The Knowledge Worker And Learning Organization Management Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

This paper will incorporate some of the concepts of a learning organization and the productivity of knowledge worker as they apply to some of the significant challenges in the modern organization operations. This understanding will generate insight into the relationship so leaders cans effective utilized and run on their company resources. The knowledge worker is a concept a use to distinguish e between manual workers established back in the early 20th century (Loermans, 2002). Moreover, Peter Senge developed a learning organization concept, when he created the five disciples for an organization to be considered learning institute. Senge stated an organization must have systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, and team building (Loermans, 2002). In addition, the paper discusses how a learning organization tied into knowledge management to work together to developed a knowledge worker into more productivity resources for the entire organization (Loermans, 2002). A philosopher named Michael Polanyi developed the concept on knowledge management (Loermans, 2002). Polanyi made a clear distinction of the difference between explicit and tacit knowledge (Loermans, 2002).

The Knowledge Worker

In an organization, the knowledge worker is considered to beee a non-manual worker and is employed by companies to carry out very creative activities. The knowledge worker is considered a member of the organization that uses knowledge to be a more effective worker. These workers utilize all variations of knowledge in the performance of their normal business activities. Everyone who utilizes any form of recorded knowledge could be considered a knowledge worker. The knowledge worker has certain abilities and skills that separate them from the other employees in the company. They typical have the following three basic characteristics about them; good communication skills, high Motivation and Intelligence.

Communication Skills. What some of the traits that a successful knowledge worker has the ability to communicate clearly by speaking and written words. Moreover, these employees know how to listen and get an understanding if they are familiar with something. Knowledge workers need to be able to express themselves well with the communication skills of reading writing and listening. A Knowledge workers should be able to possess the communications skills that will enable them to work together in order to set goals and making positive decisions.

Motivation. Conversely, knowledge performance demands constant development to master information and skill development by the knowledge worker. In addition, knowledge workers should become interested in finding information, understanding that information, and applying it to their tasks. This is due to new technological developments that require knowledge workers to change constantly in the way they deliver their work maintaining desire to incorporating innovative material and different technologies to their jobs.

Intelligence. Knowledge workers should have specific acquire the abilities discussed above. Such intelligence includes comprehension, recall, processing and application of Individuals that undertake knowledge work need to possess the abilities expected to obtain the appropriate communication skills needed to learn how to figure out information.

Information Technology. Furthermore, Expertise Technology is also important efficiency of the knowledge workers. Information technology gives the knowledge workers the skills needed for companies to utilize costly technology to enable access for the management of information. Information technologies intended to decrease the total of time workers devote on information programs, when managed properly an organization will see an increase in the accuracy of these processes.

Learning Organization

Moreover, According to Baines (1997) there are five concepts associated to a learning organization: Personal Mastery, this concept focuses on the individual as the foundation to building the learning organization (Baines, 1997). Mental Models these concepts is the way we view the world around us and how we act and think about things (Baines, 1997). The third concepts are team learning. This concept looks at how clear and genuine teams shared goals and have confidence in each member’s competences (Baines, 1997). The next concept is having a shared vision (Baines, 1997). This is based on the vision of each member. This shared vision is not created by the leader of the organization and the finally the last concepts is systems thinking (Baines, 1997). This concept is based on the logic that rationality by taking approaches to thinking to solve problems does not work (Baines, 1997). System thinking constitutes an effective generated adaptive learning environment (Baines, 1997).

Knowledge Management .Knowledge Management is define as the process through which their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. It is the practice of harnessing and exploiting intellectual capital to gain competitive advantage and customer commitment through efficiency, innovation and faster and more effective decision-making. Most often, generating valve from such assets involves sharing them amongst workers, even with other businesses to maneuver best practices. The primary reason for knowledge management is to establish knowledge internally and externally at all times to deal with changes within and outside an organization (Hong & Kuo, 1999). Moreover, in order for this to happen an organization must provide a learning environment that will maximize the human resource elements that are in place. There should be a system in place to give maximization out of an organizational human resources department: (1). Job enlargement; this is done by learning by instruction.(2).Job rotation; This is done by learning by sharing. (3)Job enrichment; this is done by self-learning (Hong & Kuo, 1999). Making a knowledge worker more productive requires change in attitude. Furthermore, producing knowledge workers more productive requires changes in attitude not just for individual, but the entire organization. Drucker describes six aspects which determine knowledge they are: 1. Definition of the task, Required autonomy of knowledge workers 2.Continuing innovation, 3. Continuing learning and Quality of output as signature requirement; 6. Quantity is irrelevant until a quality standard exists and Knowledge worker as an asset (Ramírez & Nembhard, 2004).

Leadership. The essential function of leadership is to provide direction, build an organizations culture and shape its development. Leadership must shape the design of the organization's structure and policies to best satisfy its corporate objective. A leader must model desired behavior such as the organizations strategy and vision.

Conclusion

When a leader understanding the processes of knowledge management will increase and improve the productivity Workers. Knowledge worker's performance and productivity most likely will be improved by having a way to obtain relevant information that will promote information for educational opportunities. Moreover, knowledge worker most likely will use Information Technology to retrieve, process, store, and distribute information. Information Technology must be created to reduce the amount of time knowledge workers spend information access, management to increase the accuracy of these processes the term organizational learning may refer to actual knowledge inside an entire organization. However, most organizational learning refers to team or organizational level learning. Of course, individual learning, or learning of the entire an organization need to possess the expected knowledge to be effective. Moreover, all levels of knowledge management are important and should be nurtured and created as natural part productivity.