Plato decided that the poets, that is, all creative writers, should be banned from his ideal state. He objected to the claim that they imparted knowledge to their audiences. The poets gave no explanation of the basis for the stories that they told or the conclusions to which those stories led. Plato denied the validity of any claim to knowledge that was not accompanied by an account that justified the claim. Management scholars make comparable objections to management consultants. They argue that consultants use rhetoric and story-telling to persuade clients of their knowledge, when their services often have no foundation in real knowledge. Consultancy knowledge is to a large extent socially constructed, dependent for its status as knowledge on clients’ acceptance of it as such. Consultants often sell their services and persuade clients of their value by appealing to their relevance to passing management fashions and fads. The poets necessarily are susceptible to Plato’s objections, because they are creative artists whose proper business is primarily to entertain rather than to impart knowledge. By contrast, consultants have a clear role in imparting and applying management knowledge. They should respond to management scholars’ objections by shifting their focus ever more sharply towards the technoeconomic contributions that consultants can make to their clients, and away from the use of rhetoric and story-telling to promote their services.

中文翻译：

---

柏拉图会禁止管理顾问吗？

柏拉图决定禁止诗人，即所有有创造力的作家进入他的理想状态。他反对他们向听众传授知识的说法。诗人没有解释他们讲述的故事的基础或这些故事导致的结论。柏拉图否认任何未附有证明该主张正当性的陈述的知识主张的有效性。管理学者对管理顾问提出了类似的反对意见。他们争辩说，顾问使用修辞和讲故事来说服客户相信他们的知识，而他们的服务往往没有真正的知识基础。咨询知识在很大程度上是社会建构的，其作为知识的地位取决于客户对它的接受程度。顾问们经常通过吸引客户与传递管理时尚和时尚的相关性来推销他们的服务并说服他们的价值。诗人必然容易受到柏拉图的反对，因为他们是富有创造力的艺术家，他们的主要业务主要是娱乐而不是传授知识。相比之下，顾问在传授和应用管理知识方面具有明显的作用。他们应该回应管理学者的反对意见，将他们的注意力更加集中地转向顾问可以为他们的客户做出的技术经济贡献，而不是使用修辞和讲故事来推广他们的服务。因为他们是富有创造力的艺术家，他们的主要业务是娱乐而不是传授知识。相比之下，顾问在传授和应用管理知识方面具有明显的作用。他们应该回应管理学者的反对意见，将他们的注意力更加集中地转向顾问可以为他们的客户做出的技术经济贡献，而不是使用修辞和讲故事来推广他们的服务。因为他们是富有创造力的艺术家，他们的主要业务是娱乐而不是传授知识。相比之下，顾问在传授和应用管理知识方面具有明显的作用。他们应该回应管理学者的反对意见，将他们的注意力更加集中地转向顾问可以为他们的客户做出的技术经济贡献，而不是使用修辞和讲故事来推广他们的服务。