MANAGING KNOWLEDGE WORKERS Lecture Twelve (Chapter 12, Notes;

MANAGING KNOWLEDGE
WORKERS
Lecture Twelve
(Chapter 12, Notes;
Chapter 15, Textbook)
Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
KMS Topics Covered

Knowledge Management Systems Life Cycle

Knowledge Creation and Knowledge
Architecture

Capturing Tacit Knowledge

Knowledge Codification

System Testing and Development

Knowledge Transfer and Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge Transfer in the E-World

Learning from Data
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Managing Knowledge Workers

Definition of Knowledge Worker

Core Competencies

Traditional vs. “Smart” Managers



Major Challenges and Responsibilities

Factors Affecting Knowledge Worker’s Productivity

Work Adjustment Model
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)

Responsibilities and Role

Key CKO’s Attributes and Success Factors
Incentives and Motivation
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
What Is a Knowledge Worker?

Transforms corporate and personal experiences
into knowledge through capturing, assessing,
applying, sharing, and disseminating it within the
organization to solve specific problems or to
create value
Transformatio
n process
IT
Tools
Values
KNOWLEDGE
WORKER
Organizationa
l
Culture
Personal and
corporate
experience
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Core Competencies




Thinking skills — having a vision
how the product or the company can
be better
Continuous learning — unlearning
and relearning in tune with fastchanging conditions
Innovative teams and teamwork —
via collaboration, cooperation, and
coordination
Creativity — ”dreaming” new ways to
advance the firm
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Core Competencies (cont’d)



Risk taking and potential
success — making joint
decisions with calculated risk
Decision action taking — be
willing to embrace professional
discipline, patience, and
determination
Culture of responsibility toward
knowledge — loyalty and
commitment to one’s manager or
leader
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Traditional vs. Smart Managers
Action-oriented
Learning-oriented
Spend most time
supervising, delegating,
controlling and ensuring
procedures are complied
Focus on organizational
learning to ensure
operational excellence
Mastered the work of the
Expected not to have
subordinates because they mastered the work of the
were once workers
subordinates
A supervisor and an order
giver
A facilitator and a teacher
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Major Challenges

Get the organization moving
towards achieving goals in line
with rate of change
 Promote active learning to
improve knowledge worker’s
capacity to create, produce,
and respond to change
 Provide opportunities for
knowledge workers to
brainstorm ideas, exchange
knowledge, and devise new
ways of doing business
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Responsibilities of Smart
Managers

Managing knowledge
workers

Searching out, creating,
sharing, and using
knowledge regularly

Maintaining work motivation
among knowledge workers
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Responsibilities of Smart
Managers (cont’d)

Hiring or recruiting bright,
knowledge-seeking
individuals

Managing collaboration,
coordination, and
concurrent activities
among knowledge
workers
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Factors Affecting Knowledge
Worker’s Productivity

Time constraint

Knowledge workers
performing tasks that the
firm did not hire them to do

Work schedule mismatch

De-”motivation” against
knowledge worker’s
productivity
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Work Adjustment Model
Correspondence
(match)
Abilities
Job
requirements
Satisfactoriness
(satisfied
employer)
Promote
Transfer
Job
Individua
l
Fire
Retain
Vocational
needs
Reinforcers
Correspondence
(match)
Job Satisfaction
(satisfied
employee)
TENURE
option
Quit
NEW JOB
Remain
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Responsibilities of the CKO

Maximize returns on investment
in knowledge — people,
processes, and technology
 Share best practices and
reinforce benefits of knowledge
sharing among employees
 Promote company innovations
and commercialization of new
ideas
 Minimize knowledge loss at all
levels of the business
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Role of the CKO (In Summary)

Agent of change

Investigator

Linking pin

Listener

Politician
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Key CKO Attributes
 Teaching
and selling
 Communicating — speaking the
language of the user, mediate, and
working with management at all levels
 Understanding — e.g., identifying
problem areas and determining their
impact
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Key CKO Attributes (cont’d)
 Technical
Skills
 Broad
knowledge of business practice and
ability to translate technical information at
employee level
 Making
effective use of technical and nontechnical elements in KM design
 Knowledge
of information technology,
information systems, and how information
is transformed into knowledge
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
CKO’s Success Factors

Focus less on problems
and more on successes
and opportunities

Adopt an attitude that
views challenges as
opportunities

Work on creating
tomorrow’s business
instead of focusing on
yesterday’s problems
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Chapter 12: Managing Knowledge Workers
Incentives and Motivation

Use monetary awards,
bonuses and special prizes
for teams or individuals for
unique contributions

Flextime allows the team to
decide on when to work,
when to quit, and so forth

Publicize success
throughout the firm
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