Global shifts in management philosophy from ontological to epistemological approaches

Philosophy of Management

Philosophies of Management

The transition of global economies from being inwardly focused on production efficiencies at the expense of concentrating on how the more fundamental and far more critical market-based forces were impacting their organizations has reached a breaking point. Today every organization must view itself as global first and provincial second. This shift in the philosophy of how companies operate also is responsible for a significant shift in the philosophy of management as well. From relying on an ontological approach that tended to be myopic, to managing businesses often guided by axiologies that have been outdated due to globalization, organizations succeeding are focused on using knowledge as a differentiator, taking and epistemology-based view of the world.

Interpreting the Philosophy of Business in the Context of Globalization

Traditional views of globalization within the context of management practices have changed significantly in the last decade as an epistemologically-based approach to managing business has overtaken the more silo-like and isolated approach to defining ontologically-based models that seek internal efficiencies over market competitiveness and performance (Assundani, 2008). The philosophy of management has in fact shifted away from being inwardly centric, even myopic at times, and has become much more focused on how to compete globally across dissimilar cultures. Globalization is changing all aspects of the philosophy of management, from accounting, ethics, the nature of competition and company's reactions to it.

Compounding this aspect of globalizations' impact on the philosophy of management is the transparency that social networking is also bringing to how organizations execute their strategies and communicate with the outside world (Bernoff, Li, 2008).

In their research, Bernoff and Li (2008) found that the ethics of companies globally are going through a radical shift to greater levels of transparency, truthfulness and disclosure as social networking is forcing an entirely new level of accountability into both public and private companies globally. This shift towards greater transparency is reordering the philosophies of management, forcing a higher level of egalitarianism and utilitarianism in terms of ethics and performance measures (Chang, 2008).

The triad effects of social networking forcing greater accountability and transparency, the need on the part of organizations to be more agile and market-responsive, and the pressure from globalization to embrace knowledge and efficiency as core differentiators are forever changing the philosophy of management globally. In conjunction with these changes is the focus on more of an egalitarian-based approach to managing knowledge workers over the more rigid, command-and-control, authoritarian-based approach of previous generations. These systemic changes in the philosophy of management have been critical for organizational structures to become more agile and capable of responding to increased uncertainty in global economies more effectively (Franklin, 2004). For management to be effective in this new era of increased authenticity, accuracy and trust, there must be a corresponding emphasis on epistemologically-based approaches to turn knowledge into a competitive advantage, surpassing price or availability. Paradoxically the shift from purely ontologically-based management philosophies to those that encompass epistemologically-based approaches require management to be more participative than ever before (Polsfuss, Ardichvili, 2008). Management philosophies that emphasize knowledge creation as the competitive advantage will be significantly more effective in redefining organizational culture (Powell, 2002). As organizational cultures will reflect the philosophies of management over time, getting a sense of the progression away from rigid ontological-based structures to ones that seek out values and knowledge first is crucial. Gaining the ability to sense and capitalize on these shifts in managerial philosophies over time is directly proportional to the ability of any organization to remain competitive over time (Chang, 2008).

Summary

Managing in the 21st century requires an awareness of the pace and extent to which an external environment changing on the one hand, and the need to initiate change in management philosophies to compensate for the shift from command-and-control to more participative and collaborative organizational philosophies and structures. Managers' use of ethics must be central to their interpretation and development of strategies for responding to external opportunities and threats. As organizations shift from being purely focused on silo-based structures to concentrating instead on collaborative cultures based on more knowledge-based differentiation, management will need to aggressively seek out change more than ever before. All of these efforts must be based on a solid foundation of ethical behavior and accountability, transparency and trust to ensure their effectiveness over time.