Ignorance management is a

knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the set of procedures for producing, disseminating, utilizing, and overseeing an organization's knowledge and data. It alludes to a multidisciplinary strategy that maximizes knowledge utilization to accomplish organ ...

practice that addresses the concept of

ignorance Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding. Deliberate ignorance is a culturally-induced phenomenon, the study of which is called agnotology. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or ...

in organizations.

Overview

Logically, ignorance management is based upon the concept of

. John Israilidis, Russell Lock, and Louise Cooke of

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

described ignorance management as: The key principle of this

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

is that knowledge management (KM) could better be seen as ignorance management, due to the fact that it is impossible for someone to comprehend and understand everything in a complete way. The only real wisdom is in recognising the limits and extent of one's

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

, and therefore KM is essentially a matter of sharing the extent of one's ignorance with other people, and thus learning together. This process of knowing what is needed to know, and also acknowledging the power of understanding the

unknown Unknown or The Unknown may refer to: Film and television Film * The Unknown (1915 comedy film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), Australian silent film * The Unknown (1915 drama film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film), American silent drama ...

, could develop a tacit understanding and could improve both short-term opportunistic value capture and longer term business sustainability.

Research

Several attempts have been made to explore the value of managing organisational ignorance in order to prevent failures within

knowledge transfer Knowledge transfer refers to transferring an awareness of facts or practical skills from one entity to another.Kjell Arne Røvik (2016). "Knowledge Transfer as Translation: Review and Elements of an Instrumental Theory." ''International Journa ...

contexts. The need to recognise the role and significance of power in the management of ignorance has been introduced to further enhance such efforts. Also, a growing body of psychology research shows that humans find it intrinsically difficult to get a sense of what they do not know, and argues that incompetence deprives people of the ability to recognise their own incompetence (the

Dunning–Kruger effect The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. It was first described by the psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. Some researcher ...

). The viewpoint of developing our understanding of organisational ignorance can yield impressive benefits, if successfully incorporated within a company's KM strategy.Zack, M. (1999) Managing Organizational Ignorance. ''Knowledge Directions'', Volume 1, pp. 36–49.

Overview

Research

See also

References

Further reading