Knowledge workers

The contributors to the book are experts on the topics about which they write and include many of the best known and most knowledgeable workers in the held of thin-layer chromatography and PLC throughout the world. Rather than attempting to adopt a uniform style, we have allowed chapter authors the freedom to present their topics in a way that they considered most effechve. They have used hgures and tables as needed to augment the text, and selechve reference lists include the most important new literature, as well signihcant older references, to set the basis of their chapters. 

As Zuboff (1984) pointed out, these knowledge workers can no longer be just responsible to someone else. They also have to be responsive to the continual flow of information because they are the first to encounter this information and possess the power to utilize or ignore it. After all, the knowledge worker is the man on the spot (Hayek, 1945) with local knowledge of the situation. 

To understand this point, it is useful to consider structuration theory as it applies to knowledge (Giddens, 1986). The value of any knowledge is only apparent when it is applied in practice by a knowledge worker... 

Issues of ownership and appropriability come into play. Indeed, firms have to ensure that appropriate cultural mechanisms and incentives are present to encourage their knowledge workers to codify and share knowledge with their colleagues. How these issues are addressed becomes central in determining the extent to which scaleable structuration unfolds. 

What role can top management play if front-line knowledge workers make most decisions Surely, managers cannot continue to be the keepers of content as was the case in mass-production environments. At Infosys, it appears that managers are part of a larger process of mutual mentorship, a process that the founders hope will create an institution that survives them. Indeed, the philosophy of Infosys s top management is to recruit people who are brighter than themselves and then mentor them. 

There are several mechanisms at Infosys to prevent this eventuality. Eirst, Infosys ensures that decision rights are distributed among its knowledge workers. Such distribution of decision rights empowers Infoscions not just to exercise learnability, but also to act in a timely manner on the basis of their learning. 

Kleinman, Daniel L, and Steven P. Valias, 2001, Science, capitalism, and the rise of the knowledge worker The changing structure of knowledge production in the United States. Theory and Society 30 451-492,... 

Education and Skill Development Today s lubrication technicians are knowledgeable workers and are well trained and possess skill competency certifications. 

For networked computers, two basic types of machines exist—servers and workstations. Servers should be as powerful and upgraded as frequently as software requirements and the budget permit. In today s very competitive new product development marketplace, speed and processing power impact the efficiency of the knowledge worker. Management must find the balance on that delicate line between cost and productivity. 

Hard questions have to be asked. What are the actual costs of doing business The long-term cost of reduced quality in lost product loyalty and warranty liability What are the costs in productivity for knowledge workers when wages are low, and personal training and development opportunities non-existent What are the costs of taking on much more risk than the rewards warrant How will it affect the organization to set environmental stewardship aside for short-term profits ... 

A system for maintaining, updating, and disseminating state-of-the-art information for pesticide users needs to be developed so that an increased hazard awareness ty more knowledgeable workers results in greater voluntary acceptability of protective clothing. 

Additionally, in the Toyota Education Model the workers were viewed "... not just as pairs of hands but as knowledge workers who accumulate chie - the wisdom of experience - on the company s front... 

Aspiring knowledge workers will need cross-disciplinary programs and degrees in order to compete. Historically, universities have found it difficult to provide such programs. 

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