Location of knowledge and rise of knowledge worker

Location of Knowledge
By Dr. G C Mohanta, Professor, Al-Qurmoshi Institute of Business Management,
Hyderabad, India
The following diagram shows the location of knowledge.
Knowledge Locations
Knowledge can exist on several different levels:
Individual: Personal, often tacit knowledge/know-how of some sort. It can also be explicit,
but it must be individual in nature, e.g. a private notebook.
Groups/Community: Knowledge held in groups but not shared with the rest of the
organization. Companies usually consist of communities which are linked together by
common practice. These communities of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991) may share common
values, language, procedures, know-how, etc. They are a source of learning and a repository
for tacit, explicit, and embedded knowledge.
Structural: Embedded knowledge found in processes, culture, etc. This may be understood
by many or very few members of the organization; e.g. the knowledge embedded in the
routines used by the army may not be known by the soldiers who follow these routines. At
times, structural knowledge may be the remnant of past, otherwise long forgotten lessons,
where the knowledge of this lesson exists exclusively in the process itself.
Organizational: The definition of organizational knowledge is yet another concept that has
very little consensus within literature. Variations include the extent to which the knowledge is
spread within the organization, as well as the actual make-up of this knowledge. Hatch (2010)
defines it as: "When group knowledge from several subunits or groups is combined and used
to create new knowledge, the resulting tacit and explicit knowledge can be called
organizational knowledge."
Others present a broader perspective: "individual knowledge, shared knowledge, and
objectified knowledge are different aspects or views of organizational knowledge" (Ekinge &
Lennartsson 2000). Texts emphasizing an IT based outlook offer information-based

definitions, "Information internalized by means of research, study or experience that has
value to the organization" (Virvou & Nakamura 2008).
Organizational knowledge is therefore defined as: all the knowledge resources within an
organization that can be realistically tapped by that organization. It can therefore reside in
individuals and groups, or exist at the organizational level.
Extra-organizational: Knowledge resources existing outside the organization which could
be used to enhance the performance of the organization. They include explicit elements like
publications, as well as tacit elements found in communities of practice that span beyond the
organization's borders.
Organizational Memory and Knowledge Repositories
Traditional memory is associated with the individual's ability to acquire, retain, and retrieve
knowledge. Within business this concept is extended beyond the individual, and
organizational memory, therefore, refers to the collective ability to store and retrieve
knowledge and information.
So how does one define organizational memory? Any definition would need to span all the
different repositories in which a company may store knowledge. This includes the more
formal records, as well as tacit and embedded knowledge located in people, organizational
culture, and processes.
Walsh and Ungson (1991) offer some deeper insight into the workings of organizational
memory. They look at how an organization's history can influence current decision making.
They examine how shared understandings evolve, becoming part of an organizational whole
which may remain constant even after key individuals have left the firm. This is done through
the formation of collective interpretations regarding the outcome of decision making. The
information defining the decision's stimulus and response is stored in information, and it
affects present decisions when it is retrieved.
Past experiences can be retained in any of the five different repositories:
- Individuals
- Culture: The language and frameworks that exist within an organization and form
shared interpretations.
- Transformations: The procedures and formalized systems that the organization
employs. These systems reflect the firm's past experiences and are repositories for
embedded knowledge.
- Structures: These link the individual to other individuals and to the environment.
Social interaction is conditioned by mutual expectations between individuals based on
their roles within the organization. The interaction sequences for a pattern over time
and begin to extend to an organizational level. This can take place both through
formal and informal structure and it constitutes a social memory which stores
information about an organization's perception of the environment.

- External activities: The surroundings of the organization where knowledge and
information can be stored; e.g. former employees, government bodies, competitors,
etc.
Artifacts of Cooperation: These are the hard indicators which are visible and examinable.
These include products, records of collaboration and ideas. The latter refers to minutes of
meetings, reports, FAQs, and other items that record common knowledge. These are easily
storable and presumably also more easily accessible.
Knowledge of the Organization Qua Entity: This type of knowledge cannot be stored in
the same way as the artifacts of cooperation. It includes knowledge of the political system, of
the culture, and of how things are normally done within the firm. It can include the
knowledge of who is an expert, of where a particular person is, and on who to contact for a
specific problem.
Rise of Knowledge Worker
What is Knowledge Work?
Key features of knowledge work are as follows:
Basic task in knowledge work is thinking - it is mental work which adds value to work. It
involves activities such as analysing, solving problems, deriving conclusions & applying
these conclusions to other situations.
Thinking involved in knowledge work is not a step-by-step linear mental work. Thinking
should be non-linear for creation. It uses knowledge to produce more knowledge. Knowledge
work is more than mere application of known knowledge. Outcome of knowledge work is
creation of new knowledge.
Who is Knowledge Worker?
One who is a non-manual worker & employed by firms to carry out innovative activities. He
uses knowledge to be more productive. He is a person who works for a living at the tasks of
developing or using knowledge. He does planning, acquiring, searching, analysing,
organising, storing, programming, distributing & marketing. He uses his brain to accomplish
his task. He has been schooled to use knowledge, theory & concept, rather than physical
force/manual skill. He uses his intellect to convert his ideas into products, services or
processes.
He creates knowledge, knows how to tap & share it, reuses it whenever necessary & works
against a deadline. He is a problem solver. He uses his intellect rather than manual skills to
earn a living. He is an individual who needs high level of autonomy. He is a manipulator of
symbols & paid for quality of judgement rather than speed of work. He uses unique processes
for his creation. He possesses un-codified knowledge which is difficult to duplicate. He
sources between his ears. He uses knowledge & information to add to deeper knowledge &
information.
What are Characteristics of Knowledge Worker?
Knowledge work is complex, requires certain skills, abilities & familiarity with actual &
theoretical knowledge. Knowledge workers need following characteristics:

(i) Possessing factual & theoretical knowledge, (ii) Finding & accessing information, (iii)
Ability to apply information, (iv) Communication skills, (v) Motivation & (vi) Intellectual
capabilities.
Possessing Factual & Theoretical Knowledge
Knowledge workers are conversant with specific factual & theoretical information. College
Faculty possesses information regarding specialized subject matter, teaching strategies &
learning theories. Sales Representative has factual knowledge of product he sells &
theoretical knowledge to create interest in the product by customers. Prospective knowledge
workers need years of formal education for mastery to enter into a field of work. They will be
acquiring additional information on a continual basis.
Finding and Accessing Information
Operations of today's information society depends on knowledge that is continually growing
& changing. Distribution of information has become a problem as employees need massive
amount of information. Knowledge workers should know how to identify & find such
information. They need to know which sources provide the information they need. How to
use these sources in order to locate information successfully.
Ability to Apply Information
Knowledge workers use information to answer questions, solve problems, complete writing
assignments & generate ideas. They use analogical reasoning & relevance judgment to
address successfully personal & customer related issues. Analogical reasoning is a
knowledge-based problem-solving processes in which information from precedents are
applied to new situations. Relevance judgment is the process by which individuals decide
whether or not a precedent is applicable to Problem at hand. The non-repetitive nature of
knowledge workers' jobs makes crucial his ability to apply information to new situations.
Communication Skills
Emphasis on quality customer service & customization of goods & services to meet
customers’ needs brings knowledge workers into close contact with customers. Successful
knowledge workers can present clearly in spoken & written word, both factual & theoretical
information. The goals of organizational effectiveness & continual improvement of products,
require communication between supervisor & supervised & among team mates or colleagues.
Knowledge Workers possess communication skills that enable them to collaborate with one
another for goal-setting, decision-making & idea generation.
Motivation
Nature of knowledge work requires continual growth, in terms of mastery of information &
skill development on the part of knowledge worker. Knowledge workers must become &
remain interested in finding information, memorising that information and applying it to their
work. New technological developments call on knowledge workers to change continuously
the way they accomplish their work. They must maintain a desire to apply their talents toward
incorporating new information & new technologies into their work.
Intellectual Capabilities
Knowledge workers must have intellectual capabilities for understanding, recall, processing
& application of specialized information. Persons who perform knowledge work must
possess the abilities needed to acquire appropriate communication skills. To learn how to
figure out where and how information can be located. To learn how to perform abstract
reasoning. To have intellectual capacity to understand value of acquiring & maintaining
knowledge & skills needed to accomplish their work.

Skill Sets Required for Knowledge Workers
Basic Skills: To read, write, calculate & operate basic computer applications.
Communication Skills: To use verbal, written & presentation skills for the purposes of
negotiation, persuasion, facilitation, coaching & mentoring.
Analytical Skills: To Think, analyze, solve problems, assess situations, evaluate &
implement suggestions.
Human and Behavioral Skills: To cooperate with others, and work in teams.
Information – Literacy Skills: To locate, gather, analyze and organize information.
Learning Skills: To adapt to a range of situations, take risks, formulate and champion a
vision, learn independently, exercise responsibility, innovate , generate knowledge & use
knowledge.
Reading for Information: Skill in reading & understanding written work-related instructions
& policies.
Locating Information: Skill in interpreting & using workplace graphics, such as, diagrams,
floor plans, tables, forms, graphs, charts, and instrument gauges.
Applied Mathematics: Skill in applying mathematical reasoning to a variety of work-related
problems.
Applied Technology: Skills in solving problems of a technological nature, such as, applying
principles of mechanics, electricity & electronics, thermodynamics, computer technology,
fluid dynamics, networking, integration to machines and systems, etc.

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