Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Claire Gubbins et al
“sometimes guys will electrically obviously know exactly why this happened and have a
very hard time explaining why this is happening because I might not understand what this
component does and in order to find out what that component does it might need to read
a full manual on it….if I had time I might look into what that component does in my own
time” (Engineer 4)
Respondents also showed concern for how o<strong>the</strong>rs would perceive <strong>the</strong>m in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir competence
if <strong>the</strong>y engaged in knowledge seeking activities.
“some fixes could be very easy to fix…it might be embarrassingly easy. What would
happen to us many times is that we could be looking at something for an hour and all <strong>of</strong> a
sudden <strong>the</strong>n, you’d call some guy and he’d say ‘look its that <strong>the</strong>re’ and you’d say ‘how
could I miss that’, so you try and avoid that as well by making a good effort to find out
what it could be” (Engineer 5)
The attitude <strong>of</strong> trying to figure out <strong>the</strong> problem and learn <strong>the</strong> knowledge to fix it yourself before
seeking o<strong>the</strong>rs knowledge is also partially explained by individuals’ view <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir role and <strong>the</strong> priorities
<strong>of</strong> that role. For some <strong>the</strong>re is a reluctance to seek knowledge from o<strong>the</strong>rs too quickly due to a belief
that it is your job to possess sufficient knowledge to be able to fix machines without relying on o<strong>the</strong>rs.
As one respondent stated:
“well obviously you try and fix as many machines as you can on your own, because that’s
what I think you’re kind <strong>of</strong> expected. O<strong>the</strong>rwise if you ring everyone and you ask
everyone <strong>the</strong>n in <strong>the</strong>ory ….. you’re not doing your job” (Engineer 4)
However for some <strong>the</strong> priorities are to get <strong>the</strong> machine fixed, get <strong>the</strong> job done, get <strong>the</strong> machine fixed
as quickly as possible and/or ensure <strong>the</strong> machine is fixed for <strong>the</strong> long term and for one respondent it
was about recognising that you can’t know everything. Consequently <strong>the</strong>se respondents believed in
seeking o<strong>the</strong>rs knowledge in order to achieve <strong>the</strong>se priorities.
The final influencer which drives individuals to seek knowledge is confidence in <strong>the</strong>ir own knowledge
combined with concern over <strong>the</strong> implications <strong>of</strong> applying that knowledge to a problem if <strong>the</strong>y are not
correct. In <strong>the</strong>se instances <strong>the</strong>re is an “if in doubt ask” (Engineer 5) attitude.
“you’re saying [to yourself] will I do this, see if this happens…sometimes you can leave
yourself open as well. You’d take it so far, <strong>the</strong>n I’d be asking questions <strong>of</strong> myself if I take
it any fur<strong>the</strong>r would this happen,…. my head on <strong>the</strong> line? I might <strong>the</strong>n go to [team leader
1] or [team leader 2] and say if I do this I may get this going but this may be <strong>the</strong>
consequence” (Engineer 6)
This confidence issue is also noted by one team manager whom was partly frustrated that two
engineers were required for one job but could also understand that one engineer required <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r
for support and/or knowledge.
“I experienced myself that I might send an [engineer] to a particular problem and I could
be guaranteed when I arrive <strong>the</strong>re would be 2 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong>re. ….What it was at <strong>the</strong> time
was it was maybe lack <strong>of</strong> confidence in <strong>the</strong> first individual that is sent <strong>the</strong>re and he’d look
for support from <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r individual. ……….But one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m was picking up from <strong>the</strong>
o<strong>the</strong>r. So <strong>the</strong>re was no harm in it but that’s how information was transferred.” (Team
Manager 1)
Source Attributes: Respondents described <strong>the</strong> people <strong>the</strong>y seek knowledge from using terminology
that can be categorised under three headings; knowledge competence, communication skills and
personality attributes. Under <strong>the</strong> category <strong>of</strong> knowledge competence respondents are likely to seek
knowledge from those <strong>the</strong>y describe as knowledgable, good capabilities, good interpretation skills and
practical. In terms <strong>of</strong> communication skills respondents described knowledge sources sought as
possessing an ability to explain. In terms <strong>of</strong> personality attributes those sought are described as
willing to take time to explain, approachable, obliging, not ‘cocky’, won’t make jokes at requesters
expense about <strong>the</strong>ir lack <strong>of</strong> knowledge or ability and are likely to reciprocate by also asking <strong>the</strong> seeker
for his/her knowledge when required. Under this category respondents described characteristics <strong>of</strong>
those <strong>the</strong>y would not seek knowledge from as ‘know it all’s’, bluffers, a horrible person and overly
strong-willed in not willing to see anyone else’s point <strong>of</strong> view.
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