Knowledge Study Help
The definitions of an expert can be varied. In the case of Knowledge Structure Mapping, expertise is considered as follows.
Sometimes, the label 'competent' is used as an alternative to the label 'expert' and vice versa. Yet failure to understand the meaning of and the difference between these two labels can lead to the misunderstanding of functional knowledge requirements.
The label competent implies that a person is fully capable of carrying out a defined task successfully. The label expert implies that the person is able to carry out a defined task successfully but is also in possession of considerable related knowledge and experience which give the person authority in the area of the defined task.
In more practical terms terms, a competent person is likely to be able to carry out a given task successfully but may have trouble if things go wrong or if a new way of doing the task is to be designed or if the same procedure is to be applied to a different task. The expert however, would be able to usefully contribute to or even deal with all of the events discussed as additional to simply carrying out a defined task successfully.
There are implications for an organisation which employs people to carry out tasks no matter how small or how large and complex these tasks are. After all, even running a multinational organisation can be described as a task or even running an entire nation.
Employing competent people and training and educating people to a level of competence is a minimum requirement. Competent people will be able to ensure that an organisation works successfully. Often, competence is all that is demanded. An organisation which demands only competence is operating at a high level of knowledge risk. When everything is continuing as it is expected to do, the organisation is successful. When things change from the expected towards the unexpected, then the organisation is in trouble.
When the unexpected happens or when an organisation needs to change direction, then it needs experts.
To reach a level of competence requires the correct education and training over a suitable period of time and with a measured exposure to tasks which gradually pull a person towards the level of competence required. To reach the level of expert is altogether more demanding. A person must have already reached a level of competence and then must work in the the specific knowledge area for many years. During this time the developing expert will meet and solve problems, he or she will make mistakes and those mistakes will form the backbone of that persons expertise. The developing expert will notice things which are similar, things which should be similar but are in fact different and will discuss all of this with colleagues. The experts knowledge will not only be about the specific knowledge area it will surround it and embrace it.
One problem with this is that it now takes wisdom to see that both competence and expertise are required and to recognise that there are no short cuts to obtaining these.
