Browsing by Author "Maasdorp, Christiaan Hendrik"

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    Narrativity and organisation : an investigation in sensemaking theory
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Maasdorp, Christiaan Hendrik; Kinghorn, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The dissertation argues that Karl E. Weick's organisational sense-making theory lacks the resources to properly study organisational phenomena that requires interpretation and can benefit from aspects of philosophical hermeneutics. Whilst sensemaking is often depicted as a hermeneutical approach to organisations, the dissertation traces its theoretical roots and situates it in social psychology and interpretivist sociology. It is argued that Weick's distinction between sensemaking and interpretation is untenable from the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics and that it is based on a too narrow understanding of interpretation. The operations of action- and belief-driven sensemaking, based on the metaphor of the framing of cues, are contrasted with the philosophical her meneutic view of coming to an understanding as a negotiated event, captured in the metaphor of the fusion of horizons. A critical analysis of the role of stories as vocabularies of sensemaking that yield either cues or generates future frames in the form of plausible stories concludes that Weick's theorisation of narrative is too brief to offer a conception of narrativity that resonates with his theory of organisational sensemaking. The philosophy of Paul Ricoeur provides better theorisation about the role of narrative in structuring experience. It is argued that narratives, conceived in the way Ricoeur does, offer a stronger and richer concept than the cue-frame-relation triad of sensemaking theory since it not only opens up proposed worlds, but also connects the past and the present. Therefore narrative should be regarded as more than mere content for sensemaking, and instead should be considered a constitutive element for the sensemaking process alongside the notion of enactment. The prospects for incorporating aspects from hermeneutic theories of narrative into sensemaking theory is investigated in the context of the problem area of organisational identity. It is argued that organisational identity is a problem requiring both interpretation and action. Weick's view of identity construction and Ricoeur's view of narrative identity offer two wmys into this field. Finally Weick's emphasis on enactment and Ricoeur's emphasis on narrative continuity are integrated in a restatement of the model of organisational sensemaking processes based more fully on the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics.
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    Structure, wellspring or content? : a conceptual analysis of the notion of tacit knowledge in knowledge management theory
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-03) Maasdorp, Christiaan Hendrik; Fouche, Ben; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis is a conceptual analysis of the concept of tacit knowledge. The analysis consist of comparing the function of the concept of tacit knowledge in a number of selected theories from its origin in the philosophy of Michael Polanyi, through its introduction to organisation theory and its eventual application in knowledge management theory. Inthe work of Michael Polanyi the concept of tacit knowledge functions as the logical structure underlying all forms of knowledge. In terms of Polanyi tacit and explicit knowledge are not two separable phenomena, because all knowledge is rooted in the act of tacit integration. Ikujiro Nonaka adapted Polanyi's epistemology and within his framework the concept of tacit knowledge signifies the unstructured subjective realm that is the wellspring of individual creativity. Nonaka asserts firstly, that the phenomenon of tacit knowledge is a knowledge content that is distinct from explicit knowledge content and secondly, that it is possible to convert the one type of knowledge into the other. Nonaka's model includes a spiral process of interaction in which tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge and back into tacit knowledge again. The last chapter relates the conclusions reached upon the comparison of the function of the concept in the theories of Nonaka and Polanyi, with its reception in knowledge management theory. It is argued that in knowledge management the concept of tacit knowledge denotes knowledge content that cannot be communicated as information. It is also shown how Nonaka' s model was integrated into a sender receiver model of communication, thus incorporating it into the information processing paradigm. It is furthermore conjectured that the concept of tacit knowledge forms part of an attempt to bridge an epistemological gap facing the discourse on organisational knowledge. Lastly, it is concluded that it appears to be impossible to use the concept of tacit knowledge to overcome this epistemological problem, without an ontological shift away from the information processing paradigm.