Knowledge sharing: a unique strategic proposition towards becoming a learning organisation.

Informal knowledge sharing behaviours existing among academics in two Private Education Organisations (PEOs), Alpha and Beta, in Singapore have been studied. The study attempted to identify factors that promoted and inhibited informal knowledge sharing in both organisations under study. The methodology employed in the study consisted of quantitative as well as qualitative methods in the form of a survey and an informal interview. The SECI Model of organisational knowledge creation developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) has been the basis of the study, where tacit knowledge residing within individuals is highlighted. The feature of the four stages of the model – socialisation, externalisation, combination, and internalisation are discussed within the purview of Ba, which functions as the context or platform for knowledge creation. The importance of voluntary informal knowledge sharing (VIKS-that takes place spontaneously in chance encounters, canteen talk, informal gatherings and so on) in helping organisations to prevent reinventing the wheel has been emphasised. Several measures were suggested that could assist organisations in effectively using knowledge sharing to become learning organisations, by practicing the discplines of team learning, shared vision, and systems thinking.Master of Science (Information Studies