Qualificação da experiência por níveis de similaridade: o caso da mina de níquel

Abstract

Studies on tacit knowledge and the development of expertise have been conducted since the middle of the last century. Because both are developed by an individual through their immersion in groups that possess them (COLLINS and EVANS, 2010), it is affirmed that such social groups constitute a form of life (WITTGENSTEIN, 1976, p.226). It assures, therefore, that the organizations need to deal with the tacit knowledge and the development of an expertise. The concept of levels of similarity (RIBEIRO, 2013a, p.14) was created for the purpose of selecting professionals with a focus on tacit knowledge from an action research carried out in a unit under construction of extraction and nickel processing. The objective of this concept is to compare how similar the place and previous work experience are of the function that the person must play: the greater the similarity, the closer one gets from the necessary experience and vice versa (RIBEIRO, 2013a, p.14). Three levels are proposed to qualify previous experience, which vary according to the most important specificities of the function to be evaluated and the minimum experience time to consider that the individual has acquired the experience necessary to perform it. But how does having prior experience of high similarity influence an organization? Based on this questioning and the contrast identified in Ribeiros action research among professionals with previous experience of low and high similarity with the function for which they were hired for the new industrial plant, a new field research was carried out in the same industrial plant in construction which resulted in the present dissertation. It was identified that the fact that a manager with previous experience of high similarity with his function in the new industrial plant in a management where the company did not have know-how influenced the elaboration of the processes of this management, as well as the hiring of his professionals and the development of their expertise. All measures implemented by the manager of high similarity corroborate with: (I) the classification of previous experience through the concept of levels of similarity (RIBEIRO, 2013a, p.14); (II) the identified contrast between professionals with previous experience of low and high similarity; and (III) with the premise that there is a causal relationship between having experience, developing tacit knowledge and gaining expertise in any field (RIBEIRO, 2013b, p.367)