Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers - Assignment Example

Knowledge Workers In the management of human resources, it had been the established practice to accord greater importance to knowledge management. Knowledge workers were considered to be the elite of the workforce. Traditionally, they had been highly respected and provided with significantly higher salaries. This position has changed, due to increased access to technology and globalisation. There has been a drastic change in the manner in which knowledge workers are now viewed (Harman 2007). At present, knowledge workers are to be found at all levels of the workforce. The workforce determines the competitive nature of the country or a company. A highly knowledgeable and skilled workforce makes its company decidedly competitive. A company or nation that possesses such workforce attracts huge foreign investments. Any nation with highly skilled workers can attract multinational corporations. These corporations make substantial investments and provide a number of job opportunities to skilled workers. In addition, such skilled workers would receive additional training and experience in the multinational corporation (Cascio, 2006, p. 10). 1. Explain the topic and the historical background, such as existing research. (10 marks) To survive in a global market, a commercial organisation has to perforce be competitive. Such competitive ability is the outcome of efficient use of knowledge. In the absence of such use of knowledge, it is very difficult to operate in the global markets. A large number of organisations make use of knowledge in their operations. Such use will be in the form of scientific research, computing and information technology, and the Internet . As such,survival in the golbal markets, requires a periodic updataion of the knowledge base of an organisation. Such organisations regularly update knowledge, in order to invent new applications and to develop new technologies. (Amar, 2002, p.3). This ensures that their operations and functions remain more powerful and creative than that of their competitors. In any organisation, power increases with position, and a higher position is accompanied by a higher level of power .With knowledge comes the capacity to generate wealth, and this has no bearing on position in the organisation. Thus, the possession of the necessary skills and knowledge ensures that the individual employee can create wealth. Such individuals automatically possess power, irrespective of their position in the organisation. Thus, knowledge transfers power. As a consequence, workers who increase their knowledge and skills occupy a more important position in the organisation and enact an important role in customer relations (Horibe, 1999, p. 5). Such employees influence the success of the organisation by creating wealth and promoting its overall growth, through their knowledge. Successful companies, by and large, have recognised that human participation is essential for optimising their operations. Human creativity and innovation are constitute significant inputs for companies. Many organisations have established their own knowledge centres, which could be a complete firm or just one section within a department in the organisation (Amar, 2002, p.3). Scientific and specialised knowledge, computers, and information technology are the primary sources for these knowledge firms. Knowledge workers assume recognition for their achievements. They expect any assessment made in their context to be founded solely on their performance, and not on other factors. It is the expectation of knowledge workers that work place demands should emanate from the requirements of knowledge, rather than any superior . Furthermore, the objectives of a given task should make demands of their performance rather than the people in the organisation (knowledge worker manual). As such, performance oriented organisations are best suited for knowledge workers. The latter are distinctly uncomfortable, while functioning in an authority – oriented organisation. This does not mean that knowledge workers do not respect authority in the company’s hierarchical structure.In fact, they entertain respect for authority and are cognisant of their responsibility in the company. However, they consider knowledge work to be devoid of any hierarchy. Therefore, knowledge has to be organised as team, wherein the task on hand, determines who is responsible for the completion of the task (knowledge worker manual). 2. Give definitions and understanding of terminology (10 marks) Knowledge management entails doing the right thing in an organisation, instead of doing something in a proper manner. Knowledge management is of great significance to organisations. It constitutes the management of knowledge and other processes in the organisation. Creation, dissemination, updating, and application of knowledge are essential features of the business process, in accordance with perspective of knowledge processes (Knowledge Management, Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers, 1998). The aforementioned processes are indispensable for the survival and competitiveness of any organisation. The earlier concept of information value chain had to be discarded, in the light of incontrovertible evidence; and the new concept of knowledge value chain has been implemented in its place. The information value chain specifies that technological systems are to be viewed as essential for the sustenance of business. This concept does not regard human participation as an active or important process. It accords the highest value to machine oriented processes. Thus, human actions are deemed to be passive actions that implement best practices in the organisation (Knowledge Management, Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers, 1998). On the other hand, the knowledge value chain concept regards human actions as most important in an organisation. It implements technological systems in support of human processes, and requires organisations to implement best practices, only after thorough enquiry by the human entities. Thus, humans play an active and important role in the continuous assessment of the efficiency of best practices in the organisation (Knowledge Management, Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers, 1998). Consequently, the effectiveness of best practices cannot be taken for granted and are subject to change over a period of time. Practices that had been considered to be the most beneficial in the past may not constitute the best practices in the present. Thus, processes like double loop learning, unlearning, and relearning have to be designed and adapted, as part and parcel of the business processes of an organisation (Knowledge Management, Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers, 1998). A novel economy was ushered in, on account of the process of globalisation. This in turn, engendered new perceptions regarding resources for businesses and organisations. In the past, knowledge was considered as one of the resources, like land, labour, and capital. However, this situation has changed in the new economy, where knowledge is to be seen as the only meaningful resource rather than one of the significant resources (Kaur, 2000). Knowledge Workers are at their best, when they are permitted to utilise their highest skills in the best possible manner. These individuals have the innate capability to work on several projects at the same time. Undoubtedly, knowledge workers are past masters at time management, which comes to them naturally. Thus, they have been seen to work on different projects and obtain the best possible results (Management of knowledge workers). These workers achieve a magnification of the results of their efforts, by employing features like emotional intelligence, self-confidence, and unlimited trust in their capabilities. A number of organisations have unabashedly, declared that they consider their knowledge workers to be their human capital. Such organisations are characterised by the establishment of exemplary networking, hierarchical structures, and self – organisation. Some organisations provide rewards and promote the sharing of knowledge within their organisation (Management of knowledge workers). 3. What effect the topic has on the organisation as a whole. Depending on the topic, you might look at financial, competitive, and (corporate) cultural aspects. (20 marks) Human resource management (HRM) is indispensable for developing and making an organisation more competitive. Consequently, human resources managers have to regularly update their knowledge and familiarise themselves with the latest developments in their profession. There are several sources for obtaining such information, namely business schools, publications, and public databases (Seang, 2001). Such information is to be gathered by perusing the survey reports of HRM research institutions. Moreover, discussions with experts in the field or consultations with colleagues are instrumental in garnering specific information. Human resources (HR) managers have to analyse the information available in the databases of their organisation (Seang, 2001). This helps them to obtain explicit knowledge, which is essential for planning and decision – making, with regard to human resources issues. In addition, HR managers are required to recognise the latent knowledge of their colleagues, and to elicit the tacit knowledge of co-workers, so as to fulfil the needs of the organisation. Such knowledge supports the expertise of the HR manager. This knowledge is the outcome of continuous learning and experience. It generates two important outcomes for the organisation, namely value – added output and value – added service. The value – added output is not the only result of knowledge work. It also provides excellent work experiences and continued enhancement of the knowledge of HR professionals (Seang, 2001 ). This is a systematically and deliberately designed enriching process. Knowledge workers are essential to the competitiveness and development of organisations in the new market. They are mobile and adaptable. For this reason, organisations offer a number of lucrative packages and incentives, in order to employ and retain knowledge workers (Kaur, 2000). In addition, knowledge is indispensable for sustaining the new economy. It has to be acquired, and the present economy is based on knowledge. Organisations have to encourage knowledge workers to contribute. The performance of knowledge workers is truly outstanding in a friendly and non – authoritative environment (Kaur, 2000). They share their knowledge to promote the wellbeing of their organisation. Any successful organisation fulfils the needs of knowledge workers, and thereby encourages them to work better. It is essential for universities, colleges and other educational institutions to introduce courses that address the challenges posed by the new economy. Organisations have to provide adequate resources to generate, acquire, process, and manage knowledge (Kaur, 2000). Moreover, they have to create the right environment at the workplace, for knowledge workers. Workplace conditions should include flexible working hours, training, and retraining facilities. Moreover, knowledge workers must be provided with easy access to data (Kaur, 2000). The process of knowledge management arises from a combination of important concepts. The concept of knowledge culture refers to the tacit and articulated knowledge theories of organisational culture. The development of a knowledge culture depends on tacit knowledge. Furthermore, theories from the field of organisational structure can be applied to the concept of knowledge organisational structure. Organisational behaviour establishes the theories of innovation, learning, and memory. These theories have been seen to be pertinent for the development of knowledge creation and codification of data. In the field of artificial intelligence, work is centred on knowledge – based systems, and this can be compared with the theories of knowledge – support infrastructures (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 84). The theories of organisational culture permit a direct application to knowledge management. Organisational culture constitutes the basis for knowledge management. The theories of storage and transfer of knowledge in organisational culture are the same in knowledge management. Only humans can create and process knowledge and these activities are independent of cultural differences (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 90). Cultural values are crucial for organisational culture and produce cultural ideals and assumptions. They also establish the social norms for an organisation. These cultural values are to be found in social interactions and communications made by a particular organisation, and determine the norms that pertain to these activities. Moreover, cultural values influence the behaviour and attitude of the employees in the organisation. In this manner, cultural values play a significant role in representing the organisation and its members. The exchange of cultural values between organisations generates a form of group experience, and eventually, a group of organisations, with similar group experiences, will have the same cultural values (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 90). 4. What effect the topic has at the various levels of management – executive, senior, middle and supervisory. (20 marks) Knowledge and learning have thus emerged as vital features of modern economics. Consequently, it has been asserted by the new trade and growth theories that a close relationship subsists betwixt the knowledge base and the rate of productivity growth. Thus, learning has emerged as fundamental to any analysis of market transactions. Innovative and institutional economics have depicted a phenomenal growth, during the recent past. Economic development in these new areas has been chiefly engendered by learning and knowledge (Innovation, 2000, p. 27). The middle management is the main area where the knowledge creation process transpires. This all important layer of management ensures the rationalisation of the plans of top management and other value – added processes. It shares and disseminates knowledge, throughout the various levels of an organisation. True to its namesake, the middle management in a knowledge organisation remains firmly in the middle, betwixt the top management and the employees in the lower areas (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 92). It eliminates contradictions between knowledge organisations and organisational structures. Middle management is a hierarchical concept, and hierarchies have been seen to implement new and specialised strategies that promote innovation. They also implement radical changes with a large – scale vision (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 92). The ideal knowledge organisation would be combination of network and hierarchical models. In contrast to middle managers and other professionals, senior managers enjoy considerable power and autonomy. Consequently, the senior managers are at a distinct advantage, when it comes to incorporating knowledge sharing systems in the business environment. Thus, it is well within the capabilities of senior managers to usher in a knowledge sharing culture in their organisations (Lin and Lee, 2004, p. 120). The promotion of knowledge sharing interventions by senior managers should be characterised by features, like addressing the benefits of knowledge sharing, the subjective principles involved and anticipated controls over behaviour. Hence, it becomes obvious that the views of senior managers form an important predecessor to engendering a knowledge sharing culture in the organisation (Lin and Lee, 2004, p.121). Knowledge workers are provided with substantial autonomy in their dealings with customers. This is on account of the fact that their work is chiefly based on reconciling the expectations of customers with the opinion of management. Although this tends to lend a degree of unpredictability to the relationship between knowledge workers and customers, it does render knowledge workers independent of management and customers to a significant extent (Morishima, 2001, p. 898). On occasion, knowledge workers are subjected to tangible bureaucratic regulation. The management has to perforce rely to a considerable extent on the expertise and skill of its knowledge workers. This results in significant autonomy for such workers; and as a consequence, management perceives that some form of control is necessarily to be exercised over these workers (Morishima, 2001, p. 898). A total transformation of the working environment, entails the dedicated intervention of senior management. The role enacted by executives in this endeavour is limited. However, in the context of making available resources for projects, prioritising and clarifying the types of knowledge and promoting knowledge management in organisational learning, executive support is almost indispensable. Moreover, middle management functions best in providing the necessary leadership for commencing networks that share knowledge (Malhothra, 2000, p. 364). Several important research studies have made it crystal clear that corporate strategy has to perforce incorporate a knowledge sharing environment. In addition, the executives in an organisation are important elements in the power structure of any organisation. Therefore, they have the capacity to promote organisational learning. From this it can be surmised that perceptions related to the encouragement of knowledge sharing by senior managers, are indispensable for formulating and continuing a culture of knowledge sharing in any organisation (Lin and Lee, 2004, p. 121). The progress of the various allotted tasks and the proper realisation of organisational objectives, is to be evaluated by the higher level managers. Furthermore, failure to achieve these objectives has to be addressed by these managers. As such, higher level managers are provided with a substantially higher degree of control over their subordinates, hence they have to take suitable remedial action, if the objectives of the organisation are not being realised (Hawamdeh, 2008, p. 87). Nevertheless, there is a general perception, among researchers that the implementation of knowledge management at the work place leaves much to be desired. Such implementation is in general, along conventional lines. Thus, a single individual, acting as team leader is entrusted with the task of planning, developing and applying strategies to manage organisational knowledge (Hawamdeh, 2008, p. 87). 5. What effect the topic has on base level employees (20 marks) A knowledge organisation need not be knowledge – intensive organisation. There is difference between a knowledge – intensive organisation and a labour or capital oriented organisation. A knowledge – intensive organisation cannot function in the absence of knowledge inputs. Thus, knowledge constitutes an indispensable resource for such organisations (Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006, p. 92). On the other hand, the capital or labour oriented firms convert capital and labour into products. Expertise is a controversial topic, and a large number of vested interests come to the fore, in this context. For instance, the so called expert knowledge is based on theories that are formulated by the powerful and elite of society, in order to promote their selfish ends and exercise control over others. Although, a few of the concepts of formal theory are based upon scientific research, the main body of such theories is founded on unsubstantiated conjectures(Schwartz, 2006, p. 857). The difficulty associated with this state of affairs is that these unsupported presumptions are portrayed as the gospel truth, in order to promote and maintain positions of control. A major drawback with the extant literature on knowledge management is the latter’s reliance on beliefs, experience and values (Schwartz, 2006, p. 857). Such dependence renders knowledge vulnerable to control and manipulation. It is generally presumed in an organisation that knowledge is the preserve of the managers, and that their subordinates merely carry out the instructions of their managers. In addition, the views of senior management are accorded greater wieghtage than those of employees at lower levels. However, these opinions are not corroborated by experience, which discloses that the dissemination of knowledege in an organisation is more even. Thus, a field level functionary could possibly posses greater knowledge than those who exercise power in the organisation (Schwartz, 2006, p. 857). Hence, base level employees could possess better skills than the management. On many occasions, it was observed that the management of an organisation, with the passage of time, had failed to guarantee sound decision making, due to a failure on its part to provide the relevant processes, structures, policies and mechanisms associated with knowledge management (Hawamdeh, 2008, p. 88). Thus, the higher management is not always a good decision maker. The process of methodically ordering, leading, supervising, synchronising and scheduling work for an organisation constitutes management. The top management of an organisation formulates various policies and objectives. It is the principal duty of management control to make certain that these policies and goals are realised. High level managers have to apprise and communicate the functions and tasks carried out by employees, situated at a lower level in the hierarchy (Hawamdeh, 2008, p. 87). It could be reasonably contended that economic theory principally pertains to knowledge and information. Co – ordination has thrown up a number of problems that have been central to economic theory. The market provides a considerable amount of information; all the same, individual entities may not depend on such knowledge, whilst taking decisions. There is significant divergence in the knowledge possessed by agents and what they acquire from their activities. This dissimilarity is reflected in the principal differences between the various economic models and theories (Innovation, 2000, p. 27). A distinction can be drawn between Austrian economics and neo – classical economics on the basis of the fact that Austrian economics commences the learning process from a state of ignorance. Neo – classical economics, on the other hand, considers the full informed agent as the starting point for the acquisition of knowledge. (Innovation, 2000, p. 27). In this process there is a demarcation of those who subscribe to limited rationality and those who believe in rationality and hyper – rationality. An organisational culture that relates to shared values, principles and assumptions provides the best possible input for the efficient management of knowledge. It also benefits organisational learning enormously, and organisational learning enhances knowledge sharing and effective decision – making capabilities (Madhoushi and Sadati, 2010, p. 396). 6. What effect it may have outside of the organisation (20 marks) The customers of an organisation benefit enormously, if the latter adopts the principles of total quality management (TQM). TQM entails the employment of specific tools and the involvement of employees with implicit knowledge. In addition, this initiative greatly improves the quality of its performance (Preuss, 2003, p. 593). TQM actively involves the knowledge worker and this in turn, results in new techniques for organising work. Furthermore, the quality of information improves significantly, on account of the inclusion of implicit knowledge into work processes. The outcome of these measures is an overall improvement in the information and knowledge sharing of the employees (Preuss, 2003, p. 593). An organisation has several intangible assets, and their management in order to improve the value of the organisation, constitutes knowledge management. The transfer of knowledge, structure and abstraction are the chief characteristics of the majority of tangible assets. The principal instrument of knowledge management is organisational learning. The notions of intellectual capital measurement, knowledge management and organisational learning constitute concepts that are complementary and associated. Thus, intellectual capital results from knowledge management, which in turn is founded upon the concept of organisational learning (Giju, Badea, Ruiz, and Pena, 2010, p. 35). Each phase in a process has the capacity to bring about a loss of knowledge. Furthermore, in instances where an R&D process is defective, there is a distinct possibility that valuable research knowledge may not be linked to market opportunities. In addition, inefficiently conducted acquisition integration could cause the principal talent of an organisation to leave without the organisation having gained their knowledge (Nelson and McCann, 2010, p. 3). In organisations that provide incentives and rewards for competitive individual behaviour, the major knowledge workers may abstain from sharing their expertise. Moreover, whenever market research does not entertain collaboration or fails to learn from customers and vendors; the possibility of applying incorrect knowledge to services and products arises. Hence, the management should mitigate such knowledge loss to the extent possible (Nelson and McCann, 2010, p. 3). All said and done, the migration of knowledge workers to other organisations has emerged as a major loss to organisations. Reserachers like Fey and Denison have isolated adaptability, consistency, involvement, and mission as the factors that render corpoorate culture more conducive to knowledge workers. Organisations must possess adaptability, which denotes preparedness to alter behaviour, structures and systems, in order to cope up with environmental changes (Madhoushi and Sadati, 2010, p. 397). In addition, consistency is significant for corporate cultures. It indicates the degree of beliefs, values, and expectations among the employees of the organisation. The involvement factor connotes the extent to which the workers of an organisation participate in the decision – making process. Furthermore, mission is a factor that indicates the existence of a shared definition of the objectives of the organisation (Madhoushi and Sadati, 2010, p. 397). An organisational culture is said to be effective when it provides support and incentives to knowledge workers. It should also create a suitable workplace environment for knowledge workers and encourage them to exchange knowledge and accessibility (Madhoushi and Sadati, 2010, p. 397). Globalisation creates competition among the countries, and this requires them to improve the skills and knowledge of their workforce. Moreover, the workforce constitutes the asset of a nation in the global economy. The developed nations possess the wherewithal to design, produce, and market goods and services at the same level of efficiency and in the same time (Cascio, 2006, p.10). The sole invariable factor, in this scenario is the workforce skill. In the globalised world, skilled workers have a range of job opportunities, regardless of the nation that they live in. The world has become a global village, and there are no constraints for employment, as was the situation in the past. The skilled workforce enjoys several monetary benefits, such as productivity growth, pensions, health insurance, tax credits, and loans for education and training. Furthermore, the standard of living of the skilled workers has increased tremendously (Cascio, 2006, p. 10). Knowledge management occupies the pride of place in the global economy. It consists of the management of information and the interface between individuals and information. Effective knowledge management engenders the management of both people and systems. Individuals acquire greater access to information in this system, which they are expected to employ for the benefit of the company. Thus, information is changed into a form that is utilised, useable and useful. List of References Knowledge Management, Knowledge Organizations & Knowledge Workers 1998, viewed 8 November, 2010, . Amar, AD 2002, Managing knowledge workers: unleashing innovation and productivity, Greenwood Publishing Group. Baskerville, R & Dulipovici, A 2006, ‘The theoretical foundations of knowledge management’, Knowledge Management Research & Practice vol.4, pp. 83 – 105. Cascio 2006, Managing Human Resources, Tata McGraw – Hill. Giju , GC, Badea, L Ruiz, VR & Pena, DN 2010, ‘Knowledge Management - the Key Resource in the Knowledge Economy’, Theoretical & Applied Economics, vol. 17, no.6, pp. 27 – 36. Harman, C 2007, Managing Human Resources in the Knowledge Economy, viewed 8 November, 2010 . Hawamdeh, S 2008, Knowledge management: competencies and professionalism, World Scientific. Horibe, F 1999, Managing knowledge workers: new skills and attitudes to unlock the intellectual capital in your organization, John Wiley and Sons. Innovation 2000, Knowledge management in the learning society, OECD Publishing. Kaur, H 2000, ‘Knowledge and mind pillars of new economy’, New Straits Times (Malaysia), 19 September, p. 14. knowledge worker manual, viewed on 8 November, 2010 . Lin, H –F & Lee, G –G 2004, ‘Perceptions of senior managers toward knowledge – sharing behaviour’, Management Decision, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 108 – 125. Madhoushi, M & Sadati, A 2010, ‘Knowledge Management, Antecedent of Organizational Innovation and Competitiveness’, Proceedings of the European Conference on Intellectual Capital, pp. 391 – 398. Malhothra, Y 2000, Knowledge Management and Business Model Innovation, IDEA Group Publishing. Management of knowledge workers, viewed 8 November, 2010 . Morishima, M 2001, ‘BOOK REVIEW: ‘Human Resources, Management, and Personnel’: ‘On the Front Line: Organization of Work in the Information Economy’, By Stephen J. Frenkel, Marek Korczynski, Karen A. Shire, and May Tam’, Cornell University Industrial & Labor Relations Review, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 898 – 899. Nelson , K & McCann, JE 2010, ‘Designing for knowledge worker retention & organization performance’, Journal of Management & Marketing Research, vol. 30, pp. 1 – 18. Preuss, G 2003, ‘High Performance Work Systems and Organizational Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Information Quality’, Cornell University Industrial & Labor Relations Review, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 590 – 604. Schwartz, DG, 2006, Encyclopedia of knowledge management, Idea Group Inc. Seang, GS 2001, ‘Defining knowledge worker’ New Straits Times (Malaysia) 28 July, p. 4. 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