Chris Final Paper
Shaping Personal Epistemology
Chris Arbuckle
University of Phoenix
Knowledge in Theory and Practice
PHL/716
Dr. Katherine Downey
January 2, 2015
Shaping Personal Epistemology
Achieving a balance between consumer relations and employee retention is paramount to the overall success of a company’s sales force in multiple areas. Apple Inc. uses a specific philosophy that has been developed for their retail branch since the division started in 2001. Apple’s philosophical approach to consumer relationships is fundamentally different than its relationship with employees. There is a significant negative implicit impact this gap has on employee retention. The company would like employees to maintain implicit knowledge of products and company culture yet the accumulation of this type of knowledge is explicit in nature. This gap in the way the company treats each subgroup is what will be compared to personal epistemological views. Understanding of a new epistemology will aid behaviors of current employees.
Epistemology, or the study and nature of knowledge, requires a person to analyze the fundamental questions about what makes knowledge, knowledge. There are different origins of knowledge as conceptualized by philosophers, educators, and scientists. Early philosophers defined knowledge as “justified true belief” (Cooper, pg. 23). In order for an individual to know something is true, he or she must believe it, and the belief in it must be justified or rationally reasonable. The questions asked are; what shapes a person’s epistemological views for a specific task in a work environment? And how does that epistemological view differ from their personally developed epistemology? The goal is to analysis a real life work example and draw upon course concepts and readings in order to conclude insight about the significance of the two epistemological approaches. The agreement raised is that good sales people are trained using knowledge amassed by professionals in the field.
Chris Arbuckle
University of Phoenix
Knowledge in Theory and Practice
PHL/716
Dr. Katherine Downey
January 2, 2015
Shaping Personal Epistemology
Achieving a balance between consumer relations and employee retention is paramount to the overall success of a company’s sales force in multiple areas. Apple Inc. uses a specific philosophy that has been developed for their retail branch since the division started in 2001. Apple’s philosophical approach to consumer relationships is fundamentally different than its relationship with employees. There is a significant negative implicit impact this gap has on employee retention. The company would like employees to maintain implicit knowledge of products and company culture yet the accumulation of this type of knowledge is explicit in nature. This gap in the way the company treats each subgroup is what will be compared to personal epistemological views. Understanding of a new epistemology will aid behaviors of current employees.
Epistemology, or the study and nature of knowledge, requires a person to analyze the fundamental questions about what makes knowledge, knowledge. There are different origins of knowledge as conceptualized by philosophers, educators, and scientists. Early philosophers defined knowledge as “justified true belief” (Cooper, pg. 23). In order for an individual to know something is true, he or she must believe it, and the belief in it must be justified or rationally reasonable. The questions asked are; what shapes a person’s epistemological views for a specific task in a work environment? And how does that epistemological view differ from their personally developed epistemology? The goal is to analysis a real life work example and draw upon course concepts and readings in order to conclude insight about the significance of the two epistemological approaches. The agreement raised is that good sales people are trained using knowledge amassed by professionals in the field.
References: Beiser, F. C. (1987) The Fate of Reason: German Philosophy from Kant to Fichte. Harvard University Press. Cooper, D.E. (1999). Epistemology, the classic readings. Blackwell Publishers. PHL716, University of Phoenix Feldman, R. (2003); Epistemology. Prentice hall foundations of philosophy series. PHL716 required learning activities, University of Phoenix Kane Y. & Sherr I. (2011) Secrets from Apple’s Genius Bar: Full Loyalty, No Negativity retrieved from www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304563104576364071 McGee, B., The Great Philosophers: An Introduction to Western Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2000, p Nonaka, I., & Nishiguchi, T. (Eds.). (2001). Knowledge emergence: Social, technical, and evolutionar Tsouka, H. (2005). Complex knowledge: Studies in Organizational epistemology. New York, NY University of Phoenix. (2014). Meno. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, PHL716 website.