БИЗНЕС-ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ КАК ИНСТРУМЕНТ КАПИТАЛИЗАЦИИ ЗНАНИЙ

Ротанова М.Б.¹, Федорова М.В.², Треушников И.А.³

¹ORCID: 0000-0001-8185-4347, кандидат философских наук, доцент,

²ORCID: 0000-0003-4750-5981, кандидат философских наук, доцент,

Нижегородский государственный лингвистический университет им. Н.А.Добролюбова

³ORCID: 0000-0003-3506-9078 доктор философских наук, доцент,

Нижегородская академия МВД России (НА МВД РФ)

БИЗНЕС-ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ КАК ИНСТРУМЕНТ КАПИТАЛИЗАЦИИ ЗНАНИЙ

Аннотация

В статье анализируются перспективы бизнес-образования как наиболее актуальной и востребованной образовательной модели в условиях «общества знания». Тенденции бизнес-образования и корпоративного обучения рассматриваются в контексте существующих на сегодняшний день образовательных парадигм. Делается вывод, что наиболее оптимальным образовательным пространством в процессе капитализации знания становится обучающая организация. Концепция «обучающейся организации» предусматривает некую антропоморфность системы: организационные системы открытого типа способны к обучению и самообучению, рефлексии, мышлению, формированию интеллектуального потенциала, могут приспосабливаться к изменениям внешней среды.

Ключевые слова: бизнес-образование, корпоративное обучение, капитализация знаний, образовательная парадигма, общество знаний, обучающая организация.

Rotanova M.B.¹, Fedorova M.V.², Treushnikov I.A.³

¹ORCID: 0000-0001-8185-4347, PhD in Philosophy, Associate Professor

²ORCID: 0000-0003-4750-5981, PhD in Philosophy, Associate Professor

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod"

³ORCID: 0000-0003-3506-9078, PhD in Philosophy, Professor,

Nizhny Novgorod Academy of Russian MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs)

BUSINESS EDUCATION AS INSTRUMENT OF KNOWLEDGE CAPITALIZATION

Abstract

The article analyzes the prospects of business education as the most relevant and demanded educational model in the conditions of “knowledge society”. Tendencies of business education and corporate training are considered in the context of the educational paradigms existing today. The conclusion is drawn that the learning organization becomes the optimum educational space in the course of knowledge capitalization. The concept of “learning organization” assumes the anthropomorphism of a system: open organizational systems are capable of learning and self-education, reflection, thinking and reasoning, intellectual potential formation and can adapt to the changes of the environment.

Keywords: business education, corporate training, knowledge capitalization, educational paradigm, knowledge society, learning organization.

Introduction

Capitalization of knowledge is one of the most important economic processes in the modern world. Crisis in 2015-2016 obviously demonstrated that material resources have a passing value and currently they can not be a stable factor of economic development. Knowledge is today a fundamental economic category indeed. The world is actively entering a new stage of civilization evolution called the knowledge society. The idea about need of such transition distinctively sounded in the UNESCO World report Towards knowledge societies in 2005. According to authors of the document, this transition is necessary to level negative consequences of the information stage of social evolution [3, p.7-9]. The knowledge society conception, which is actively developed by R. Hutchins, T. Husén, and P. Drucker, assumes not just accurate differentiation of the concepts knowledge and technologies but also that the knowledge capitalization process will have certain moral reasons.

If in the UNESCO report in 2005 only just a certain panorama of the future was presented, i.e. in fact a futurological project, then today, more than ten years later, it is possible to note that the transition to the knowledge society is almost complete. On May 21, 2016, that thaught distinctly sounded in H. Gref’s lecture to graduates of the Moscow business-school “Skolkovo”. Stating the end of an era of information technologies, H. Gref spoke about need of cardinal changes of a management system at all levels that is determined by requirements of the new époque [2]. As still P. Drucker believed, in the knowledge society to improve knowledge processing, to know how to derive profits from it, as well as to segregate the knowledge management into a separate sphere of action become the main objective of management [1, p. 24-33].

Knowledge personification, i.e. inalienability of special skills-competences-knowledge from their bearers-kognitariats, is a specificity of knowledge capitalization processes. That is why, the knowledge becomes the capital only in the process of interactions between people and organizations when a synergy of organizational and knowledge capitals occurs.

In the knowledge society, the role of education and educational technologies becomes considerably acute. Presently, in the mass market of knowledge there is a situation of fierce competition among producers (scientists, lecturers, and business coaches). Particularly, as the UNESCO report specifies, upon introducing the thesis “education for all throughout life”, education ceases to be associated exclusively with classical educational institutions (school, university, etc.). A new knowledge is generated in the business environment. Many researches of a business education note that “at emergence of crisis, exactly this sphere of education most quicker copes with crises”, and also the business education can seriously promote overcoming of a gap between cultures [4, p. 117-120].

State-of-the-art knowledge-products are generally constituted as case studies (i.e. they are essentially based on specific situations and precedents). However, in conditions of Russian reality, the substantial part of the knowledge product relies on a set of methods and technologies of last years that results in lack of prospects for the future implementation. An attempt to analyze business education prospects as a factor of knowledge capitalization in the context of educational paradigms existing at the moment in Russia becomes the main objective of this article.

Materials and Methods

As theoretical foundations, the article uses such basic conceptions of economic sociology and sociology of knowledge as conceptions of knowledge society, knowledge management, and learning organization (P. Hutchins, T. Husén, P. Drucker, I. Nonaka and H. Takeuchi, Т. Davenport and L. Prusak, B.Z. Milner, A.L. Goponenko, P. Senge, M. Pedler, T. Boydell, N. Seng, N.Dixon, etc.).

A diagnostic approach to development of business education models is presented by T.V. Radaev whose work [5] became the main theoretical and methodological foundation of the article. In particular, the provision concerning direction and content of the corporate training was developed.

Tendencies of the business education and educational paradigms of the present. While characterizing the knowledge system of the present, it is necessary to take into account an oppositional influence of the conservative education institution that prevents to introduce innovative technology procedures into the knowledge market. This situation will be invariable as long as Russian education meets requirements of economic efficiency. Though, some tendencies of the higher education development are aimed to eliminate this opposition.

Conveyor principle of education is distinguished by subject-centrism and principles of fundamentalization, knowledge systematization based on general scientific theories and world view, view of memory improvement are catalysts of this educational paradigm. The taught subjects line up in a clear consistent system which becomes a convenient matrix to generate subsequent knowledge. This fundamental (university) educational paradigm forms the basic style of thinking allowing the person to be guided in the surrounding reality including the social one.

The complete absence of practical orientedness and transmission of the yesterday’s experience are inhibitors of this educational model. It is caused is by domination of such educational tools as lectures, seminars, colloquiums, etc. The net result is that a trainee is overburdened with irrelevant information presented as a set of diverse sometimes contradictory data not attached to a specific practical reality. The effect of forgetfulness of the chamber knowledge is the major negative result of such educational model. Focusing on an easy retention of postulates, dogmas and axioms in memory leads to leveling of activities of productive creative thinking. Thus, instead of the homo informed we obtain the individual overburdened with information.

The next educational paradigm is used to be called the liberal and rationalistic concept of training. Within this model, the trainee is provided with more personal liberty; a weaker influence of enlightenment is observed. This educational model is also called a design one. Design of knowledge is carried out on the basis of certain specific situations e.g. connected to activities of a specific company.  Intensity is an advantage and catalyst of the design paradigm. The abstract and compressed style in presenting information about object causes domination of practically oriented case studies, business role-playing games, and trainings. Prevailing techniques of practical implementation and play component intensify the assimilation of reference-telegraph information that results in activation of thought processes. The effectiveness of the training process within the liberal and rationalist paradigm may be presented as the following formula:

.

Dominating inhibitors of design and play training are relativism (training is performed based on a specific design object) and consequences of the situational approach. As a result of use of the training model we may observe prevalence of the fragmentary style of thinking at trainees.

The next training concept is the learning paradigm in mode of autopoiesis (i.e. of orientation towards self-reproduction and self-referentiality). This educational format assumes direct involvement in the real life of corporation, deep immersion of trainees in all organizational issues. In this connection, this educational form meets not often [6, p.77].

The modern management cultivates an idea of necessity to use eventualities, which occur while an organization develops, that can even result in radical deviation from the initial object in view. Just within the autopoiesis model of management, managers have to be organizational catalysts. Troubleshooting, selection of the most burning troubles for the organization and then subsequent development, identification of ways and methods of solution – all this is directly related to the training process in the paradigm of autopoiesis. Ready solutions or recipes cannot be. Creative groups seek for case solutions of emerging vital problems. It turns out that consumption of knowledge is connected to its production. Consumers are producers of knowledge.

Thus, emergence of the problem organizational field results in need to form an educational autopoiesis space within the company. Problems serve as a driving force of development and result of functioning of the organizational system. Problems are catalysts of search for new forms, ways and tools to find out and to effectively solve corporative failures.

At the same time, new economic conditions of information reality reject perception of education as an elementary mechanism of information transmission and acquisition. The present day is “knowledge versus information” [5, p. 13-15]. This vision is especially vital in the context of business education. Training of adults with sufficient amount of knowledge, a certain amount of abilities, and a limited number of skills. The business education is exactly aimed at skills acquisition when it comes to adult, experienced, and responsible people who wish to learn a new activity.

Skills of productive activities are formed in the modern autopoiesis concept of corporate training that competes with traditional educational forms including additional and complete education. A serious amount of finance is spent by corporations for training programs aimed at development of practical skills whereas classical university programs are focused on the reproductibility of knowledge bases.

In a broad sense, the corporate training programs should be aimed at implementation of mindsets to modify behavioral models of employees while the necessary volume of knowledge is transmitted to them. The corporate training is a   focused and ongoing process of correlation organization’s needs and requirements to employees. It is characterized by the process of continuity in changing the set of knowledge, skills, motivations, attitudes, and beliefs of employees, and by the process of regularity in coordination of the behavior of workers in general.

A growing number of foreign corporations, through a strategy of its own development, implement the concept of “learning organization” in the preparation and development of managers and personnel training. The accumulated extensive practical experience of western corporations can and should be applied to the current business processes in Russia. Critical reflection on the condition of objective assessment will enable Russian companies to adapt and successfully implement the necessary changes in the corporate training system.

The concept of "learning organization" (P. Senge, T. Boydell, N. Seng, P. Dixon) is based on the following thesis: like a man, an open organizational system is capable of learning, thinking, and the formation of intellectual potential. As people, open organizational systems are able to adapt to changes in the environment by resorting to the use of feedback mechanisms. Organizations are able to learn from experience, carrying the thought process, perceiving the surrounding reality, interpreting it and taking on this basis the necessary decisions.

There are various forms of management consulting, testing and implementation of new management (and not only) technologies, strategic and tactical planning in matters of personnel management, identification, adaptation, adoption and implementation of organizational goals. This is the most significant and popular format of business education in the development of human resources of the corporation. The materialization of the knowledge, skills and experience obtained by employees in the practical activities of the organization (i.e. capitalization of the obtained knowledge) contributes to a "learning organization."

Successful transition and transformation of new ideas and knowledge in organizational practice is possible if the corporation has a complex of organizational skills: ability to identify problems of management, the ability to implement organizational experiments, the ability of learning on their own corporate experience and that of other organizations, the ability to adapt the acquired knowledge to the specific needs organization and, finally, the ability to capitalize the knowledge gained.

Research Results

The concept of "learning organization" keeps current the problem of organizational knowledge management. In our opinion, exactly this concept is the best one under conditions of knowledge capitalization, since training programs are focused on corporate strategic objectives, related to needs and requirements of company’s employees. Business education obtained in the training organization, assumes a strategic vector of human potential development that conditions the creation of opportunities for staff to acquire knowledge and skills beyond their current competence.

Unlike conventional, the learning organization responds quickly to changes and emerging issues in the external and internal organizational environment. It is able to adequately carry out the analysis of the causes of certain organizational problems; it is characterized by a prognostic approach to understanding the needs to adjust the organizational policies and strategies. The concept of "learning organization" is successfully applied in crisis situations, when restructuring and in other situations of crisis management [6, p.79-80].

Continuous monitoring of the strategic area management makes it possible with the help of training programs to solve issues, tasks, and problems facing the organization. To identify the preferences of corporation experts concerning a form and types of training contributes to the adequacy of the implementation and adoption of new knowledge. A systematic approach to identify organizational training needs and continuity of all elements of corporate advanced training are guarantors of the quality and effectiveness of the performed set of measures.

The group training is a dominant form of corporate training. The training in groups as opposed to other types and forms is considered to be preferable because of its synergetic effect and direct access to the possibility of corporate transformation and change.

Initiation of the organizational training process is provided by senior management, who acts as a catalyst in the replication and adaptation of new knowledge and information, ideas and experience into the company’s organizational structure. Development and preparation of the corporate personnel should be assigned to mid-level managers. In virtue of their job position they are more immersed in the nuances of the existing discrepancies between the goals and objectives of the structural units and the scope of their decisions, between the specified requirements for a particular employee and the ones for the working group, between their motivation and ability to meet the demands of the organization.

It should be noted that the practice of the successful implementation of the concept of "learning organization" was confirmed in the segment of small and medium-sized companies. Thus, the concept of "learning organization" promotes the formation of a new theoretical foundation on which rests the modern approaches in the field of knowledge management, which differ from the traditional ones by some fairly essential features, namely: specificity, active-activity aspect, focusing on the end result of training, self-principle, and systematic approach.

Conclusion

In conclusion we would like to emphasize that the formation and development of a new type of companies has a significant impact on the system of training and re-training in classical educational institutions. Business education technologies can be actively used in the system of basic and secondary general education, higher education. It is in a business environment that such important competences as the ability to diversify the methods of obtaining new knowledge, as well as independently to produce new knowledge are actively formed. This makes further research of business education instruments and definition of its possible applications in different organizations relevant and meaningful.

Список литературы / References

1. Drucker P. F. Next Information Revolution. Forbes ASAP.1998. P. 24–33.
2. Греф Г. России требуется новая система управления [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.bbc.com/russian/business/2016/05/160522_gref_skolkovo_lecture (дата обращения: 29.09.2016).
3. К обществам знания. Всемирный доклад ЮНЕСКО. Издательство Юнеско. – 2005. 239 с.
4. Константинов Г.Н., Филонович С.Р. Университеты, общество знания и парадоксы образования. // Вопросы образования. № 4 С- 106-126.
5. Радаев Т.В. Корпоративное обучение в системе социального управления: автореф. дисс. … канд.социол.н. Нижний Новгород 2007. 28с.
6. Ротанова М.Б. Технология корпоративного обучения в контексте образовательных парадигм // Вестник НГТУ им. Алексеева. Серия: Управление в социальных системах. Коммуникативные технологии. 20014 № 1. С.75-82.

Список литературы на английском языке / References in English

1. Drucker P. F. Next Information Revolution. / Forbes ASAP. – 1998. – P. 24–33.
2. Gref G. Rossii trebuetsja novaja sistema upravlenija [Russia needs a new system of management.] [Electronic resource]. – URL: http://www.bbc.com/russian/business/2016/05/160522_gref_skolkovo_lecture (accessed: 29.09.2016). [in Russian]
3. K obshhestvam znanija. Vsemirnyj doklad UNESCO. [To the societies of knowledge. UNESCO worldwide report]. Izdatel'stvo UNESCO. 2005. - 239 P. [in Russian]
4. Konstantinov G.N., Filonovich S.R. Universitety, obshhestvo znanija i paradoksy obrazovanija [Universities, knowledge society and paradoxes of education] // Voprosy obrazovanija [ J. Issues of Education]. - 2005. #4. P. 106-126. [in Russian]
5. Radaev T.V. Korporativnoe obuchenie v sisteme upravlenija: avtoref. diss. … kand. sociol. n. [Corporate education in the management system: Ph.D. thesis.]. - Nizhnij Novgorod, 2007. - 28 P. [in Russian]
6. Rotanova M.B. Tendencii korporativnogo obuchenija v kontekste obrazovatel'nyh paradigm [Corporate education tendencies in the context of educational paradigms] // Vestnik NGTU im. R.E. Alekseeva. Serija: Upravlenie v social'nyh sistemah. Kommunikativnye tehnologii. [NGTU Herald. Management in social systems. Communicative technologies]. - 2014. #1. P. 75-82. [in Russian]