Managing knowledge workers
- 2. TYPES OF KWs Core KWs: These are those workers in specific knowledge management roles. eg: chief information officers, knowledge managers,etc. • Non-core KWs: It constitutes all the other knowledge workers like doctors, nurses, dentists, managers, etc. • Specialty KWs : They possess a significant amount of knowledge related to a specific company’s products or services.
- 3. Portable KWs: They possess information of wide and immediate utility. They are familiar with knowledge that is in demand by a variety of organizations. Creative KWs: This focuses the majority of their efforts on innovative behaviors, such as product design and development. eg: scientists and information system designers.
- 4. Core Competencies of KWs Core competencies of KWs Thinking Skills Continuous Learning Innovative Teams and Teamwork Innovation and creativity Risk-Taking and potential success
- 5. Thinking Skills: Strategic thinking means having a vision of how the product can be better, how the company can improve by the value –added contributions of its employees, and how continuous learning contributes to a knowledge worker’s career, loyalty to the firm, and satisfaction on the job. Continuous Learning: Knowledge work implies innovation through continuous learning on the job, professional seminars, and working in an environment conducive to creativity and advancement.
- 6. Innovative Teams and Teamwork: As competition becomes more intense, the problems facing today’s corporation become more complex, requiring innovative teamwork and joint decision-making for solutions. Innovation and Creativity: The spirit behind innovation and creativity is for knowledge workers to expand their vision and dream a new or a different product or service for the advancement of the firm.
- 7. Risk-Taking and Potential Success: Innovation and creativity mean risk-taking. Maintaining the status quo requires minimum risk, but it also breeds no change for the betterment of knowledge workers or the organization.
- 8. Approaches to rewarding knowledge workers Total reward policies: A total reward is the monetary and non-monetary return provided to employees in exchange for their time, talents, efforts, and results. Recognition and praise: It is one of the most powerful motivators. People need to know not only how well they have achieved their objectives but also that their achievements are appreciated. Career and Job Family Structure: A career family structure is one in which separate job families are identified and defined but a common grade and pay structure applies to all the families.
- 9. Pay Flexibility: The overall approach to knowledge workers should be flexibility within a framework. Flexibility is intended to deliver greater differentiation between individuals, teams or units within an organization and requires greater market sensitivity of rewards.
- 10. Factors that limit KW’s Productivity Time Constraint: Time is the enemy of successful KWs. There is always more work to do. As a result, either quality suffers or completion time lags. Working Smarter and harder and accomplishing little. KWs doing work that the firm did not hire them to do. Work Schedule: Heavy work demands invariably affects a KW’s attention span, motivation, and patience, regardless of pay or benefits.
- 11. Motivation against KW productivity: KWs are not all programmed to follow the ideals proposed by management. Avoiding task uncertainty or job complexity can pose productivity problems and affects the productivity of other KWs if their works depands on one another’s inputs.