GREAT MAN THEORY

OUTLINE

1. What is the Great Man Theory

2. Thomas Carlyle’s beliefs on the Great Man
3. Different Historical Archetypes and how they present
4. Recognizable traits in leaders
5. Big Five Personality Traits Theory
6. Underlying believes or assumptions in the Great Man Theory
7. Main Proponents of Great Man Theory
8. Pros and Cons of the Great Man Theory
INTRODUCTION
The theory advocates, that leadership qualities like charisma,

persuasiveness, commanding personality, high degree of intuition, judgment,

courage, intelligence, aggressiveness and action orientation which are of

such a nature that they cannot be taught or learnt in a formal sense.

 GREAT MAN” THEORY- EXAMPLES OF SUCH
LEADERS
  The great man theory of leadership became popular during the 19th-century.

 The mythology behind some of the world's most famous leaders such as Abraham Lincoln,
Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Alexander the Great helped contribute to the notion that
great leaders are born and not made.

 In many examples, it seems as if the right man for the job seems to emerge almost
magically to take control of a situation and lead a group of people into safety or success.
 MAIN PROPONENTS OF GREAT MAN THEORY

In the Mid-19th Century theory proposed by Thomas Carlyle - Began as a series on Heroism that evolved into a
book –

‘History is nothing more than a collection of biographies belonging to Great Men’

Inspired by Napoleon, as he was living during his reign - Not a universally accepted theory, for good reason -
Modern political leaders enjoy utilizing the Great Man theory
 GREAT MAN THEORY BY THOMAS CARLYLE SUMMARIZED

1. Leaders are gifts of God to mankind. A measure of divinity is attributed to leaders and
their actions.
2. Everyone cannot aspire to become a leader and to attain greatness. We are not all born
with the same ‘stuff’.
3. The inborn leadership qualities alone are necessary and sufficient for a leader to exercise
influence over his followers and to become successful.
4. Leadership qualities and effectiveness are independent variables. Situational factors like
the nature and needs of followers, the demands of task and the general socioeconomic
environment have little or no influence on a leader’s emergence or effectiveness.
 GREAT MAN THEORY BY THOMAS CARLYLE SUMMARIZED

5. The theory discounts the belief that individuals can be trained for assuming leadership

positions and roles. Leadership qualities cannot be transmitted through education and exposure.

6. Ability to capture the imagination of the masses.

7. Assumes that all leaders in history would be good leaders for all situations
The theory discounts the belief that individuals can be
trained for assuming leadership positions and roles.
Leadership qualities cannot be transmitted through
education and exposure.
GREAT MAN THEORY LED TO RECOGNIZABLE
TRAITS

• Leaders tend to have similar personality traits or characteristics –

• Great Man Theory led to Trait Theory
• Trait Theory is quite general - there are a lot of words that describe people
• Eventually narrowed down to personality groupings which evolved into
the Big 5 Personality Traits Theory
 BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS THEORY

Lots of assumptions being made in both theories about Nature vs Nurture Big Five Personality Traits

1. Extraversion: the tendency to be outgoing, assertive, and active

2. Agreeableness: the tendency to be kind and trustworthy

3. Conscientiousness: determined by achievement and dependability

4. Neuroticism: the tendency to be anxious and fearful

5. Openness to experiences: the tendency to be creative and perceptive Both theories focus on inherited traits at
birth, rather than any coachable or developable skill sets in leaders.
PROS OF THE GREAT MAN THEORY

• Great theory for Monarchy or Dictators, not for educators

• Provides stability through strength or fear

• Is viewed positively if you are born into ruling class and have the
‘appropriate’ leadership traits
 CONS OF THE GREAT MAN THEORY

• Herbert Spencer, a noted biologist, sociologist, philosopher and political theorist,

‘countered that the Great Man Theory was childish, primitive and unscientific.’
• Great Man Theory does not stand up to Scientific rigour
• Spencer believed leaders were products of their environment and not born with all
required traits. - Leaders are solely products of their social environments
 CONS OF THE GREAT MAN THEORY

• If we are connecting leadership to traits, what happens to those born with leadership traits
but not the position?
• Would all these people find themselves in leadership roles eventually? - Many Great Men
achieved their leadership positions through birthright - Many of the traits sighted are
considered more masculine traits, rather than universal human traits
• Not scientifically rigorous, relies on innate superiority or birth or social hierarchy
• No room for women to be leaders - Not many positives associated with this theory.
• Is useful to authoritarians and despots
 OUTCOME OF GREAT MAN LEADERSHIP THEORY
• Not based on theory at all.
• Based on historical observations.
• Great man theory began as lectures that were turned into a book
• Looks at traits of leaders throughout history
• No room for growth or development in humans
• Upper class remains in control - Lower classes provide for them
• Little social capital or movement between the different classes
• No room for women, as the theory is almost 200 years old
• Reinforces cultural and leadership stereotypes
• Little room in education for this leadership model
• Hopefully little room in society for this leadership model as well
Cases of Nigerian & African leaders
 THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. NNAMDI AZIKIWE TO NIGERIAN SOCIO
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

• The decolonization process in the last century led to the emergence of nationalists in many African states. In
Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe emerged as a foremost nationalist, and later became the first indigenous
Governor-General, first indigenous President/head of State and Commander in-Chief of the Armed forces of
immediate post-independent Nigeria, and participated in active politics up till the Presidential elections of
1983. Although, Nnamdi Azikiwe was a Nigeria by birth, but his contributions during the anti-colonial
struggles was beyond Nigeria. He acquired his higher education laurels in the United States, began his
journalism career in Ghana, while his intellectual contributions during the anti-colonial struggles positively
influenced many people in Africa, especially in the Anglophone states. For the greater part of the twentieth
century, a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s political history was Nnamdi Azikiwe- the “Great Zik of Africa”.
During his life time, Nnamdi Azikiwe was a legend, who stood out among his contemporaries, and as at the
time he passed on in May 1996 at the ripe age of 92, many described him as the “last of the titans”.
 EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

From a humble background, Nnamdi Azikiwe was born on Wednesday, 16th November, 1904 in Zungeru,

present Niger State, in North-central Nigeria to the family of Mr. Obededom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe and Mrs.

Rachael Chinwe Azikiwe. Both parents were Igbo, indigenes of Onitsha, in the present Anambra State, South-

eastern Nigeria. At the time of his birth, his father was a staff of the colonial government, and worked as a clerk

with a section of the military department, the Nigerian Regiment, which constituted a unit of the British West

African Frontier. Force located at Zungeru, in what was then Wushishi District of Niger Province in the

Northern. Protectorate of colonial Nigeria. The young Nnamdi lived the first eight years of his life (1904-1912)

in Zungeru, where he learnt and became conversant with the Hausa language, which shaped his life, and more

importantly imbibed in him tolerance for differing views and culture from a tender age.
 The educational career of the young Nnamdi began at Onitsha, his paternal home, where he
commenced his first primary education at the Holy Trinity School of the Roman Catholic
Mission in 1912.
 In 1915, Nnamdi Azikiwe relocated from Onitsha and joined his parents, then resident in
Lagos, where he continued his primary education as he was in 1916 enrolled into the
Methodist Boys’ High School to continue his primary education shortly after his arrival from
Lagos (Igwe,1992).
 Shortly thereafter, he continued his educational career at Onitsha, later moved to Calabar in
1920, and was trained at the Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar,
 Nnamdi Azikiwe left Hope Waddell in 1920 for Wesleyan Boys’ High School, Lagos where
he continued his education
 Nnamdi Azikiwe worked as a staff of the Treasury Department for few years; but his belief
that education was the key to advance in Africa propelled him to seek admission in many
higher institutions in the United States.
 Nnamdi Azikiwe bagged a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Political Science from Lincoln
University in June 1930.
 CAREER IN JOURNALISM AND INVOLVEMENT IN PAN-AFRICANISM/ NATIONAL
POLITICS

While in the United States, the whole thoughts of Nnamdi Azikiwe was how to make conditions in Africa to be better. To
actualize this, Azikiwe, full of youthful zeal and pan-African idealism took up appointment in the Gold Coast in late
1934 as the editor-in-chief of The African Morning Post, a daily newspaper, which was financed by Mr. A.J. Ocansey,
the renowned Gold Coast entrepreneur of the period. The launch of the newspaper in Accra marked “a new beginning”
to
many literate and semi-literate Africans resident in Accra and beyond. This was as a result of the fiery language and
radical outlook of the newspaper, whose editorials mostly against the colonial administration in West Africa impacted
positively on many members of the reading public.
 
In 1936, he was the editor-in-chief of the African Morning Post, in Accra,Gold Coast. Nnamdi Azikiwe was prosecuted
for sedition by the colonial administration with Mr. Wallace Johnson, the writer of an article titled “Has Africa a God”,
published on Friday, May 15, 1936 edition of the newspaper. The fallout out from this incident was a contributory factor
to the return of Nnamdi Azikiwe to Nigeria in 1937. Nnamdi Azikiwe founded The West African Pilot, published in
Lagos, which he was editor-in-chief from 1937 to 1945.
It is also not in doubt that Zik was a foremost pan-Africanist, whose influence impacted
positively on many people in different parts of Africa during the anti-colonial struggles
across Africa. It is believed that the intellectual works of Zik influenced some other pan-
Africanists such as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana; among many
others.
It is worthy to highlight the role of Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigerian politics from the
decolonization era to the post-independence period. Many scholars and commentators share
the view that Nnamdi Azikiwe was the foremost Nigerian nationalist. Michael Crowder
shares this view and asserts that Azikiwe founded the first true nationalist party in Nigeria,
the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroon [NCNC].
Nnamdi Azikiwe was a major participant in Nigeria’s politics for the greater part of his life during the twentieth century, and during those
decades in politics he was committed to the survival of Nigeria as a nation-state. From 1947, when he became an elected member of the
Legislative Council of Nigeria till November 16th 1960, when he was sworn in as the Governor- General and Commander- in-Chief of
Nigerian Armed Forces, he was unwavering in his service to a country he labored much to actualize its political independence. It was probably
this commitment to service, which the British government noticed, and thus pronounced him the first Nigerian named to the Privy Council of
the United Kingdom on the same day he was appointed the Governor-General of Nigeria.
 
At the end of the war in January 1970, Zik was happy that a nation he struggled for its independence was united again. He continued his
writings based on politics, national and global issues, and argued in one of his works titled Democracy with Military Vigilance, in which he
felt diarchy was the best system of government for African countries (Azikiwe, 1974). He was also appointed Chancellor, and Chairman of the
Council of the University of Lagos in 1972, a position he held till 1976. When the ban on civilian politics was lifted, Zik joined the Nigerian
Peoples Party and due to his vast political experience was the party’s Presidential candidate in the 1979 Presidential election in Nigeria.
However, Zik’s foray into politics in Nigeria’s Second Republic was not as successful and rewarding as his glorious years as Nigeria’s
foremost nationalist and renowned politician, which spanned more than two decades from the 1940s to the first military coup d’état in January
1966.
He contested the position of president of Nigeria in 1979 and 1983, respectively, but failed. Like in Nigeria’s First Republic,
his political party, -Nigerian Peoples’ Party (NPP) entered into a political alliance with the National Party of Nigeria (NPN),
which won majority votes in the Parliamentary and Presidential elections held in 1979 to form the government in October
1979, when the military administration under General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over power to the civilian democratically
elected President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari on October 1, 1979. That alliance sanitized the polity for a while, but later collapsed
before the expiration of President Shagari’s first term of four years.
In preparation for the 1983 General Elections, Zik’s party entered yet into another political alliance with other opposition
political parties in a bid to defeat the NPN. It was at this stage that the vociferous Nigerian Press dubbed Zik, “the beautiful
bride of Nigerian politics”. Perhaps, this tag was labeled on Zik because of his politics of compromise, as his party entered
into what the Nigerian Press termed alliance of ‘strange bed fellows’. The Press was doubtful on who between Nnamdi
Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo would be the Presidential candidate of the alliance of ‘progressive parties’. Like earlier
alliances, the Progressives failed to present common candidates who could have matched candidates of the ruling NPN,
while the election ended in favour of the ruling party. Few months after the 1983 General Elections, Zik resigned from
participation in active politics.
 JULIUS NYERERE (1922 — 1999)
One of Africa’s most respected figures, Julius Nyerere (1922 — 1999) was a politician of principle
and intelligence. Known as Mwalimu or teacher he had a vision of education that was rich with
possibility
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born on April 13, 1922 in Butiama, in north west Tanganyika. His
father was the chief of the small Zanaki tribe. He was 12 before he started school. He went on, to
be trained as a teacher at Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda). On gaining his Certificate,
he taught for three years and then went on a government scholarship to study history and
political economy for his Master of Arts at the University of Edinburgh (he was the first
Tanzanian to study at a British university and only the second to gain a university degree outside
Africa. In Edinburgh, partly through his encounter with Fabian thinking, Nyerere began to
develop his particular vision of connecting socialism with African communal living.
On his return to Tanganyika, Nyerere was forced by the colonial authorities to make a choice between his
political activities and his teaching. He was reported as saying that he was a schoolmaster by choice and a
politician by accident. Working to bring a number of different nationalist factions into one grouping he
achieved this in 1954 with the formation of TANU (the Tanganyika African National Union). He became
President of the Union (a post he held until 1977), entered the Legislative Council in 1958 and became chief
minister in 1960. A year later Tanganyika was granted internal self-government and Nyerere became premier.
Full independence came in December 1961 and he was elected President in 1962.
Nyerere’s integrity, ability as a political orator and organizer, and readiness to work with different groupings
was a significant factor in independence being achieved without bloodshed. In this he was helped by the co-
operative attitude of the last British governor — Sir Richard Turnbull. In 1964, following a coup in Zanzibar
(and an attempted coup in Tanganyika itself) Nyerere negotiated with the new leaders in Zanzibar and agreed
to absorb them into the union government. The result was the creation of the Republic of Tanzania.
 SOCIALISM AND SELF RELIANCE

By the late 1960s Tanzania was one of the world’s poorest countries. Like many others it was
suffering from a severe foreign debt burden, a decrease in foreign aid, and a fall in the price of
commodities. His solution, the collectivization of agriculture, villigization and large-scale
nationalization was a unique blend of socialism and communal life.
The objective of socialism in the United Republic of Tanzania is to build a society in which all
members have equal rights and equal opportunities; in which all can live in peace with their
neighbours without suffering or imposing injustice, being exploited, or exploiting; and in which all
have a gradually increasing basic level of material welfare before any individual lives in luxury."
(Nyerere 1968)
 LIBERATION STRUGGLES
A committed pan-Africanist, Nyerere provided a home for a number of African
liberation movements including the African National Congress (ANC) and the
Pan African Congress (PAC) of South Africa, Frelimo when seeking to overthrow
Portuguese rule in Mozambique, Zanla (and Robert Mugabe) in their struggle to
unseat the white regime in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He also opposed
the brutal regime of Idi Amin in Uganda. Following a border invasion by Amin in
1978, a 20,000-strong Tanzanian army along with rebel groups, invaded Uganda.
It took the capital, Kampala, in 1979, restoring Uganda’s first President, Milton
Obote, to power.
 RETIREMENT

In 1985 Nyerere gave up the Presidency but remained as chair of the Party - Chama Cha

Mapinduzi (CCM). He gradually withdrew from active politics, retiring to his farm in Butiama. In

1990 he relinquished his chairmanship of CCM but remained active on the world stage as Chair

of the Intergovernmental South Centre. One of his last high profile actions was as the chief

mediator in the Burundi conflict (in 1996). He died in a London hospital of leukaemia on

October 14, 1999.

 CLASS ASSIGNMENT

Discuss Cases of two Nigerian & African leaders

1. Tell us what is unique about them
2. If they could and why they could be termed great leaders
3. Tell us the impact of their leadership to their followers
4. Lessons to be learnt and practiced from them in this modern era
Thank You !!
Thank You !!
Table of Content

What is the SECI Model?

SECI Model for Knowledge Creation
Four Modes of Knowledge Conversion
Examples of Organizations that Use the SECI Model
FAQs
Conclusion
• Are you curious to learn about the knowledge sharing and knowledge conversion process
?
• Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi are the creators of the SECI model.
• The SECI model of knowledge management is responsible for performing the
knowledge creation process for your organization.
• Now, you must be having a question like what is a real-life SECI model example and
what is the full form of it, so scroll down to know detailed information about it.
• What is the SECI Model?
• The SECI process stands for socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. For the SECI
model, Nonaka Takeuchi invented the knowledge conversion process that comes into effect within the 
organization using tacit knowledge.
• Explicit knowledge is transferable knowledge using various forms and can be quickly codified, assessed,
and verbalized. Tacit knowledge is quite challenging to transfer and share with others and is dependent on
values, skills, and capabilities.
• What is the primary role of tacit and explicit knowledge in the SECI model?
• A spiral of knowledge is created where tacit and explicit knowledge interrelates with each other in a
constant process. New knowledge is made with such a continuous process.
• The main objective of the SECI model by Nonaka-Takeuchi is that an individual’s knowledge is shared
with others, so it interconnects to a piece of new knowledge.
• SECI Model for Knowledge Creation
• In this knowledge creation model, the organizational memory produced takes the form of
the user’s practice, collaboration, interaction, and learning. The process is nothing but an
active churn of knowledge and not a fixed model. The organization typically uses this
Nonaka-Takeuchi SECI spiral model as a visual representation of the continual
knowledge system operations.
• A robust effort has been taken into consideration for analyzing its outcomes based on a
practical approach. This approach’s primary motto is to provide vital links to the
organizational and national environment inside the organization
• Does knowledge management have any relation with the SECI Model?
• Yes, knowledge management typically includes the knowledge conversion theory. Such
theory handles the nature of knowledge using this model to a great extent.
• The model’s main attraction is that this knowledge conversion mode enhances the
organization’s virtual cultures and knowledge assets
FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE CONVERSION

• The SECI model typically contains four basic modes – Socialization–Externalization–

Combination–Internalization. The model’s primary intent is to deal with a switching
process from one knowledge type to another. First of all, we will understand the overview
of these knowledge-sharing modes in detail and see how an interplay occurs between
such processes.
• Socialization
• The process of sharing tacit knowledge using observation, imitation, practice, and
participation in formal and informal communities takes the form of socialization.
• By creating physical or virtual space, it becomes quite possible that the socialization
process is preempted where a given community can quickly perform social interaction on
a large scale.
• The best example of socialization is apprenticeship
• Externalization
• Externalization is often a complex and essential mechanism of knowledge conversion. 
• A tacit knowledge to new explicit knowledge conversion process takes place. This tacit to
explicit conversion approach includes codifying tacit knowledge in various forms like
documents, manuals, user guides, and others to ease the organization to perform sharing.
• As tacit knowledge is primarily concerned with internalization, it becomes relatively easy
for all the knowledge workers to communicate.
• In this process to create new knowledge, externalized and theoretical knowledge comes
into action to deal with the knowledge creation process
• Combination (Explicit to Explicit)
• In this knowledge conversion process model by Nonaka Takeuchi, the collection of
explicit knowledge, whether from inside or outside of the organization, is performed. 
• Furthermore, the collected knowledge is then combined, modified, and even processed to
form a more complicated and systematic knowledge system. 
• Now the newly generated explicit knowledge is spread among the various members
working in the organization. A common example is when we are making a report or
analysis
• Internalization (Explicit to Tacit)
• In the final step of the SECI model, Nonaka-Takeuchi created the process to generate
explicit to tacit knowledge representation. 
• Internalization can also be referred to as praxis. Various types of knowledge are applied
and used in practical situations to deal with knowledge-creating capabilities broadly. 
• An example of this is in an organization that possesses written rules for the company that
changes over time.
• So, these were the leading steps of knowledge sharing and knowledge creation; the SECI
model example usually has in the organization
• Real-Life Examples of the SECI Model
• The SECI model is the well-adopted framework that helps the knowledge-creating
company to develop the basics of knowledge generation processes in organizations. 
• Let’s now focus on real-life examples of each component of the SECI model that need to
be taken into consideration.
• Example of Socialization: Consider the scenario where an individual shares a technique
that you follow in your real-life to minimize the work pressure with your teammate. It
eventually enhances its experience or knowledge about the particular technique.
• Example of Externalization: Consider the scenario where you and your family leave for
a tour of Disneyland and get off a lot of tacit knowledge from your journey. Then a blog
or notes is written down by you (explicit) about your tour experience. So, your tacit
knowledge is converted to explicit knowledge.
• Example of Combination: The knowledge which is accumulated by an individual from
the varied books and journals is implemented in the blogs or articles. Now, the end-users
read such information and grab an understanding of your content.
• Example of Internalization: Consider the case when an employee read about  “How to
install a Printer software” from the user guide provided by the authorized company. It is
his explicit knowledge. Then, he gains knowledge about printer software installation that
is tacit knowledge. Here, explicit knowledge exchange into tacit knowledge.
• ConclusionSo, the SECI model of Nonaka Takeuchi plays a vital role in many
organizations dealing with both business practice and design practice. 
• In the SECI model, Nonaka Takeuchi created the four modes of knowledge conversion
typically based on tacit and explicit knowledge. 
• However, for knowledge creation, the model is a central activity of the organization. Our 
CloudTutorial proficient team will help you in designing knowledge of your organization,
an essential factor in knowledge creation processes.
• For design practice, knowledge management, and knowledge creation, the SECI model
develops an impressive relation to traditional and emerging notions of designing explicit
and tacit knowledge
FRAMEWORK FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION

1. 1. A Framework for Organizational Knowledge Creation

Innovation Network for Communities
• Organizational Learning THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION: An organization where
the members have the capacity and opportunity to interact with each other to compare,
contrast and adjust their “mental models” of the world as they work together to
accomplish their personal and collective visions. “ Learning in organizations means the
continuous testing of experience, and the transformation of that experience into
knowledge -- accessible to the whole organization, and relevant to its core purpose.”
(Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook)  A learning organization is an
organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying
its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.  David Garvin, “Building A
Learning Organization
• 3. Quotes on Organizational Learning <ul><li>“ Learning organizations are skilled at five main activities: </li></ul><ul><li>systematic problem solving;
</li></ul><ul><li>experimentation with new approaches; </li></ul><ul><li>learning from their own experience and past history; </li></ul><ul><li>learning
from the experiences and best practices of others; and </li></ul><ul><li>transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization.”
</li></ul><ul><li>(David Garvin, “Building a Learning Organization) </li></ul>“ The centerpiece of the Japanese approach is the recognition that creating new
knowledge is not simply a matter of “processing” objective information. Rather, it depends on tapping the tacit and often highly subjective insights, intuitions, and
hunches of individual employees and making those insights available for testing and use by the company as a whole.  New knowledge always begins with the
individual...Making personal knowledge available to others is the central activity of the knowledge-creating company.” (Ikujiro Nonaka, “The Knowledge-
Creating Company”)  What is theory? ‘ Theory is systematically organized knowledge applicable to a relatively wide variety of circumstances, especially a
system of assumptions, accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of
phenomena.’ (American Heritage Dictionary)  So, responsible leaders should ask themselves,  What good theories do we have that provide practical guidance
for ensuring our organization  s success?  The more clearly you can articulate your organization  s theories about what leads to success, the more deliberate
you can be about investing in the elements that are critical to that success.  (Daniel Kim, “What Is Your Organization  s Core Theory of Success?  )  Groups
that learn, communities of practice, have special characteristics. They emerge of their own accord: Three, four, 20, maybe 30 people find themselves drawn to one
another by a force that is both social and professional. They collaborate directly, use on another as sounding boards, teach each other. You can  t create
communities like this by fiat, and they are easy to destroy. They are among the most important structures of any organization where thinking matters, but they
almost inevitably undermine its formal structures and strictures.  (Thomas Stewart, “The Invisible Keys to Success”)
• 4. Different Forms of Collective Learning A Learning Community: A group of individuals
who voluntarily come together to accomplish a specific learning agenda together.
Communities of Practice: A group of people who have informal allegiance to each other
because they share certain practices an are exposed to a common class of problems.
Learning Organizations: An organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring
knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.
• . Attributes of Effective Learning Communities <ul><li>Autonomous Agents:
</li></ul><ul><ul><li>Individual players (individuals, teams, organizations) who
voluntarily come together to learn, and who retain broad freedom about how they
interact. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Networked Connections:
</li></ul><ul><ul><li>Enough “shared rules” (frameworks, mental models, values,
visions, etc.) to communicate effectively. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>A learning agenda
— areas of urgency for developing new knowledge. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>A
connecting infrastructure — opportunities and means to interact freely.
</li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Shared memory — ways of recording and passing on new
learning. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Profuse Experimentation:
</li></ul><ul><ul><li>Individual and collective processes for engaging in the
action/reflection cycle. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Measures of success — ways to
know if experiments work. </li></ul></ul>
6. A Framework For Organizational Knowledge Creation <ul><li>Interplay between “tacit” and “explicit” knowledge. </li></ul><ul><li>Knowledge
creation involves managing the transition from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, and from explicit knowledge back to tacit knowledge. “Tacit”
knowledge is knowledge possessed by skilled practitioners, but that is intuitive and difficult to make understandable to others. “Explicit” knowledge is
knowledge that has been “externalized” and made accessible to a broad range of potential users. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning is a constructive process.
</li></ul><ul><li>Good knowledge management requires a deep understanding of learning as a process of constructing , not transmitting , knowledge.
We learn by engagement and doing in a continuous cycle of immersion, active processing, testing, reflection, and adapting mental models. Learning is
emotional as well as logical; it is personal. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning is a social process: </li></ul><ul><li>Before there were schools, textbooks, and
curricula, learning was a process with those who possessed a degree of expertise. Modern learning theory is increasingly acknowledging what traditional
practice groups have always understood – learning is a fundamentally social process that occurs in “communities of practice” – groups of individuals
(whether farmers, engineers, doctors, mothers, politicians or artists) who share a common way of doing things. Thus, knowledge is is embedded in the
way members of a community of practice carry out their work. Learning is therefore a process of gaining membership in a community of practice.
</li></ul><ul><li>Practice communities accelerate knowledge attainment: </li></ul><ul><li>In practice communities, information travels seamlessly
and very rapidly – common mental frameworks (“paradigms”) and language and dense networks of connection make this happen. But practice
communities also tend to reject knowledge and insight that does not fit their established way of doing things. They therefore often have difficulty in
generating and nurturing innovation. </li></ul>
•  The Cycle Of Knowledge Creation The knowledge creation process involves four
distinct phases (adapted from Nonaka and Takeuchi). Each phase implies a set of
activities to be carried out by the Center. The continuous management of the cycle leads
to a “learning spiral” that generates deeper and more powerful levels of knowledge and
competence. Tacit Tacit Explicit Explicit Sharing and Networking Writing it Down and
Distributing It Comparing it to What Others Know Integrating It into Skill Development
and Strategy FROM: TO: NETWORKS DOCUMENTATION BENCHMARKING &
TOOL DEVELOPMENT SKILL DEVELOPMENT
• 8. The Cycle of Organizational Knowledge Creation Tacit Tacit Explicit Explicit Sharing
and Networking Writing it Down and Sharing It Comparing it to What Others Know
Integrating It into Skill Development and Strategy FROM: TO: SOCIALIZATION
(Sympathized Knowledge) EXTERNALIZATION (Conceptual Knowledge)
COMBINATION (Systemic Knowledge) INTERNALIZATION (Operational
Knowledge) Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge-Creating Company
<ul><li>ORGANIZATIONAL ENABLING CONDITIONS: </li></ul><ul><li>Intention
</li></ul><ul><li>Autonomy </li></ul><ul><li>Creative chaos
</li></ul><ul><li>Redundancy </li></ul><ul><li>Requisite variety </li></ul>
• 9. The Cycle Of Knowledge Creation Knowledge Flow Process Some Potential Activities From tacit to tacit
SOCIALIZATION: Create opportunities for practitioners to interact with each other and share their “trade
secrets” and implicit practices. <ul><li>Facilitating networking opportunities between practitioners
</li></ul><ul><li>Creating on-line networks </li></ul><ul><li>Organizing “learning communities,” “users
groups” and other forms of ongoing practitioner networks </li></ul>From tacit to explicit
EXTERNALIZATION: Convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge embodied in concepts, principles and
practices that others can access and understand. <ul><li>Creating and distributing information products
</li></ul>From explicit to explicit COMBINATION: Connect this new knowledge with knowledge from
other fields and other experts then revise and integrate into best practice guidelines. <ul><li>Commissioning
expert studies and analysis (global benchmarking), using research and academic institutions
</li></ul><ul><li>Creating curriculum, tool kits and other learning materials </li></ul>From explicit to
tacit INTERNALIZATION: Create opportunities for people to begin to use new knowledge in their practice.
<ul><li>Workshops and other training events </li></ul><ul><li>Joint project opportunities </li></ul>
• 10. Enabling Conditions for Knowledge Creation <ul><li>INTENTION </li></ul><ul><li>Clear vision, values and goals </li></ul><ul><li>Clarity about what
knowledge needs to be created </li></ul><ul><li>AUTONOMY </li></ul><ul><li>Freedom to act independently </li></ul><ul><li>Creation of unexpected opportunities
</li></ul><ul><li>Autopoetic and self-similar </li></ul><ul><li>CREATIVE CHAOS </li></ul><ul><li>Continuous questioning and reconsidering existing premises
</li></ul><ul><li>Capacity for self-reflection </li></ul><ul><li>REDUNDANCY </li></ul><ul><li>Intentional overlapping of business information
</li></ul><ul><li>Encouraging of “learning by intrusion” </li></ul><ul><li>Strategic rotation of personnel </li></ul><ul><li>REQUISITE VARIETY
</li></ul><ul><li>Variety within the organization that matches complexity of external environment </li></ul><ul><li>Open access to information </li></ul><ul><li>Flat
and flexible structures </li></ul><ul><li>Frequent reorganization </li></ul>

• 11. Developing The Power Of Knowledge <ul><li>First Generation. Use the activities of knowledge creation/ learning cycles to seek patterns in practice.
</li></ul><ul><ul><li>Identify key patterns that one is seeking. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Initiate many exploratory learning projects.
</li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Observe projects with pattern seeking lens. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Develop first generation knowledge products that are anecdotal,
descriptive, suggestive (e.g. stories, cases) </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Second Generation. Convert patterns into tools with reliable results. </li></ul><ul><ul><li>“ Mine”
and connect the observations to identify underlying patterns. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Test observed patterns against other knowledge.
</li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Develop second generation products that are analytic, diagnostic, prescriptive and reliable. </li></ul></ul
• 12. Levels of Organizational Learning <ul><li>More complexity </li></ul><ul><li>More strategic risk
</li></ul><ul><li>Higher levels of management attention </li></ul><ul><li>Longer cycle times
</li></ul>New Markets and Customers New Products and Processes Cross-organizational Process
Redesign Continuous Improvement within Processes Strategic Business Redesign Transforming Industry
Practice
• 13. The Evolution of “Practice Fields” Stage 1: FRAMING. Stage 2: NETWORKING. Stage 3:
MATURATION. Stage 4: STANDARDIZATION. Conceptual framing and isolated practice examples.
Networking of innovators and the proliferation of practices. Practices are fragmented and considered
“proprietary.” Maturation of practices; convergence around common methods and tools; integration of
previously differentiated practices; development of a professional implementation support network.
Practices become highly standardized, and incorporated into formal training; credentialing and
certification systems. Practices are considered “commodities.
• 14. Summary of Organizational Learning Dimensions Be clear about your “theory of your business” – the core assumptions,
hypotheses and purposes around which the organization is designed. Your vision creates the basis for your knowledge agenda.
Clearly define the kinds of knowledge that are most important to the achievement of your mission & vision; assess your current
knowledge assets and build a plan for knowledge creation. Create systematic opportunities for individuals doing similar work to
interact and share their tacit knowledge with each other. 1. Clarify your vision 2. Build a knowledge agenda 4. Nurture
Communities of Practice Organizational learning is not a substitute for day to day discipline in operations. In fact, it depends on
such discipline being in place. 3. Create a base of operating discipline

• 15. Summary of Organizational Learning Dimensions Create disciplined processes for exposing the underlying rules of
successful mental models and behaviors in the organization so that they can be shared with others and compared to outside
knowledge. Have an explicit process for designing and trying out innovative new practices (e.g. a “new product/service
process”). Design in redundancy, overlap and information sharing between different parts of the organization. 5. Convert tacit to
explicit knowledge 6. Support a culture of innovation 7. Organize sharing across practice communities Avoid hierarchical and
autocratic organizational designs; create disciplined “autonomous agents” with open access to broad ranges of information. 8.
Create flexible and entrepreneurial organizational structure
• 16. CQI and Organizational Learning <ul><li>Continuous improvement is simply a specialized and disciplined
form of learning that uses a distinct set of processes and tools to increase the performance of systems.
</li></ul><ul><li>The core “genetics” of the CI process is the scientific method. </li></ul><ul><li>The value
of a continuous quality improvement framework or culture is that it creates some common learning practices
across the organization. </li></ul>

• 17. Toyota – Creating A Community of Scientists “ The fact that the scientific method is so ingrained at Toyota
explains why the high degree of specification and structure at the company does not promote the command and
control environment one might expect. Indeed, in watching people doing their jobs and in helping to design
production processes, we learned that the system actually stimulates workers and managers to engage in the kind
of experimentation that is widely recognized as the cornerstone of a learning organization. That is what
distinguishes Toyota from all other companies we studied.” What Toyota Production System has done is to
create a “community of scientists” that is continuous conducting experiments on the production process. (“If we
make the following specific changes, we expect to achieve this specific outcome.”) The purpose of
standardization in this context, is not to enforce discipline, but to enable experimentation – you can’t accurately
test a hypothesis for improvement if you don’t have stability in the system you are experimenting o
• 18. Toyota – An Example of A Learning Organization <ul><li>THE FOUR RULES OF
TPS </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Rule 1: All work shall be highly specified as to content,
sequence, timing, and outcome. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Rule 2: Every customer-
supplier connection must be direct, and there must be an unambiguous yes-or-no way to
send requests and receive responses. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Rule 3: The pathway
for every product and service must be simple and direct (flow).
</li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Rule 4: Any improvement must be made in accordance with
the scientific method at the lowest possible level in the organization.
</li></ul></ul><ul><li>Management’s Role is to Engage in Socratic Dialogue:
</li></ul><ul><li>How do you do this work? </li></ul><ul><li>How do you know it is
being done correctly? </li></ul><ul><li>How do you know the outcome is free of
defects? </li></ul><ul><li>What do you do if you have a problem? </li></ul>Source:
“Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System”, 1999, Harvard Business Revie