The 'Knowledge Society': A Glimpse Inside the Minds of Management Students

Abstract

This paper focuses on the 'knowledge society' in New Zealand It holds that the use of the term is unclear. It identifies two dominant themes in the literature: the 'knowledge society' as embedded in 'Third Way’ thinking, and the 'knowledge society' as a positive response to a changing society. This paper reports on a qualitative study of the views of a small group of final year BMS students about the 'knowledge society’. The respondents had come to university directly from school. The research consisted of three one hour ‘semi structured’ taped interviews. Three themes emerged: "Knowledge will get me the things I want;" '' I need current global knowledge to survive out there;" and "I resent the current government’. “The findings support the literature in that the respondents acknowledge that globalisation and technology are key drivers of a changing society. They also challenge the literature in that respondents do not have a clear understanding of the concept. The respondents strongly associate market use-fullness to knowledge. The paper suggests that a 'New Right-Third Way’ dichotomy still exists. The paper also presents an insight into the 'optimism' and 'individualism’ embedded in the respondents’ comments. Perhaps this diversity of knowledge should be celebrated and used to empower the whole of society.