The influence of lateral managerial relationships on knowledge management in UK manufacturing

Based on a philosophical definition of 'What is knowledge?', which is 'Justified true belief', this paper considers the extreme difficulty of assembling accurate knowledge for use in manufacturing systems, and asks, 'What can be done about it?'. Data has been collected by recorded observation of managerial activities and behaviour, over a number of years. Peer relationships are of special interest and use here. A central issue in the paper is to explain how managerial, peer relationships help to counteract and manage inaccurate and poorly presented knowledge bases in manufacturing systems. The chief route to this is by, 'getting people to collaborate', by 'faster decision-making' and by 'more accurate decision solutions'; three processes, which it can be shown, are likely outcomes from good peer relationships.