Holistic Knowledge Management: Towards Eliminating Ethical Dilemmas of Knowledge Ownership and Sharing

Abstract

Knowledge management is more than a mere accessory to business strategy; it occupies a pivotal position in organizations that operate in the knowledge-based economy. In order to realize an effective knowledge management system it is imperative to ensure an environment of ethical coherence, which is impossible until the dilemmas regarding knowledge ownership and sharing are resolved. This essay approaches the ethical resolution on the basis of a constructivist and humanistic epistemology wherein the invariable tacit dimension of knowledge and the resultant dualistic dialogic discourseare acknowledged. It proposes the achievement of ethical harmony, insofar as holistic knowledge management is concerned, through the channel of seven organizational dimensions, which through the realization of organizational commitment and trust are deemed to generate an ethically paradigmatic harmony across allcultural strands of the organization, viz., starting from the visionary attitude of its leadership, through the organizational norms, values, and beliefs, down to the perception of every individual knowledge worker.