Management of knowledge work Jussi Okkonen 7'11''2006

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Management of knowledge workJussi
Okkonen7.11..2006
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Change in economical structure

• Knowledge is a key asset
• Scarcity of assets has changed
• Feodal society land and raw materials
• Pre-modern society labour
• Modern society capital
• post-modern society aika ja tieto
• Land, raw materials, labour and capital are
  easily acquired from efficient global markets
  time and knowledge are scarce.
• Winner in economical activities is the one who
  knows first.

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Why knowledge and competencies are (over)
emphasised?

• Central issues
• From modern to post modern
• Change in economical structure
• pluralism -gt crisis for protestantism i.e.
  weberian ethics (?)
• Technological progress -gt free choise of time and
  place
• Change in nature and contents of work -gt from
  physical assets and raw materials to symbol
  analysis.
• Change in organisational way of thinking.

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RBV -gtKBV

• RBV Firm is sum of assets or resource, thus
  resource based view of a firm (resources consist
  of capital, technology and personnel)
• KBV Firm primarily consist of knowledge, thus
  company is a sum of dynamic intangibles i.e.
  intellectual capital (of course capital is
  important but it is available from efficient
  global market and such market does not
  necessarily exist for) -gt Stickiness of
  intellectual capital.

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What is different?

• Organisation is an dynamic social entity, wherein
  jointly new knowledge is created and/or old one
  is abandoned
• Organisation is a hierarchy of power where
  knowing and being capable defines ones position
  (cf. meta- and substance knowledge)
• Organisation is a game and power affects
  cognition i.e. what will be done or be understood
  is a issue of power (cf. NIH-syndrome)

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Thus

• KBV challenges management as organisation takes
  form from intangible -gt How dynamic system can be
  managed??
• What is the investment logic when investment is
  intangible and outcome is an issue of
  serendipity.
• Firm based on knowledge supports pluralism, yet
  there are several uncertain issues.
• What is the role of the organisation? Is it a
  resource or a framework for doing.

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Notions on knowledge work 1

• Absolute and relative expertise
• Absolute expertise separates an expert from a so
  called layman -gt it is a base for customership
• Advancing oneself knowledge becomes relative as
  everything cannot be administered -gt often there
  is other person who have more relative
  expertise.
• Absolute expertise is a base for a persons
  professional position, relative expertise is a
  base for organsational position.

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Notions on knowledge work 2

• Working together is the key issue on developing
  oneself (cf. concept of BA).
• Group working is efficient way to transfer tacit
  knowledge
• At the best group working saves resources.
• At the worst group working raises conflicts and
  collisions between persons.

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Notions on knowledge work 3

• In knowledge work a central element is
  information (i.e. symbols) that are analysed and
  processed in order to create new information,
  knowledge and/or action.
• Analysis and processing symbols is not
  (generally) mechanical -gt transfer and creation
  of knowledge is the key issue.
• Social capital is at least as important as human
  capital
• Keywords know-what, know-why, know-who ja
  know-how.

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Notions on knowledge work 4

• Embrained knowledge is knowledge about, i.e.
  know-what.
• Embodied knowledge is knowledge on how.
• Encultured knowledge is shared understanding,
  thus it refers to both know-how and know-why.
• Embedded knowledge is systemic attribute, hence
  it is attached to recognition of structures and
  action according to them, i.e. know-why and
  know-who.
• Encoded knowledge is information attached to
  signs and symbols, i.e. know-what.

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Notions on knowledge work 5

• Social capital
• sum of more or less institutionalised
  relationships of mutual acquaintance and
  recognition
• network of social exchanges between actors
  engaging in transactions.
• The three dimensions of social capital affecting
  actors
• structural, i.e. presence or absence of
  interaction,
• dimensional, i.e. mutual trust and
  trustworthiness,
• cognitive, i.e. shared understanding of common
  goals and proper ways to act

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Notions on knowledge work 6