Philosophical underpinnings of knowledge-based management as a new management theory

The article looks at the philosophical underpinnings of the latest organization management theory, which views knowledge as the most important strategic resource. The birth of this theory was triggered by the transition of developed nations to the innovation economy, which is a stage of economic development where the most significant role in the process of goods production and service accomplishment is played by intellectual resources. Increasing the effectiveness of the use of these resources is one of the most difficult challenges facing today's managers, which requires formation of specific approaches to organization management and encourages creation, dissemination and effective application of knowledge. The past twenty years have been marked by a fast transition from futuristic speculation to the clear need for adaptation to the realities of the society of knowledge. This transition has been much faster and more intensive than expected, which leads to considerable difficulties in understanding the changes that are taking place. The transition to the society of knowledge has required reconsideration of the existing organization management theories as well as organization management practice. There was a major shift in the organization management theory and practice in the 1990s. Before the 1990s knowledge was viewed just as information storage. Today knowledge is thought of as a flow. In other words, today the emphasis is placed on the life of knowledge within an organization. The shift to the new idea of knowledge in the 1990s in the West lead to the birth of a new management theory called Knowledge Management (KM). Today the Knowledge Management theory is only becoming popular in Russia. The unusual combination of words in the name of the theory causes common misunderstanding of the meaning of the term. Some researchers prefer to use the English term rather than translate it into Russian, as the term Knowledge Management can be translated into Russian in different ways with a difference in meaning. Understanding of the new term is also hampered by the confusion in the way western researchers understand and use the term. While some researchers view Knowledge Management as serving a particular functional objective, to others Knowledge Management is a new paradigm of organization management. It would be wrong to say that the different ways in which the term is employed conflict with one another but there is an obvious need for a logically structured system of the theory. Knowledge Management finds itself at the crossing of 3 three fields: Business Administration, Information science, Humanities. These three sides allow viewing Knowledge Management from different angles as well formulating different objectives depending on the object in question.Many Russian companies make a common mistake of applying a technocraticс approach with an emphasis on using information and communication technology which is ineffective in itself and reminds an empty water pipe network. Misunderstanding of the theory of Knowledge Management leads to its low efficiency. The author believes that there is a need for different terms for management of knowledge and organization management based on the primary role of knowledge and suggests the term Knowledge-based Management that would integrate all the different approaches and emphasize the importance of paying attention to all the aspects of Knowledge Management being the core of Knowledge-based Management.

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