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How scientific is “the science of delivery”?
Author(s) -
Behn Robert D.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
canadian public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.361
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1754-7121
pISSN - 0008-4840
DOI - 10.1111/capa.12207
Subject(s) - tacit knowledge , explicit knowledge , knowledge management , sociology of scientific knowledge , epistemology , business , computer science , sociology , psychology , philosophy
Some knowledge is “explicit”: It can be conveyed in words, or formulas, or diagrams. Other forms of knowledge are strictly “tacit”: A person who possesses such knowledge cannot convey it to others using the traditional means of human communication. Unfortunately, our knowledge about management is primarily tacit. Yet Barber asserts that his approach to public management is “the science of delivery,” which suggests that his knowledge is explicit and thus that his prescriptions are both amazingly effective and should be followed precisely.