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07.12.07
Defining The Knowledge Worker
 By
Luis Suarez
Here is another interesting article from Collaboration Loop that I am sure you would all find quite an interesting read.
Check out Struggling to Define the Knowledge Worker put together by Jonathan Spira where you would be able to read how Jonathan gets to comment how even though we may well be immersed in that so-called knowledge economy there are still plenty of folks out there who still do not seem to be getting the concept around Knowledge Worker, despite the fact that the term was coined way back in 1959 by the one and only: Peter Drucker.
Jonathan actually ventures into providing a definition he has put together himself in his book Managing the Knowledge Workforce which I can relate to very much myself as well. Here it is:
"A knowledge worker is a participant in the knowledge economy. The knowledge economy is an economic environment where information and its manipulation are the commodity and the activity (in contrast to the industrial economy, where the worker produced a tangible object with raw production materials and physical goods)."
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As I said, I think that is a very accurate definition of what a knowledge worker is all about. And I must say that while reading through the article I couldn't help thinking about another weblog post that I referenced not long ago along those same lines but this time around with some more words of wisdom from David Gurteen. Here is the main quote from that other weblog post:
"Knowledge workers are those people who have taken responsibility for their work lives. They continually strive to understand the world about them and modify their work practices and behaviours to better meet their personal and organisational objectives. No one tells them what to do. They do not take 'no' for an answer. They are self motivated."
Followed them by this other one:
"The key here is about taking responsibility. To my mind knowledge workers cannot be coerced, bribed, manipulated or rewarded and no amount of money or fancy technology will 'incentivise' them to do a better job. Knowledge workers see the benefits of working differently for themselves. They are not 'wage slaves' - they take responsibility for their work and drive improvement."
By now you may actually be wondering about what definition I would actually feel more identified with, right ? Well, although I certainly agree with Jonathan's I must say that I still feel that the one that defines me, and the work I do, is actually David's. So I am going to stick with it for some more time. How about you? Do you consider yourself a knowledge worker? And if so, how well do you fit in within David's definition of what a knowledge worker is all about? Thoughts?
Comments
About
the Author:
Luis Suarez has been working in the fields of Knowledge Management,
collaboration, communities, and learning for the past seven years, and is
heavily involved in social computing and its adoption within the enterprise.
Luis shares his insights on important KM issues of today through The Knowledge Management Blog
and ELSUA.NET, and is an active
participant in the ITtoolbox blogging
community.
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