The essence of knowledge and knowledge management lies within the assumption that the most appropriate knowledge and insight enables the frontline workers and managers to systematically achieve better results. Such assumptions lead to extensive research and implementation which is ultimately geared toward greater profitability of a given organization. However, the mere existence of knowledge and implementation does not necessarily translate into greater effectiveness and efficiency. It is important to point out that knowledge and knowledge management have to be strategically designed and implemented in order to achieve the greatest possible effectiveness and efficiency. Hence leading to the issue of pragmatism.
Pragmatism essentially refers to the initiatives that enforce the most vital aspect of knowledge management; practicality. Pragmatism which is originally a philosophical concept was basically referring to logic and its applications in philosophy as well as in other disciplines. In terms of business and its respective sub categories, pragmatism is a rather fundamental concept which refers to application of practical measures that are geared toward actual real life implementation and benefits to the given organization. Though it appears that such explanation is a simplification of pragmatism, the real world applications are rather simple. In its most basic form, pragmatism is the process of finding the best solution to real world problems in business by means of research, implementation and testing to achieve a practical solution. Though research and implementation has been used for a long time, the real difference in pragmatism is the testing to find the most viable solution. However, one has to diffrentiate between the most obvious forms of knowldge.
Insight knowledge refers to the personal experimental learning which occurs by trial and error. In this particular approach the knowledge creation occurs because of stakeholders’ personal or professional interest to improve upon most pressing weaknesses that are noticed. Insight knowledge is abstract because it depends on individuals’ interest. On the other hand, the outside knowledge is created and maintained by external units such as educational institutions and training organization. This particular branch of knowledge is more easily associated with the academic aspects such as theories and established norms.
The ultimate goal of either one of those knowledge concepts is to understand that knowledge and learning can be subjective as well as objective, yet independent from its form or origin it can contribute to organizational standing. Similarly such understanding of knowledge creation or the desire thereof, may enable creative input not only based on traditional wisdom but also in non – traditional and abstract ways that may be beneficial and address untraditional concerns.
Independent from any previously discussed sub topic, it is important to emphasize that every and all phases of knowledge creation, maintenance and sharing requires constant monitoring and quality assurance. Though many facets of business require quality assurance, knowledge management and distribution requires a particular rigid approach due to it’s dynamic and ever changing nature of knowledge and its respective sub categories.
Ultimately, pragmatism and its respective application in business depend on one major factor i.e. testing. The assumption is that unlike other theories and methodology, testing will allow the stakeholders to measure results and adjust their respective strategic measure and implementation to improve final results.
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