Tacit and explicit knowledge

A key distinction made by the majority of knowledge management practitioners is Nonaka’s reformulation of Polanyi’s distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The former is often subconscious, internalized, and the individual may or may not be aware of what he or she knows and how he or she accomplishes particular results. At the opposite end of the spectrum is conscious or explicit knowledge – knowledge that the individual holds explicitly and consciously in mental focus, and may communicate to others. In the popular form of the distinction tacit knowledge is what is in our heads, and explicit knowledge is what we have codified.

For further information see f. ex.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management.