Discussion Leader 2: Sociology of Knowledge Workers Professor A. D. Amar, Ph.D.

Managing Knowledge Managing Knowledge WorkersWorkers

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A. D. Amar, PhDA. D. Amar, PhDProfessor, Seton Hall UniversityProfessor, Seton Hall University

South Orange, NJ 07079South Orange, NJ 07079USAUSA

Discussion Leader 2:Sociology of Knowledge Workers

Professor A. D. Amar, Ph.D.

“… “… by constant by constant practice the mind in practice the mind in

truth can be trained.”truth can be trained.”

Gita: 6.35

04/22/23 Managing Knowledge Workers by Amar 3Managing Knowledge Workers by Amar

© 2004 by A. D. Amar. All rights reserved.

Knowledge Workers

Typically youngerGenerations X and Y

(Strempel, 2003)



New Generations at Work

Generation X– children of the Baby Boomer generation born

before 1977. • (Novelist Douglas Coupland in his novel, by that title, coined the

term.) Generation Y

– constitutes people born between year 1977 and later until the 1990’s—late offspring of the Baby Boomer generation



Responsibility and Relationships

Pressure to grow up faster along both psychological and physiological dimensions

Types of Relationships– ethical relationships

• Not as important to X & Y – emotional relationships

• Very important to X & Y– sensual relationships

• Important to X & Y



Understanding the Generations The Family

– Redefines traditional family– changed family structure, needs, and norms

• Nuclear Family• Working Parents• No one home



Understanding the Generations(Cont.)

Parents– two "independent" persons, – single parents, – same sex parents, – same sex marriages, – unwed parents, – biological parents, – surrogate parents, – artificially-inseminated parents




Personality Traits.– Misguided by Some Standards.

• Baby Boomers revolted against what they did not accept as "right," many of Generations X and Y members genuinely do not even know what is right and what is wrong.

– Confused Value System.• "different" value system.• Rediscovered faith and spiritualism, have sought refuge in religions.

– Very Technology Smart.• breaking into Pentagon computers.• organizing and leading inner city street gangs in Central Los Angeles.• Involve them in the attainment of productive social goals.




– Sense of Omnipotence.• tough games they "overpowered" and computer problems they

solved.• "out of touch with reality," • "power is with you."

– Selective Commitment.• totally void of any sense of commitment, or they may praise it for

taking its commitments so seriously. – Stoic and Determined.

• To them, life is a chain of fixed linkages of almost predetermined acts and outcomes operating within a controlled, limited, and definite set.

• It’s all Over Syndrome.




– Disdain for Authority

– Throughout their development, members of Generation Y have had practically no exposure to authority.

• Parents

• Siblings

• Teachers

– engage through reason, subtle motivation, appealing emotion, not through autocratic behavior and overt domination




–A New Kind of Discipline

– They themselves will first set a reference point and rules of behavior, then, will conform to them, and according to that, will consider themselves disciplined.

–Positive Lack of Discipline

–A kind of freedom




– Lonely Shallow-Rooted

– The sociology and technology of their generation has promoted physical, psychological, and social isolationism among them.

– The New Sense of Belongingness



The Power Is With You Syndrome

“Out of touch with reality," compounded with confidence and the sense of “Power is with you.”

Problem Abstraction.– Electronic games and computers have given them a

perspective to conceive problems with imaginary and simulated variables, an essential skill to understanding complex real-world problems, especially those of knowledge organizations.

Micro Focus.– skills essential for focusing on issues and achieve them

without allowing themselves to be distracted.




Optimal Solution.– They learned that there is one right solution

that brings success and everything else is wrong and cause for failure.

– They also learned that these outcomes are not influenced by emotions.




Quick Response.– they had to be right and they had to be quick or miss the

narrow window of opportunity. It is the Karma.

– The only actions that mattered to their success and failure were the ones that they took. No one else could make any difference to the outcomes of their actions.

– the only actions that mattered to their success and failure were the ones that they took. No one else could make any difference to the outcomes of their actions.



Generations X & Y Personality Topology

Too unique and different to be classed!This classification is too vague and broad!

The Rationalist The Rebel The Sensualist



The RationalistRuled by reason

Objectivity-driven.– Materialism.– Systematic and logical.

Centrality of money. Submission to management control is driven by the

outcome. Most common of the three types. Effective in autonomous teams Suited to system analysis & design, market development,

engineering& production, accounting & finance.



The RebelRuled by the desire to rule

Refuse to adapt to their environment Do not value money Self-formed relationships Selectivity—perception Always motivated Usually not effective in teams Suited to R&D, sales & promotion, product

development Reich calls them problem Identifiers (Blacker,

Reed, & Whitaker, 1993)



The SensualistRuled by the sensual pleasure

Give highest priority to pleasure from sight, sound, touch, taste, and sex

Escapists Crave close meaningful relations Sociology is most important Search for Ideals Money is not important Effective in teams of those they like to be with Suited to public relations, advertising, aesthetic design



Managing Gen X & Y • Understand their value system

• Understand their sociology, psychology, communications, and actions

• Discard authoritarian models of management

• Know these workers, understand them, and redirect their focus and energies to where they are likely to be best innovators, creators, ad contributors to their organizations

• Adapt the newer self-help, self-teach, and support group techniques – Avoid formal learning and training

ImplementationImplementation



Management Practice• Understand employees’ needs and activate their

specific motivators• Know employees’ unique behaviors and adapt the

knowledge work and environment to suit them • Revisit management principles and business

practices—Adapt them as needed• Regularly revisit the processes, tasks, and work

assignments for significant innovation component• Recognize the changes in behavior of the new

generations of workers. Changes in them should signal need for changes in management.

• Devise new rules and operate by them



HELP KNOWLEDGE WORKERS UNDERSTAND

Who they are, as individuals,What their strengths are,Where do they need help,How do they work, Where do they belong at work,What are their responsibilities and contributions…andConvey to them management’s sensitivity to their needs and concerns.



Continuous Innovation

Nonaka (Witzel, 2003) states that organizations should be capable of continuous innovation. Knowledge is the source from which innovation flows. It comes form a deep personal belief and commitment. It is as much about ideals as about ideas. That makes tacit knowledge more important to innovation.



Technology Tacit Knowledge

According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), there are two types of knowledge:– Implicit Knowledge: Ideas that are formally set down

and can be easily learned (acquired through training and education)

– Tacit Knowledge: Knowledge that one creates oneself. It is innate and one finds it hard to express. This is more important of the two types.

Tacit knowledge is needed for innovation and Generations X and Y have more tacit knowledge in the areas of technology.



About the Knowledge Work

• Realize that knowledge is not fully utilized• Knowledge is embedded and can be utilized in

products, services, processes, individuals and groups

• Knowledge can make employees more productive sooner

• Better management of knowledge can save time and effort in implementing major changes in a company

• Implementing systems is just organization of knowledge



Encourage Sharing of Knowledge

• Organizational innovation is enhanced because it builds on already existing knowledge

• The costs are lowered by knowledge • Completion is hastened due to reduced trial and

error• New employees become more productive in less

time• Productivity is enhanced by shared knowledge-

Learning takes place



References Blacker, Frank, Reed, Michael, & Whitaker, Alan. (1993,

November). Editorial introduction: Knowledge workers and contemporary organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 30:6, 851-861.

Nonaka, Ikujiro, & Takeuchi, Hirotaka. (1995). The knowledge creating company. New York: Oxford University Press.

Strempel, Peter. (2003). Towards strategies for managing knowledge workers. Retrieved September 25, 2003 from http://www.peterstrempel.com/resources/papers/knowledge_workers.html.

Witzel, Morgen. (2003, August 8). An all-knowing analysis. Financial Times, p. 9.

http://www.peterstrempel.com/resources/papers/knowledge_workers.html

http://www.peterstrempel.com/resources/papers/knowledge_workers.html

Questions???Questions???

Thank you!

Discussion Leader 2: Sociology of Knowledge Workers Professor A. D. Amar, Ph.D.

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