Abstract
This chapter underlines the significance of people as the knowledge resource of an organisation. The reader learns about new forms of labour relations and knowledge worker productivity. Five groups of actors of the knowledge firm are introduced and particular emphasis is placed on competence development and motivation of knowledge workers. Communities of Practice (CoP) are discussed as an effective format for situated and social learning (For a detailed treatment of the topic we recommend the textbook “Effective knowledge work” by North and Gueldenberg 2011).
The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable asset of a 21st-century institution, whether business or non-business, will be its knowledge workers and their productivity – Peter Drucker (1999, p. 135)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
CSC Ploenzke information brochure
- 4.
An overview of work motivation research can be found at Latham and Pinder (2005), an overview over motivation theories can be found under http://www.goldsmithibs.com/resources/free/motivation/notes/summary%20-%20motivation.pdf.
- 5.
Ash, Jerry, ‘Ideas Emerging’, Case Report on Mindtree
References
Alter A (2005) Knowledge workers need better management. http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Knowledge-Workers-Need-Better-Management/
APQC (2013) Gamification in knowledge management – an APQC overview. http://www.apqc.org/knowledge-base/documents/gamification-knowledge-management-apqc-overview
Blair J (1997) Knowledge management leverages engineering at Chrysler: Gardner Group. Research note case studies CS-CS-219
Brown JS, Gray ES (1999) The people are the company. http://www.fastcompany.com/online/01/people.html
Buckingham M, Coffman C (1999) First, break all the rules: what the world’s greatest managers do differently. Simon & Schuster, New York
Davenport TH (2005) Thinking for a living: how to get better performance and results from knowledge worker. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Dostal W, Parmentier K, Plicht H, Rauch A, Schreyer F (2001) Wandel der Erwerbsarbeit. Qualifikationsverwertung in sich verändernden Arbeitsstrukturen, vol 246, Beiträge zur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung. Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, Nürnberg
Draganidis F, Mentzas G (2006) Competency based management: a review of systems and approaches. Info Manag Comput Secur 14(1):51–64
Drucker PF (1999) Management challenges for the 21st century. Harper Business, New York
Escher FU, Bajenaru C (1997) Knowledge management? The real purpose is increased organizational capability. The means is knowledge-based work design. Knowl Manag 1(2)
Florida R (2002) The rise of the creative class. Basic Books, Cambridge, MA
Galvin R (1996) Managing knowledge towards wisdom. Eur Manag J 14(4):374–378
Halal WE (1994) From hierarchy to enterprise: internal markets are the new foundation of management. Acad Manag Exec 8(4):69–82
Hedlund G (1994) A model of knowledge management and the N-form corporation. Strateg Manag J 15:73–90
Hube G (2005) Beitrag zur Beschreibung und Analyse von Wissensarbeit. Dissertation am Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft und Technologiemanagement (IAT), Universität Stuttgart. Jost-Jetter Verlag, Heimsheim
Janjua FJ, Naeem MA, Kayani FN (2012) The competence classification framework – a classification model for employee development. Interdiscip J Contemp Res Bus 4(1):396–404
Kanter RM (1989) The new managerial work. Harv Bus Rev 67:85–92
Karlenzig W (1999) Chrysler’s new know mobiles. http://kmmag.com/kmmagn2/km199905/feature1.htm
Kim WC, Mauborgne R (2003) Fair process: managing in the knowledge economy. Harv Bus Rev, Jan 2003, pp 3–11
Klodt H et al (1997) Tertiarisierung in der deutschen Wirtschaft. Institut für Weltwirtschaft an der Universität Kiel, Kiel
La Barre P (1996) Knowledge brokers. Industry Week, 1 April 1996, p 50
Latham GP, Pinder CC (2005) Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annu Rev Psychol 56:485–516
Maister DH (1993) Managing the professional service firm. The Free Press, New York
Meyer C (1997) Relentless growth. The Free Press, New York
Nonaka I, Takeuchi H (1995) The knowledge creating company. Oxford University Press, Oxford
North K, Gueldenberg S (2011) Effective knowledge work. Emerald, London
North K, Franz M, Lembke G (2004) Wissenserzeugung und –austausch in Wissensgemeinschaften, vol 85, QUEM-Report Heft. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Betriebliche Weiterbildungsforschung, Projekt Qualifizierungs-Entwicklungs-Management, Berlin
Palmer D, LuncefordS, Patton AJ (2012) The engagement economy: how gamification is reshaping businesses. Deloitte University Press, July 1, http://www.dupress.com/articles/the-engagement-economy-how-gamification-is-reshaping-
Perlow LA, Porter JL (2009) Making time-off predictable & required. Harv Bus Rev 87(10):102–109
Pink D (2009) Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates. Riverhead, New York
Probst G, Borzillo S (2008) Why communities of practice succeed and why they fail. Eur Manag J 26:335–347
Quinn JB (1992) Intelligent enterprise. The Free Press, New York
Quinn JB et al (1996) Leveraging intellect. Acad Manag Exec 10(3):7–27
Rosenbaum D (2012) The games businesses play. CFO.com 14 Feb. http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/2/it-value_gamification-marketing-knowledge-management-?currpage=1
Saxenian A (1996) Regional advantage: culture and competition in Silicon Valley and route 128. Harvard University Press, Boston
Sveiby KE (1997) The new organizational wealth. Berret-Koehler, San Francisco, http://www.sveiby.com.au
Thompson KR et al (1997) Stretch targets: what makes them effective? Acad Manag Exec 11(3):48–60
Wenger E (1998a) Communities of practice – learning as a social system. Published by System Thinker, 6/98
Wenger E (1998b) Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder W (2002) Cultivating communities of practice. Harvard Business Press, Boston
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
North, K., Kumta, G. (2014). Knowledge Is Human. In: Knowledge Management. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03698-4_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03698-4_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-03697-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-03698-4
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)