Konceptuální perspektiva znalostního managementu

Knowledge management is a relatively new discipline in the business administration field. It is focused on knowledge that represents critical factor of organizations‘ successful development. The original concept of knowledge management can be perceived in two different ways in the Czech environment. Firstly, as knowledge management, i.e. specific managerial discipline that deals with knowledge resources or assets and that ties knowledge management with organizational global strategy. Secondly, as management of knowledge, i.e. set of approaches, methods, procedures, techniques or tools utilizable for realization of knowledge management. Management of knowledge originated in different areas such as artificial intelligence, psychology, sociology, pedagogy and other cognitive sciences. Unfortunately, this distinction of two different phenomena is often not considered by both theoreticians and practitioners. Consequently, this situation has significant implications in practical efforts to implement knowledge management into organizations. Description and explanation of differences of these two concepts belong to the conceptual perspective of knowledge management and is based on analogy and systems approach. The main utilized tool is knowledge hierarchy that consists of four basic levels - supranational level, national level, organizational level, and management of knowledge level. While supranational level and national level are general in nature, work with concepts of knowledge society and knowledge economy, and specific knowledge is not important here, organizational level and management of knowledge level are closely related to particular knowledge domain of an organization and therefore work directly either with knowledge or knowledge resources. This paper also clarifies the interdependence of these levels and emphasizes the systemic nature of knowledge managers‘ work.