allocated to which project and for what period, as well as calling for an under-
standing of how work organization can be used to develop key skills. The skills
development emphasis in this context is on learning-by-doing or informal
learning rather than formal ‘training.’ This holds serious implications for talent
management and the retention of key knowledge workers. If the selected work
organization does not take the development of key skills into account, knowledge
workers are more likely to leave the organization and seek employment with
aWrm that will increase their employability, or make them more attractive in
the labor market.
A key tension which this theme represents is the dilemma ofvalue appropriation.
TheWrm needs to appropriate value (Blyer and GoV 2003) from knowledge
developed, while minimizing the risk of excessive appropriation by knowledge
workers themselves. This is diYcult because not only is the nature of the knowledge
that is applied to a client problem hard to specify and categorize, but the bound-
aries between the individual’s knowledge and theWnal, knowledge-rich service are
extremelyXuid. There is a sharp contrast here between management consultants
who sell their knowledge directly to a client and the shopXoor worker who is reliant
on the physical capital of their employer to manufacture theWnal product. The
knowledge worker typically has a greater sense of ownership, often expressed as
intellectual property rights, over the product or service. This leads to a situation
where knowledge workers themselves feel a right to appropriate value or receive
high rents for their own knowledge. They may make excessive remuneration
demands which the employer is unable to meet. If the employer does not manage
this tension well, they can easily be in a situation where the knowledge worker
leaves the organization to sell their skills directly to the same client or sets of clients.
This phenomenon is frequently seen in advertising agencies, management consult-
ancies, and brokerageWrms.
The second theme noted from the characteristics of knowledge workers and the
Wrms who employ them is that ofmarket-based networks. Personal/professional
networks and organizational networks inXuence the employment relationship.
Each of these networks can be a source of identiWcation which challenges organ-
izational control over the management of knowledge workers (Fig. 22. 1 ).
Personal/professional networks play a very speciWc role in both skill develop-
ment and status-building. Individual knowledge workers often use their networks
to gauge their status and may use them to put pressure on their employer to
adopt certain HR practices. Often personal/professional networks are developed
through independent contract arrangements. ManyWrms rely on, and make use
of, several independent contractors who develop their own networks where
they trade information about key skills and employment opportunities. These
personal/professional networks can act as a market place for comparison and
diVusion of management practices. For example, software developers will often
meet informally and discuss their employment relationships. Comparisons of
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