{"product_id":"the-knowledge-creating-company-ikujiro-nonaka-9780195092691","title":"The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation","description":"How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In \u003cem\u003eThe Knowledge-Creating Company\u003c\/em\u003e, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally.\u003cbr\u003eThe authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself with the master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call \"middle-up-down,\" in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline.\u003cbr\u003eAs we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the \"knowledge society,\" one that is drastically different from the \"industrial society,\" and one in which \u003cem\u003eacquiring\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eapplying\u003c\/em\u003e knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that \u003cem\u003ecreating\u003c\/em\u003e knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBecause the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With \u003cem\u003eThe Knowledge-Creating Company\u003c\/em\u003e, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ikujiro Nonaka, Hirotaka Takeuchi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195092694\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195092691\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/18\/1995\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 6.40h x 9.30w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/1995 pg. 1365\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/1995 pg. 84\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLJ Best Business Books\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/1996 pg. 39","brand":"Ikujiro Nonaka","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43992876089599,"sku":"9780195092691","price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3466b7dc-2890-44da-bb49-720b443825a3.jpg?v=1683321297","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-knowledge-creating-company-ikujiro-nonaka-9780195092691","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}