Knowledge Work Narrative Report

Objective

The purpose of this report is to provide a portrait of the work and the workforce in the knowledge economy. We want to find out who the knowledge workers are, what they do in their jobs, where they are employed and what employment structures, job characteristics and organizational structures look like in the knowledge economy.

Knowledge work

Knowledge work has become the major driver for the present research and development efforts. As early as1959, Drucker identified the transformation of the society into a post-industrial state, where the main shift was from manual towards non-manual work the main feature differentiating knowledge work from other conventional work is that the basic task of knowledge work is thinking. Although all

A fairly limited amount of knowledge may be required in some kinds of knowledge work for e.g. some paramedical technicians such as X-Ray machine operator, a clinical laboratory technician or pulmonary technologists. On the contrary, far more advanced theoretical knowledge is required for some other kinds of knowledge work such Software development, Systems Analysis and design, Project Management, etc. Since knowledge workers works in teams and since knowledge work is more effective when it is more specialized, the team, rather than the individual becomes the actual work unit. Further, the effectiveness of a knowledge worker will depend upon the manager’s ability to diagnose what kind of team is required to execute effectively a certain kind of knowledge work, and the ability to organize such a team and to integrate the worker into it. Knowledge, unlike any of the traditional key resources like land, labor and capital, is not tied to any country but is transnational, portable and can be created everywhere, fast and cheap. Knowledge is forever changing and makes itself obsolete within a short period of time. The only thing that can be predicted about a competitive advantage of a country, an industry, an institution, or an individual, based on knowledge, is that the advantage will soon be challenged, possibly by a total newcomer. Acquisition of knowledge, or learning, therefore, can no longer stop at any age. Life-long learning or continuous learning during one’s working life will increasingly be a requirement for all knowledge workers. Also, while it is possible to define what productivity is with respect to the manual worker, it is not so in the case of a knowledge worker. The measurements of productivity for a manual worker such as number of pieces turned out per hour or per dollar wage prove to be irrelevant if applied to the knowledge worker.