Recently it became clear that a shift has taken place in the way that mento- ring is viewed and applied within organisations. This shift entails that mentoring is no longer simply regarded as a technique for enabling the development of the human resources of the organisation but rather as a knowledge management technique that support the creation of knowledge or innovation in organisations. This shift is a result of the increasing view of organisations – and including library and information service organisations – from a resource-based view to a knowledge-based view of the organisa- tion. The resource-based view entail that the organisation consists of bun- dles of resources which can only be developed internally and which have the potential to positively differentiate the organisation from others. However, the knowledge-based view of the firm suggests that it is not merely the resources of the organisation which differentiate it from others but rather the ability to create internally the knowledge required to adapt to the in- ternal and external strategic environment of the organisation.Grant (1998, p. 110)explains the resource-based view of the organisation as follows:
y establishing competitive advantage through the development and deployment of resources and capabilities, rather than seeking shelter from the storm of competition, has become the primary goal for strategy formulation.
In contrast to the resource-based view of the firm, Grant (1998, p. 433) defines the knowledge-based view of the organisation in the following man- ner:
A number of recent books have suggested that the most important resource of the firm is the knowledge embedded within the firm’s people and its systems. The resulting surge of interest in knowledge as the critical resource of the firm and the fundamental manage- ment challenge, has resulted in an emerging conceptualisation of the firm and the nature of management identified as the knowledge-based view of the firm.
Organisations, and especially library and information service organisations, should increasingly take cognizance of the knowledge-based view of the organisation since Tissen (cited byAndriessen, 2004, p. 5) is of the opinion that, in the knowledge economy, services and thus service-based organisa- tions are equally important as products and thus production-based organ- isations. The author states: ‘‘Not only do products get more knowledge intensive, knowledge itself has become an important product, as shown by the rise of the services industry’’. This dual quality or rather paradoxical nature of knowledge as part of a process to enhance the value of products as
well as a product in its own right is also deliberated bySnowden (2002, p. 2).
Snowden (2002, p. 2)are of the opinion that knowledge is either a thing or product as well as a flow or process. Library and information service or- ganisations should develop the ability to make use of knowledge as a flow or process to increase the value of the service they deliver to clients as well as to view knowledge as a thing or product that they deliver to clients.
The knowledge-based view of organisations and the paradoxical nature of knowledge require service industries such as library and information services organisations to view mentoring, not only as a method to merely develop and empower human resources but also as a technique to support knowl- edge creation, thus enabling human resources to be innovative.Line, Mac- kenzie, and Feather (1998, p. 22) explain the importance for libraries, and more specifically national libraries, to take cognizance of their changing environment and thus also the demands that are placed on them. These authors state:
ythe changing circumstances facing national libraries are forcing a re-evaluation of their role. The fact of increasing competition on quality of service and on cost, some- times from other national libraries, is an inevitable result of globalization.
Mentoring as a knowledge management technique, and more specifically as a technique that supports knowledge creation, must therefore be considered within the broader context of knowledge management.
A multitude of definitions is available in the literature to describe the concept ‘‘knowledge management’’. A few of these definitions are:
The management function that creates or locates knowledge, manages the flow of knowledge within the organization and ensures that knowledge is used effectively and efficiently for the long-term benefit of the organization. (Darroch & McNaughton, 2002, p. 228)
Knowledge management enables the creation, distribution and exploitation of knowl- edge to create and retain greater value from core business competencies. (Tiwana, 2002, p. 4)
Treating the knowledge component of business activities as an explicit concern of busi- ness reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the organization; and;
making a direct connection between an organization’s intellectual assets – both explicit (recorded) and tacit (personal know-how)-and positive business results. (Barclay &
Murray, 1997)
It can therefore be concluded that knowledge management entails the cre- ation of an environment in which the knowledge strategy of the organisation is enabled by means of related knowledge processes in order to ensure a competitive advantage for the organisation.
These five knowledge processes are as follows:
1. The creation or generation of knowledge or innovation.
2. The capturing or coding of knowledge.
3. The organisation of knowledge.
4. The sharing, distribution, dissemination or transfer of knowledge.
5. The use or application of knowledge.
The above-mentioned knowledge processes are largely enabled and sup- ported by means of the knowledge spiral, SECI spiral, SECI model or the SECI process (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 14;Darroch & McNaughton, 2002, p. 231;Takeuchi & Nonaka, 2004, p. 8;Dalkir, 2005, p. 56). The spiral depicts how tacit and explicit knowledge or information is amplified in terms of quality and quantity, as well as from the individual to the group and then to the organisational level. The four modes included in the spiral are known as socialisation, externalisation, internalisation and combination.
Socialisation
This activity entails the transfer of tacit knowledge between the trainer and learner(s) and/or between individual learners or the sharing and creation of tacit knowledge through direct experience (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 2004, p. 8).
During this process tacit knowledge is not transformed into explicit knowl- edge. Thus, knowledge is not articulated or encoded. The transfer of knowledge takes place mainly through techniques such as imitation, obser- vation and practice (Nonaka, 1991, p. 28).Nonaka and Konno (1998, p. 40) explain:
We use the term socialization to emphasize that tacit knowledge is exchanged through joint activities such as being together, spending time, living in the same environment – rather than through written or verbal instructions.
The learner’s personal knowledge base increases due to the ‘‘new’’ knowl- edge he has acquired. This knowledge is, however, only available to the learner and does not form part of the knowledge base of the organisation (Nonaka, 1991, p. 28).
Externalisation
This activity entails the conversion of the tacit knowledge of the trainer and/
or individual learner(s) into explicit knowledge or the articulation of tacit knowledge through dialogue and reflection (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 2004, p. 8).
During this process, tacit knowledge is articulated and can thus be shared with other learners and/or individuals. Nonaka and Konno (1998, p. 43) explain:
During the externalization stage of the knowledge-creation process, an individual com- mits to the group and thus becomes one with the group. The sum of the individuals’
intentions and ideas fuse and become integrated with the group’s mental world.
Knowledge is shared through a variety of structured (for example commu- nities of practice, expert forums, training, meetings, think tanks, knowledge cafes) or unstructured techniques (for example discussions, water coolers) and the use of a variety of media. Knowledge thus does not only form part of the personal knowledge base of the trainer or learner, but is now shared with other learners and is therefore part of the knowledge base of the or- ganisation (Nonaka, 1991, p. 29).
Combination
This activity occurs when discrete parts of explicit knowledge are combined and integrated in order to form a more complex whole or systemising and applying explicit knowledge and information (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 2004, p.
9). Combination also indicates that knowledge that was created during the externalisation activity is disseminated or diffused throughout the organ- isation (Nonaka & Konno, 1998, p. 44). Although ‘‘new’’ explicit knowledge can be created through this activity, it contributes to the expansion of the knowledge base of the learner but not that of the organisation (Nonaka, 1991, p. 29).
Internalisation
This activity entails the conversion of the explicit knowledge of the trainer and/or individual learner(s) into tacit knowledge or learning and acquiring new tacit knowledge in practice (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 2004, p. 9). During this process explicit knowledge is internalised and the personal knowledge
base of the learner is expanded by the ‘‘new’’ knowledge he or she has acquired. AsNonaka and Konno (1998, p. 45)explain: ‘‘This requires the individual to identify the knowledge relevant for one’s self within the or- ganizational knowledge’’. If the learner does not internalise the knowledge that has been transferred to him or her, learning does not take place.
The challenge for organisations in terms of the effective execution of knowledge processes is largely dependent on the creation of an environment which is conducive to the above-mentioned knowledge processes and the use of appropriate tools and techniques to enable employees to share their knowledge with one another in order for it to benefit the organisation in its entirety (Nonaka, 1991, p. 29).
Darroch and McNaughton (2002, pp. 231–234)provide specific examples of knowledge management tools and techniques, which are applicable to each of the four modes in the SECI model. Socialisation, or the mode where tacit knowledge interacts with tacit knowledge and individuals share experiences, is enabled by means of mentoring, coaching, apprenticeship and other forms of on-the-job training; imitating and developing shared mental models. Exter- nalisation, or the mode where tacit knowledge converts into explicit knowl- edge, is enabled by creating metaphors and analogies, capturing best practices and developing an organisational memory. Combination, or the mode where explicit knowledge is converted into other sets of explicit knowledge, is en- abled by combining discrete pieces of explicit knowledge or information:
Combination is typical in information processing situations and might include recon- figuring existing knowledge bases through sorting, adding, combining, and categorizing explicit knowledge. Therefore, combination will make heavy use of databases and com- puterized communication networks, as these will make capturing, storing, retrieving, and transmitting of codified knowledge easier. (Darroch & McNaughton, 2002, p. 233)
Internalisation, or the mode where newly created explicit knowledge is converted into tacit knowledge, is enabled by learning by doing and having access to technical libraries.
In response to the importance of the adoption of a knowledge-based view of the organisation, the paradoxical nature of knowledge as well as the increasing importance of knowledge processes for all organisations, the role of mentoring has undergone a significant transformation. This transforma- tion entails two aspects, namely:
1. Mentoring is regarded as a knowledge management technique and largely supports ‘‘the creation and sharing of tacit knowledge through direct experience’’ rather than merely an approach to develop the professional and personal skills of employees (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 2004, p. 9).
2. Mentoring in its structured manifestation is increasingly used by organ- isations, since the creation of knowledge cannot be left to chance as is the case when knowledge is created by means of mentoring in its unstruc- tured manifestation.