Organizational knowledge : discrete manageable item or complex dynamic flow?

[摘要] We are in the final stages of a transition from the industrial era to the information era.Some may argue that we are already there. The impact of this transition is felt in allspheres of everyday life, it is present in shifting paradigms and it fuels constant wavesof change. In attempting to master this changing world of the last few decades,academics and practitioners focused their attention on the management of knowledgein organisations.The concept of knowledge has been an elusive one for two thousand years andintroducing the ideas of management and organisation to this already blurred notionbrings about more distortion. This elusiveness is ever-present when organisationalknowledge management is written about, presented or discussed. There always seemsto be a duality in its nature – on the one end of the spectrum, the manageability ofknowledge itemised as 'thing and on the other end the unmanageability of 'flowscreating knowledge. There is a distinct discourse equating knowledge to information.These concepts are used interchangeably and there is a strong focus on the use oftechnology to manage knowledge stocks. In other treatises, we are constantlyreminded about the inherent complexities of knowledge, humans, relationships andhow people, individually and collectively, create meaning.This thesis sets out to determine whether knowledge should be seen as a manageableitem or whether it is more complex, a flow, that might be guided and nurtured butnever 'managed; or whether, it is in fact, both a 'thing and a 'flow.With neither theory testing nor theory development in mind, the thesis is a journeyinto the existing epistemological literature, investigating various views on andtypologies of knowledge, aiming to add value through interpretation. As acomparative study, the thesis discusses the views of authors on knowledgemanagement and sense making. Following the comparison of 'thing and 'flow, thethesis concludes by likening the research question to a similar paradox of light –knowledge should always be managed as a 'thing and a 'flow similar to light beingboth a particle and a wave.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University