Management in a Knowledge-Based Organization- Historical Perspective on Societal Change

Abstract

There are many theorists that tried to explain human development and maturity and provide answers to human responses to the challenges of living and working together in a societal environment under certain circumstances during a lifetime. This paper provides a summary of the core aspects of Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory, other developmental approaches, and some critical aspects that are related to human and societal development and the field of management. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the areas where further research efforts are required, so as practitioners to develop insights into their understanding of Vygotsky’s theory applied to human nature, improve their personal knowledgeable level and ensure both the effectiveness in accomplishing organizational objectives and the individual’s satisfaction in a knowledgeable-based organization.

Management in a Knowledge-Based Organization

 Vygotsky was a Russian Psychologist during the Russian Revolution, who developed a theory that is considered one of the foundations of constructivism. The Soviet seminal thinker gave emphasis to the broader socio-historical context of development and focused on individuals along with the fluid boundary between self and others (Vygotsky, 1997a). Though he developed his cultural-historical theory in the early 1920s the philosophical framework he provided identifies new avenues and insightful interpretations about cognitive concepts in psychology. Vygotsky introduced the concepts of internalization of knowledge, mediation of intellectual functioning by cultural tools, and zone of proximal development.

Internalization of knowledge is the stage of human knowledge where individuals learn from their social context and then embody those learned concepts into themselves. According to Vygotsky (1978), cognitive development occurs with social/individual mutual or reciprocal action or influence that is called interaction.

The concept of the difference between what a learner can perform independently and what he or she can do with assistance is the name called “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD). Furthermore, the ZPD is “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978).

The teacher is the “More Knowledgeable Other” (MKO) who plays an essential part in learning procedure providing a variety of instructional tools (tasks, process, concepts etc), so as to “scaffold” the development of student’s knowledge in the social context of dynamic cognitive activities (Mariage, Englert & Garmon, 2000). 

According to Vygotsky (1997b), society shares its cognitive goals with the child, and the child shapes the environment through cognitive exchanges-such as the ZPD and internalization that occur by interaction in a particular setting. Child development is guided by the role of cultural mediation of intellectual functioning (collaboration with areas that the child is unfamiliar with) by using cultural tools (Cole, John-Steiner, Scribner & Souberman, 1978) and interpersonal communication (Vygotsky, 1997c), so as higher mental functions to develop through interactions, that represent the shared knowledge of a culture (Vygotsky, 1997b) and self-efficiency. Vygotsky’s ideas had a different impact in the science of human development and scientists provided different definitions in their studies when analyzing parts of his theory and, as Vygotsky could say, this is because of the fact that these scientists and relevant studies come from different social context. For example, Landry, Miller-Loncar, Smith & Swank (2002), and Hughes & Ensor (2009) both focused on verbal scaffolding; the former highlighted the conceptual connections between objects whereas the latter looked at the elaboration of tasks and praise for children's performance. Wood, Bruner & Ross (1976) demonstrated the nonverbal factors in a six parts scaffolding process. Bernier, Carlson, & Whipple (2010) emphasized parental support and considered it as an important factor for a child’s mediation.

In brief, the vision behind constructivism is to build a new system through a careful analysis of the traditional issues of psychology as they were posed by the turbulent Soviet social society of the 1920s by using broad approaches and methods informed by Western intellectual tradition and introducing of modernized methods of studying and developing human behavior. In other words, a system of psychology that promotes and motivates advanced scientific human knowledge.

Human development theories and knowledge-based organization

Many theories regarding human development and maturity provide insightful concepts and ideas that can help managers to reframe strategies in a knowledge-based organization so as to ensure effectiveness and efficiency, along with employees’ satisfaction within the organization, and lead to the maintenance of the competitive advantage. It is necessary first to define the term “knowledge-based organization”, second to find out how the various human development theories apply to the management field, and finally to provide a framework for managing people in the above-mentioned organization.

Definition of the term “knowledge-based organization”

The concept of a knowledge-based organization (KBO) began to be attractive to enterprises and researchers of organizations, who wanted to imprint some kind of formulas that could be the key to the change and success of an organization/enterprise. Information, knowledge, and organizational learning seem to be the most critical factors for the continuous accumulation of action knowledge, creativity, and intelligence in a fast-changing environment (Cheng, 2005). According to Zack (2003), KBO is a “collection of people and supporting resources that create and apply knowledge via continued interaction” (Zack, 2003).

The factors that make an organization knowledge-based were studied by previous researchers and writers such as Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross, Roth & Smith (1999) and Brandt (2003). According to the above researchers the fundamental premise of a KBO approach is that if the individual, the team, and the organization truly learn, they can truly change because they learn. The true change brings the individual, the team, and the organization in front of the new knowledge as a beginner that examines his/her changes in the Vygotskian’s stage of ZPD, so as the individual continues to internalize the new concepts (Vygotsky, 1978). It is the double-loop learning method that turns back to find out the main reasons and the motives behind the facts (Argyris, 1994). In other words, learning “fuels” are changing and this change provides more learning, forming a virtuous cycle (Retna and Tee, 2006).

In a KBO the employees continuously increase their ability to create the results that they truly wish, through new and extensive models of thought and a continuously common ambition to learn together (Senge, et.al, 1999). However, organizational learning does not figure the sum of individual learning of the employees of an organization, even if the learning at the individual level is essential for organizational learning. It is the dynamic process of interaction between the members of the organization at all levels that is supported by the continuous communication and exchange of information in all directions (Ellstrom, 2001).

For Brandt (2003) learning organizations have a. an incentive structure that encourages adaptive behavior, b. challenging but achievable shared goals, c. members who can accurately identify the organization’s stages of development, d. supportive organizational cultures, e. an institutional knowledge base and processes for creating new ideas, so as to act upon information in ways best suited to their purposes, exchange information frequently with relevant external sources, get feedback on products and services and refine continuously their basic processes. As “open systems” sensitive to the external environment, including social, political, and economic conditions, KBO focuses on searching, gathering, and making use of information in quality differentiation and innovation (Daft, 2005).

Application of human development theories in the management field

The interactive theories that are represented by Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory, Bandura's (1986) social learning, and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological theory can provide a useful framework for managing people in a KBO. The learner/employee is essential to the learning process as he/she actively engages to accomplish tasks at various stages of development (Piaget, 1952; Erikson, 1950) and through the process of scaffolding intensifies his/her efforts, so as to reach the top of the hierarchy of needs –self-actualization (Maslow, 2000) and maturity (Erikson, 1950). The manager’s responsibility is to identify and improve both the individual’s and organization's hierarchical needs, so as to achieve improvement and positive objectivity and create a common strategy to support both individualist and workforce collaboration for organizational development (Maslow, 2000).

Additionally, managers sometimes can use the role of psychoanalyst, so as to motivate individuals’ conscious and unconscious mental capacities (Freud, 1938) in the creation of new knowledge. Emphasis should be given to employees’ achievements and accomplishments. Managers who address and recognize the learning ability and knowledge capacity of their employees may evaluate the levels of competency within the organization and create new working conditions, so as to produce the higher performance level of output and the most positive results from their workforce. 

By exploring the global aspects of management under Vygotskian perspective, managers may enhance their ability to develop more positive and effective solutions for strategic human resource initiatives whereas Piaget’s cognitive development informs managers and organizations that every employee is at a different cognitive level and that they interpret knowledge and logic at different levels too.

By analyzing, comparing, and contrasting constructivism with other theoretical approaches managers have the opportunity to bring themselves into the ZPD and internalize the sociocultural knowledge (Vygotsky, 1987) of the global environment, so as to contribute to the process of organizational change and development through a lifetime. The above continuous procedure “scaffolds” managers’ critical thinking and provides them with knowledgeable tools, in order to support or refute management models and their application to the field of practice. Practical applications in the professional field describe the way that management knowledge works out successfully, based on the previously developed knowledge in order for the next stage of the ZPD to be demonstrated (Cole, John-Steiner, Scribner & Souberman, 1978) and the advanced management knowledge to be achieved.

Managers can also use other tools such as the internet, enhance their cognitive skills through synchronous and asynchronous environments, and interact with each other as MKOs or mentors in unfamiliar areas in order to develop higher mental functions.  The more engaged managers become with human development the more meaningful the content of knowledge management become and apply to larger groups (Brandt, 2003) since knowledge is like “a suspension bridge, which is used to explore and explain the ongoing dilemmas experienced by career practitioners and their clients as they seek to balance the opposing tensions that enable the bridge to fulfill its vital functions” (Bassot, 2012).

Framework for managing people in a KBO

 The above human development models provide further insights to effective communication, efficient guidance, and group interaction at all levels of a KBO. Organizations have their own distinguishable personalities, their unique activities, and different rules of discipline. By enhancing employees’ satisfaction, encouraging employees’ autonomy, empowering system functions, and enriching interaction and communication activities, managers can frame a significant positive influence on the acceptance of new knowledge systems within the organization (Liaw, Hatala & Huang, 2010), since the open communication and the exchange of knowledge hold the organization together (Zack, 2003).

By defining the challenging issues that come up as “learning objects” and motivating the groups to work together on the solutions, managers reinforce the learning activity and creativity within the KBO and simultaneously have the opportunity to learn from their employees, since variety solutions can be applied to various environments (Zack, 2003).

The model of open communication between managers and employees may lead to the creation of a well-organized KBO that eliminates the costs by decreasing the amount of employee time spent trying to find information among myriad possibilities, policies, and procedures give customers easy access to information and make the interaction simpler for both the customer and the organization. According to Lauring & Selmer (2012), communication frequency has strong positive relationships with positive dissimilarity attitudes within multicultural working environments. Managers have to indulge in lifelong learning communication, since the tool of language is flexible and fluid and is changing continuously in a globally changing environment, so as to provide opportunities and incentives for experimentation and learning.

In KBO managers and employees may share and co-create knowledge by using various forms of knowledge and exchanges may be increasingly viewed as important vehicles of collective learning in the workplace and provide a useful framework for understanding motivators, barriers, and enablers for successful knowledge sharing and learning (Ardichvili, 2008). The framework may include key motivational factors, such as utilitarian considerations, value-based considerations, and sense of community and belonging; barriers to knowledge sharing, including interpersonal factors, procedural and/or use of technology-related factors, and cultural norms; and enablers of knowledge sharing, including supportive organizational culture, presence of personal knowledge-based trust, and availability of adequate tools (Ardichvili, 2008).

Managers in a KBO should also consider social and national-cultural interventions and individuals’ maturity before decision making and taking action in a multicultural environment, so as to maintain a sharing, constructive, learning, and positive organizational culture (Mughal & Zafar, 2011). As McLaurin (2008) pointed out the creation of a strong organizational culture that minimizes the national cultural differences within the organization is of great importance. Managers should promote a culture of international professional practice within the organizations. In other words, an organizational culture that will take into account multiculturalism, enhance professional development, equal opportunities, and professionalism, retain employees’ social security rights and promote interdisciplinary education (Jiang, 2012).

In order to understand diversity and multicultural environments so as to become effective leaders, managers have to obtain knowledge on human development under different sociocultural contexts. Human development and maturity are guided by the role of cultural mediation of intellectual functioning by using cultural tools such as interpersonal communication and representing the shared knowledge of a culture (Vygotsky, 1997).

Managers, acting as mentors, have the responsibility to bring the followers into the Zone of Proximal Development on purpose to internalize the sociocultural knowledge (Vygotsky 1987) of their working and global environment and process the organizational change and maturity to the most positive outcome on the ground of development. The interplay among these types of cultures along with employees’ motivation to fiddle with concepts, ideas, and beliefs, and preconceptions physically and mentally as amateurs (Drori, 2007) could compound individual maturity within an organization by putting insights to the need of understanding how these types of cultures work and how to affect individuals and organizations (Perez & Fried, 2012).

Managers can use the shared language and shape share cognition (community’s thoughts) through the company’s vision and mission in a shared social context where learning and individual development is possible (Ghosh, 2004). They can be mediators of the social speech so as this speech to become institutionalized inner speech, shared knowledge, and transform the organizational culture to a more learning one. By analyzing knowledge shared practices in status meetings and trying to maintain awareness of the cultural conflicts, managers and employees collaborate the use of shared ideas, concepts and materials and create new environments (internet, events, meetings, seminars, open discussions) so as to built human “bridges” that mediate people and cultures (Boden, et.al.2012).

By conducting surveys and interviews of key participants, managers are able to “interpret the story behind the numbers” and by circulating the results allow the knowledge to “flow” at every level of the organization (Zack, 2003). Managers are called to close the gap between the organizational knowledge and the organizational needs and focus internally on the strengths and weaknesses components of their organization and externally on opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis).

Additionally to the above, management should have something more than sensitivity to the workers if the change is too complex, so the company adapts to the environment successfully. The key of good leadership is to be authentic that is to share authentic self relations and learning through significant human values and use ethically and morally uplifting, in order for the KBO to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. (Lombard, et.al. 2012).

Furthermore, employee job satisfaction (a factor that fulfills employees’ needs) that comes from authentic leadership is significant no matter the follower’s ethnicity, as is pointed out by Lux (2012). The organizational needs, interpersonal and inter-organizational relations, job enrichment, and giving autonomy, responsibility, and recognition to employees play a great role so as the employees stay committed to the shared vision and mission of the company (Morgan, 2006). Maslow sees the educational and working environment as places that an individual can become better “en masse” (Maslow, 2000) and gets an enlightened direction so as to fulfill his/her self-actualization. Interactions under sophisticated coaching can also be a way to the desired outcome without sacrifices. It is the manager’s responsibility to put each employee in the right position and provide different motivation tools so as to have the most effective and efficient solutions. Therefore, management may influence their employees by coaching them on how to properly act, create success and become more flexible and innovative for the organization’s survival and future success (Ketola 2010).

Summarizing the framework for managing people in a KBO may include key motivational factors, such as utilitarian considerations, value-based considerations, and sense of community and belonging; reconsideration of barriers to knowledge sharing such as interpersonal factors, procedural and/or use of technology-related factors, and cultural norms; and enablers of knowledge sharing such as supportive organizational culture, presence of personal knowledge-based trust, and availability of adequate tools.

Discussion

The process of management encompasses a collection of components including but not limited to functions, objectives, and operating activities (Zhao & Roper, 2011). “To provide the best quality and the most innovative products using the most efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly processes it engages the hearts and minds of its entire organization in managing the knowledge and learning to support that strategy” (Zack, 2003).

Though a knowledge gap exists in the literature review since learning contexts are changing rapidly and the analyses of interaction along with mediated communication is considered tentative and not fully supported in various scientific fields (Rossi, 2010), managers face the opportunity and simultaneously the challenge of processing successful knowledge management models and “evidence-based approaches” (Van de Ven, 2007) so as to close the gap between theory and practice. 

Since an individual’s growth and development is a sequence of steps or stages undergoing qualitative transformations and higher mental functions with socio-cultural origins, that are developed through interactions (Vygotsky, 1978), it is impossible to examine individual functioning without understanding its place in development. The need to utilize various conceptual frameworks due to the variety of sociocultural environments verifies the fact that no single theory or method can adequately explain the complexity of phenomena (Cohen and Manion, 1994; Patton, 2002).

Viewing organizations and organizational structures through multiple metaphorical lenses (Morgan, 2006) in a multi-cultural environment, various management models, and human development theories, managers, today, have a great opportunity to practice the gain knowledge and transform themselves and the organizations, so as to successfully adapt to environmental, social and economic changes and maintain the competitive advantage for the global good. 

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