complex influences both within and outside the organization, and at all levels. This chapter sets out a discussion and conclusions drawn from the study of the XME group. It is based on the assumption that knowledge is constructed in the minds of individuals in interaction with each other and their environment. An individual does not come to the organization as a tabula rasa. The individual, however, is more than a unit of knowledge retention: individuals also function as components of complex systems of knowledge retention in the form of structural units, that is, departments within the company, communities of practice, cultures, subcultures and social networks. The complexity of the networks, together with the variety of individuals in the networks, means that knowledge retention within organizations may be managed and deliberate and have the effect of engendering knowledge retention that is unmanaged and informal but still powerful. This chapter focuses on how knowledge retention structures develop; how knowledge is communicated; and issues in the management and protection of knowledge.

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  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Paddy O’Toole

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  1. Paddy O’Toole
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Correspondence to Paddy O’Toole .

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O’Toole, P. (2011). How Organizations Retain Knowledge. In: How Organizations Remember. Organizational Change and Innovation, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7524-9_6

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