An Exposition and Comparative Study of the Epistemological and Philosophical Principles of Knowledge Management of Islam and the West

Today, knowledge is regarded as the first strategic source for people and organizations. Organizations can make success if they create new knowledge, distribute it widely across the organization and rapidly change it into new technologies and products. In order to be successful in this field and have access to knowledge, organizations need to know and understand the epistemological and philosophical foundations of knowledge management. The philosophy of "knowledge management" is recognized by Islam and the West as a discipline, and it can be the source of economy, power and welfare. The concentration on the philosophy of knowledge management and comparing between its traditional view and modern view can contribute to discovering new ways, through which knowledge can be recognized, managed and applied. Using the "cyclic process of analysis", the present paper seeks to explain the epistemological and philosophical foundations of knowledge management in the West, review them and compare them with the religious epistemology and principles of Islam. A deep understanding of the substantial difference between the western view and Islamic view about knowledge management can pave the way for replacing the existing foundations with those of religious epistemology.Thus, the information and results about Islamic and Western knowledge management can be gained by referring to these issues to make conclusions. This study shows that acquisition, maintenance, application and distributing of knowledge are, according to Islamic sources, the cycle of life or process of knowledge management. Furthermore, the aforementioned process including silence and distributing of knowledge is considered as a constant and creative process, and the stop and disparity of any cycle or process will pose risk to the whole organization. On the contrary, the continuous and evolutionary development of knowledge, not only helps create new knowledge in the organization, but also improves decision-making, brings a decisive competitive advantage to organizations, and in general, raises the organization's Performance.