3.2 Codes
Practitioners require symbolic means of expression and communication. Such symbolic means—here referred to as ‘‘codes’’—are often an aid for planning and implementation. Indeed, the very performance of a practice may depend on them. But codes are also required for communicating and thinking about the practice, as well as for recording and storing information. Most economically significant codes are explicit, but some have strong tacit elements. The latter include ‘‘patterns’’ of different kinds that carry meaning to a person skilled in the art or profession without her being able to account for precisely how this happens.