There's something odd about this post, Harold: I think it is that the frame of reference has become so familiar that it is invisible. Employees who chat at the water-cooler, or during tea breaks are not 'knowledge-sharing'. They may share knowledge along the way, but what they are doing is first and foremost very social, very complex. When as organisations we say 'come hither and share knowledge (but do not chat)' we should hardly be surprised if that fails. We've seen some very successful knowledge sharing at BP; but we work hard to keep the ratio of lolcats just right.