Knowledge, Organisation and Suggestion Schemes

After briefly reviewing the nature and status of suggestion schemes, the paper describes the significance of the paired concepts of ''tacit and explicit knowledge'' and ''individual and collective knowledge'' for suggestion schemes. It continues by considering the relationship of suggestion schemes to four ideal forms of organisation. This paper is grounded in fieldwork which has investigated both private sector and public sector suggestion schemes. The evidence of the field work is analysed in relationship to types of knowledge and idealised organisational forms. The purpose of this analysis is partly to improve the understanding of suggestion schemes, so that questions about their design and efficacy can be answered. It is also to show how suggestion schemes can be deployed within a knowledge management strategy.