Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge
The article discusses how organisational structure and culture affected the preparations for sledging in three Antarctic expeditions between 1901 and 1904. The central focus is how expedition leaders sought tacit knowledge, ‘the knowledge of how we do things.’ Two organisational types were derived f...
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2004
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247403003346 2024-03-03T08:38:24+00:00 Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge Savitt, Ronald 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247403003346 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247403003346 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 40, issue 2, page 153-165 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2004 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247403003346 2024-02-08T08:37:49Z The article discusses how organisational structure and culture affected the preparations for sledging in three Antarctic expeditions between 1901 and 1904. The central focus is how expedition leaders sought tacit knowledge, ‘the knowledge of how we do things.’ Two organisational types were derived from a study of 36 major polar expeditions. These – the industrial organisation and the innovative organisation – were used to analyse how sledging practices evolved in the British National Antarctic Expedition, German South Polar Expedition, and Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. Robert Falcon Scott, in great part as a result of his naval heritage, did not fully understand the need for and the methods required to gain the operational knowledge required for sledging in Antarctica. He applied the traditional command-and-control system based on naval tradition. Erich von Drygalski and William Speirs Bruce applied Fridtjof Nansen's scientific approach, in which the scientific staffs were integrated into sledging operations. In this approach, every variable that could possibly affect the outcome of the research was incorporated into preparations, much as is the case in classical experimental design. While no attempt is made to judge sledging success in the study, the results clearly indicate the importance of knowing how to use the tacit dimension in sledging. The implications go far beyond sledging and suggest the need for managers to have an intimate understanding of how things work. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Polar Record Cambridge University Press Antarctic Fridtjof ENVELOPE(-56.717,-56.717,-63.567,-63.567) Drygalski ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,-64.717,-64.717) Polar Record 40 2 153 165 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Savitt, Ronald Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
The article discusses how organisational structure and culture affected the preparations for sledging in three Antarctic expeditions between 1901 and 1904. The central focus is how expedition leaders sought tacit knowledge, ‘the knowledge of how we do things.’ Two organisational types were derived from a study of 36 major polar expeditions. These – the industrial organisation and the innovative organisation – were used to analyse how sledging practices evolved in the British National Antarctic Expedition, German South Polar Expedition, and Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. Robert Falcon Scott, in great part as a result of his naval heritage, did not fully understand the need for and the methods required to gain the operational knowledge required for sledging in Antarctica. He applied the traditional command-and-control system based on naval tradition. Erich von Drygalski and William Speirs Bruce applied Fridtjof Nansen's scientific approach, in which the scientific staffs were integrated into sledging operations. In this approach, every variable that could possibly affect the outcome of the research was incorporated into preparations, much as is the case in classical experimental design. While no attempt is made to judge sledging success in the study, the results clearly indicate the importance of knowing how to use the tacit dimension in sledging. The implications go far beyond sledging and suggest the need for managers to have an intimate understanding of how things work. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Savitt, Ronald |
author_facet |
Savitt, Ronald |
author_sort |
Savitt, Ronald |
title |
Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
title_short |
Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
title_full |
Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
title_sort |
antarctic sledging preparations and tacit knowledge |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247403003346 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247403003346 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.717,-56.717,-63.567,-63.567) ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,-64.717,-64.717) |
geographic |
Antarctic Fridtjof Drygalski |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Fridtjof Drygalski |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Polar Record |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 40, issue 2, page 153-165 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247403003346 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
153 |
op_container_end_page |
165 |
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1792506783681478656 |