Teleology in Knowledge Mapping Pavel Krb´ alek and Miloˇ s Vacek University of Hradec Kr´ alov´ e, Faculty of Informatics and Management, Rokitansk´ eho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kr´ alov´ e, Czech Republic {pavel.krbalek,milos.vacek}@uhk.cz http://www.uhk.cz/fim Abstract. Teleology comes from the Greek term telos, in English pur- pose. According to Aristotle, each object has a final purpose for its being. Human knowledge is also associated with such a purpose. The teleologi- cal analysis of knowledge management processes and knowledge types is a new approach to mapping organizational knowledge, especially in aca- demic environment. In this paper, we show advantages of this procedure in application of teleology on the corporate knowledge market. Effective- ness of business processes depends on a level of knowledge management maturity in an organization. Knowledge holders and other employees are the company’s key assets to approach this maturity. Teleological per- spective of knowledge mapping can be used effectively through social network activities such as collaborative filtering of content. Keywords: Teleology, Knowledge mapping, Folksonomy 1 Introduction Knowledge management as a discipline itself includes several subbranches, each of which deserves its attention. Knowledge management processes are based on philosophies of Aristotle or Plato. The concept is based on best practices from philosophy, information system management, organization science, management science, cognitive science and other domains. Understanding and using knowl- edge management methods and tools means understanding simple principles, to which often leads a difficult journey. Viewing this from the perspective of the knowledge hierarchy, with data at the basement and rising over information and knowledge, to the wisdom on the top, then managing information is the most widespread in the business environment. Knowledge management is understood in various ways but often lacks the weight it deserves. In what way should man- agers use knowledge management systems as appropriate assistance? Where pos- sible, aiming at knowledge, its localization, exchange and storage, is the correct answer. The processes of knowledge management cannot be simplified only to storage (e.g. wiki solutions, expert systems), but it starts from the knowledge owner and the accessibility. Concentration on the availability and traceability of knowledge appears to be the first important step of knowledge management and knowledge mapping (KM) can serve as a tool to point out useful resources. Advances in Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems M. Graña et al. (Eds.) IOS Press, 2012 © 2012 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-105-2-356 356