In a semiconductor
manufacturing plant that uses highly sophisticated machinery, we may see that lessons
learned are captured and documented by way of “best known methods,” which
become crucial in reducing downtime in order to attain the target yields. On the other
hand, service-oriented businesses, such as resorts and casinos that deal with a large
number of customers, need to create and reuse models of customer profiles to excel in
their business. Harrah’s Casinos, a service business in the gaming industry, for example,
builds data-mining models and tests their effectiveness through field experiments;
the best models are stored and reused [55]. This is an example of their emphasis
on effective use of explicit knowledge. Such extensions may allow for more specific
recommendations.