The Empirical Research On The Measurement And Value Of Workers' Tacit Knowledge

The skills and knowledge of workers is the key element of human capital, which can be measured from the dimensions of width, depth, unconventional degree, exclusive degree, tacit degree, and complementary degree. Upgrading every dimension in the human capital of workers has an important economic value to the enterprise. Tacit knowledge is a kind of invisible knowledge that has been owned or mastered by different levels of individual employees, groups and enterprises. It is implicit and difficult to imitate, exchange or share, copied or stolen, and has not been coded yet. Michael Polanyi (1966) thought that tacit knowledge occupied a central position in a general source of human knowledge. To do something, but can not explain how it was done at the same time is not only a logical possibility, but also a normal situation.This paper uses empirical analysis to measure the tacit knowledge of workers combined with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, which provides a basis of human capital theory for enterprise better understanding the economic value of tacit knowledge, rectifying the human capital"homogeneity" assumption of workers, as well as improving labor relations.The conclusions of this study indicate that the five dimensions of workers'tacit knowledge have a significant positive correlation with the potential value of tacit knowledge in enterprises; workers'tacit knowledge has a significant positive impact on the potential value of tacit knowledge in enterprises and its four dimensions. The follow-up researches of the measurement or value of tacit knowledge can make use of the relevant results of this study.First of all, this study proves that there is a significant positive correlation between the five dimensions of workers'tacit knowledge which are breadth and depth of knowledge, the ability to use analogy, the ability to use imagery, the relative performance of tacit knowledge, the ability to share and cooperate, and the potential value of tacit knowledge in enterprises. Therefore, companies should consider the establishment and strengthening of specific targets in all dimensions during the identification, pricing and the dissemination of tacit knowledge.Second, this study also shows the important role of workers'tacit knowledge playing in the creation of enterprise values. The overall level of workers'tacit knowledge has a significant positive impact on the potential value of tacit knowledge in enterprises and its four dimensions, which are the potential competitiveness of knowledge, timeliness, the added value of potential benefits and the ability to share. Therefore, building a learning system of tacit knowledge in organization through the identification, measurement, the distinct pricing and the dissemination of tacit knowledge is truly essential for the performance and future growth of enterprise, which should be recognized by most enterprises in urgent need.Third, this study explores the significant differences of workers'tacit knowledge in the dimensions on age, sex, educational level, the length of service in company and industry. Through the discussion of these findings, the excavation of workers'potential tacit knowledge and the measurement of existing tacit knowledge in companies will be more targeted.Finally, this study uses the method of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to measure and evaluate the workers'tacit knowledge and the potential value of tacit knowledge in enterprises, which resolves the problem of "ambiguity" evaluation and decision-making successfully and lays a certain foundation for future researches.Based on the conclusions of this paper, we can see that the workers'tacit knowledge is playing a significant role in the process of value creation in enterprises. However, in the current knowledge management of Chinese enterprises, there are many constraints in the identification, value assessment and implementation of tacit knowledge. Based on this, this study proposes the following recommendations:Firstly, as the main places of the accumulation of tacit knowledge, enterprises should provide a good environment for the expression of tacit knowledge and establish a visual experience model of tacit knowledge as well. In the training places, managers can use"fatherly tutorial system"to train new workers, and improve their skills through "learning by doing", "trial and error", metaphors, knowledge maps and case-based reasoning, which can facilitate the expression and transformation of the tacit knowledge. In addition, the use of "summary" and the media is also important to help exchange and convert the tacit knowledge.Secondly, knowledge management must be of great importance to corporate executives, especially in raising their recognition of the importance and complexity of tacit knowledge. Enterprises should create some positions for knowledge managers and knowledge engineers in accordance with their specific circumstances, establish specialized knowledge management agency with one of its main functions being to manage the implementation of tacit knowledge efficiently and indirectly, which is important for the expression of tacit knowledge.In the existing studies of tacit knowledge, either from the depth or breadth of research point, the research in the field is far from mature and systematic. Therefore, we can consider further studies of tacit knowledge from the following aspects:First of all, the evaluation research on individual or organization's tacit knowledge is a systematic project and a difficult point in knowledge management research, which is also a very challenging task. This paper attempts to use fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to measure the extent of workers'tacit knowledge with a certain degree of empirical research. However, the application of the evaluation and its existing problems need to be amended and supplemented in future researches.Secondly, the cross-cultural comparative study of tacit knowledge. For tacit knowledge, the East and West have their own ways of thinking and a framework for research. Especially, in the traditional Chinese way of thinking, there is a visual experience cognitive model of the dissemination and sharing of tacit knowledge. Comparative studies of the two would be the further field of research.Finally, the social point of the tacit knowledge management needs to be improved. Koskinen (2002) think that the acquisition and conversion of tacit knowledge can be through the following two ways: informal exchanges between people in the action learning and technological innovation. Face-to-face exchanges are conducive to the transfer of tacit knowledge.Interpersonal interaction is an effective way for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Therefore, we intend to focus on more in-depth follow-up studies of the learning ability of informal groups, and the dissemination and sharing mechanism of tacit knowledge on this basis.